China&#39;s economy grew a forecast-beating 6.9 percent in 2017, picking up steam for the first time since 2010 despite its battles against a massive debt and polluting factories, official data showed Thursday.

The world&#39;s number two economy eclipsed the official target of about 6.5 percent and picked up pace from the 6.7 percent growth seen in 2016, which was the slowest for more than a quarter of a century.

The robust economic expansion indicated stability after slowing down since China last posted double-digit growth in 2010.

&quot;The national economy has maintained the momentum of stable and sound development and exceeded the expectation with the economic vitality, impetus and potential released,&quot; National Statistics Bureau head Ning Jizhe said in a report.

&quot;We should also be aware that there are still difficulties and challenges confronting the economy and the improvement of quality and efficiency remains a daunting task,&quot; Ning said.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/china-gets-richer-but-inequality-grows-29036" target="_blank">China gets richer, but inequality grows</a>

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/will-chinas-economic-might-take-nepal-away-from-india-19041" target="_blank">Will China&#39;s economic might take Nepal away from India?</a>

The reading -- which beat the 6.8 percent predicted by analysts surveyed by AFP -- comes as China kicks its war on pollution into gear, halving industrial production for some steel smelters and mills this winter.&nbsp;

The battle has brought unusual blue skies to Beijing, with the density of dangerous pollution -- particulate PM2.5 -- dropping by more than 50 percent in the final quarter of 2017.

But the latest data showed the economy expanding 6.8 percent in the last quarter of 2017, matching the third quarter figure though it was below the 6.9 percent from the first half of the year.

Ning dismissed questions on the reliability of China&#39;s statistics raised after the coastal city of Tianjin and the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia admitted to inflating certain 2016 data.

&quot;The system for calculating China&#39;s statistics data is not affected by a small number of places, or some places, or some companies&quot; having accuracy issues with their data, he said.

The GDP reading follows strong trade data last week, which showed the humming global economy had propelled China&#39;s export machine.&nbsp;

&quot;This momentum, especially the part fuelled by external demand, may carry on well into 2018,&quot; said Wei Yao, chief China economist at Societe Generale.

Debt fears 
The country is also facing pressure to prevent a credit crisis, with local government debt growing 7.5 percent last year to $2.56 trillion, according to figures released Wednesday.

China has largely relied on debt-fuelled investment and exports to drive its tremendous economic growth of the past four decades but it is now seeking to move its economy to more sustainable consumption-based growth.&nbsp;

The latest figures show the services industry grew eight percent for the year with retail sales spiking 10.2 percent, good news for the transition.&nbsp;

The International Monetary Fund has repeatedly warned of risks stemming from China&#39;s ballooning debt, saying last year that each extra dollar of debt is producing diminishing returns for China&#39;s economy.

China&#39;s leaders appeared to wipe away some of those concerns at a critical planning meeting in December.&nbsp;

While vowing a crackdown on financial risk and local government debt, leaders called for a reasonable credit expansion this year.

That flew in the face of IMF and other economists warnings that China must deleverage.

Last year China brought down the pace of debt accumulation but allowed overall credit growth, analysts say.&nbsp;

Potential headwinds 
&quot;The bulls and the bears have never been so much in agreement since the financial crisis,&quot; said Larry Hu, head of China economics at Macquarie Group.

&quot;Most economists expect around 6.5 percent GDP growth in 2018,&quot; Hu said, though one of China&#39;s top state-affiliated think tanks last month forecast growth ticking slightly downwards to 6.7 this year.

But potential headwinds and risks for China&#39;s economy are brewing.

US President Donald Trump is determined to change the balance of trade between the two large trading partners. &nbsp;

China&#39;s trade surplus with the US swelled 10 percent to $275.8 billion last year, a record high.

In a telephone call with President Xi Jinping this week, Trump &quot;expressed disappointment that the United States&#39; trade deficit with China has continued to grow&quot;, the White House said.

&quot;President Trump made clear that the situation is not sustainable.&quot;

Trump has repeatedly insisted he will fight for more equitable trade with China.

The US is expected to release the results of a major investigation into China&#39;s intellectual property practices this year.

The world's number two economy eclipsed the official target of about 6.5 per cent

China's economy grew a forecast-beating 6.9 percent in 2017, picking up steam for the first time since 2010 despite its battles against a massive debt and polluting factories, official data showed Thursday. The world's number two economy eclipsed the official target of about 6.5 percent and picked up pace from the 6.7 percent growth seen in 2016, which was the slowest for more than a quarter of a century. The robust economic expansion indicated stability after slowing down since China last posted double-digit growth in 2010. "The national economy has maintained the momentum of stable and sound development and exceeded the expectation with the economic vitality, impetus and potential released," National Statistics Bureau head Ning Jizhe said in a report. "We should also be aware that there are still difficulties and challenges confronting the economy and the improvement of quality and efficiency remains a daunting task," Ning said. Also read: China gets richer, but inequality grows Also read: Will China's economic might take Nepal away from India? The reading -- which beat the 6.8 percent predicted by analysts surveyed by AFP -- comes as China kicks its war on pollution into gear, halving industrial production for some steel smelters and mills this winter. The battle has brought unusual blue skies to Beijing, with the density of dangerous pollution -- particulate PM2.5 -- dropping by more than 50 percent in the final quarter of 2017. But the latest data showed the economy expanding 6.8 percent in the last quarter of 2017, matching the third quarter figure though it was below the 6.9 percent from the first half of the year. Ning dismissed questions on the reliability of China's statistics raised after the coastal city of Tianjin and the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia admitted to inflating certain 2016 data. "The system for calculating China's statistics data is not affected by a small number of places, or some places, or some companies" having accuracy issues with their data, he said. The GDP reading follows strong trade data last week, which showed the humming global economy had propelled China's export machine. "This momentum, especially the part fuelled by external demand, may carry on well into 2018," said Wei Yao, chief China economist at Societe Generale. Debt fears The country is also facing pressure to prevent a credit crisis, with local government debt growing 7.5 percent last year to $2.56 trillion, according to figures released Wednesday. China has largely relied on debt-fuelled investment and exports to drive its tremendous economic growth of the past four decades but it is now seeking to move its economy to more sustainable consumption-based growth. The latest figures show the services industry grew eight percent for the year with retail sales spiking 10.2 percent, good news for the transition. The International Monetary Fund has repeatedly warned of risks stemming from China's ballooning debt, saying last year that each extra dollar of debt is producing diminishing returns for China's economy. China's leaders appeared to wipe away some of those concerns at a critical planning meeting in December. While vowing a crackdown on financial risk and local government debt, leaders called for a reasonable credit expansion this year. That flew in the face of IMF and other economists warnings that China must deleverage. Last year China brought down the pace of debt accumulation but allowed overall credit growth, analysts say. Potential headwinds "The bulls and the bears have never been so much in agreement since the financial crisis," said Larry Hu, head of China economics at Macquarie Group. "Most economists expect around 6.5 percent GDP growth in 2018," Hu said, though one of China's top state-affiliated think tanks last month forecast growth ticking slightly downwards to 6.7 this year. But potential headwinds and risks for China's economy are brewing. US President Donald Trump is determined to change the balance of trade between the two large trading partners. China's trade surplus with the US swelled 10 percent to $275.8 billion last year, a record high. In a telephone call with President Xi Jinping this week, Trump "expressed disappointment that the United States' trade deficit with China has continued to grow", the White House said. "President Trump made clear that the situation is not sustainable." Trump has repeatedly insisted he will fight for more equitable trade with China. The US is expected to release the results of a major investigation into China's intellectual property practices this year.

China grew at 6.9% in 2017

India&#39;s economy is projected to grow at 7.2 per cent in 2018 and 7.4 per cent in 2019, despite a slowdown observed this year and the lingering effects from the demonetisation, the UN has said.

The outlook for India remains largely positive, underpinned by robust private consumption and public investment as well as ongoing structural reforms, despite the slowdown observed in early 2017 and the lingering effects from the demonetisation policy, the United Nations said.

&quot;GDP growth for India is projected to accelerate from 6.7 per cent in 2017 to 7.2 per cent in 2018 and 7.4 per cent in 2019,&quot; the UN said in its report &#39;World Economic Situation Prospects&#39; (WESP 2018), released at the UN headquarters in New York yesterday.

At the same time, the report said, the performance of private investment remains a key macroeconomic concern.

&quot;Gross fixed capital formation as a share of GDP has declined from about 40 per cent in 2010 to less than 30 per cent in 2017, amid subdued credit growth, low capacity utilisation in some industrial sectors and balance sheet problems in the banking and corporate sectors.

&quot;In this environment, vigorous public investment in infrastructure has been critical in propping up overall investment growth,&quot; it said. 
According to the report, there exists some degree of uncertainty over the monetary policy stance in India.

&quot;Subdued inflation, coupled with a good monsoon season, offers scope for additional monetary easing,&quot; it said.

Fiscal deficit in India has declined visibly, and it is expected to narrow further to 3.2 per cent of GDP in 2018, it added. 
An upturn in the global economy - now growing by about three per cent - paves the way to reorient policy towards longer-term issues such as addressing climate change, tackling existing inequalities and removing institutional obstacles to development, according to the WESP report.

&quot;The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2018 demonstrates that current macroeconomic conditions offer policy-makers greater scope to address some of the deep-rooted issues that continue to hamper progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals,&quot; said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the foreword of the report.&nbsp;

The UN added that India would grow at 7.4% in 2019

India's economy is projected to grow at 7.2 per cent in 2018 and 7.4 per cent in 2019, despite a slowdown observed this year and the lingering effects from the demonetisation, the UN has said. The outlook for India remains largely positive, underpinned by robust private consumption and public investment as well as ongoing structural reforms, despite the slowdown observed in early 2017 and the lingering effects from the demonetisation policy, the United Nations said. "GDP growth for India is projected to accelerate from 6.7 per cent in 2017 to 7.2 per cent in 2018 and 7.4 per cent in 2019," the UN said in its report 'World Economic Situation Prospects' (WESP 2018), released at the UN headquarters in New York yesterday. At the same time, the report said, the performance of private investment remains a key macroeconomic concern. "Gross fixed capital formation as a share of GDP has declined from about 40 per cent in 2010 to less than 30 per cent in 2017, amid subdued credit growth, low capacity utilisation in some industrial sectors and balance sheet problems in the banking and corporate sectors. "In this environment, vigorous public investment in infrastructure has been critical in propping up overall investment growth," it said. According to the report, there exists some degree of uncertainty over the monetary policy stance in India. "Subdued inflation, coupled with a good monsoon season, offers scope for additional monetary easing," it said. Fiscal deficit in India has declined visibly, and it is expected to narrow further to 3.2 per cent of GDP in 2018, it added. An upturn in the global economy - now growing by about three per cent - paves the way to reorient policy towards longer-term issues such as addressing climate change, tackling existing inequalities and removing institutional obstacles to development, according to the WESP report. "The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2018 demonstrates that current macroeconomic conditions offer policy-makers greater scope to address some of the deep-rooted issues that continue to hamper progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the foreword of the report.

India's economy to grow at 7.2% in 2018: UN

The craze for cryptocurrencies entered a new chapter on Monday as bitcoin futures rocketed by one-fifth of their value at a closely-watched launch, while Asian shares climbed amid optimism about global growth.&nbsp;

The most-traded contract on the Chicago-based CBOE Global Markets exchange opened at $15,460 in New York on Sunday evening, before leaping to a high of $18,700 - a gain of 21 per cent. They were last quoted at $17,550 a premium of more than $1,600 to the price on Gemini Exchange.&nbsp;

The futures are cash-settled contracts based on the auction price of bitcoin in US&nbsp;dollars on the Gemini Exchange, which is owned and operated by virtual currency entrepreneurs Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.&nbsp;

The cryptocurrency has boasted a gravity-defying 15-fold gain since the start of the year, attracting institutional interest and no small amount of question marks.&nbsp;The acting governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Sunday said bitcoin appeared to be a &quot;classic case&quot; of a bubble.

&quot;With a bubble, you never know how far it is going to go before it comes around&quot;, Grant Spencer told TVNZ.&nbsp;Some market participants believe the fallout across other financial assets from a potential bursting of the bubble will be limited.&nbsp;

&quot;Bitcoin&#39;s market capitalisation is currently around $240 billion, which is much smaller, say, than the value of gold outstanding&quot;, said Andrew Kenningham, an economist at Capital Economics.

&quot;If the price of bitcoin fell to zero today, the paper losses would be equivalent to a 0.6 per cent fall in US&nbsp;equity prices. As most investors have bought bitcoin at much lower prices, the relevant losses would arguably be smaller&quot;.&nbsp;Asian shares were buoyant following strong US payrolls data and better-than-expected Chinese trade data on Friday.&nbsp;

The MSCI&#39;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.4 per cent, staying well above a recent two-month trough of 542.27 points.&nbsp;Japan&#39;s Nikkei added 0.4 percent while Chinese shares rallied, with the blue-chip CSI 300 index up 0.9 percent. Hong Kong&#39;s Hang Seng index gained 0.5 percent.&nbsp;

Rate Rises?

Currency market investors were cautious ahead of a big week for policy meetings globally, with the Federal Reserve the only major central bank expected to raise interest rates. The Bank of England and the European Central Bank are likely to hold rates steady.&nbsp;

The dollar rose to a near one-month top against the yen, after climbing 1.2 percent last week. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was steady near a three-week high.&nbsp;

Traders will keep their eyes peeled for the Fed&#39;s future rate projections as US&nbsp;wages growth and inflation crawl at a snail&#39;s pace.&nbsp;Data out on Friday showed average hourly earnings in the United States nudged up 5 cents or 0.2 percent in November when economists had looked for a 0.3 per cent gain.

The weakness persisted despite stronger-than-expected non-farm payrolls, which rose by 228,000 in November.&nbsp;&quot;We&#39;ll be listening closely for any signs of a dovish shift&quot;, said Aerin Williams, New York-based forex strategist for Citi about the Dec. 12-13 Fed meeting.&nbsp;Elsewhere, oil prices slipped after the latest rise in the U.S rig count pointed to an increase in production there.

US&nbsp;crude was down 24 cents at $57.12 a barrel and Brent crude inched 27 cents lower to $63.14, drifting away from a recent 2-1/2 year peak of $64.65.&nbsp;Spot gold was barely changed at $1,248.06 an ounce.

Bitcoin on Monday rocketed by one-fifth of their value at a launch. It opened at the price of $15,460 before leaping to $18,700 - a gain of 21 per cent

The craze for cryptocurrencies entered a new chapter on Monday as bitcoin futures rocketed by one-fifth of their value at a closely-watched launch, while Asian shares climbed amid optimism about global growth. The most-traded contract on the Chicago-based CBOE Global Markets exchange opened at $15,460 in New York on Sunday evening, before leaping to a high of $18,700 - a gain of 21 per cent. They were last quoted at $17,550 a premium of more than $1,600 to the price on Gemini Exchange. The futures are cash-settled contracts based on the auction price of bitcoin in US dollars on the Gemini Exchange, which is owned and operated by virtual currency entrepreneurs Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. The cryptocurrency has boasted a gravity-defying 15-fold gain since the start of the year, attracting institutional interest and no small amount of question marks. The acting governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Sunday said bitcoin appeared to be a "classic case" of a bubble. "With a bubble, you never know how far it is going to go before it comes around", Grant Spencer told TVNZ. Some market participants believe the fallout across other financial assets from a potential bursting of the bubble will be limited. "Bitcoin's market capitalisation is currently around $240 billion, which is much smaller, say, than the value of gold outstanding", said Andrew Kenningham, an economist at Capital Economics. "If the price of bitcoin fell to zero today, the paper losses would be equivalent to a 0.6 per cent fall in US equity prices. As most investors have bought bitcoin at much lower prices, the relevant losses would arguably be smaller". Asian shares were buoyant following strong US payrolls data and better-than-expected Chinese trade data on Friday. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.4 per cent, staying well above a recent two-month trough of 542.27 points. Japan's Nikkei added 0.4 percent while Chinese shares rallied, with the blue-chip CSI 300 index up 0.9 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.5 percent. Rate Rises? Currency market investors were cautious ahead of a big week for policy meetings globally, with the Federal Reserve the only major central bank expected to raise interest rates. The Bank of England and the European Central Bank are likely to hold rates steady. The dollar rose to a near one-month top against the yen, after climbing 1.2 percent last week. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was steady near a three-week high. Traders will keep their eyes peeled for the Fed's future rate projections as US wages growth and inflation crawl at a snail's pace. Data out on Friday showed average hourly earnings in the United States nudged up 5 cents or 0.2 percent in November when economists had looked for a 0.3 per cent gain. The weakness persisted despite stronger-than-expected non-farm payrolls, which rose by 228,000 in November. "We'll be listening closely for any signs of a dovish shift", said Aerin Williams, New York-based forex strategist for Citi about the Dec. 12-13 Fed meeting. Elsewhere, oil prices slipped after the latest rise in the U.S rig count pointed to an increase in production there. US crude was down 24 cents at $57.12 a barrel and Brent crude inched 27 cents lower to $63.14, drifting away from a recent 2-1/2 year peak of $64.65. Spot gold was barely changed at $1,248.06 an ounce.

Bitcoin futures surge past $18,000 in US

China&#39;s exports and imports unexpectedly accelerated last month in an encouraging sign for the world&#39;s second-biggest economy, though analysts expect growth to continue cooling amid a government crackdown on financial risks and polluting factories.&nbsp;

As global demand has surprised with its strength, consumers have lapped up Chinese goods at a rapid rate this year, giving the economy a boost and providing policymakers, room to tighten rules to curb high-risk lending.&nbsp;Exports in November rose 12.3 percent year-on-year, the fastest pace in eight months, led by strong sales of electronics and high-tech goods, while commodity purchases helped lift imports. The number beat analysts&#39; forecast of a 5.0 percent increase and compared with 6.9 percent growth in October.&nbsp;

Imports grew 17.7 percent year-on-year in November, the General Administration of Customs said on Friday, also well above expectations of 11.3 percent growth and rising at the fastest pace since September.&nbsp;The numbers may help to ease concerns of slowing momentum in Asia&#39;s economic powerhouse, which had surprised markets with robust growth of nearly 6.9 percent in the first nine months of this year, thanks to a government-led infrastructure spending spree and unexpected strength in exports.

&quot;While we still expect China&#39;s domestic economy to cool in 2018 on gradually tighter fiscal policies, the November import data shows that there are upside risks to our China outlook&quot;, said Louis Kuijs, head of Asia Economics at Oxford Economics in Hong Kong.&nbsp;Tighter rules to rein in risks from a rapid build-up in debt and cut pollution have weighed on overall activity since the third quarter.

Besides ramped-up efforts to reduce winter pollution, authorities unveiled fresh regulatory measures last month for the financial sector, clamping down on high-risk lending and halting some dubious infrastructure projects that would swell local governments&#39; debt.

Imports Bounce To Tail Off?

Some of China&#39;s northern provinces have ordered factories to throttle back or halt output to reduce notoriously thick winter smog.&nbsp;While the war on pollution had been expected to reduce raw materials imports, Friday&#39;s trade numbers showed commodity imports rebounded last month.&nbsp;

China&#39;s natural gas imports in November rose to a record as domestic demand surged while crude imports were the second-highest ever, as refiners ramped up output to cash in on strong profits as fuel prices soar.&nbsp;China&#39;s iron ore imports rose in November even as steel mills are cutting output as part of a government drive against pollution as some analysts said traders were stockpiling inventory.&nbsp;

Iron ore imports &quot;were not necessarily just by steel mills but could have been also purchased by traders&quot;, said Helen Lau at Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong. He added, &quot;They&#39;re trying to accumulate stocks and will do so maybe through March in anticipation of Chinese mills resuming production when China lifts the winter restrictions&quot;.&nbsp;

Steel exports rose from the previous month to 5.35 million tonnes in November, data showed.&nbsp;The rebound in imports comes as China&#39;s yuan has fallen 2.8 percent against the dollar since hitting its 2017 peak on September 8.&nbsp;The latest data showed the country posted a trade surplus of $40.21 billion for the month versus expectations of $35 billion in November after October&#39;s $38.185 billion. Despite the overall strength of the November data, imports could come under pressure as China&#39;s economy cools, analysts say.&nbsp;

&quot;Chinese trade looks to have been surprisingly strong last month. We expect exports to continue to perform well in the coming months on the back of strong global demand&quot;, Capital Economics China economist Julian Evans-Pritchard wrote in a note.&nbsp;&quot;However, we are skeptical that the strength of imports can be sustained given that the delayed impact of policy tightening and a cooling property market are set to weigh on Chinese demand for commodities in coming quarters&quot;.

China's natural gas imports and iron imports rose in November, while steel mills are trying to cut output in a drive against pollution. The growth is still phenomenal for world's second-biggest economy

China's exports and imports unexpectedly accelerated last month in an encouraging sign for the world's second-biggest economy, though analysts expect growth to continue cooling amid a government crackdown on financial risks and polluting factories. As global demand has surprised with its strength, consumers have lapped up Chinese goods at a rapid rate this year, giving the economy a boost and providing policymakers, room to tighten rules to curb high-risk lending. Exports in November rose 12.3 percent year-on-year, the fastest pace in eight months, led by strong sales of electronics and high-tech goods, while commodity purchases helped lift imports. The number beat analysts' forecast of a 5.0 percent increase and compared with 6.9 percent growth in October. Imports grew 17.7 percent year-on-year in November, the General Administration of Customs said on Friday, also well above expectations of 11.3 percent growth and rising at the fastest pace since September. The numbers may help to ease concerns of slowing momentum in Asia's economic powerhouse, which had surprised markets with robust growth of nearly 6.9 percent in the first nine months of this year, thanks to a government-led infrastructure spending spree and unexpected strength in exports. "While we still expect China's domestic economy to cool in 2018 on gradually tighter fiscal policies, the November import data shows that there are upside risks to our China outlook", said Louis Kuijs, head of Asia Economics at Oxford Economics in Hong Kong. Tighter rules to rein in risks from a rapid build-up in debt and cut pollution have weighed on overall activity since the third quarter. Besides ramped-up efforts to reduce winter pollution, authorities unveiled fresh regulatory measures last month for the financial sector, clamping down on high-risk lending and halting some dubious infrastructure projects that would swell local governments' debt. Imports Bounce To Tail Off? Some of China's northern provinces have ordered factories to throttle back or halt output to reduce notoriously thick winter smog. While the war on pollution had been expected to reduce raw materials imports, Friday's trade numbers showed commodity imports rebounded last month. China's natural gas imports in November rose to a record as domestic demand surged while crude imports were the second-highest ever, as refiners ramped up output to cash in on strong profits as fuel prices soar. China's iron ore imports rose in November even as steel mills are cutting output as part of a government drive against pollution as some analysts said traders were stockpiling inventory. Iron ore imports "were not necessarily just by steel mills but could have been also purchased by traders", said Helen Lau at Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong. He added, "They're trying to accumulate stocks and will do so maybe through March in anticipation of Chinese mills resuming production when China lifts the winter restrictions". Steel exports rose from the previous month to 5.35 million tonnes in November, data showed. The rebound in imports comes as China's yuan has fallen 2.8 percent against the dollar since hitting its 2017 peak on September 8. The latest data showed the country posted a trade surplus of $40.21 billion for the month versus expectations of $35 billion in November after October's $38.185 billion. Despite the overall strength of the November data, imports could come under pressure as China's economy cools, analysts say. "Chinese trade looks to have been surprisingly strong last month. We expect exports to continue to perform well in the coming months on the back of strong global demand", Capital Economics China economist Julian Evans-Pritchard wrote in a note. "However, we are skeptical that the strength of imports can be sustained given that the delayed impact of policy tightening and a cooling property market are set to weigh on Chinese demand for commodities in coming quarters".

China exports growth hits eight-month high, imports defy pollution curbs

Japan&rsquo;s economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter due to strong exports, posting the longest period of uninterrupted growth in more than a decade.

The economy expanded at a 1.4 per cent annualized rate in July-September, slightly above the median estimate for annualized growth of 1.3 per cent, Cabinet Office data showed on Wednesday.

That followed the revised annualized growth of 2.6 per cent in April-June.

Consumer spending fell for the first time in seven quarters but this is expected to be temporary because the economy is near full employment, which should bolster domestic consumption in the future. Rising capital expenditure and exports are also expected to keep the economy growing, which should ease some concerns about sluggish inflation.

&ldquo;Japan&rsquo;s potential growth rate is around 1 per cent, so the results for the third quarter show the actual rate of growth is quite high,&rdquo; said Hidenobu Tokuda, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute.

&ldquo;The jobs market is doing so well that consumer spending is sure to pick up in the future. Capital expenditure still looks healthy. The economy is doing well.&rdquo;

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.3 per cent compared to the previous quarter, which matched the median estimate and followed a 0.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter expansion in April-June, Cabinet Office data showed on Wednesday.

The results show that Japan&rsquo;s economy has grown for the seventh straight quarter, the longest period of expansion since an eight-quarter run from April-June 1999 to January-March 2001.

External demand - or exports minus imports - was the biggest reason for expansion, adding 0.5 percent to growth.Shipments of cars and electronic parts to the United States and Asia were strong in the third quarter, reflecting improving global demand, a Cabinet Office official told reporters.

In comparison, negative external demand subtracted a revised 0.2 percentage point from GDP growth in April-June.

Private consumption, which accounts for about two-thirds of GDP, fell 0.5 per cent from the previous quarter, more than the median estimate of a 0.3 per cent contraction to mark the first decline since October-December 2015.

The decline was driven by lower spending at restaurants and hotels, as well as reduced spending on cars and mobile phones, the official said. Bad weather during the quarter may have hurt spending, the official said.

&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no change to our view the economy is recovering moderately as a trend,&rdquo; Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters.

&ldquo;We need to make the recovery a durable one, so we&rsquo;ll proceed with reforms to boost Japan&rsquo;s productivity.&rdquo;

Capital expenditure rose 0.2 per cent in July-September from the previous quarter, less than the median estimate for a 0.3 per cent increase but still up for the fourth straight quarter.

Capital Economics&rsquo; Senior Japan Economist Marcel Thielant said available data suggested that economic activity continued to expand in the current quarter, noting household incomes maintained solid growth and external demand was holding up.

&ldquo;However, the economy is running into capacity constraints which suggests that growth will start to slow next year. We reiterate our forecast that growth will moderate from 1.5 percent this year to 1 percent in 2019,&rdquo; he said.

Japan&rsquo;s government is due to announce a package of economic measures by year-end aimed at increasing investment in skills training and raising productivity.

This long run of growth should encourage the Bank of Japan to stick with the current monetary easing framework, given its argument that inflationary pressure will percolate through the economy as long as growth is on track.

The economy expanded at a 1.4 percent annualized rate in July-September, slightly above the median estimate for annualized growth of 1.3 percent, Cabinet Office data showed on Wednesday

Japan’s economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter due to strong exports, posting the longest period of uninterrupted growth in more than a decade. The economy expanded at a 1.4 per cent annualized rate in July-September, slightly above the median estimate for annualized growth of 1.3 per cent, Cabinet Office data showed on Wednesday. That followed the revised annualized growth of 2.6 per cent in April-June. Consumer spending fell for the first time in seven quarters but this is expected to be temporary because the economy is near full employment, which should bolster domestic consumption in the future. Rising capital expenditure and exports are also expected to keep the economy growing, which should ease some concerns about sluggish inflation. “Japan’s potential growth rate is around 1 per cent, so the results for the third quarter show the actual rate of growth is quite high,” said Hidenobu Tokuda, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute. “The jobs market is doing so well that consumer spending is sure to pick up in the future. Capital expenditure still looks healthy. The economy is doing well.” Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.3 per cent compared to the previous quarter, which matched the median estimate and followed a 0.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter expansion in April-June, Cabinet Office data showed on Wednesday. The results show that Japan’s economy has grown for the seventh straight quarter, the longest period of expansion since an eight-quarter run from April-June 1999 to January-March 2001. External demand - or exports minus imports - was the biggest reason for expansion, adding 0.5 percent to growth.Shipments of cars and electronic parts to the United States and Asia were strong in the third quarter, reflecting improving global demand, a Cabinet Office official told reporters. In comparison, negative external demand subtracted a revised 0.2 percentage point from GDP growth in April-June. Private consumption, which accounts for about two-thirds of GDP, fell 0.5 per cent from the previous quarter, more than the median estimate of a 0.3 per cent contraction to mark the first decline since October-December 2015. The decline was driven by lower spending at restaurants and hotels, as well as reduced spending on cars and mobile phones, the official said. Bad weather during the quarter may have hurt spending, the official said. “There’s no change to our view the economy is recovering moderately as a trend,” Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters. “We need to make the recovery a durable one, so we’ll proceed with reforms to boost Japan’s productivity.” Capital expenditure rose 0.2 per cent in July-September from the previous quarter, less than the median estimate for a 0.3 per cent increase but still up for the fourth straight quarter. Capital Economics’ Senior Japan Economist Marcel Thielant said available data suggested that economic activity continued to expand in the current quarter, noting household incomes maintained solid growth and external demand was holding up. “However, the economy is running into capacity constraints which suggests that growth will start to slow next year. We reiterate our forecast that growth will moderate from 1.5 percent this year to 1 percent in 2019,” he said. Japan’s government is due to announce a package of economic measures by year-end aimed at increasing investment in skills training and raising productivity. This long run of growth should encourage the Bank of Japan to stick with the current monetary easing framework, given its argument that inflationary pressure will percolate through the economy as long as growth is on track.

Japan's GDP grows for seven straight quarters

We tend to think that nature and cities are polar opposites. Yet this is not true. As my research on Bangalore or Bengaluru &ndash; India&rsquo;s IT hub &ndash; shows, for centuries, the population of this region grew because of nature, not despite it.

In my book Nature in the City: Bengaluru in the Past, Present and Future, I take a deep dive into the ecological history of an Indian city, going way back in the past to the 6th century CE.

Inscriptions on stone and copper plates show that the starting point for a new village was often the creation of a tank, or lake, to collect rainwater &ndash; essential and life-giving in this unfavourable low-rainfall environment. These inscriptions provide fascinating insights into the close relationship that these early residents had with nature. They describe the landscape as consisting of the lakes, the surrounding irrigated and dry land, the &ldquo;wells above&rdquo;, and the &ldquo;trees below&rdquo;. This three-dimensional view of the landscape, consisting of two major resources, water (lake) and food (agriculture), nourished by nature below (in the form of wells) and above (in the form of trees) is a remarkably holistic conception of nature.

Unfortunately, in today&rsquo;s urbanised India, we have lost all trace of this three-dimensional vision.

Declining sources of water

The&nbsp;central areas of Bangalore had 1960 open wells in 1885; today, there are fewer than 50. Bangalore also lost many of its lakes, which were considered to be filthy breeding grounds for malaria, and converted to bus stands, malls, housing, and other built spaces.

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Sree Kanteerava stadium was built in 1997, where Sampangi lake used to be located before. (Others)
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The city&rsquo;s central Sampangi lake, which supplied water to many parts of Bangalore in the 19th century, was transformed into a sports stadium by the 20th century, leaving behind only a tiny pond for ceremonial religious purposes. As long as lakes and wells supplied water, essential for the activities of daily life, they were worshipped as sacred and protected as life-giving.

Rituals celebrating the overflowing of lakes during the monsoon by paying homage to the lake goddess kept the importance of lakes in the forefront of people&rsquo;s imaginations. But once the piped water began to be provided in the 1890s, these water bodies began to decay. By the end of the 19th century, wells and lakes began to be polluted with garbage, sewage, and even corpses during times of epidemics and disease.

Citizens nurturing nature

What transformed this centuries-long, strong relationship between people and nature? When Bangalore shattered its local loop of dependence by importing water from outside, people forgot the importance of their local sources of water.

Yet, as our research has shown, Bangalore still needs water just as badly for its resilience. The city has grown so large that piped water from distant rivers can no longer supply all its needs.

Thus resurgent citizen movements across Bangalore have begun to focus on protecting and restoring lakes in their neighbourhoods, which will also recharge the water below ground. In some low-income settlements, where adequate water supply is a constant challenge, community wells, once ignored, are now being assiduously protected and maintained as well.

The same pattern &ndash; of an early, close relationship with nature, followed by a break, and later a resurgent interest in the connection &ndash; is also playing out when it comes to trees. Early residents did not only focus on water but also &ldquo;greened&rdquo; this dusty, hot landscape of the dry Deccan plateau. Successive rulers from the 16th century onwards and common citizens planted millions of trees over centuries.

Each settlement was greened with a gundathope&nbsp;&ndash; a woodlot commonly planted with fruiting trees, jackfruit, mango and tamarind &ndash; which provided shade, fruits, firewood for cooking, grazing material for cattle, and occasionally timber as well.

When one tree was chopped down, another was planted to ensure continuity. New areas of the city were assiduously greened by administrators, who planted trees, and residents, who watered and cared for them, benefiting from the services they provided. This practice of greening continued during the British colonial period of governance, and later into the 20th century, after Indian independence. Because of the cool climate of Bangalore &ndash; in part due to its location on a plateau, but also because of its lakes and trees, created, planted and nurtured by local residents and rulers over centuries &ndash; the city became a chosen location for the British army, and later as a science and industrial hub in south India.

It is no accident that Bangalore, once called India&rsquo;s lake city and garden city, became the country&rsquo;s IT capital.

Soaring temperatures and rising air pollution

By the late 20th century, this relationship had begun to fray. With rapid growth, roads and other built infrastructure gained importance in the minds of planners. As a consequence, trees were disregarded and felled in their thousands for development projects in Bangalore.

Inevitably, with more private vehicles on the road, and fewer trees, the city became hotter, and the air severely polluted. Citizens soon realised this connection. So did academics. Our research, for instance, demonstrated that trees cool the air by 3 to 5&ordm;C, and reduce the temperature of the road surface by as much as 23&ordm;C, as well as significantly reducing air pollution.

Social media to the rescue

Yet citizen movements did not fade. In the early 21st century, the nonagerian Honnamma Govindayya has become an epitome of struggles to protect Bangalore&rsquo;s environment.

She fought against real estate developers who wanted to convert a local park that her children played in, taking a case all the way to the Supreme Court of India. She won and saved a tiny but very important patch of green from destruction.

Mass citizen protests in recent years have continued and gained significant victories for the city&rsquo;s green cover, including the reversal of a controversial decision to build a steel flyover, which would have destroyed thousands of trees.

Today these movements are strongly supported by social media. In the flyover case, the twitter tag #steelflyoverbeda (&ldquo;beda&rdquo; meaning &ldquo;no&rdquo; in the local language, Kannada) went viral, attracting hundreds of followers.

Social media has provided an easier way for once-isolated groups of people to connect and coordinate, and often to ratchet up public pressure on nature-blind administrators. Who knows how many would have supported Honamma Govindayya if she had a Twitter account then?

Understanding the history of nature reveals a very different picture from the preconceived idea that, at least in countries like India, where the pressures of development and growth are so large, nature and cities cannot coexist.

Today, this perspective on the ecological history of Bangalore can help city-dwellers worldwide understand why nature in the city is not just important for the metropolis&rsquo;s past, but also essential for its resilient future.

<figure>
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" target="blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-cities-were-natures-haven-a-tale-from-bangalore-85411" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" target="blank">original article</a>.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia
</figure>

With the pressures of rapid growth and development cities in India are losing its ecological balance

We tend to think that nature and cities are polar opposites. Yet this is not true. As my research on Bangalore or Bengaluru – India’s IT hub – shows, for centuries, the population of this region grew because of nature, not despite it. In my book Nature in the City: Bengaluru in the Past, Present and Future, I take a deep dive into the ecological history of an Indian city, going way back in the past to the 6th century CE. Inscriptions on stone and copper plates show that the starting point for a new village was often the creation of a tank, or lake, to collect rainwater – essential and life-giving in this unfavourable low-rainfall environment. These inscriptions provide fascinating insights into the close relationship that these early residents had with nature. They describe the landscape as consisting of the lakes, the surrounding irrigated and dry land, the “wells above”, and the “trees below”. This three-dimensional view of the landscape, consisting of two major resources, water (lake) and food (agriculture), nourished by nature below (in the form of wells) and above (in the form of trees) is a remarkably holistic conception of nature. Unfortunately, in today’s urbanised India, we have lost all trace of this three-dimensional vision. Declining sources of water The central areas of Bangalore had 1960 open wells in 1885; today, there are fewer than 50. Bangalore also lost many of its lakes, which were considered to be filthy breeding grounds for malaria, and converted to bus stands, malls, housing, and other built spaces. Sree Kanteerava stadium was built in 1997, where Sampangi lake used to be located before. (Others) × The city’s central Sampangi lake, which supplied water to many parts of Bangalore in the 19th century, was transformed into a sports stadium by the 20th century, leaving behind only a tiny pond for ceremonial religious purposes. As long as lakes and wells supplied water, essential for the activities of daily life, they were worshipped as sacred and protected as life-giving. Rituals celebrating the overflowing of lakes during the monsoon by paying homage to the lake goddess kept the importance of lakes in the forefront of people’s imaginations. But once the piped water began to be provided in the 1890s, these water bodies began to decay. By the end of the 19th century, wells and lakes began to be polluted with garbage, sewage, and even corpses during times of epidemics and disease. Citizens nurturing nature What transformed this centuries-long, strong relationship between people and nature? When Bangalore shattered its local loop of dependence by importing water from outside, people forgot the importance of their local sources of water. Yet, as our research has shown, Bangalore still needs water just as badly for its resilience. The city has grown so large that piped water from distant rivers can no longer supply all its needs. Thus resurgent citizen movements across Bangalore have begun to focus on protecting and restoring lakes in their neighbourhoods, which will also recharge the water below ground. In some low-income settlements, where adequate water supply is a constant challenge, community wells, once ignored, are now being assiduously protected and maintained as well. The same pattern – of an early, close relationship with nature, followed by a break, and later a resurgent interest in the connection – is also playing out when it comes to trees. Early residents did not only focus on water but also “greened” this dusty, hot landscape of the dry Deccan plateau. Successive rulers from the 16th century onwards and common citizens planted millions of trees over centuries. Each settlement was greened with a gundathope – a woodlot commonly planted with fruiting trees, jackfruit, mango and tamarind – which provided shade, fruits, firewood for cooking, grazing material for cattle, and occasionally timber as well. When one tree was chopped down, another was planted to ensure continuity. New areas of the city were assiduously greened by administrators, who planted trees, and residents, who watered and cared for them, benefiting from the services they provided. This practice of greening continued during the British colonial period of governance, and later into the 20th century, after Indian independence. Because of the cool climate of Bangalore – in part due to its location on a plateau, but also because of its lakes and trees, created, planted and nurtured by local residents and rulers over centuries – the city became a chosen location for the British army, and later as a science and industrial hub in south India. It is no accident that Bangalore, once called India’s lake city and garden city, became the country’s IT capital. Soaring temperatures and rising air pollution By the late 20th century, this relationship had begun to fray. With rapid growth, roads and other built infrastructure gained importance in the minds of planners. As a consequence, trees were disregarded and felled in their thousands for development projects in Bangalore. Inevitably, with more private vehicles on the road, and fewer trees, the city became hotter, and the air severely polluted. Citizens soon realised this connection. So did academics. Our research, for instance, demonstrated that trees cool the air by 3 to 5ºC, and reduce the temperature of the road surface by as much as 23ºC, as well as significantly reducing air pollution. Social media to the rescue Yet citizen movements did not fade. In the early 21st century, the nonagerian Honnamma Govindayya has become an epitome of struggles to protect Bangalore’s environment. She fought against real estate developers who wanted to convert a local park that her children played in, taking a case all the way to the Supreme Court of India. She won and saved a tiny but very important patch of green from destruction. Mass citizen protests in recent years have continued and gained significant victories for the city’s green cover, including the reversal of a controversial decision to build a steel flyover, which would have destroyed thousands of trees. Today these movements are strongly supported by social media. In the flyover case, the twitter tag #steelflyoverbeda (“beda” meaning “no” in the local language, Kannada) went viral, attracting hundreds of followers. Social media has provided an easier way for once-isolated groups of people to connect and coordinate, and often to ratchet up public pressure on nature-blind administrators. Who knows how many would have supported Honamma Govindayya if she had a Twitter account then? Understanding the history of nature reveals a very different picture from the preconceived idea that, at least in countries like India, where the pressures of development and growth are so large, nature and cities cannot coexist. Today, this perspective on the ecological history of Bangalore can help city-dwellers worldwide understand why nature in the city is not just important for the metropolis’s past, but also essential for its resilient future. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Photo Credit: Wikimedia

When cities were nature's haven: A tale from Bangalore

First, consider the numbers. Between 2003 and 2009, the high growth years of the economy, when GDP grew by 8 per cent per year on average, the number of good jobs, that is, jobs in the formal sector of the economy, grew at not even one-tenth that number. Look at it another way. Every year millions of new aspirants enter the job market to compete for a few hundred thousand new jobs.&nbsp;

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<h5>Even the lowest paid government jobs regularly attract such large numbers of extremely over-qualified applicants that violence ensues in the wake of examinations.</h5>
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Now let us descend to the ground. We witness enormous agitations for reservations in government jobs rising from traditionally dominant castes, such as Jats, Patels, and Marathas. Around two weeks ago, in West Bengal, 2.5 million young men and women appeared for an exam for 6000 Group-D positions in the state government. Graduates and post-graduates had applied for these positions which require an elementary school certificate and with the pay of Rs. 16,200 per month.&nbsp;

One increasingly popular term captures all this: &ldquo;jobless growth.&rdquo; While this phenomenon has been known at least since the mid-1990s, and is observed across the world, it is becoming a hot political issue. And not a day too soon.&nbsp;

What is the economy for, anyway? It is always a good question to ask whenever we risk getting lost in GDP numbers, policy reforms, and stock market movements. These are all means to an end, viz. enabling all of us to enjoy fulfilling, creative, happy lives. In a market economy, adequate regular money income is a precondition for such a life. Yet our economy continues to deny this precondition to the vast majority of its workers. So, while GDP grows at some of the fastest rates seen across the world, the number of people who are able to enjoy a good life increase at a much much slower rate. And even this increase is very uneven across regions, occupations, castes, genders, and religions with some, like displaced farmers and artisans seeing declines in their living standards.&nbsp;

Riding a wave of resentment against the previous regime, the Prime Minister himself made jobs a central issue during his campaign. But three years later, not much has changed and the BJP government is being seen as a failure on the job creation front. After several weeks of bad press on this issue, a few days ago, BJP President Amit Shah issued a statement that it was not possible to provide formal sector jobs to everyone in a country of 125 crore people. This is a telling as well as an astonishing statement. Telling because it admits to a truth that few would admit to. That under the present set of policies (whether BJP or UPA) universal employment is impossible. Astonishing because for decades the transition to a completely formal economy has been the very definition of development. That we, and many other countries, have failed at acheiving this is surely an indictment of our policies. But are we then giving up on development? Or are we redefining it? And if so how? There is no answer.

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&nbsp;

The intense hunger for even the lowest paid government jobs comes as no surprise once we take a look at the Ministry of Labour numbers on earnings in the Indian labour market. According to the most recent Employment-Unemployment Survey of the Labour Bureau (2014-2015), regular salaried workers account for only 20 per cent of all workers in India. Earnings from either self-employment or casual wage work (both of which together account for the remaining 80 per cent of the workforce) fall far short of a secure, decent, livelihood.&nbsp;

Nationally, 67 per cent of households reports monthly earnings of Rs. 10,000 or less. 98 per cent are under Rs. 50,000 per month. Earning over Rs 1 lakh per month puts a household in the top 0.2 per cent of income earners in the country. &nbsp;More than half of the regular wage/salaried workers i.e. 57 per cent have monthly average earnings of up to Rs 10,000, well under the government minimum salary under the 7th pay commission. 59 per cent of the casual workers has monthly earnings of up to Rs 5000.

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<h5>Successive governments at the Centre and in the states have embraced liberalisation and privatisation policies that have failed to generate jobs.</h5>
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Of course, the current government in Delhi must take its share of the blame for the jobs crisis. But there is plenty of blame to go around. Successive governments at the Centre and in the states have embraced liberalisation and privatisation policies that have failed to generate jobs.&nbsp;

But the problem goes beyond India too. In the 1950s-80s, in Japan, Korea and the other &ldquo;East Asian Miracle countries&rdquo;, rapid GDP growth generated a vast number of jobs. This shifted a predominantly agricultural workforce to manufacturing and services. Not only that, jobs were created in the formal sector.&nbsp;

In contrast, in India and China, particularly since the 1990s, despite high levels of growth, formal employment generation has been slow. This is a general phenomenon across Asia. Manufacturing, in particular, is a big concern. In the 2005-2011 period, according to National Sample Survey data, manufacturing employment in India increased by 6 million while that in construction increased by 25 million. Construction accounted for half of all new non-agricultural jobs added in this period. The &ldquo;Make in India&rdquo; campaign aims to generate 100 million jobs by 2022 in the manufacturing sector. While the goal is laudable, given trends reported above, this seems unlikely to materialise. And Amit Shah&rsquo;s statement, referred to earlier, seems to indicate that backpedaling on this issue has started already.

Under the present set of policies (whether BJP or UPA) universal employment is impossible

First, consider the numbers. Between 2003 and 2009, the high growth years of the economy, when GDP grew by 8 per cent per year on average, the number of good jobs, that is, jobs in the formal sector of the economy, grew at not even one-tenth that number. Look at it another way. Every year millions of new aspirants enter the job market to compete for a few hundred thousand new jobs. Even the lowest paid government jobs regularly attract such large numbers of extremely over-qualified applicants that violence ensues in the wake of examinations. × Now let us descend to the ground. We witness enormous agitations for reservations in government jobs rising from traditionally dominant castes, such as Jats, Patels, and Marathas. Around two weeks ago, in West Bengal, 2.5 million young men and women appeared for an exam for 6000 Group-D positions in the state government. Graduates and post-graduates had applied for these positions which require an elementary school certificate and with the pay of Rs. 16,200 per month. One increasingly popular term captures all this: “jobless growth.” While this phenomenon has been known at least since the mid-1990s, and is observed across the world, it is becoming a hot political issue. And not a day too soon. What is the economy for, anyway? It is always a good question to ask whenever we risk getting lost in GDP numbers, policy reforms, and stock market movements. These are all means to an end, viz. enabling all of us to enjoy fulfilling, creative, happy lives. In a market economy, adequate regular money income is a precondition for such a life. Yet our economy continues to deny this precondition to the vast majority of its workers. So, while GDP grows at some of the fastest rates seen across the world, the number of people who are able to enjoy a good life increase at a much much slower rate. And even this increase is very uneven across regions, occupations, castes, genders, and religions with some, like displaced farmers and artisans seeing declines in their living standards. Riding a wave of resentment against the previous regime, the Prime Minister himself made jobs a central issue during his campaign. But three years later, not much has changed and the BJP government is being seen as a failure on the job creation front. After several weeks of bad press on this issue, a few days ago, BJP President Amit Shah issued a statement that it was not possible to provide formal sector jobs to everyone in a country of 125 crore people. This is a telling as well as an astonishing statement. Telling because it admits to a truth that few would admit to. That under the present set of policies (whether BJP or UPA) universal employment is impossible. Astonishing because for decades the transition to a completely formal economy has been the very definition of development. That we, and many other countries, have failed at acheiving this is surely an indictment of our policies. But are we then giving up on development? Or are we redefining it? And if so how? There is no answer. Regular salaried workers account for only 20 per cent of all workers in India. × The intense hunger for even the lowest paid government jobs comes as no surprise once we take a look at the Ministry of Labour numbers on earnings in the Indian labour market. According to the most recent Employment-Unemployment Survey of the Labour Bureau (2014-2015), regular salaried workers account for only 20 per cent of all workers in India. Earnings from either self-employment or casual wage work (both of which together account for the remaining 80 per cent of the workforce) fall far short of a secure, decent, livelihood. Nationally, 67 per cent of households reports monthly earnings of Rs. 10,000 or less. 98 per cent are under Rs. 50,000 per month. Earning over Rs 1 lakh per month puts a household in the top 0.2 per cent of income earners in the country. More than half of the regular wage/salaried workers i.e. 57 per cent have monthly average earnings of up to Rs 10,000, well under the government minimum salary under the 7th pay commission. 59 per cent of the casual workers has monthly earnings of up to Rs 5000. Successive governments at the Centre and in the states have embraced liberalisation and privatisation policies that have failed to generate jobs. × Of course, the current government in Delhi must take its share of the blame for the jobs crisis. But there is plenty of blame to go around. Successive governments at the Centre and in the states have embraced liberalisation and privatisation policies that have failed to generate jobs. But the problem goes beyond India too. In the 1950s-80s, in Japan, Korea and the other “East Asian Miracle countries”, rapid GDP growth generated a vast number of jobs. This shifted a predominantly agricultural workforce to manufacturing and services. Not only that, jobs were created in the formal sector. In contrast, in India and China, particularly since the 1990s, despite high levels of growth, formal employment generation has been slow. This is a general phenomenon across Asia. Manufacturing, in particular, is a big concern. In the 2005-2011 period, according to National Sample Survey data, manufacturing employment in India increased by 6 million while that in construction increased by 25 million. Construction accounted for half of all new non-agricultural jobs added in this period. The “Make in India” campaign aims to generate 100 million jobs by 2022 in the manufacturing sector. While the goal is laudable, given trends reported above, this seems unlikely to materialise. And Amit Shah’s statement, referred to earlier, seems to indicate that backpedaling on this issue has started already.

Jobless growth plagues India

Facebook Inc stock has the potential to climb by more than 20 per cent over the next year given the growing advertising revenue among its platforms, according to a Barron&#39;s report on Sunday.

The social media giant, which traded at just under $124 a share on Friday, has seen a recent acceleration in growth in part because of its increasing mobile ad load, or, the number of ads Facebook can serve up to its users, the report said.

Facebook also has other avenues of ad load growth, including Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, which have yet to fill up on ads, it said.

Wall Street expects daily average users, which are 1.1 billion now, to reach 1.7 billion in four years. By then, Facebook will have learned more about how to turn its ads into transactions, leading to growth in the advertising rate it charges, Barron&#39;s said.

One concern, however, is Facebook&#39;s appeal to the young, as those under 25 years are spending a lower amount of total mobile time on Facebook compared to other age groups.

Still, Barron&#39;s said that the company could hit $153 a share in a year, which would be a premium price, but not an outlandish one given that investors are paying dearly for rare things like growth, yield and predictability, the report said.

A US financial magazine believes that increasing ad revenues will help the social media network to grow in the next twelve months

Facebook Inc stock has the potential to climb by more than 20 per cent over the next year given the growing advertising revenue among its platforms, according to a Barron's report on Sunday. The social media giant, which traded at just under $124 a share on Friday, has seen a recent acceleration in growth in part because of its increasing mobile ad load, or, the number of ads Facebook can serve up to its users, the report said. Facebook also has other avenues of ad load growth, including Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, which have yet to fill up on ads, it said. Wall Street expects daily average users, which are 1.1 billion now, to reach 1.7 billion in four years. By then, Facebook will have learned more about how to turn its ads into transactions, leading to growth in the advertising rate it charges, Barron's said. One concern, however, is Facebook's appeal to the young, as those under 25 years are spending a lower amount of total mobile time on Facebook compared to other age groups. Still, Barron's said that the company could hit $153 a share in a year, which would be a premium price, but not an outlandish one given that investors are paying dearly for rare things like growth, yield and predictability, the report said.

Facebook can surge by 20 per cent on ad growth: Report

Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union raises &quot;longer-term concerns&quot; about global growth at a time of already weak economic output, US President Barack Obama said today. 
 
&quot;I think there are some genuine, longer-term concerns about global growth if, in fact, Brexit goes through and that freezes the possibilities of investment in Great Britain or in Europe as a whole,&quot; Obama said, speaking at a North American leaders summit.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;At a time when global growth rates were weak already, this doesn&#39;t help,&quot; he said. 
 
However, the US President, after meeting his Canadian and Mexican counterparts, expressed confidence in the global financial system&#39;s resilience as markets rebounded on Wednesday from post-Brexit losses following a bruising two-day rout. 
 
&quot;Given the vote of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, our economic teams are going to continue to work together so that we remain focused on keeping our economies growing and making sure that the global financial system is stable,&quot; Obama said. 
 
Both Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had made clear their desire to see Britain remain in the 28-member bloc and the fallout from the Brexit was high on their agenda in Ottawa. 
 
(AFP)

Obama pledged to work with other nations to keep the economic system growing and stable

Britain's vote to leave the European Union raises "longer-term concerns" about global growth at a time of already weak economic output, US President Barack Obama said today. "I think there are some genuine, longer-term concerns about global growth if, in fact, Brexit goes through and that freezes the possibilities of investment in Great Britain or in Europe as a whole," Obama said, speaking at a North American leaders summit. "At a time when global growth rates were weak already, this doesn't help," he said. However, the US President, after meeting his Canadian and Mexican counterparts, expressed confidence in the global financial system's resilience as markets rebounded on Wednesday from post-Brexit losses following a bruising two-day rout. "Given the vote of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, our economic teams are going to continue to work together so that we remain focused on keeping our economies growing and making sure that the global financial system is stable," Obama said. Both Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had made clear their desire to see Britain remain in the 28-member bloc and the fallout from the Brexit was high on their agenda in Ottawa. (AFP)

Brexit raises 'genuine concerns' for long-term global growth: Obama

Spain, which goes to the polls&nbsp;on Sunday&nbsp;in a repeat general election, is the eurozone&#39;s fourth largest economy and one of the fastest-growing nations in Western Europe, although it suffers from high unemployment and debt. 
 
GROWTH 
 
Spain&#39;s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 3.2 per cent in 2015 and growth has remained steady this year despite a political stalemate that has left the country without a government since inconclusive December elections. 
 
GDP expanded by 0.8 per cent between January and March from the previous three months, higher than the average in the eurozone. 
 
Acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy&#39;s conservative government predicts the economy will expand by 2.7 per cent this year, then slow to 2.4 percent in 2017. 
 
Spain in 2014 posted its first full-year of growth since a 2008 property crash sent the economy into a tailspin. 
 
Consumer spending is up as is investment by firms while export growth, which help lift Spain out of recession, has lost some of its steam. 
 
FAVOURABLE TAILWINDS 
 
Spain has benefited from favourable tailwinds that have propelled growth such as low interest rates set by the European Central Bank, a favourable euro exchange rate that helps exports, and falling oil prices that have reduced production costs. 
 
Spain is highly dependent on energy imports and the price of a barrel of oil has dropped to around 50 euros from the record highs of over 140 euros a barrel reached in 2008. 
 
But the Bank of Spain warned earlier this month that these beneficial conditions will progressively fade, leading to a slower pace of economic expansion. 
 
LABOUR MARKET REFORM 
 
The outgoing conservative government reduced the amount of compensation which companies must pay workers that they fire and created a new open-ended contract with a one-year trial period. 
 
The government and its backers argue these reforms helped lower Spain&#39;s unemployment rate from a record 26.94 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 to 21 per cent in the first quarter of 2016. 
 
They say the flexibility it introduced especially helped the auto sector. Spain is the second-largest automobile producer in Europe after Germany. 
 
Critics charge that part of the fall in unemployment is due to the drop in the size of Spain&#39;s total workforce as emigration has risen due to the lack of jobs. 
 
The bulk of the jobs that have been created are short-term and low-wage, they add. 
 
The average duration of a new contract in 2015 was just 53.4 days. Spain&#39;s monthly minimum wage, which is paid 14 times a year as in other southern European nations, is 655 euros ($740). 
 
The average annual income in Spain is 10,400 euros per person, according to national statistics institute INE. 
 
DEBT 
 
Spain&#39;s public deficit came in at 5.1 per cent of GDP in 2015, compared with 2.2 per cent in 2007, the year before the country&#39;s property bubble burst. 
 
Spain is facing possible sanctions from the European Commission for repeatedly violating its deficit targets. 
 
The European Union has set a public deficit limit of 3.0 per cent of GDP. The outgoing government predicts it will take Spain until 2018 to bring the deficit below this limit. 
 
EDUCATION 
 
The other Achilles heel of the Spanish economy is education and professional development. 
 
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), over 27 per cent of Spaniards aged 15-29 are not employed or in school, compared with an average of 15 per cent in the 34 nations that make up the body. 
 
Spain also struggles to retrain unemployed workers, especially low-skilled ones from the construction sector which was hit hard by the collapse of a property bubble in 2008. 
 
(AFP)

Critics say that the bulk of jobs created in Spain in the recent past are short-termed and offer low wages

Spain, which goes to the polls on Sunday in a repeat general election, is the eurozone's fourth largest economy and one of the fastest-growing nations in Western Europe, although it suffers from high unemployment and debt. GROWTH Spain's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 3.2 per cent in 2015 and growth has remained steady this year despite a political stalemate that has left the country without a government since inconclusive December elections. GDP expanded by 0.8 per cent between January and March from the previous three months, higher than the average in the eurozone. Acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government predicts the economy will expand by 2.7 per cent this year, then slow to 2.4 percent in 2017. Spain in 2014 posted its first full-year of growth since a 2008 property crash sent the economy into a tailspin. Consumer spending is up as is investment by firms while export growth, which help lift Spain out of recession, has lost some of its steam. FAVOURABLE TAILWINDS Spain has benefited from favourable tailwinds that have propelled growth such as low interest rates set by the European Central Bank, a favourable euro exchange rate that helps exports, and falling oil prices that have reduced production costs. Spain is highly dependent on energy imports and the price of a barrel of oil has dropped to around 50 euros from the record highs of over 140 euros a barrel reached in 2008. But the Bank of Spain warned earlier this month that these beneficial conditions will progressively fade, leading to a slower pace of economic expansion. LABOUR MARKET REFORM The outgoing conservative government reduced the amount of compensation which companies must pay workers that they fire and created a new open-ended contract with a one-year trial period. The government and its backers argue these reforms helped lower Spain's unemployment rate from a record 26.94 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 to 21 per cent in the first quarter of 2016. They say the flexibility it introduced especially helped the auto sector. Spain is the second-largest automobile producer in Europe after Germany. Critics charge that part of the fall in unemployment is due to the drop in the size of Spain's total workforce as emigration has risen due to the lack of jobs. The bulk of the jobs that have been created are short-term and low-wage, they add. The average duration of a new contract in 2015 was just 53.4 days. Spain's monthly minimum wage, which is paid 14 times a year as in other southern European nations, is 655 euros ($740). The average annual income in Spain is 10,400 euros per person, according to national statistics institute INE. DEBT Spain's public deficit came in at 5.1 per cent of GDP in 2015, compared with 2.2 per cent in 2007, the year before the country's property bubble burst. Spain is facing possible sanctions from the European Commission for repeatedly violating its deficit targets. The European Union has set a public deficit limit of 3.0 per cent of GDP. The outgoing government predicts it will take Spain until 2018 to bring the deficit below this limit. EDUCATION The other Achilles heel of the Spanish economy is education and professional development. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), over 27 per cent of Spaniards aged 15-29 are not employed or in school, compared with an average of 15 per cent in the 34 nations that make up the body. Spain also struggles to retrain unemployed workers, especially low-skilled ones from the construction sector which was hit hard by the collapse of a property bubble in 2008. (AFP)

Spain struggles to reduce unemployment, debt despite growth

<div>Ralph Lauren is cutting about 1,000 jobs and closing 50 stores as part of a sweeping plan to lower costs and revive sales growth at the luxury&nbsp;fashion&nbsp;brand.</div>

<div>Shares of Ralph Lauren, which also forecast declines in full-year and first-quarter revenue, fell as much as 10.4 per cent to $86.32 in early trading on Tuesday. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s been a long time coming. Ralph Lauren is a behemoth, it&#39;s a very successful brand. It&#39;s an iconic brand. However, it need changes to adjust to the times,&quot; said&nbsp;Mary Epner, a retail analyst.</div>

<div>The jobs being eliminated represent about 8 per cent of the company&#39;s full-time jobs, spokesman Ryan Lally told Reuters. 
 
Ralph Lauren, like some other luxury brands, has been struggling amid sluggish spending on luxury apparel and accessories. The company&#39;s margins have taken a knock as department stores discount heavily to get rid of excess inventory. Moreover, the company&#39;s lower-end Polo and Lauren brands are facing competition from retailers such as H&amp;M and Inditex&#39;s Zara, which are known for their shorter production times.</div>

<div>Ralph Lauren said on Tuesday it would try to reduce the time taken to get new products to shelves to nine months from fifteen. The company brought in Stefan Larsson as chief executive late last year in the hope that he would replicate his success of reviving sales at Gap Old Navy, where he cut down production times and focused on offering trendy clothes at low prices.</div>

<div>&quot;I believe that he (Larsson)&nbsp;can be a positive influence. I&#39;ve hear great things about him. He is making fast changes, which is really impressive in a company like Ralph Lauren. And, listen, he knows how to do this. They need changes in their infrastructure. They need changes in their supply chain, and lead times, and delivery times. And he knows how to do this very quickly,&quot; Epner said.</div>

<div>Larsson has also worked with H&amp;M for about 15 years, where he helped grow the company&#39;s sales to $17 billion from $3 billion and introduced partnerships with luxury brands such as Versace and Karl Lagerfeld.</div>

<div>The company will focus on its luxury Ralph Lauren line and the lower-end Polo and Lauren brands, Larsson said in the company&#39;s first investor day call on Tuesday. The company&#39;s sales have fallen in every quarter in fiscal 2016, leading to a full-year sales decline of nearly three per cent. Ralph Lauren said it expects net revenue for the current fiscal year to fall in the low-double digit percentage range, hurt partly by store closures, pullback in inventory receipts and weak traffic.</div>

<div>The company said it expects to record restructuring charges of up to $400 million and an inventory reduction-related charge of up to $150 million, mostly in the current fiscal year. The restructuring measures are expected to result in annualized savings of about $180 to&nbsp;$220 million.</div>

<div>The company had about 493 directly operated retail stores and employed about 26,000 people, roughly 15,000 of who work full time as of April 2. Shares of the retailer had recouped losses and were trading down 4.8 pct at $91.96. Up to Monday&#39;s close of $96.33, the stock had fallen nearly 14 per cent this year.</div>

In an attempt to lower costs, about 8 per cent of the company's full-time jobs are being eliminated

Ralph Lauren is cutting about 1,000 jobs and closing 50 stores as part of a sweeping plan to lower costs and revive sales growth at the luxury fashion brand. Shares of Ralph Lauren, which also forecast declines in full-year and first-quarter revenue, fell as much as 10.4 per cent to $86.32 in early trading on Tuesday. "It's been a long time coming. Ralph Lauren is a behemoth, it's a very successful brand. It's an iconic brand. However, it need changes to adjust to the times," said Mary Epner, a retail analyst. The jobs being eliminated represent about 8 per cent of the company's full-time jobs, spokesman Ryan Lally told Reuters. Ralph Lauren, like some other luxury brands, has been struggling amid sluggish spending on luxury apparel and accessories. The company's margins have taken a knock as department stores discount heavily to get rid of excess inventory. Moreover, the company's lower-end Polo and Lauren brands are facing competition from retailers such as H&M and Inditex's Zara, which are known for their shorter production times. Ralph Lauren said on Tuesday it would try to reduce the time taken to get new products to shelves to nine months from fifteen. The company brought in Stefan Larsson as chief executive late last year in the hope that he would replicate his success of reviving sales at Gap Old Navy, where he cut down production times and focused on offering trendy clothes at low prices. "I believe that he (Larsson) can be a positive influence. I've hear great things about him. He is making fast changes, which is really impressive in a company like Ralph Lauren. And, listen, he knows how to do this. They need changes in their infrastructure. They need changes in their supply chain, and lead times, and delivery times. And he knows how to do this very quickly," Epner said. Larsson has also worked with H&M for about 15 years, where he helped grow the company's sales to $17 billion from $3 billion and introduced partnerships with luxury brands such as Versace and Karl Lagerfeld. The company will focus on its luxury Ralph Lauren line and the lower-end Polo and Lauren brands, Larsson said in the company's first investor day call on Tuesday. The company's sales have fallen in every quarter in fiscal 2016, leading to a full-year sales decline of nearly three per cent. Ralph Lauren said it expects net revenue for the current fiscal year to fall in the low-double digit percentage range, hurt partly by store closures, pullback in inventory receipts and weak traffic. The company said it expects to record restructuring charges of up to $400 million and an inventory reduction-related charge of up to $150 million, mostly in the current fiscal year. The restructuring measures are expected to result in annualized savings of about $180 to $220 million. The company had about 493 directly operated retail stores and employed about 26,000 people, roughly 15,000 of who work full time as of April 2. Shares of the retailer had recouped losses and were trading down 4.8 pct at $91.96. Up to Monday's close of $96.33, the stock had fallen nearly 14 per cent this year.

Ralph Lauren to cut about 1,000 jobs and shut shops

Indian manufacturers increased activity for a fifth consecutive month in May, but the pace of expansion was weak as output growth softened for the second month in a row, a&nbsp;business&nbsp;survey showed on Wednesday.

The Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers&#39; Index, compiled by Markit, rose to 50.7 in May, from 50.5 in April. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

Input prices rose at their fastest rate in 14 months but manufacturers absorbed much of the increase. The output price index, which offers clues on inflationary pressures, remained in expansion above 50 but fell from April.

The output sub-index declined to a five-month low, as foreign demand contracted, albeit marginally. Domestic demand appeared to have picked up.

&quot;Signs of challenging economic conditions in the Indian manufacturing sector were evident in May, with output losing further growth momentum,&quot; said Pollyanna De Lima, an economist at Markit.

&quot;So far, there is little evidence that the latest cut in the benchmark rate acted to significantly improve&nbsp;business&nbsp;conditions for manufacturers. Therefore, further stimulus may be necessary to shift the economy into a higher gear.&quot;

The Reserve Bank of India cut its benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points in its April meeting to 6.50 percent, the lowest in more than five years.

But India&#39;s central bank is seen as unlikely to ease again at its June meeting after April retail inflation rose to a faster than expected pace of 5.39 percent, the first pickup in retail inflation since January.

India&#39;s economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace of 7.9 percent in the January-March quarter from a year earlier, which could further persuade the RBI to hold steady.

Indian manufacturers increased activity for a fifth consecutive month in May, but pace of expansion slowed as output growth softened for second month in a row

Indian manufacturers increased activity for a fifth consecutive month in May, but the pace of expansion was weak as output growth softened for the second month in a row, a business survey showed on Wednesday. The Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by Markit, rose to 50.7 in May, from 50.5 in April. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. Input prices rose at their fastest rate in 14 months but manufacturers absorbed much of the increase. The output price index, which offers clues on inflationary pressures, remained in expansion above 50 but fell from April. The output sub-index declined to a five-month low, as foreign demand contracted, albeit marginally. Domestic demand appeared to have picked up. "Signs of challenging economic conditions in the Indian manufacturing sector were evident in May, with output losing further growth momentum," said Pollyanna De Lima, an economist at Markit. "So far, there is little evidence that the latest cut in the benchmark rate acted to significantly improve business conditions for manufacturers. Therefore, further stimulus may be necessary to shift the economy into a higher gear." The Reserve Bank of India cut its benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points in its April meeting to 6.50 percent, the lowest in more than five years. But India's central bank is seen as unlikely to ease again at its June meeting after April retail inflation rose to a faster than expected pace of 5.39 percent, the first pickup in retail inflation since January. India's economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace of 7.9 percent in the January-March quarter from a year earlier, which could further persuade the RBI to hold steady.

Indian factory growth picks up slightly in May - PMI

The world is at risk of getting caught in a low-growth trap, dimming the hopes of future generations, unless governments step up spending quickly, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said Wednesday. 
 
Moderate recovery since the global economic crisis in 2008 &quot;has precipitated a self-fulfilling low-growth trap&quot;, said Catherine Mann, the chief economist at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Without comprehensive, coherent and collective action, disappointing and sluggish growth will persist, making it increasingly difficult to make good on promises to current and future generations,&quot; she added in an introduction to the OECD`s twice-yearly economic outlook. 
 
The OECD chopped its forecast for global growth this year to 3.0 percent, down from the 3.6 percent it forecast in October. For 2017 it now sees 3.3 percent growth. 
 
The dismal economic recovery has created forces that are now working to perpetuate slow growth, the OECD believes. 
 
In particular, businesses have little incentive to invest given moderate demand, while muted wage gains, unemployment and income inequality have held back consumption. Meanwhile, uncertainty also puts the brakes on spending. After years during which international economic instutions urged governments to practice austerity, Mann said that now &quot;fiscal policy must be deployed more extensively&quot;. 
 
&quot;almost all countries have room to reallocate spending and taxation towards items that offer more support to growth&quot; like investments in infrastucture as well as education, The OECD said. 
 
While central banks have been supporting the global recovery with ultra-low interest rates and stimulus measures, the OECD said &quot;it is clear that reliance on monetary policy alone has failed to deliver satisfactory growth and inflation.&quot; 
 
Moreover today`s low interest rates also provide an opportunity for governments to step up investment. 
 
Mann said the need for governments to shift up spending is urgent. 
 
&quot;The longer the global economy remains in the low-growth trap, the more difficult it will be to break the negative feedback loops, revive market forces, and boost economies to the high-growth path,&quot; she said. 
 
She warned that as things stand negative shocks &quot;could tip the world back into another deep downturn&quot; while geopolitical risks to the global economy are on the rise.The OECD sees the potential exit of Britain from the European Union following a referendum vote later this month as one major risk.&nbsp; 
 
If voters chose to leave, hits to trade, investment and spending would likely see the British economy grow by 3 percentage points less in the next four years than if voters choose to stay, according to the OECD. 
 
Already, uncertainty surrounding a possible Brexit &quot;has led to a significant slowdown in economic activity&quot;, although if voters choose to stay the OECD says it expects growth to pick up in the second half of this year.&nbsp; 
 
If Britain votes to remain in the EU in the referendum, which according to polls is a close call, growth will come in at 1.75 percent this year, the OECD expects. 
 
World markets went into a panic at the beginning of this year over the prospect of a sharp slowdown in China, which has been the source of most of global growth in recent years, but the OECD now sees growth moderating gradually thanks to recent government fiscal policy measures to support the economy. 
 
It forecasts China`s growth rate will slip to 6.5 percent this year, and then 6.2 percent in 2017. 
 
China`s economy grew by 6.9 percent last year. 
 
The strong dollar is expected to slow growth in the United States to 1.8 percent this year, from 2.4 percent last year. 
Meanwhile, the eurozone is seen as marking time at 1.6 percent growth. 
 
Japan should get a marginal boost, with growth of 0.7 percent this year, but then stumble to a mere 0.4 percent expansion in 2017.

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development pushes governments to spend more.

The world is at risk of getting caught in a low-growth trap, dimming the hopes of future generations, unless governments step up spending quickly, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said Wednesday. Moderate recovery since the global economic crisis in 2008 "has precipitated a self-fulfilling low-growth trap", said Catherine Mann, the chief economist at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. "Without comprehensive, coherent and collective action, disappointing and sluggish growth will persist, making it increasingly difficult to make good on promises to current and future generations," she added in an introduction to the OECD`s twice-yearly economic outlook. The OECD chopped its forecast for global growth this year to 3.0 percent, down from the 3.6 percent it forecast in October. For 2017 it now sees 3.3 percent growth. The dismal economic recovery has created forces that are now working to perpetuate slow growth, the OECD believes. In particular, businesses have little incentive to invest given moderate demand, while muted wage gains, unemployment and income inequality have held back consumption. Meanwhile, uncertainty also puts the brakes on spending. After years during which international economic instutions urged governments to practice austerity, Mann said that now "fiscal policy must be deployed more extensively". "almost all countries have room to reallocate spending and taxation towards items that offer more support to growth" like investments in infrastucture as well as education, The OECD said. While central banks have been supporting the global recovery with ultra-low interest rates and stimulus measures, the OECD said "it is clear that reliance on monetary policy alone has failed to deliver satisfactory growth and inflation." Moreover today`s low interest rates also provide an opportunity for governments to step up investment. Mann said the need for governments to shift up spending is urgent. "The longer the global economy remains in the low-growth trap, the more difficult it will be to break the negative feedback loops, revive market forces, and boost economies to the high-growth path," she said. She warned that as things stand negative shocks "could tip the world back into another deep downturn" while geopolitical risks to the global economy are on the rise.The OECD sees the potential exit of Britain from the European Union following a referendum vote later this month as one major risk. If voters chose to leave, hits to trade, investment and spending would likely see the British economy grow by 3 percentage points less in the next four years than if voters choose to stay, according to the OECD. Already, uncertainty surrounding a possible Brexit "has led to a significant slowdown in economic activity", although if voters choose to stay the OECD says it expects growth to pick up in the second half of this year. If Britain votes to remain in the EU in the referendum, which according to polls is a close call, growth will come in at 1.75 percent this year, the OECD expects. World markets went into a panic at the beginning of this year over the prospect of a sharp slowdown in China, which has been the source of most of global growth in recent years, but the OECD now sees growth moderating gradually thanks to recent government fiscal policy measures to support the economy. It forecasts China`s growth rate will slip to 6.5 percent this year, and then 6.2 percent in 2017. China`s economy grew by 6.9 percent last year. The strong dollar is expected to slow growth in the United States to 1.8 percent this year, from 2.4 percent last year. Meanwhile, the eurozone is seen as marking time at 1.6 percent growth. Japan should get a marginal boost, with growth of 0.7 percent this year, but then stumble to a mere 0.4 percent expansion in 2017.

Spend for growth, OECD urges governments

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