Germany falls into recession; global oil demand dropping; China announces new infrastructure plans; UN runs out of food in Gaza; and more
Top of the Agenda: More Economic Woes
On the eve of this weekend's G-20 summit, economic problems continued to percolate. Germany's federal statistics office announced that Europe's largest economy has now officially fallen into recession (Spiegel), and that the country's third-quarter economic performance was worse than previously forecast. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, meanwhile, warned that the entire industrialized world may have also entered a recession (AP).
Stock indices tumbled worldwide on the dour data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major U.S. indices fell nearly 5 percent yesterday. East Asian markets mirrored those losses, with Japan and Australia each posting slides of over 5 percent (WSJ). European markets opened down, with London's FTSE off about 2 percent in early trading.
In another troubling sign, the International Energy Agency cut its forecasts for global oil demand (FT), potentially signaling new drops in the price of oil that could lead to deflationary pressures. A new Daily Analysis explains some of the troubling side-effects of falling oil prices.
Pacific Rim: China Stimulus Efforts
Beijing announced a series of new economic stimulus projects including developing infrastructure and a further rise in export rebates. Xinhua reports the Chinese government approved measure worth about $29 billion.
South Korea: Seoul announced it would inject over $7 billion (Korea Times) worth of the country's currency, the won, into bond markets.
Elsewhere:
Reports of foreign fighters entering Eastern Congo.
Israel blocks UN food supplies from entering Gaza.
This is an excerpt of the CFR.org Daily News Brief. The full version is available on CFR.org.