“Auto sales in China continued to fall in the first month of this year after the first full-year slump in sales last year following more than two decades of growth.
“Wholesale passenger vehicle sales fell by 17.7% YoY to 2.02 million units last month to make seven straight months of monthly declines for the world’s largest auto market. The decline follows a 15.8% fall in sales during the month of December and an overall 4.1% decline for the whole year.”
https://www.chinaknowledge.com/News/DetailNews/85313/Car-sales
“Overseas orders for Japanese machinery posted their biggest tumble in more than a decade in December, as trade frictions dented global supply chain demand
“…manufacturers predicted further declines in orders this quarter.”
“Debt by self-employed individuals has been rising at rapid pace over recent years to underscore alarm about the impact from the weakening in the self-employed sector that makes up around a quarter of the working force in Korea.”
https://pulsenews.co.kr/view.php?year=2019&no=98293
“Singapore’s trade sector began 2019 on a whimper with non-oil domestic exports (NODX) for January sliding a worse-than-expected 10.1 per cent from a year ago as both electronic and non-electronic shipments shrank… The drop in January 2019 was biggest since October 2016’s 12 per cent slump and comes after a 8.5 per cent fall in December last year and 2.8 per cent decline in November.”
“Student-loan delinquencies surged last year, hitting consecutive records of $166.3 billion in the third quarter and $166.4 billion in the fourth.
“Bloomberg calculated the dollar amounts from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s quarterly household-debt report, which includes only the total owed and the percentage delinquent at least 90 days or in default.”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-student-debt-serious-delinquency-140103419.html
“On Friday, the 15th of February, a Federal Reserve report revealed that the US manufacturing data had dwindled deeply in January, mostly effectuated by the biggest fall in auto production since the era of recession, the latest indication that the US economy had been losing momentum.”
“Iceland’s economy is cooling fast after end of decade-long tourism boom. Central bank governor plays down concerns of a housing bubble…”
“British regional airline Flybmi announced on Saturday it had ceased operations and was filing for administration, blaming spikes in fuel and carbon costs and uncertainty over Brexit.
“Parent company British Midland Regional Limited said it had cancelled all flights with immediate effect, and would not be able to buy, rearrange or reschedule any bookings on behalf of customers.”
“The timing of the European Central Bank’s first post-crisis rate hike hinges on whether the eurozone’s current slowdown is a blip or a more protracted downturn, ECB policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said in an interview published on Sunday.
“The ECB has said it aims to keep interest rates at current record lows at least through the summer, but its long-standing rate guidance is increasingly out of sync with market expectations as growth has slowed.”
“The pharmaceutical sector is the latest field where Turkey’s economic crisis is producing alarming consequences.
“The severe depreciation of the Turkish lira last year and the corresponding increase in foreign exchange prices have led companies to curb supply, with 20% of patients said to be returning empty-handed from drugstores.”
“Details obtained by the Sunday Standard indicate that the government has borrowed a Sh100 billion syndicated loan with two regional banks as it seeks to repay the Eurobond it took three years ago…
“Kenya is expected to repay debts amounting to Sh1.4 trillion between January and December 2019, pointing to a looming cash crisis. The total debt stood at 5.3 trillion as at June last year, up from 4.4 trillion the previous year.”
“Zimbabwe’s annual rate of inflation for January 2019 rose to 56.90 percent, up from 42.09 percent in December last year, driven mainly by increases in prices of basic goods. Statistics released by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency on Friday showed monthly inflation for January climbing up to 10.75 percent, up from 9.03 percent of the previous month. The continued rise is against the background of fuel price hikes by more than 100 percent last month.”
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1139066.shtml
“The latest string of data from StatsSA shows that the economy lifted in December, but overall growth remained woefully below initial forecasts for the year. The GDP figures will be released by StatsSA on March 5… SA plunged into recession for the first time since the global financial crisis in the first half of the year, which saw economists and institutions alike revise down their growth forecasts. Annual growth has failed to breach the 2% mark in the last five years.”
https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/economy/2019-02-17-sa-limped-out-of-2018-with-growth-below-1/
“Former Mozambican president Armando Guebuza’s son was arrested at the weekend in connection with a $2 billion (£1.5 billion) government debt scandal, state-owned media and a judicial source said.
“The arrest comes just over a month after three ex-Credit Suisse bankers were charged in the United States with fraud over their role in a 2013 deal in Mozambique that involved borrowing to fund projects including a state tuna fishery.”
“The Haitian government vowed to deepen the investigation into alleged corruption in the PetroCaribe oil programme and to reduce its expenses, seeking to meet some of protestors’ demands as demonstrations roil the country.
“During a televised address on Saturday night, Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant announced nine measures aimed at alleviating the country’s economic crisis…”
“US military planes have been delivering humanitarian aid for Venezuela in the Colombian border town of Cucuta.
“The aid is being stockpiled at the request of the Venezuelan opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, who declared himself interim president last month. President Nicolás Maduro has alleged that the aid is part of a US plot to disguise an invasion into Venezuela.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-47268039
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