Economy

DRIVER: The global economy still faces serious headwinds and political uncertainty potentially balanced by the enormous promise of technological advancements in many fields. Read on to get a solid handle on the opportunities and risks you and your organization may likely face and set your sails accordingly.

[New] The relentless pressure from NGOs to stop oil palm planting, as well as the slowdown in new planting due to low prices earlier and a moratorium in Indonesia, will inevitably keep production growth low in the next few years.
[New] By 2025, with a hydraulic fracturing ban in Colorado there would be $14.9 billion less in state and local tax revenues and $28 billion less in Federal tax receipts.
[New] By 2025 without hydraulic fracturing, there would be $23.4 billion less in Pennsylvania state and local revenues and almost $50.3 billion less in Federal tax receipts.
[New] As the new coronavirus originating in China has spread, and its economic impact has grown, it has become increasingly clear that it will have a significant impact on demand for oil this year.
[New] Fitch expects the Philippines' fiscal profile to improve over the coming year, supported by continued progress on tax reforms, which should lead to higher government revenues.
[New] A World Bank report lists several African economies as growing at a rate of 5% over the past decade and predicts that some African countries can expect even greater economic growth in the upcoming years.
[New] The coronavirus epidemic in China will put further pressure on the economy this year, particularly in the first quarter.
[New] Global sales of argan oil are soaring: Production, which is almost all from Morocco, is expected to reach 19,623 US tons or $1.79bn (£1.4bn) by 2022 up from 4,836 US tons in 2014.
[New] Under current law, US federal deficits will exceed $1 trillion in 2020 and each year over the next decade, and the national debt will soon surpass the size of the economy.
[New] 80% of Australia's CEOs are concerned about economic growth and 78% say that availability of key skills is a top threat to growth - up from 71% last year.
[New] Guyana's oil production could reach an estimated 1.2 mn bl/d by 2030, increasing government income to $120bn over the next decade - a substantial windfall for a country of less than 800,000 and regularly ranked as one of the poorest in the Western hemisphere.
[New] Oil demand will contract for the first time in a decade during the first quarter because of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on China's economy.
[New] Driven by increasing demand for dissolving wood pulp worldwide, the market is expected to continue an upward consumption trend over the next seven years.
[New] Platts Analytics sees JKM LNG prices falling a further 20 percent, to average just below $ 4.50/MMBTU in 2020, as new LNG supply pushes prices toward coal parity in Europe.
[New] EIA expects that some of the effects of lower oil consumption early in 2020 will be offset by reduced production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
[New] Beijing is trying to limit the economic damage from the coronavirus, which is expected to savage economic growth in the January-March quarter and leave 2020 growth well below the 6% - already the lowest figure since 1990 - that economists had expected.
[New] In the coming years, automation will have a substantial economic and social impact on countries around the world - and governments will by no means be passive observers.
[New] New housing projects in emerging economies are expected to provide new opportunities for construction globally, with around 270 million new homes needed in China and India alone by 2025 to meet the needs of growing population growth and urbanization trends.
[New] In Singapore, diesel crack spreads are forecast to average $17.60 a barrel during the second half of the year, compared with $13.40 during the first six months, according to Goldman, provided the global economy does not fall into recession and crimp demand.
[New] Global economic growth is projected to recover to 2.5 percent in 2020, up slightly from the post-crisis low of 2.4 percent registered in 2019, but downside risks persist.
[New] The United Nations (UN) has added its voice to the Zimbabwean economic crisis by pointing that the economy is in severe distress, and will shrink by 2.5% in 2020.

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Last updated: 18 February 2020