Week in Review Archive

The Spanish economy remains resilient despite uncertainties about future national and global economic policies. Spain’s GDP growth forecast for 2024 has been raised to 2.5%, driven by strong external demand, a growing labor force and recovery plan funds.

New Zealand’s government outlined a soft economy with rising unemployment and a weaker balance sheet of modest tax relief but lowered new spending—facing much criticism for neglecting the country’s indigenous population.

Dollar dominance—the outsized role of the US dollar in the world economy—has been brought into focus recently as the robustness of the US economy, tighter monetary policy and heightened geopolitical risk have contributed to a higher greenback valuation. At the same time, economic fragmentation and the potential reorganization of global economic and financial activity into separate, nonoverlapping blocs could encourage some countries to use and hold other international and reserve currencies.

Today, far too many of our workplaces continue to be steaming examples of toxicity. Recent stories of harassment, mismanagement and bullying have become headlines in companies as varied as the Miss Universe Organization and the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. There are a few shining examples of companies with uncompromising work cultures—like Radio Flyer—but there are not enough of them.

The Turkish government has struggled to tame inflation for the past year. Inflation sits at 70% despite an interest rate of 50% from Turkey’s central bank. Why it matters: Turkey may be forced to sacrifice economic growth as it tries to lower inflation.

A long-running domestic political battle over controversial judicial reforms receded into irrelevance on October 7, the date on which Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip launched a coordinated assault on mostly civilian targets inside Israel that resulted in more than 1,100 deaths and the capture of more than 250 hostages. Under the direction of a special war Cabinet that includes Benny Gantz, a former head of the IDF and the leader of the opposition National Unity, which joined an expanded emergency government, Israel initiated a scorched-earth ground invasion inside Gaza in late October.

Dislocations from the pandemic, geoeconomic fragmentation, and Russia’s war in Ukraine have shifted world trade dynamics. While this has created challenges, the redirection of trade has also generated new opportunities, particularly for the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Despite higher interest rates, the Canadian economy is exceeding expectations and has dodged the predicted 2023 recession. Real GDP at basic prices grew 0.6% in January (7.4% annualized), and preliminary estimates pointed to 0.4% growth in February (4.9% annualized). This suggests that growth in the first quarter of 2024 is on track for around 3.5%, according to data from Statistics Canada.