Economy

The Malaysian minister of commodities predicted on Monday, July 25th, that prices for crude palm oil would remain low for the majority of the third quarter of this year. His comments came shortly after a competing producer, Indonesia, eliminated its export levy. “This is inevitable in light of stiffer competition from Indonesia – the world’s largest palm oil producer – …

Due to the rising cost of imported edible oil and the impact that the conflict in Ukraine has had on wheat prices, many bakeries in the Philippines are reducing the size of a popular breakfast bun in order to make ends meet in the face of greater inflation. At Matimyas Bakery, a breadmaker in the suburbs of Manila, the somewhat …

CHINA — According to government data released on Monday (Jul 18), China’s aluminum imports decreased 36.3% in June from the same month a year earlier, as domestic output increased and demand remained weak. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, the country imported 187,362 metric tons of unwrought aluminum and its products, including raw metal and unwrought, alloyed …

SRI LANKA: As he departed the country to avoid a popular uprising against his government, Sri Lanka’s ousted president declared he took “all conceivable means” to avert the island nation’s economic disaster. A vote in Parliament on Friday approved the resignation of Gotabhaye Rajapakse from office (Jul 15). After hundreds of thousands of anti-government protestors descended on Colombo a week …

CHINA: After months of brutal Covid lockdowns, China’s economy had its worst quarterly performance in more than two years. The world’s second-largest economy’s gross domestic product grew by just 0.4% in the three months ending June 30 this year compared to the same period last year, according to NBS data released on Friday. Reuters polled economists had predicted a 1% …

PHILIPPINES: Following an off-the-scheduled 75 basis point rate hike to battle inflation, the Philippine central bank’s governor indicated on Friday that it “may or may not” boost interest rates at its policy meeting in August. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla indicated in a phone message that the bank will be “data reliant.” The central bank, however, will remain …

UKRAINE: As a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki agreed to collaborate on Tuesday to combat rising food and energy costs and currency market volatility. Economic and financial stability could be adversely affected by the increased volatility in the exchange rate, they added. They agreed to collaborate “where appropriate” …

JAPAN: There are many Japanese farmers who begin to worry about Typhoon Season months in advance, haunted by recollections of the tremendous rains and landslides that devastated wasabi farms during one of these storms. “Due to global warming, typhoons are now more powerful than ever before. It’s becoming stronger,” said an elderly farmer in Okutama, a suburb west of Tokyo, …

SRI LANKA: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appears to have finally succumbed to Sri Lanka’s economic problems. Protesters attacked the president’s official residence and set fire to the prime minister’s house in Colombo on Saturday, and parliamentary speaker Mahinda Rajapaksa stated on Saturday that Rajapaksa will stand down on Wednesday (July 13). Opposition protests have long called for the resignation of Rajapaksa, …

MANILA: 22-year-old Chin Ching Peng had to make a choice between her dream career as a copywriter and a new field that would give her more money to support her family. According to her account of her job search in February, “most jobs (as a copywriter) offered salaries of S$2,500 or S$2,800… the only one that paid more than S$3,000 …