
-
Brazil binman finds newborn baby on garbage route
-
US senator smashes record with marathon anti-Trump speech
-
Trump advisor Waltz faces new pressure over Gmail usage
-
Niger junta frees ministers of overthrown government
-
Trump set to unleash 'Liberation Day' tariffs
-
Boeing chief to acknowledge 'serious missteps' at US Senate hearing
-
Real Madrid hold Real Sociedad in eight-goal thriller to reach Copa del Rey final
-
Nuno salutes 'special' Elanga after stunning strike fires Forest
-
PSG survive scare against Dunkerque to reach French Cup final
-
Sundowns edge Esperance as crowd violence mars quarter-final
-
Nottingham Forest beat Man Utd, Saka scores on Arsenal return
-
Elanga wonder-goal sinks Man Utd as Forest eye Champions League berth
-
Stock markets mostly advance ahead of Trump tariffs deadline
-
US movie theaters urge 45-day 'baseline' before films hit streaming
-
Saka scores on return as Arsenal beat Fulham
-
Third-division Bielefeld shock holders Leverkusen in German Cup
-
Ball-blasting 'Torpedo bats' making waves across MLB opening weekend
-
Newsmax shares surge more than 2,000% in days after IPO
-
Thousands of Hungarians protest against Pride ban law
-
GM leads first quarter US auto sales as tariffs loom
-
Tesla sales tumble in Europe in the first quarter
-
No 'eye for an eye' approach to US tariffs: Mexico
-
NFL club owners back dynamic kickoffs, delay tush push vote
-
Trump 'perfecting' new tariffs as nervous world braces
-
Trump nominee says to press UK on Israel arms
-
French court says Le Pen appeal ruling could come before presidential vote
-
The battle to control assets behind Bosnia crisis
-
Prabhsimran powers Punjab to IPL win over Lucknow
-
Mass layoffs targeting 10,000 jobs hit US health agencies
-
Tiger's April Foolishness: plan to play Masters just a joke
-
Myanmar quake toll passes 2,700, nation halts to honour victims
-
Turkish fans, artists urge Muse to cancel Istanbul gig
-
US seeks death penalty for accused killer of insurance CEO
-
UK govt moves to block sentencing guidelines for minority defendants
-
Trump puts world on edge as 'Liberation Day' tariffs loom
-
Swedish journalist jailed in Turkey kept 'isolated': employer
-
Stock markets advance ahead of Trump tariffs deadline
-
Gulf between Everton and Liverpool has never been bigger, says Moyes
-
Finland to withdraw from anti-personnel mine ban treaty
-
UK vows £20 million to boost drone and 'flying taxi' services
-
Ford's US auto sales dip in first quarter as tariffs loom
-
Digging for box office gold, 'A Minecraft Movie' hits cinemas
-
Southampton boss Juric desperate to avoid Premier League 'worst team' tag
-
Thailand rescue dogs double as emotional support
-
Five takeaways from Marine Le Pen verdict
-
Stock markets split ahead of Trump tariffs deadline
-
Turkish fans, artists urge Muse to cancel Istanbul gig over protest dispute
-
Former captain Edwards named new England women's cricket coach
-
Haaland ruled out for up to seven weeks: Man City boss Guardiola
-
UK Supreme Court opens car loans hearing as banks risk huge bill

China set to post sluggish growth as doldrums deepen
China is set on Friday to post some of its weakest growth in decades, as leaders grapple with economic doldrums and nervously eye a potential trade standoff with incoming US President Donald Trump.
Beijing in recent months announced its most aggressive support measures in years, battling headwinds that include a prolonged property market debt crisis and sluggish consumer spending.
But a survey of analysts by AFP estimated economic growth in the world's number two economy reached 4.9 percent last year -- down from the 5.2 percent recorded in 2023.
The increase would be the lowest recorded by China since 1990, excluding the financially tumultuous years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
That growth could fall to just 4.4 percent in 2025 and even drop below four percent the following year, the survey showed.
China has so far failed to achieve a highly anticipated rebound from the pandemic, with domestic spending remaining mired in a slump and indebted local governments dragging on total growth.
In a rare bright spot, official data showed earlier this week that China's exports reached a historic high last year.
But gathering storm clouds over the country's trade outlook in the year ahead mean that Beijing may not be able to count on exports to boost an otherwise lacklustre economy.
Trump has promised to unleash biting sanctions on China during a second term due to begin next week, accusing Beijing of unfair trade practices and contributing to a devastating fentanyl crisis in the United States.
Beijing has introduced a series of measures in recent months to bolster the economy, including key interest rate cuts, easing local government debt and expanding subsidy programs for household goods.
- Confidence 'crisis' -
Observers will be closely watching Friday's data release -- which will also include readings covering the final quarter of last year -- for signs that those measures succeeded in reviving activity.
China's central bank has indicated in recent weeks that 2025 will see it implement further rate cuts, part of a key shift characterised by a "moderately loose" monetary policy stance.
But analysts warn that more efforts are needed to boost domestic consumption as the outlook for Chinese exports becomes more uncertain.
"Monetary policy support alone is unlikely to right the economy," Harry Murphy Cruise from Moody's Analytics told AFP.
"China is suffering from a crisis of confidence, not one of credit; families and firms do not have the confidence in the economy to warrant borrowing, regardless of how cheap it is to do so," he wrote.
"To that end, fiscal supports are needed to grease the economy's wheels."
One component of Beijing's newest policy toolbox is a subsidy scheme -- now expanded to include more household items including rice cookers and microwave ovens -- that it hopes will encourage spending.
But recent data show that government efforts have not yet achieved a full rebound in consumer activity.
China narrowly avoided a slip into deflation in December, statistics authorities said last week, with prices rising at their slowest pace in nine months.
China emerged from a four-month period of deflation in February, a month after suffering the sharpest fall in prices for 14 years.
Deflation can pose a threat to the broader economy as consumers tend to postpone purchases under such conditions, hoping for further reductions.
G.Stevens--AMWN