Europe’s manufacturing and services industries expanded at the fastest pace in 22 months this month as evidence mounted that the global economy is pulling out of the recession.
A composite index of both industries in the euro-area economy rose to 53 from 51.1 last month, London-based Markit Economics said yesterday. Economists forecast a gain to 51.6, according to the median of 13 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
European companies are stepping up output to meet reviving orders after governments around the world spent US$2 trillion in stimulus measures to fight the worst recession in at least six decades. The IMF said on Oct. 1 the global economy would expand at a faster pace than previously expected next year. Still, the euro’s ascent against the US dollar may curb a European recovery.
“The second half of the year will be relatively strong,” said Juergen Michels, chief euro-area economist at Citigroup in London. “Looking ahead, there are a lot of reasons for momentum to weaken, partly because of a stronger euro.”
The world economy will shrink 1.1 percent this year, less than the 1.4 percent projected in July, the Washington-based IMF forecast. Next year, the economy may expand 3.1 percent instead of a previously projected 2.5 percent, the fund said. In the euro region, the economy probably returned to growth in the third quarter, the European Commission forecast last month.
Adding to signs of global recovery, confidence in the world economy rose for a third straight month this month, a Bloomberg survey of users on six continents showed earlier this month. In the US, the world’s largest economy, industrial output increased more than expected last month and China’s manufacturing expanded at the fastest pace in 17 months.
Volkswagen AG, the biggest overseas carmaker in China, sold 150,000 cars last month, a monthly record, as sales for the first nine months were up 37 percent. Volkswagen is investing 4 billion euros (US$6 billion) to expand capacity in China through 2011.
“China is the steam engine of the world economy,” Volkswagen sales chief Detlef Wittig said on Sept. 25. “The lust for mobility there seems almost bottomless. We’re very well positioned there and will keep investing to secure our share of the market.”
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
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