The budget forecasts tell the tale. Eight of Australia’s top 10 trading partners are expected to see a contraction in economic growth in 2020. China and Taiwan are the only exceptions.
The global economic massacre is laid out line by line in budget paper number one. India and Europe down by 9 per cent, Japan almost 6 per cent, the US 5.5 per cent. The world down 4.5 per cent. China? Up by 1.75 per cent.
Australia’s dependence on China for economic growth is well known, but never has it been so starkly illustrated. The country where the coronavirus was first detected is now the sole major economy showing genuine signs of recovery. For that it needs Australian iron ore to make steel and build infrastructure. Read more…..
Chart of the Day
Icarus TV
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivers his latest views on the economy Tuesday morning to a virtual gathering of the National Association for Business Economics. The topic of the speech is “Global Reset? Economics, Business and Policy in the Pandemic” and comes amid a change in Fed policy that will keep short-term interest rates anchored near zero for years.
