How the zero-waste economy benefits everyone – Welcome to the emerging world of the circular economy. Faced with rising prices for energy and raw materials, along with pressures from environmentalists and regulators who have passed “extended producer responsibility laws” in Europe and some U.S. states, forward-thinking companies are finding ways to take back, reuse, refurbish or recycle all kinds of things that otherwise would be thrown away. In contrast to the traditional “take-make-dispose” linear economy, which depletes resources, a circular economy is an industrial system that is restorative or regenerative by intention and design. Inspired by nature, a circular economy aspires not merely to limit waste but to eliminate the very idea of waste: Everything, at the end of its life, should be made into something else, just as in the natural world, one species’ waste is another’s food. <a href="http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/08/28/how-zero-waste-economy-benefits-everyone" target="_blank">READ MORE..</a>&nbsp;

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Eurozone economy sees growth pick up   –   The eurozone economy grew by a stronger-than-expected 0.3% in the last three months of 2014, figures show.

Eurozone economy sees growth pick up

Nigeria is not alone. Africa is in the midst of an unprecedented rapid industrialization. Standards of living have increased exponentially since the beginning of the 21st century. 

The Case for Why Economic Development Is Making Nigeria More Dangerous

The Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati –  The Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati, 35, says that aid to Africa does more harm than good. The avid proponent of globalization spoke with SPIEGEL about the disastrous effects of Western development policy in Africa, corrupt rulers, and the tendency to overstate the AIDS problem.

The Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati

Eurozone economy grows 1.5% in 2015 –  The economies of the 19 countries that use the euro expanded by 1.5% in 2015.

Eurozone economy grows 1.5% in 2015

The global economy started 2018 with strong, synchronized growth. But as the year progressed, momentum faded and growth trends diverged.

10 predictions for the global economy in 2019

Eurozone economy sees growth pick up – The eurozone economy grew by a stronger-than-expected 0.3% in the last three months of 2014, figures show.European statistics agency Eurostat also said gross domestic product (GDP) in the currency bloc rose by 0.9% across 2014 as a whole.Figures released earlier showed Germany’s economy – the largest in the eurozone – grew by 0.7% in the three months to the end of December.But France’s economy grew by just 0.1% in the same period.Of the 18 member states of the eurozone only three recorded a contraction in their economy: Greece, Finland and Cyprus.In the case of Greece the 0.2% contraction in the economy in the fourth quarter came after three consecutive quarters of growth. That disappointed analysts, who had been expecting the figures to show the economy growing again.“This means that there is a high chance that Greece will slip back into recession, especially after the huge uncertainty brought about by the election and subsequent bail-out dispute, which is ongoing,” said Azad Zangana, senior European economist at Schroders.Greece’s newly-elected government is currently trying to re-negotiate the conditions of its €240bn (£182bn) bailout from the eurozone, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which it feels are punitive.Courtesy:Robert Peston, BBC News13 February 2015

<h2>The Case for Why Economic Development Is Making Nigeria More Dangerous&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>At Lagos’ notoriously chaotic <a href="http://www.faannigeria.org/airports/international-airports/lagos-mma1.html" target="_blank">Murtala Muhammed International Airport</a> , arriving passengers compete for a place in the clump of other passengers awaiting the approval of an overworked immigration official. Permitted entry, a second scamper ensues to get luggage—brands like Tumi and Rimowa intermingle in a pile with black masking-taped sacks, because the conveyer belt has stopped working. Collected, passengers are directed to the arrivals exit where a sign greets them: “Danger: Modernization In Progress.” The sign is intended to warn passengers arriving in the country of 170 million people about the ongoing renovations—renovations that commenced a decade ago to help Lagos’ airport better cope with the surge in traffic and commerce in the midst of the country’s economic boom. But the sign also raises an important question: Are the forces driving Nigeria’s economic boom also generating dangerous problems.Nigeria is not alone. Africa is in the midst of an unprecedented rapid industrialization. Standards of living have increased exponentially since the beginning of the 21st century. The percentage of poor Africans fell from <a href="http://blogs.worldbank.org/africacan/africa-is-rising-is-poverty-falling" target="_blank">58% in 1999 to 47.5% in 2008</a>. Africa’s growth has genera ted enormously positive change for the continent: urbanization has increased productivity, technology has provided access to information to more people than ever, and several hundred million have been lifted out of abject poverty. At the same time that things have been getting better, things have also gotten worse. Coups, violence, uprisings, and volatility have all risen sharply in the past two years. The top 10 countries in the world <a href="https://dartthrowingchimp.wordpress.com/2015/01/17/statistical-assessments-of-coup-risk-for-2015/" target="_blank">most at risk of state failure</a> are African. <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/9e74aa50-1e4d-11e4-ab52-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3QKn2mGwE" target="_blank">Five of the top 10</a> most unequal societies are African. Joblessness in the major cities have produced a disillusioned underclass—neither beneficiaries of, nor contributors to the state.<a href="http://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2015/02/case-why-economic-development-making-nigeria-more-dangerous/104436/" target="_blank">Read more: Associated Press</a>&nbsp;February 3, 2015 By Eliot Pence

The Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati – The Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati, 35, says that aid to Africa does more harm than good. The avid proponent of globalization spoke with SPIEGEL about the disastrous effects of Western development policy in Africa, corrupt rulers, and the tendency to overstate the AIDS problem.

<div><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/threepsmars/image/upload/v1662041667/f1pc3h4o6rmqv0vfwdsf.png" alt=""> </div>Eurozone economy grows 1.5% in 2015 – The economies of the 19 countries that use the euro expanded by 1.5% in 2015.In the last three months of the year, they grew 0.3%, compared with the previous three months, according to the statistics agency Eurostat.&nbsp;The 28 countries of the EU also grew 0.3% in the fourth quarter, to a GDP growth rate of 1.8% for the full year.Growth slowed during 2015, suggesting that more action may be needed to stimulate economies from the European Central Bank (ECB).“We continue to think that further monetary easing is required, with further policy rate cuts on the cards from March onwards,” said Nick Kounis, economist at ABN Amro.Eurostat also announced on Friday that industrial production had fallen 1% in December compared with the previous month, both for the eurozone and the EU.Year on year, it fell 1.3% in the eurozone and 0.8% in the EU.Second quarter of Greek contractionThe biggest contraction in GDP came in Greece, where the economy shrank 0.6% in the fourth quarter, which was better than had been expected.But the contraction in the third quarter turned out to have been bigger than previously thought, being revised from 0.9% to 1.4%.Analysis: Andrew Walker, economics correspondentSeveral eurozone governments following austerity policies have faced protests on the streets and at the ballot box.But could it have been a little easier?That is where Germany comes in. There certainly is a view that Germany has in effect made it harder than it need have been.How so? Germany surely is the seat of eurozone financial prudence and virtue? Well, there is a case that those features of Germany are a problem for the others.The German economy expanded by 0.3% in the final three months of 2015, to an annual rate of 1.7%. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-35557883" target="_blank">Read more (BBC News)</a>&nbsp;

By: Nariman Behravesh Chief Economist, IHS MarkitThe global economy started 2018 with strong, synchronized growth. But as the year progressed, momentum faded and growth trends diverged. The US economy accelerated, thanks to fiscal stimulus enacted early in the year, while the economies of the Eurozone, the UK, Japan and China began to weaken. These divergent trends will persist in 2019. IHS Markit predicts global growth will edge down from 3.2% in 2018 to 3.1% in 2019, and keep decelerating over the next few years.One major risk in the coming year is the sharp drop-off in world trade growth, which fell from over 5% at the beginning of 2018 to nearly zero at the end. With anticipated escalation in trade conflicts, a contraction in world trade could drag down the global economy even more. At the same time, the combined effects of rising interest rates and surging equity and commodity market volatility mean that financial conditions worldwide are tightening. These risks point to the increasing vulnerability of the global economy to further shocks, and the rising probability of a recession in the next couple of years.Our top 10 economic forecasts for 20191.The US economy will remain above trendBased on estimates about sustainable growth in the labour force and productivity, we assess the trend, or potential, growth in the US economy to be around 2.0%. In 2018, US growth was well above trend at 2.9%, though the acceleration was almost entirely due to a large dose of fiscal stimulus in the form of tax cuts and spending increases. The impact of this stimulus will still be felt in 2019, but will diminish as the year progresses. As a result, we expect growth of 2.6% in 2019 – less than in 2018, but still above trend.2.Europe’s expansion will slow even moreEurozone growth peaked in the second half of 2017, and has declined steadily since then. IHS Markit predicts a further decline to 1.5% in 2019. Political uncertainty, including Brexit, challenges to Emmanuel Macron’s government, and the winding down of Angela Merkel’s chancellorship, are contributing to a decline in business sentiment. Economic factors such as the tightening of credit conditions and heightened trade tensions are also driving the deceleration in growth.3.Japan’s recovery will remain weak, and its economy will grow less than 1% in 2019Japan’s economy is expected to expand by 0.8% in 2018, with this rate increasing only slightly in 2019 to 0.9%. The slowdown in China’s economy and the fallout from trade tensions between the US and China are drags on growth. Monetary policy will continue to be ultra-accommodative next year. The cyclical decline in Japan’s growth is occurring in an environment of very weak long-term growth. Adverse demographics – specifically a declining labour force – are not being offset by strong enough productivity growth. The “third arrow” of Abenomics, which was supposed to implement significant structural reforms and boost productivity, has been slow to materialize.4.China’s economy will keep deceleratingThe quarterly rate of Chinese growth has been steadily edging down since the beginning of 2017, hitting its lowest level in 10 years in the third quarter of 2018. On an annual basis, the pace of expansion has slowed from 6.9% in 2017 to 6.6% in 2018, and will fall further to 6.3% in 2019. In response to recent economic shocks – including the impact of US tariffs, which has so far been limited – policy-makers have unleashed a series of monetary and fiscal measures to help support growth and stabilize financial markets.However, these measures are likely to remain modest. Credit growth will continue to be constrained by the massive debt overhang and the government’s commitment to deleveraging, at least in the medium to long term. On the other hand, the government’s stimulus efforts may well become more aggressive if trade tensions with the US (re)escalate and growth is seriously damaged.5.Emerging market growth will decelerate to 4.6% in 2019Some economies, including Brazil, India and Russia, experienced a mild pickup in growth in 2018, while others, such as Argentina, South Africa and Turkey, came under intense financial pressure and suffered recessions or near-recessions. Going forward, emerging markets face a number of headwinds, including slowing growth in advanced economies and in the pace of world trade; the strong US dollar; tightening financial conditions; and rising political uncertainty in countries such as Brazil and Mexico. A few countries will be able to buck these trends, especially dynamic economies with low levels of debt, notably in Asia.6.Commodities markets could be in for another rollercoaster ride in 2019Demand growth next year still looks strong enough to provide commodity markets with support, making the kind of price collapse seen during 2015 unlikely. However, volatility in commodity markets will continue in 2019, particularly in oil markets. We predict oil prices will rise a bit in the near term and average around $70.0 per barrel over the coming year, compared with an average $71.0 in 2018. That said, the risks to prices of oil and other commodities are predominantly on the downside, given slowing demand growth and rising supply. Despite volatility, we predict that by the end of 2019, prices will be little different from their current readings.7.Global inflation rates will remain close to 3.0%Most of the rise in consumer price inflation between 2015 and 2018 – from 2.0% to 3.0% – was due to a transition in the developed world from deflationary, or near deflationary, conditions to inflation rates that are close to central banks’ targets of 2.0%. Over the near term, we expect global inflation and developed economy inflation to remain close to 3.0% and 2.0%, respectively.While there will be upward pressures in many economies as output gaps close and unemployment rates fall – in some cases to multi-decade lows – there are downward pressures as well. Outside the US, growth is weakening. Moreover, relative to 2018, commodity prices will be relatively flat on average in 2019. Finally, with the trade war in a “temporary truce”, the upward push from tariff increases will be on hold.8.The Fed will raise rates, and a few other central banks may followWith the world’s key economies at different points in the business cycle, it is not surprising that central banks are moving at different speeds and in different directions. However, given weaker growth and muted inflationary pressures, the pace of removing accommodation is likely to be even more modest than previously expected.The US Federal Reserve is likely to raise rates three times in 2019. Other central banks, including the Bank of England (depending on the Brexit process), the Bank of Canada, and a few emerging market central banks – such as those in Brazil, India and Russia – may also raise rates.The European Central Bank will not hike rates until early 2020. Similarly, we do not believe the Bank of Japan will end its negative interest rate policy until 2021. The People’s Bank of China is the one major central bank moving in the opposite direction; worried about growth, it is providing modest stimulus.9.The US dollar will hold at current elevated levels for much of 2019Continued above-trend US growth and more rate hikes by the Fed are the primary reasons for this anticipated strength. Given the recent relative calm in forex markets, especially relative to emerging market currencies, another big appreciation of the US dollar seems unlikely.Nevertheless, the potential for volatility remains very high. Political uncertainty in Europe could be very negative for the euro and sterling; we expect that the euro/dollar rate will end 2019 at around $1.10, compared with $1.14 at the end of 2018. At the same time, we predict that the renminbi/dollar rate will hold fairly steady just below the psychological level of 7.0 – the result of the Chinese government’s desire for financial stability.10.The risks of policy shocks have risen, but probably not enough to trigger a recession in 2019Policy mistakes remain the biggest threats to global growth in 2019 and beyond. The simmering trade conflicts are dangerous, not because they have done damage so far – they haven’t – but because they could easily escalate and get out of control. In addition, rising budget deficits in the US, high debt levels in the US, Europe and Japan, and potential missteps by key central banks all pose threats to the global economy.The good news is that the probability of such policy mistakes seriously hurting global growth in 2019 is still relatively low. However, IHS Markit believes that the risks of damage from policy mistakes will rise in 2020 and beyond, as growth slows further.<a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/what-to-expect-for-the-global-economy-in-2019/" target="_blank">Courtesy: World Economic Forum</a>&nbsp;