ECONOMY

The European Council president met Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the margins of a Southeast Asian summit in Laos as Beijing and the European Union impose tit-for-tat penalties on each other's imports in a row about subsidies and protectionism.

Policymakers voted 11-to-1 in favor of the larger cut to boost demand and bolster the labor market amid signs inflation was falling toward the bank's long-term two percent target, with Fed governor Michelle Bowman the only voting member of the committee to publicly back a smaller cut.

Authorities last month unveiled several stimulus policies -- from interest rate cuts to relaxing home-buying rules -- after struggling since the end of Covid restrictions to reignite growth and get business activity back on track.

The two are major economic partners but have butted heads in recent months over Beijing's generous subsidies for its domestic industries.

Beijing has struggled to kickstart the economy as officials target around five percent growth this year -- a goal analysts say is optimistic given the numerous headwinds, from a prolonged housing crisis to sluggish consumption.

The strike -- which involved 45,000 workers, according to the ILA -- paralyzed 36 ports from Maine to Texas, which handle an array of goods from food to electronics.

Minister of Finance Jack Chambers announced a 10.5-billion-euro ($11.6-billion) 2025 budget package, which included higher public infrastructure investment and social welfare support.

The United States is set to see inflation cool further towards policymakers' target, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said Monday, with interest rates likely to come down over time, too.

Year-on-year consumer price increases in the single currency area slowed to 1.8 percent in September, down from 2.2 percent in August, thanks to falling energy costs.

Deputy President Paul Mashatile noted that the main focus is on promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, tackling poverty and the high cost of living and strengthening partnerships between countries in various sectors.

The teetering property sector has long accounted for around a quarter of gross domestic product and experienced dazzling growth for two decades.

Gross domestic product (GDP) was 0.5 percent in the April-June period, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement, while economists expected it to have remained at 0.6-percent expansion.

Existing home sales dropped 2.5 percent last month from July to an annual rate of 3.86 million, seasonally adjusted, said the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Public sector net debt "was provisionally estimated at 100 percent of gross domestic product at the end of August", the Office for National Statistics said in a release.

MPC's decisions will continue to rely on data and consider the risks affecting future outlooks, as per Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago. This rate cut follows a report from Statistics South Africa showing that inflation has dropped to 4.4%, the lowest level since April 2021.

Analysts expect any economic impact of the first rate cut for four years to be modest, and some see it as having only a marginal impact on voting.

Two days after the US Federal Reserve slashed rates for the first time since the start of the pandemic, the BoJ's stasis came as data showed inflation in the world's fourth-largest economy picked up as expected in August.

Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed chair Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank's long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool.

Since taking office in December, the budget-slashing Milei has applied a drastic austerity program in a bid to rein in chronic inflation and decades of government overspending.

President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged that delays or abandonment of public infrastructure projects negatively affect communities' access to services. To tackle this issue, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure started identifying these problematic projects during the sixth democratic administration.

After raising rates at a record pace from mid-2022 to tackle surging consumer prices, the ECB has begun to ease the pressure as inflation rates have fallen.

Surging prices -- annual inflation came in at a little over nine percent in August -- is just one of the economic headaches Russia is grappling with as it has increasingly militarized its economy since ordering troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

Sanchez's visit to China has seen him meet top officials including President Xi Jinping and call for "dialogue and cooperation" with the world's second largest economy.

Leaders in Beijing have been seeking to boost domestic activity as property sector woes and trade frictions weigh on confidence.

The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates again this week as inflation drifts back down towards its two-percent target, but policymakers will likely stay tight-lipped on future moves.

Beijing for years dished out billions in loans for trains, roads and bridges in Africa that saddled participating governments with debts they often struggled to pay back.

The 20-country single currency zone's recorded economic growth of 0.2 percent between April and June from the previous quarter, down from the 0.3 percent estimate in July.

More than 50 African leaders and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres are attending this week's China-Africa forum, according to state media.

China has shown strong support for South Africa's national unity and its chosen path for economic and social development. The Asian country also respects the South African government's efforts to protect its national interests and improve the lives of its people.