1 Solid 2017 start for Eurozone economy (San
Francisco Chronicle) The economy of the 19 countries that use the euro got off
to a strong start in 2017 even as inflation pressures continue to mount in the
wake of the recent rise in oil prices, a closely watched survey showed.
Financial information company IHS Markit said its
gauge of business activity across the manufacturing and services sectors held
steady at a five-and-a-half-year high of 54.4 points in January, still way
above the 50 threshold between expansion and contraction. Encouragingly, the
index's gauge of job creation spiked to a near nine-year high.
The firm said the recovery remains broad-based
across the eurozone, but that it was particularly strong in Ireland, Spain and
France. The survey comes hot on the heels of figures showing the eurozone
economy expanded by a healthy 0.5 percent quarterly tick in the final three
months of the year and several other indicators pointing to a pick-up in
activity.
The eurozone faces a number of political challenges
this year that could potentially derail the economy's recovery. They include
uncertainty over whether President Donald Trump ushers in a new age of trade
protectionism, the start of Britain's withdrawal from the European Union and
elections in Germany and France, among others.
Another potential headache for the eurozone economy
relates to rising inflation pressures that are largely due to the pick-up in
oil prices from multi-year lows. According to IHS Markit, input cost inflation
accelerated again in January, taking the rate of increase to its highest since
March 2012.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/Eurozone-economic-momentum-continues-into-2017-10905429.php
2 US jobs growth surges in January (BBC) US
businesses added 227,000 jobs in January, way above economists' forecasts of
about 175,000. The figure, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, compares with
December's rise of 157,000, revised up slightly from last month's first
estimate.
However, average pay barely rose, and the number of
people working part-time but looking for full-time work rose. Even so, the jobs
growth suggests that new president Donald Trump has inherited a stronger jobs
market.
He has promised to to create 25 million jobs over 10
years to become "the greatest jobs president... ever". President
Barack Obama's term from January 2009-17 saw the number of people with jobs
increase by 11.25 million.
The number of unemployed people at 7.6 million was
little changed. The unemployment rate edged up slightly to 4.8% from 4.7% in
December, but this was due to more people looking for work. The percentage of
adults working or looking for jobs increased to its highest level since
September.
3 Anti-corruption stir rocks Romania (The Guardian) Tens
of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Bucharest and other Romanian
cities on Friday, blowing whistles, waving giant national flags and booing at
giant puppets of politicians they hold responsible for a decree to dilute the
country’s anti-corruption fight.
The demonstration came amid a deepening political
crisis after two key government allies said that the emergency government
decree passed early on Wednesday without input from parliament was not
constitutional. The influential Romanian Orthodox church criticised the
measure, which some say will allow corrupt politicians to escape punishment.
The general prosecutor Augustin Lazar asked the
Bucharest court of appeal to suspend and cancel the government decree “in an
emergency regime” before it formally becomes law on 9 February.
A parliamentary party that formally supports the
government, the Union of Democratic Hungarians in Romania, also criticised the
government, saying that criminal law should not be modified through emergency
decrees, but through parliamentary debate. In another setback for the
government, the Orthodox church, to which more than 85% of Romanians belong,
said that the anti-corruption fight should continue and that those found guilty
should be sanctioned.
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