1 China Q1 growth at 6.9% (San Francisco Chronicle) China's
economic recovery is gaining momentum, with growth ticking up to a 6.9 percent
annual pace in the first three months of the year, lifted by government
stimulus and a property boom. The growth seen in January-March in the world's
second-biggest economy was an improvement from the previous quarter's 6.8
percent pace and surpassed economists' forecasts.
China saw its slowest growth in nearly three decades
in 2016. Policies aimed at tempering the slowdown included higher spending on construction
of infrastructure such as roads and bridges. Relatively cheap credit spurred
booming property sales. The official full-year economic growth target for 2017
is 6.5 percent.
During the first quarter, investment in fixed assets
such as factories expanded 9.2 percent from a year earlier, while retail sales
grew 10 percent. Industrial production rose 6.8 percent, including a
stronger-than- expected 7.6 percent year-on-year gain in March. Economists say
they expect the boost from the government's policies to persist for a few more
months before fading later in the year.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/China-s-1Q-economic-growth-ticks-higher-to-6-9-11077243.php
2 Saudi seeks 10% renewable energy in six years
(Gulf News) Saudi Arabia wants 10 per cent of its electricity to come from
renewable sources within several years as part of a transformation in its power
sector, the energy minister has said. Khalid Al Falih said his country, the
world’s biggest oil exporter, will also sell renewable energy and its
technology abroad.
At a forum seeking investment in the sector, he
announced “30 projects to be implemented” in order to reach a goal of about 10
gigawatts of renewable energy production early next decade. Virtually all of
the kingdom’s domestic power currently comes from crude, refined oil or natural
gas.
But as part of an economic reform plan to wean the
kingdom off oil, the government has embarked on what Al Falih called an
“ambitious” renewables programme featuring solar and wind power. He has said
the projects could cost between $30 billion and $50 billion. “The percentage of
renewable energy by 2023 will represent 10 per cent of the total electricity of
the kingdom,” he said.
Al Falih said the energy sector is being completely
restructured to include an autonomous board of regulators, and with privatised
generation capacity. He formally opened bids on the first 300-megawatt solar
plant under the renewables plan. Government estimates say Saudi peak energy
demand is expected to exceed 120 gigawatts by 2032.
3 Older people and the ‘wealth mountain’ (Phillip
Inman in The Guardian) Property worth more than £400bn in the UK is set to
cascade down from grandparents to younger generations in the coming decades,
though only a minority of those under 45 are likely to benefit.
According to research by the insurers Royal London
about 4 million of the 17 million people aged 25 to 44 are in the “fortunate
position” of being in line to inherit from grandparents who have bought
property. It found that among the grandparents, all of whom were homeowners,
the typical estate expected to be left averaged between £400,000 and £500,000.
The “sandwich generation” of 45- to 64-year-olds
were the most likely recipients of this wealth, the research found – but about
half of grandparents also plan to pass on wealth directly to their
grandchildren. And many people in the middle sandwich generation either want to
pass on the inheritance or feel under pressure to hand it to their own adult
children – the millennial generation.
A recent report from the Institute for Fiscal
Studies (IFS) suggested the amount of wealth that younger generations will end
up with is more likely to hinge on how well off their parents are than was the
case for older generations. The IFS warned that today’s young adults will find
it harder to create their own wealth than previous generations, with
implications for social mobility.
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