Australia: 55 Irish companies flew to Australia to pitch their products to the country in November 2017, with 14 deals expected to be the outcome. The pitches came as part of the State Visit by President Michael D Higgins.
The IMF predicts global growth this year and 2019 to be 3.9%, the biggest expansion since 2011. However, the UK is expected to see growth of just 1.5% for 2018 and 2019. The group predict that the US would see weakened growth after 2022 when certain tax cuts begin to expire. These cuts would bring about a US deficit (current account) and make the dollar stronger, according to Maurice Obstfeld, Chief Economist of the IMF.
China: GDP for Q3 grew by 6.8%, which exceeds the full-year target set by China. Property is believed to have contributed greatly to the growth.
China: Property investment contributed 10% towards China’s GDP for 2016. 38% of all bank loans for the YTD in August 2017 accounted for residential mortgages. According to the FT, “Chinese residential property is arguably the world’s most important asset market.” It is this sector that drives global commodity prices.
China: Household borrowing is 37% of GDP. This compares favourably against the US where it is 79% of GDP or the EU average of 59% of GDP. The average deposit for a homebuyer in China was a massive 40% in 2016.
Africa: Of the African countries Ireland exported to in September, the majority went to Nigeria accounting for €23m in exports. South Africa imported €21m worth of Irish products in September, with Algeria in third place at €8.9m. Ireland itself imported €32m worth of Nigerian products in September, and €11m from Guinea with South African imports to Ireland in third place at €9.3m.
US: The House passed the Senate Spending bill to fund the government for the next two years after two US Government shutdowns in 3 weeks.
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