bne IntelliNews

Romania’s public debt reaches 54.3% of GDP at end-November #bne #bneEditorsPicks #bneChart #Romania #macro Romania’s public debt (chart) reached RON937bn (€188.3bn) at the end of November, according to data published by the finance ministry. The debt-to-GDP ratio reached 54.3%, based on the latest four-quarter GDP available (RON1,725bn as of the end of September), up from 54.0% at the end of October and 48.8% at the end of 2023.

Hungary’s economy emerges from recession in Q4 but 2024 growth disappoints #bne #bneEditorsPicks #bneChart #Hungary #macro After two consecutive quarters of decline, Hungary’s economy bounced back from recession in Q4, posting 0.5% quarter-on-quarter growth, beating analyst consensus by 0.3pp. Economic performance in 2025 is expected to be driven by a recovery in consumption and investments, while external demand and net exports remain uncertain. Data from the statistics office KSH, released on January 30, showed that GDP grew by 0.4% year on year (chart) and by 0.2% y/y when adjusted for calendar effects. Full-year growth reached just 0.6%, falling well short of the 4% target set in the budget law.

Argentina's Milei seeks to establish right-wing international alliance #bne #bneEditorsPicks #Argentina #Milei Argentina's President Javier Milei is working to establish an international ideological forum to combat what he calls a crumbling "global hegemony" of left-wing politics, according to Argentine newspaper Perfil. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, the libertarian leader declared that the dominance of "'woke' left" politics in institutions ranging from education to supranational organisations "has begun to crumble". He cited allies including tech billionaire Elon Musk, Hungary's Viktor Orban, El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu in what he termed a growing "international alliance" of nations promoting free-market ideals.

Qatari Emir discusses developments with Syrian interim President #bne #bneEditorsPicks #Syria #Sharaa #Qatar Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani arrived in Damascus on January 30 for historic talks with Syria's interim leadership, marking the first head of state visit since President Bashar al-Assad's removal from power in December. This high-level engagement follows several diplomatic developments, including Qatar's swift reopening of its Damascus embassy after Assad's departure to Moscow via the Emirates and recent visits by various international delegations, including officials from Russia, France, Germany, and Turkey.

Hamas confirms death of top military commander Mohammed Deif #bne #bneEditorsPicks #Palestine @Gaza #Hamas #Israel Hamas has belatedly confirmed for the first time that its senior military commander, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an Israeli airstrike last year in Gaza's Khan Younis area, along with his deputy Marwan Issa. The announcement on January 30 verifies Israel's earlier claims from August about the death of the elusive one-eyed leader following a brutal year for the group, which saw the entire top leadership wiped out inside the Gaza Strip and abroad by Israel.

Gold prices in Pakistan hit record high #bne #bneEditorsPicks #Pakistan #gold Gold prices in Pakistan have reached a new all-time high following a $15 increase in the international bullion market, which pushed the price to $2,778 per ounce, The Tribune reported on January 30. The All Pakistan Sarafa Jewellers Association reported that the price of gold per tola (approximately 11.9 grams) rose by PKR1,600 ($5.74) to a record PKR290,300, while the price per 10 grams increased by PKR1,372 to PKR248,885, The Tribune reported.

India’s digital economy to surpass agriculture and manufacturing sectors #bne #bneEditorsPicks #bneTech #India #tech #ecommerce India’s digital economy is projected to account for nearly 20% of the country’s GDP by fiscal year 2029-30, overtaking agriculture and manufacturing within six years. The sector contributed 11.74% to GDP in 2022-23, valued at INR 31.64 trillion($402bn), and has emerged as a key driver of economic growth, according to India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The ‘State of India’s Digital Economy Report 2024’ ranks the country as the third-largest globally in economy-wide digitalisation while placing twelfth among G20 nations in terms of individual user adoption. The sector employed 14.67mn workers in 2022-23, representing 2.55% of the workforce, and is nearly five times more productive than the broader economy.

“Latin American Davos” kicks off in Panama as region battles growth slump #bne #bneEditorsPicks #LatinAmerica #Davos #Panama Panama City is hosting what organisers touted as the region's answer to Davos, as political and business leaders gather to tackle Latin America's persistent economic challenges amid growing concerns over rising poverty and middle-class stagnation. The Latin America and the Caribbean International Economic Forum, which opened on January 29, brings together presidents, finance ministers and international organisations to address the region's dramatic growth slowdown. Historic data presented at the forum showed GDP growth has fallen from 5.1 per cent between 1950 and 1980 to 2.7 per cent in 1980-2009, before slumping to just 1.6 per cent over the past 15 years.

Is India set to take on China's DeepSeek? #bne #bneEditorsPicks #bneTech #China #India #AI India will soon host an open-source artificial intelligence (AI) model similar to China's DeepSeek on domestic servers, the country’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was quoted as saying by Indian state owned DD News. The initiative is part of the country’s broader push to expand AI capabilities and provide local researchers and startups with greater access to computing power. The Indian government has already finalised the server infrastructure and required capacity to deploy these models, Vaishnaw stated. The move follows the emergence of Chinese startup DeepSeek’s reasoning model R1, which challenges the prevailing notion that building high-performance AI models requires vast quantities of GPUs.

Georgia quits PACE over demand for new elections #bne #bneEditorsPicks #Georgia #GeorgiaProtests #PACE Georgia’s delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has announced the immediate cessation of its participation in the assembly, after the plenary voted to impose strict conditions for the ratification of the delegation’s credentials. Among the conditions is a rerun of the contested October 2024 parliamentary elections, which Georgia’s governing party, Georgian Dream (GD), is accused of rigging, and the release of all political prisoners detained at ongoing pro-EU protests in the Caucasus country.