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The World Bank says a global recession is possible by 2023. Biden warns China of investor fallout if it backs Russia. Multiple countries experiment with a four-day workweek, could the US be next? Bloomberg launches database on racial divide.
The World Bank is warning that as central banks across the globe simultaneously raise interest rates in response to inflation, the risk of a global recession by 2023 is rapidly increasing.
The increased likelihood is also being driven by a string of financial crises in emerging markets and developing economies that could do them lasting harm, according to a comprehensive new study by the World Bank. Investors are expecting that central banks around the world will raise rates to almost 4 percent through 2023, which is an increase of more than 2 percentage points over their 2021 average. The World Bank estimates this could set the global core inflation rate (excluding energy) to roughly 5 percent in 2023, a number that’s nearly double the five-year average before the pandemic, according to the study.
President Joe Biden said he gave Chinese President Xi Jinping a warning that it would be a “giant mistake” to violate sanctions the US and a coalition of countries imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Biden said there is no indication so far China has helped support Russia with its war effort, Business Times reported.
“I called President Xi – not to threaten at all, just to say to him… that if you think Americans and others will continue to invest in China, based on your violating the sanctions that have been imposed on Russia, I think you’re making a gigantic mistake,” Biden said during an interview with CBS. “Thus far, there’s no indication they put forward weapons or other things that Russia has wanted.”
A four-day work week could alleviate the cost-of-living crisis by saving commuting costs, childcare expenses, and other things amid high inflation and energy costs, the Guardian reported. The results come after a groundbreaking pilot study by a think tank. The study began in June and will end in November. There are 73 companies employing a total of 3,300 workers participating in the six-month trial which pays workers 100% of their previous salary. Academics will analyze the trial to understand the positive and negative effects of working one less day per week.
Companies in Australia and New Zealand also began a trial of four-day work weeks in early August with the premise that workers will receive 100% of their pay for 80% of their working hours while attempting to keep their output and productivity at the same level as before. So far it appears to be working, CNBC reported.
Last Thursday, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced the launch of the Black Wealth Data Center’s (BWDC) Racial Wealth Equity Database, which aims to tackle the racial economic divide in the United States, The Hill reported. The database will give users access to wealth data to wealth data by topic – such as assets/debt, education, employment, homeownership, and business ownership – and compare the data by race, sex, age, education attainment, and location.
