US
sees 1.4% GDP growth
The U.S. economy didn't falter
as badly in the final quarter of last year as first thought.
A new reading showed growth at a 1.4 percent pace- still slow
but twice as fast as the government previously estimated.
While economists welcomed the upward
revision to gross domestic product reported by the Commerce
Department. they said it didn't change the basic picture of
the $10.6 trillion economy: It is listless.
In fact, many believe the economy
is already doing better in the current January - march quarter
with estimates of growth at a 2.5 percent pace or more.
The government first estimated
that GDP in the fourth quarter of 2002 grew at an annual rate
of 0.7 percent. The revised reading is based on more complete
data. GDP measures the total value of goods and services produced
within the United States and is considered the best barometer
of the economy's health.
The major factors in the upward
revision were stronger investment by businesses in building
up stockpiles of unsold goods and a slight boost to consumer
spending.
US
economy will drive global growth
The US economy, underpinned by
a vast stimulus plan, will drag the global economy out of the
doldrums, US Treasury Secretary John Snow said recently.
"As the world's largest economy,
if we grow, if we see improvement in out own economy, that will
boost the world economy," he said in a statement released after
a Group of Seven meeting of finance ministers and central bankers.
A 674-billion-dollar (626-billioncuro)
stimulus package palmed by US President George W. Bush's administration
would be critical for building a US economic recovery on firm
ground.
Australian
economy to slow down
Australia's economic growth will
likely slow in 2003, but will continue to expand at a "good
pace." the nation's central bank said recently.
Economists said the central ban's
comments, published in its quarterly statement on monetary policy,
indicated that interest rates will remain steady for the foreseeable
future.
The Reserve Bank of Australia noted
the country's economy grew at a respectable pace in 2002 despite
a weak global economy and would continue to do so in the coming
calendar year.
"The Australia economy looks set
to continue to grow at a good pace although slower than last
year." the bank said. It did not give any growth forecasts.
However the federal government has said the economy would likely
grow at 3 percent in the current fiscal year that ends June
30, 2003. Australia's fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.
The bank said a drought ravaging
most of Australia's main farming regions for the past year was
likely to ease in 2003. It added that should improve agricultural
exports and help the Australian economy.
German
economic mood brightens
A surprise boost in a key German
business confidence indicator sparked hopes that the worst might
be over for Europe's biggest economy, but analysts warned that
further risks loomed.
The widely, watched If industrial
confidence index for, western, Germany edged up in February
for the second month In a row to 88.9 points, Ifo-instittite
said in a statement.
The January reading had reached
87.4 points, up from 87.3 points in December, marking a turnaround
after a seven-month slide.
Analysts had expected, a slight
drop back down to 87.3 points in the index, a key indicator
for financial markets.
The Ifo institute cut its 2003
growth forest for Germany recently to just, 0.9 percent compared
with an earlier prognosis of 1.1 percent.
US
proposes free trade area for Americans
The United States offered its plan
for a hemispheric free-trade pact, proposing ending tariffs
on all textile and apparel goods within five years of the launch
of the Free Trade Area of the Americas.
The proposal was container in the
US offer for the Western Hemisphere trade pact, which officials
hope to crate by 2005.
The US has created a detailed road
map for free trade in the Western Hemisphere-we've put all our
tariffs on the table, because free trade benefits all and brings
us closer together as neighbors." the US trade representative
Robert Zoellick said.
The proposal would eliminate all
duties on consumer and industrial products by 2015.
And 65 per cent of consumer and
industrial goods tariffs would be eliminated immediately upon
launch of the FTAA.
The plan, which must be accepted
by the 34 nations seeking to form a free trade zone for all
of North and South America by January 1, 2005, does not include
any reductions in the most contentious sector, agricultural
subsidies. But it does include a phased-in reduction of agriculture
import tariffs.
Fifty-six percent of agriculture
import tariffs would be eliminated immediately upon initiation
of the FTAA, while other agricultural tariffs would be reduced
in stages lasting longer than 10 years.
