The Swiss economy in the first quarter increased by 0.6% compared to the fourth quarter, when growth was at the level of 0.3%. This was announced by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. According to economists, an increase of only 0.3% was expected. Compared to the same period a year earlier, GDP grew by 1.7%, accelerating compared with a rise of 1.5% in the fourth quarter. This figure also exceeded the increase predicted by experts by 1%. Growth in consumer spending in this period was slightly higher than the average rate, accelerating to 0.4%. Growth in consumer spending was noted in all sectors. Their greatest growth was recorded in health care. Investments in construction increased by 0.5%, in equipment - by 1.5%. Growth in exports of goods slowed to 2.2% from 5.8% a quarter earlier. There was also an acceleration in the growth of exports of services - from 0.6% to 1.7%. The volume of imports of goods increased by 2.4%, services - by 1.3%. The processing industry showed an increase in production of 1.5%.
On Friday, Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) announced a lower second-quarter profit because of the recession caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The decline was due to lower sales volume and changes in dealer inventories. During the second quarter ...
On Thursday, the United States’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) suffered the biggest economic decline in the second quarter as the surge of coronavirus cases affected the whole country. The U.S. government decided to shut down restaurants, ...
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd looks forward to the second half of the year as it expects a larger increase in chip demand brought by new smartphone launches. However, the company warned that the coronavirus crisis and trade disputes carry risks. Samsung, ...
The outlook for India’s struggling economy has darkened further on weak business activities and surging virus cases. This will likely prompt the Reserve Bank of India to lower interest rates again, a Reuters survey showed. According ...
The second quarter had seen Australian consumer prices dropping by a record. This could be attributed to the coronavirus crisis dragging child care cost and petroleum prices, inflicting a serious damage to years of growth toward higher inflation. Last ...