you are currently viewing::Services trade growth slows in first quarter of 2025July 31, 2025--Global services trade growth slowed in the first quarter of 2025 to 5% year-on-year, roughly half the pace recorded in both 2024 and 2023. The appreciation of the US dollar against the euro and other currencies, coupled with increased economic uncertainty, contributed to the slowdown in services trade in the early months of the year. Services exports in Europe and North America increased by only 3% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, down from 8% and 11% respectively in the first quarter of 2024. In contrast, strong growth was sustained in Asia at 9%. The overall slowdown in services trade was mainly due to "Other commercial services," a category that encompasses a wide variety of mostly digitally deliverable services ranging from financial to professional services. In 2024, "Other commercial services" accounted for some 60% of global services trade, with Europe contributing 40% of those exports. Source: World Trade Organization (WTO) |
July 31, 2025--Trade imbalances have long been a concern for policymakers, prompting calls for corrective trade measures. Recent tariff actions- framed in part as efforts to reduce bilateral deficits -fit this established pattern.
July 29, 2025--Global growth expected to decelerate as trade-related distortions wane
Global current account balances widened by a sizable 0.6 percentage points of world GDP in 2024.
Global growth is projected at 3.0 percent for 2025 and 3.1 percent in 2026, an upward revision from the April 2025 World Economic Outlook.
July 25, 2025-Executive summary
Productivity growth remained subdued in 2023 and 2024 amid a shifting geopolitical and economic landscape
Productivity growth remained subdued in 2023 and 2024 amid a shifting geopolitical and economic landscape
July 22, 2025-ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm renowned for its expertise in subscription research, consulting services, events, and ETF TV on global ETF industry trends, reported today that assets invested in the actively managed ETFs industry globally reached a new record of US$1.48 trillion at the end of June.
July 22, 2025--Growing imbalances in largest economies underscore need for concerted adjustment in domestic macroeconomic policies
Global current account balances widened by a sizable 0.6 percentage points of world GDP in 2024.
July 7, 2025-The WTO published on 7 July the 2025 edition of World Tariff Profiles, which provides comprehensive data on the tariffs and non-tariff measures imposed by over 170 economies. It is a joint publication of the WTO, the International Trade Centre (ITC) and UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
The publication provides summary tables listing the average "bound" (maximum) tariffs and applied tariffs for each economy for both agricultural and non-agricultural products as of end-2024.
July 3, 2025-Tokenization unlocks efficiencies like instant settlement, 24/7 trading, and fractional ownership-but real-world adoption depends on solving infrastructure and regulatory challenges, not just technology.
Market makers face key friction points in tokenized markets: fragmented liquidity requiring pre-funding across blockchains, lack of product-market fit without real demand, and operational complexity from 24/7 trading.
June 14, 2025--The global economy is facing substantial headwinds, emanating largely from an increase in trade tensions and heightened global policy uncertainty.
For emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), the weak outlook limits their ability to boost job creation and reduce extreme poverty. This challenging context is compounded by subdued foreign direct investment into EMDEs.
June 12, 2025--Greater debt transparency builds investor confidence, helps reduce borrowing costs, and strengthens debt sustainability-reducing the risk of shocks that can lead to a debt crisis
Public debt is projected to reach nearly 100 percent of global gross domestic product by the end of this decade, surpassing even pandemic-level highs.
June 10, 2025--2025 Growth Forecasts Cut for 70 Percent of Economies
Heightened trade tensions and policy uncertainty are expected to drive global growth down this year to its slowest pace since 2008 outside of outright global recessions, according to the World Bank's latest Global Economic Prospects report.