Too few children threatens economic growth

as mentioned in Much of the problem emerges from post-World War II concerns about overpopulation, food shortages, pollution and the like, and resulting regulatory, social and economic pressures on women to have few children. The high cost of rearing children into their 20s and college have done more to limit child birth than women working. Japan stopped preaching to couples a long time ago but its birth rate remains perilously low. The United States and now Germany rely on immigration to boost population growth but that is not enough. For example, the United States will soon have more elderly than children.

UK economic growth revised higher in first quarter

The UK economy grew at a faster rate than initially thought in the first three months of 2018, raising hopes for a pick-up in growth after the sluggish start to the year. The Office for National Statistics unexpectedly revised higher its third and final estimate for UK growth in the first quarter to 0.2%, after two earlier estimates of 0.1%. Government statisticians said fresh figures from the construction industry and improvements for measuring the sector had nudged up the growth rate. Threadneedle Street has consistently argued in recent months that the UK economy is stronger than official figures might suggest, which could support a rate rise to 0.75% from 0.5%. Economists said this confirmed the UK economy remained weak in the first three months of the year.

UK economic growth bounces back as services sector expands

As it stated in The UK economy has bounced back from a soft patch in the opening months of 2018, according to a closely watched survey of the services sector that showed stronger than expected activity last month. A breakdown of the survey showed that demand was strong for business and financial services, while the hot weather led to a pick up in consumer spending in bars and restaurants. "The fact that the services survey also contained signs of a strengthening in domestically generated inflation also bolsters the chances that the MPC will press ahead and hike interest rates soon," Gregory added. That will include a new report from the Office for National Statistics tracking growth on a monthly basis. IHS Markit reported similar findings in its survey of the eurozone, where a pick-up in business activity in June pointed to 0.5% GDP growth in the second quarter, up from 0.4% in the first.

collected by :Donald Luther