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☆ Australia's current account surplus widens in Q1, small drag on GDP
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, June 6 (Reuters) - Australia's current account surplus widened in the March quarter, helped by strong exports of resources and travel services, with net exports proving to be a much smaller drag on growth than first thought. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed the current account surplus widened to A$12.3 billion ($8.14 billion) in the first quarter, from a revised surplus of A$11.7 billion the previous quarter. It also beat forecasts of a A$15 billion surplus. "Exports of travel services recorded the highest quarterly increase on record as more international students came to Australia for on-campus learning," said Kim. Analysts had forecast GDP to rise 0.3% in the first quarter from the previous quarter, and up 2.4% for the year.

Persons: Grace Kim, Kim, Stella Qiu, Kim Coghill Organizations: SYDNEY, Australian Bureau, Statistics, International Statistics, ABS, Analysts, Reserve Bank of Australia, Thomson Locations: Australia

☆ Opinion | Wonking Out: Is the American Economy Awesome?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Paul Krugman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Before I get to the numbers, let’s do what some of my colleagues call the “walking-around test.” I love data — data is a friend of mine — but it’s always a good idea to check data against what you seem to see in real life. I imagine that a number of my American readers have visited European nations or Japan recently; some, like me, have visited them repeatedly over the years. Did they feel as if they’ve fallen farther behind the U.S. than they were, say, 15 or 20 years ago? Thanks to a combination of higher birthrates and higher immigration, America’s population, especially its working-age population — usually (if awkwardly) defined in international statistics as people between 15 and 64 — has grown much faster than that of many advanced-country rivals. If you look at growth per working-age adult, the United States is still ahead, but the disparity — especially with Japan — is much less:

☆ Australia records first current account deficit in three years
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Wayne Cole | Sam Tobin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed the current account had slid to a deficit of A$2.3 billion ($1.54 billion) in the July-September quarter. That was down from a surplus of A$14.7 billion in the previous quarter and far from forecasts for a A$6.2 billion surplus. "The deficit reflected a narrowing but robust trade surplus, which was offset by a record high income deficit in the September quarter," said Grace Kim, acting head of international statistics at the ABS. However, net exports still subtracted only 0.2 percentage points from growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter, whereas analysts had looked for a drag of 0.6 percentage points. On the other hand, separate data out on Tuesday showed government spending had subtracted 0.2 percentage points from growth in the quarter.

☆ Fact Check-No evidence 40% of COVID-19 deaths in Finland were fabricated
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Data on COVID-19 deaths in Finland is being misinterpreted by users online who claim that 40% of reported pandemic deaths have been fraudulent or fabricated. As Finland reports deaths within 30 days of a positive COVID-19 test result, 40% of cases are deaths with COVID-19 but not directly due to COVID-19. Deaths within these 30 days include up to 40% of cases with COVID-19, though not primarily due to COVID-19. There is no evidence that Finland fabricated or exaggerated 40% of COVID-19 deaths. To avoid underreporting of COVID-related deaths, the national health institute reports deaths due directly to COVID-19 and deaths that occurred with COVID-19 to which the disease might have contributed.

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