A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of contracting GDP (Gross Domestic Product). This week, around the world, Q4 GDP was released. Overall, most nations GDP showed great signs of decline as world economies continue to falter.

Eurozone GDP

Eurostat reported that the euro zone saw a quarterly decline in the final quarter of 2008 of 1.5%.  This number was in line with expectations.  Since records were kept beginning in 1995, this is the largest single decline.  The previous high decline was 1.3% during the final quarter of 2007.  Weak exports and declines in spending continue to push this economy further and further into recession.  The Euro is trading 1.25581 against the USD as of Thursday, March 05, 2009.

4Q GDP –1.5%

British GDP

British GDP came out slightly better than expected showing a decline of 1.5% q/q. Although lower than the 1.9% that some predicted it still means the British Economy is dangerously close to 17 years lows. The Bank of England has announced plans to print additional money to help combat the current economic crisis.   The British Pound is trading 1.40786 to the US Dollar as of Thursday, March 05, 2009.

4Q GDP –1.5%

Japanese 4Q GDP

The Japanese economy was the first Asian nation to slip into a recession as demand for exports decreased due to lack of global demand.  During the last 3 months of 2008, Japanese exports fell by nearly 50%.  Compounding this problem, the Japanese economy shrank by a whopping 12.7% during the last quarter. The Japanese Central Bank unfortunately has little it can do to boost their economy, as interest rates are already low at 0.1% and the Yen at a much too high ¥89 to the dollar. 

4Q GDP –12.7%

Experiencing a steeper decline than during the Asian financial crisis in 1997/1998, Thai Gross Domestic Product contracted by 6.1%. This decline is the steepest in Thailand’s history.  Since Thailand depends so heavily on exports for their economic security, this decline is much worse for this emerging economy.  As of Thursday, March 5, 2009 the Thai Bahat is 1.00 against 0.0276 U.S. Dollar.

4Q GDP –6.1%

Singapore

South African GDP

The global recession has finally made its way to the shores of South Africa.  For the first time in 10 years, South African GDP has shrunk coming out at –1.8%. This may encourage economic policy makers in South Africa to cut interest rates more aggressively and may be forced to provide financial relief to homeowners.    The South African Rand is trading 0.09505 Rand to the US Dollar as of Thursday, March 5, 2009.

4Q GDP –1.8%

Australian GDP

Australia’s fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP), released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday reflected the worldwide downward trend.  This was significantly lower than original expectations, which anticipated an upward trend of .2%.  This decline precipitated a decline of the Japan Nikkei as well as the Hong Hang Seng Index.  Taiwan’s markets also showed a decline.  The Australian S&P/ASX 200 is reflected in a weighing down of currencies like the Euro and the New Zealand dollar. As of Thursday, March 5, 2009 the Australian Dollar is trading Australian Dollar 0.64 to the US Dollar.

4Q GDP  -0.5 

Tags: Economy, recession

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 5th, 2009 at 4:20 pm and is filed under Discussion, Economy, recession. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.