Swiss economy fails to grow as EU stagnates

Switzerland's economy failed to grow in the second quarter of the year, according to the country's State Secretariat for Economics.

The much weaker-than-expected figure came after exports were affected by weakness in the rest of Europe and construction spending fell.

The zero growth in the quarter was the weakest performance for two years.

Compared with a year earlier gross domestic product (GDP) was 0.6% higher, well below forecasts of 1.7%.

"For us it's really below expectations. We expected a bit more growth," said Maxime Botteron from Credit Suisse.

"The trend in exports is not a big surprise. Trade data so far already pointed to a

Poor petroleum contributions may threaten general election

Analysts at FBN Capital Limited have bemoaned the negative correlation between Nigeria’s oil output and economic development, saying the oil sector has contributed negatively to the growth of the Nigerian economy.

They also dismissed hopes for any improvement, saying, “Given the seeming indifference of the executive and legislature to these constraints, we do not assume a recovery in the sector ahead of the elections.”

The analysts in their Economic Report for June 2014, stated that the oil sector share of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, contracted by an average of 0.8 per cent year-on-year, in the past eight quarters.

This, they said, is in contrast to the telecommunications and post, building and construction, hotels and restaurants, solid minerals, and real estate, which achieved double-digit growth in third quarter 2013.

The analysts,

Japan's economy shrinks after sales tax rise

Japan's economy contracted by an annualised 6.8% in the second quarter of the year, the biggest fall since 2011 when it was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami.

The official gross domestic product (GDP) figure though was smaller than the 7.1% drop economists expected.

The shrinkage was largely in response to a government sales tax, which held back consumer spending.

Japan's sales tax rose from 5% to 8% in April.

On a quarterly basis, the economy contracted 1.7%

Nigeria generates N5.2bn in mining royalties, records geometric growth

The Federal Government generated N5.2 billion between 2009 and 2013 from royalties in mining, Dauda Awojobi, Acting Director of Mines Inspectorate, Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, has said.

Awojobi made the disclosure in Abuja, Sunday, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). He said that N736. 92 million was generated in 2009; N889, 46 million was generated in 2010, while N970. 78 million was generated in 2011.

He added that N1.12 billion was generated in 2012, while N1. 45 billion was generated in 2013, all of which he describes as significant “as the increment is in geometrical progression.”

Awojobi said

NCC moves to reposition telecoms industry, rolls out new corporate governance code

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Thursday formally unveiled a telecommunications sector Corporate Governance Code specifically targeted at protecting the over $25 billion investment recorded in the industry.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony in Lagos, on Thursday, Eugene Juwah, executive vice chairman, NCC, said the code became necessary to reposition the sector, to enable it contribute even more to the country’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

Telecommunications was the star performer in Nigeria’s rebased GDP figures. The telecoms and information services sector contributed 8.68 percent to the

South Africa to miss 2014 GDP growth target

South Africa will probably miss this year’s economic growth target of 2.7 percent, with a five-month mining strike hurting everything from government revenue to exports, Nhlanhla Nene, its finance minister, said.

The economic outlook “has moderated,” Nene told reporters Tuesday in the capital, Pretoria.

Recent forecasts by the IMF and others show “the economy is not going to grow as fast as we had anticipated,” he said.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted an annualised 0.6 percent in the first three months of the year, as mining output dropped 25 percent, the most in

Japan consumer price growth at 32-year high

Consumer prices in Japan rose at an annual rate of 3.4% in May, the fastest pace in 32 years, as the effect of the sales tax hike started to be felt.

Japan raised its sales tax rate from 5% to 8% on 1 April.

The price growth in May follows a 3.2% jump in April and is a big boost for Japan's attempt to trigger inflation.

Japan has been battling deflation, or falling prices, for best part of the past two decades and that has hurt domestic demand and stifled growth.

The Japanese government has