A mixed economy includes both private and public control on economic decisions. It also has a combination of socialist and capitalist views and characteristics. Unlike a command economy, a mixed economy has some
Different countries with a mixed economy
- Canada
- Germany
- Japan
- United Kingdom
Job Market Stronger Than It Looks
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/market+stronger+than+looks/4581672/story.html
OTTAWA — The Canadian economy unexpectedly shed 1,500 jobs in March, data indicted Friday, as a big drop in part-time work and weakness in public sector payrolls offset a staggering 91,000 gain in full-time jobs.
The unemployment rate dipped to 7.7% in the month, as the number of people dropping out of the workforce surpassed March’s job loss.
The 1,500 drop was a surprise as the consensus on Bay Street was for a 28,000 gain.
However, a number of analysts say the headline number masked strong underlying trends.
“The report was a mixed bag though on balance indicated a shift toward more full-time employment, a component that was missing from the recovery in the labour market to date,” said Dawn Desjardins, assistant chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada.
Meanwhile, Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, acknowledged the March jobs data were “no ball of fire.” Nevertheless, “the big increase in full-time jobs, the rise in hours worked, a small uptick in average wages, and the dip in the jobless rate are all consistent with underlying improvement in the labour market.”
The report is not expected to influence the Bank of Canada’s pending rate decision on Tuesday, as the market fully expects the central bank to keep its benchmark rate of 1% as is.
While the Canadian dollar lost some ground after the 7 a.m. ET release of the jobs data, it regained momentum, perhaps after traders looked at the underlying data. As of 8:30 am ET the loonie was trading in the US$1.048 range.
Overall, the economy added 90,600 full-time jobs in March, the best showing in 18 months. However, that was more than offset by the 92,100 people who lost part-time jobs.
With the March data, the percentage gains in full-time employment over the last 12 months -- of 1.8% or 251,00 -- has surpassed growth in part-time work, of 1.7% or 54,000.
“This shows that the Canadian job market experienced a job rotation in March from part-time to full-time,” said Yanick Desnoyers, assistant chief economist at National Bank Financial.
As a consequence of the gain in full-time jobs, hours worked rebounded in March by rising 0.5% month-over-month after being down in two of the last three months, while the average hourly wage increased 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Employment was down 27,200 in the public sector, up 8,300 in the private sector and 17,400 more people were self-employed in March. The weakness in the public sector may be a sign of things to come, as governments across the country look to cut spending in order to reverse deficits recorded during the recession.
Some of the industries that recorded employment declines in March included health care and social assistance, and the trade sector. Gains were seen in the hospitality sector and construction. All told, the goods-producing sector added 19,100 jobs while the services sides of the economy cut 20,500 from their payrolls.
German Investor Confidence Drops Sharply
German investor confidence has fallen more sharply than expected in the wake of the political turmoil in the Arab world and Japan's devastating earthquake, a survey showed Tuesday.
Germany's economy has powered ahead over the past year, fed initially by strong exports, and the ZEW said a factor in the fall in confidence was the fact that "the current boom doesn't leave much room for a further improvement."The ZEW institute's index, which measures investors' economic outlook for the next six months, dropped to 7.6 points for April, from 14.1 the previous month. Experts had been predicting a drop to around 10 at worst, and the indicator is well below a historical average of 26.6.
There also are "considerable risks" from increasing commodity prices, ZEW president Wolfgang Franz said. That could help push the European Central Bank into further i
Despite the overall drop, ING economist Carsten Brzeski noted that investors' assessment of the current situation in Germany improved for the 23rd consecutive month.
Recent events in the Arab world and Japan have generated doubts about the sustainability of Germany's recovery, but "so far, these doubts remain unjustified," he added.
The Center for European Economic Research, or ZEW, questioned 291 analysts between March 28 and April 11 for its latest survey.
Japan's Economic Fallout Worse than First Thought
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/east-pacific/Japans-Economic-Fallout-Worse-than-First-Thought---119694024.html
Japan had estimated that the damage may total as much as $295 billion, a figure that did not include the cost of possible contamination of food and water from radiation leaks from the crippled nuclear reactors at Fukushima.
But on Tuesday, economic minister Kaoru Yosano said the blow to the Japanese economy is "larger than our original expectations." He did not make a new estimate but said the damage is "wide-ranging," hitting the northeast sector of the country with its sophisticated manufacturing industries.
Japan's infrastructure has been devastated and its manufacturing supply chains broken. Production at some of the country's largest manufacturers -- Toyota, Honda and Sony -- has been stymied. The International Monetary Fund has lowered its 2011 economic growth forecast for Japan, the world's third biggest economy, from 1.6 percent to 1.4 percent. But one economic research company (Capital Economics) says Japan's economy may shrink by 1.5 percent this year.
A month after the twin natural disasters, Japan has not decided how to refinance the recovery. Its public debt is already the industrialized world's biggest at about 200 percent the size of its economy.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan, whose political fortunes had plummeted even before the earthquake and tsunami, may be forced to sell more debt or raise taxes. Tax increases could further diminish Japanese consumers' confidence and willingness to spend as the scope of the nuclear disaster remains unclear. One survey that tracks confidence among merchants closest to the country's consumers showed it tumbled at the fastest pace ever in March.