Financial Times (April 16)
“More than a third of Russians cannot afford to buy two pairs of shoes a year, and 12 per cent use an outdoor or communal toilet at home,” according to Russias statistics agency, Rosstat. These and other findings underscore “deepening economic gloom as tepid growth, five years of falling real incomes, high inflation, rising taxes and cuts to social handouts squeeze people.”
Tags: Afford, Economic gloom, Handouts, Inflation, Real incomes, Russia, Shoes, Statistics, Taxes, Tepid growth, Toilet
Financial Times (December 19)
Concerns that lower oil prices will spark deflation are misplaced. “While lower oil prices will have a one-off arithmetic effect on the price level and hence reduce inflation, that should boost growth rather than retarding it. Lower oil prices…benefit households almost immediately,” essentially raising real incomes and stimulating demand.
Tags: Concerns, Deflation, Demand, Growth, Households, Inflation, Oil prices, Real incomes
