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"In the matter of three months, we have wiped out all the improvements in the labor market [which] took 10 years to achieve."
That's the ** OECD's Stefano Scarpetta** , who we spoke to after the development body reported that all the economic progress made globally since 2008 has essentially been wiped out by COVID-19. Don't worry, it's not all that bleak today. I can't promise his words got any more reassuring though, you can read them below.
The pan-European vista is equally as bleak as the global one after the European Commission downgraded its forecast for the pandemic recovery. But there is some good news around: In Germany , production is up; in the UK , bicycle sales are up, while house prices are down (ok, that's only good for some, but let's take what we renters can get); and over in New York , financial authorities have bared their teeth by fining Deutsche Bank $150 million over its ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Of course, that's not a happy story - but I always find it heartening when an authority actually uses the powers its been invested with to police the sector it's told to look after.
Happy reading,
Patrick Atack
Digital business correspondent
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The eurozone economy will plunge 8.7 percent in 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis, the
European Commission said in more pessimistic forecasts
that do not predict a complete rebound next year. The new outlook sees the eurozone economy bouncing back by 6.1 percent in 2021, still leaving the region worse off than before the countries were forced to implement lockdowns in an attempt to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The latest employment report from the OECD saidall the progress made in the international labor market in the years since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis has been wiped out in just three months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Women are more affected than men, and 31 million job losses are expected by the end of the year.
**British house prices fell for a fourth month in a row **in June as COVID-19 continued to depress the housing market. Mortgage lender Halifax said prices dropped by 0.1 percent in June, following a 0.2 percent drop in May.
British retailer Halfords said** sales of cycling equipment surged 57 percent** in its second-quarter figures as people turned to bicycles to avoid public transport across the UK.
German industrial production bounced back in May
after a big fall in April.** Orders for industrial goods rose by more than 10 percent** - helping fuel a 7.8 percent rise in production. The rebound is not as big as economists had forecast, however.
Senior figures in the U.S. Federal Reserve have warned the country's economic recovery may be "leveling off," even as recent job figures show a resurgent picture of earning power.
Samsung Electronics has projected growth more than 22 percent higher than the same period in 2019, as demand for its chip technology remains strong in the second quarter.** It posted profits of $6.8 billion from April to June.**
The New York Department of Financial Services ** has fined Deutsche Bank $150 million for failures relating to Jeffrey Epstein** . It said the lender failed to act when the convicted sex offender made payments to co-conspirators, models, and even when he withdrew $800,000 in cash. The bank admitted "weaknesses."
UK-based chemicals firm Ineos has cast doubt on its bid to build two new factories for its nascent automotive arm , in Wales and Portugal. Instead, Mark Tennant, Ineos Automotive commercial director, confirmed the firm was looking at buying the Mercedes-Benz Hambach site in France, which currently builds Smart cars and the German company said was up for sale.
One of London's business schools, and part of the University of London, has announced it will change its name after declaring its current label "no longer appropriate." The ** Cass Business School was named after Sir John Cass, a merchant with links to the slave trade who died in 1718** .
Fiat-Chrysler has restarted work at its Serbian plant , after nearly five months of inaction at its Kragujevac factory. According to local union leaders, 2,000 workers have returned.
02:05
Stefano Scarpetta, the OECD's director for employment, labour and social affairs, spoke to CGTN Europe on the findings of a new report into the economic losses from the pandemic.
What would you say has been the impact of the pandemic on employment in OECD member economies?
We are basically back to where we were in 2010... the immediate impact of COVID-19 on the labor market has been pretty dramatic.
Some societies and groupings within those have been hit harder than others, which have been most exposed?
Women have also been disproportionately affected, many of them actually in the health sector. Two-thirds of the workforce in that sector are women. And actually among nurses, they account for 80 percent.
Some governments have introduced measures to stop the jobs crisis becoming a social crisis. Which ones are working?
I think the policy response of many countries, most of the OECD countries if not all, and actually many more countries, has been unprecedented in terms of the significant resources that were poured into the economy to support workers, to support households and the companies.
