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Europe
DW Economy

Can Germany overhaul its economy before AfD grows stronger?

Conflicts, rising costs and Chinese competition are testing Germany's economic model like never before. Which new sectors could revive growth and contain the far-right AfD, whose support has grown larger than ever? Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government set out a high-tech agenda focusing on six priority sectors, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing and climate-neutral mobilityImage: NEURA Robotics/pexels.com/@eren-liAdvertisementGermany's export-led economic model faces unprecedented strain just as support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party reaches a new peak.  Chinese rivals are steadily eroding the market share of major German industrial players, while persistently high energy prices, elevated labor costs and excessive red tape are adding to the structural crisis. After two years of contraction, real GDP edged up only 0.2% last year, according to the Federal Statistical Office, Destatis. Exports to China fell 9.7% in 2025, withGerman vehicle and part shipments plunging by a third. While there are signs the German economy is turning the corner, the government's latest forecast of 1.3% growth in 2026 is still modest compared with the pre-COVID boom years. The AfD is currently polling ahead of all other political parties in Germany. The country's many economic challenges have been a major factor in the right-wing populists' rise. Germany's domestic intelligence agency sees reliable indications that the AfD is right-wing extremist in its entirety. The party has vowed to put Germany back on a growth path by ending the transition to renewable energies, lowering taxes and renegotiating European Union treaties, while also reforming welfare and sharply restricting immigration. As Chancellor Friedrich Merz's coalition searches for a fresh growth strategy to fend off the rise in populist politics, the government has set out its high-tech agenda focusing on six priority sectors. These are artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, microelectronics, biotechnology, clean energy (including nuclear fusion) and climate-neutral mobility.  Irene Bertschek, head of the Digital Economy research unit at the Leibniz Center for European Economic Research (ZEW), argues that Germany's research in these "key enabling technologies is very strong, particularly in the area of climate-neutral technologies." Yet, the results are often commercialized abroad, Bertschek told DW, with the United States leading in AI and China closing the gap quickly.

Can Germany overhaul its economy before AfD grows stronger?
Europe
BBC Business

Jobless rate falls but small firms cut back hiring

Image source, Getty ImagesByTom EspinerBusiness reporterPublished20 October 2026, 07:19 BSTUpdated 31 minutes agoThe UK's unemployment rate has dropped to its lowest for more than year, but job vacancies have continued to fall as smaller businesses cut back on recruitment, official figures indicate. The jobless rate fell to 4.7% in the three months to August, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, the lowest since July last year. However, vacancies fell by 21,000 in the three months to September to 691,000, with the ONS saying small firms were citing labour costs as a key factor in scaling back hiring. The figures are the last official snapshot of the jobs market before the Budget, and analysts said they indicated the jobs market was showing signs of recovery despite the weakness in hiring. ONS deputy director of labour market statistics, David Freeman, said the labour market remained "broadly flat", with the latest data showing the employment rate edging up and "a small drop in unemployment". "The number of workers on payroll remains slightly down over the same period, though data for the most recent month suggests that might be starting to level off," he said. "The number of vacancies has seen its largest fall since the start of the year, concentrated mainly within smaller businesses, which cite increased labour costs as a key factor." Energy costs have risen since the Iran war began, and companies have also said that increases in National Insurance and the minimum wage have made it more expensive to employ staff. The number of job vacancies fell to its lowest level in more than five years, the figures indicated, with the largest decrease in construction jobs. Average earnings excluding bonuses rose 3.7% in the three months to August, up from 3.5% last month. Taking inflation into account, wages grew 0.8% in real terms. Pat McFadden, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said the figures "show the resilience of our labour market" with the UK's employment rate "now the third highest in the G7, despite a backdrop of global uncertainty". However, he said that "too many young people still find themselves locked out of employment".

Jobless rate falls but small firms cut back hiring
Asia-Pacific
Channel NewsAsia

China's Communist Party elite hold key talks on governance

The fifth plenum comes ahead of a major party congress next year, where Chinese President Xi Jinping is almost certain to secure a historic fourth term and oversee a leadership reshuffle. A Chinese flag flutters atop the Great Hall of the People during sunset in Beijing, China on Sep 30, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/Florence Lo/Pool) BEIJING: China's President Xi Jinping opened a key meeting of Communist Party elites in Beijing on Monday (Oct 26), state media said, which observers will be closely watching for clues as to the country's direction and future leadership. Roughly 300 members of the ruling Communist Party's Central Committee in attendance at the meeting, called the fifth plenum, will be looking to tighten discipline within their ranks, according to state media. That includes measures to reduce corruption and make cadres more effective and loyal. Xi opened the session on Monday, presenting a draft decision by the Central Committee that "sets out strategic plans for strengthening full and rigorous Party self-governance", state news agency Xinhua reported. CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Few details from the closed-door gathering, held under tight security, will be made known until it concludes on Thursday, but the timing of the meeting is crucial. The fifth plenum comes ahead of a major party congress next year, where 73-year-old Xi is almost certain to secure a historic fourth term and oversee a leadership reshuffle. The Chinese leader has waged a 14-year campaign against corruption that has purged thousands of officials, including dozens of the Central Committee. State media published an article ahead of the plenum, based on a speech Xi gave in January in which he railed against "two-faced" officials who appear to comply with central directives but "inwardly resist", pursue "individualism" and are "politically opportunistic". Analysts told AFP that Xi is trying to maximise efficiency and loyalty among cadres by imposing more supervision and rules. But as a result of his expansive purges, this year's plenum is expected to have the lowest turnout since former leader Mao Zedong's death in 1976.

China's Communist Party elite hold key talks on governance
North America
CNBC Economy

U.S. budget deficit swells to almost $2 trillion for fiscal 2026, up 12% in a single year

The U.S. finished the 2026 fiscal year with a budget deficit of nearly $2 trillion, the latest measurement to underscore the extent of the country's financial stress. The $1.992 trillion figure was about 12% higher than the $1.775 trillion deficit in the prior fiscal year, the Treasury Department reported Friday. It's the third-highest annual deficit in U.S. history, behind only 2020 and 2021, when the federal government was doling out trillions of dollars in financial stimulus amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2026 fiscal year saw record sums for both receipts and outlays, according to a Treasury Department official. With Friday's release, the U.S. officially recorded its 25th straight fiscal year operating at a deficit. The government last recorded a surplus — meaning its revenues were larger than debts — in 2001. Friday's report offers fresh evidence of how the U.S.'s fast-growing debt pile has dragged on the nation's overall financial health. The rising debt bill has helped exacerbate angst among bond traders, who sent the 10-year and 30-year U.S. Treasury yields to 24-year highs last week. Social Security amounted to the biggest slice of government spending at nearly $1.7 trillion for the full fiscal year, up modestly from the roughly $1.6 trillion spent in 2025. Medicare was the second biggest contributor, costing almost $1.1 trillion for the fiscal year. By comparison, the government-run healthcare program required slightly under $1 trillion in fiscal 2025. Net interest – a calculation of the Treasury's gross interest minus the interest it receives – also topped $1 trillion for the fiscal year. In the 2025 fiscal year, net interest totaled $970 billion. Individual incomes taxes helped lessen the total deficit by bringing in more than $2.8 trillion, an increase of about 7% year over year. Corporate income tax provided $381 billion in receipts during the 2026 fiscal year. That was a decrease of about $70 billion from fiscal 2025 stemming from the tax cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill act passed by Congress last year. In the 2026 fiscal year, the U.S. shelled out more than $1.3 trillion in interest on the national public debt. The total owed exceeded $40 trillion earlier this year and has more than doubled over the last decade. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC in August that the U.S. can "grow our way out of" its increasing debt pile. "Our message to our allies, our trading partners, is that global growth is the way to take care of this mountain of debt," Bessent said in August.

U.S. budget deficit swells to almost $2 trillion for fiscal 2026, up 12% in a single year
Japan
Nikkei Asia

Sumitomo aims to expand battery energy storage in Japan with UK experience

Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp. is learning about the operation of battery energy storage system and how that relates to electricity trading in the English city of Leicester, located in the East Midlands. (Photo by Carla Messinger) TOKYO/LEICESTER, England -- In the leafy outskirts of Leicester, a city in England's East Midlands, an unassuming piece of land houses 30 shipping containers. The long rows of boxes are filled with a combination of batteries and inverters, which have the capacity to store enough energy to power 160,000 homes for two hours.

Sumitomo aims to expand battery energy storage in Japan with UK experience
Asia-Pacific
Channel NewsAsia

Man dies after landslide hits two-storey house in Penang

Preliminary findings indicate that a leaking water pipe at a hillside construction project may have triggered the landslide, local authorities said. An exposed hillside following a landslide in Paya Terubong, Penang, on Oct 26, 2026. (Photo: Facebook/Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang - MBPP) Emil Chan 26 Oct 2026 11:51AM Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Set CNA as your preferred source on Google Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Read a summary of this article on FAST. Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST SINGAPORE: A man died after a landslide struck a house in Penang on Sunday (Oct 25), local authorities said. The Penang Fire and Rescue Department said it responded to an emergency call at 8.36am after a landslide hit a two-storey house in the district of Taman Seri Rambai, Paya Terubong. Three people were caught in the landslide, but while two were rescued, a 73-year-old man was trapped under the debris. He was later pronounced dead at the scene by rescue workers, and his body was retrieved at about 11am. CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less The Penang Island City Council issued a stop-work order to a hillside condominium construction site located near the landslide, which council mayor A Rajendran later said was to facilitate authorities' investigations into the incident. “The road and condominium projects have been ongoing for more than a year, while slope stabilisation works are also being carried out in the area,” he told the Bernama news agency. However, Penang state executive councillor for Infrastructure, Transport and Digital Zairil Khir Johari said that stabilisation works had not yet been completed in some sections when the landslide occurred. “Unfortunately, the section that had yet to be completed was the one affected by the landslide,” he told Bernama, adding that further investigations are ongoing. Despite the dry weather, soil movement can still be detected at the landslide site, said northeast district officer Isma Suhaimi Shairff. Preliminary findings indicate that a leaking water pipe on the slope and clogged drains may have caused water to accumulate, triggering the landslide, Bernama reported him as saying.

Man dies after landslide hits two-storey house in Penang
Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

The world is on fire but hey I have matcha: How little treats are helping us deal with uncertainty

In this episode, Kai Wen and Sue-Ann discuss why people buy trendy but “useless” things as a way to treat themselves. Is there a limit to how much a person can spend before it becomes indulgent? Find out about the “little treat” economy, and why people sometimes shift their spending toward small luxuries when bigger purchases start feeling out of reach. Do note: All analyses, opinions, recommendations and other information in this podcast are for your general information only. You should not rely on them in making any decision. Please consult a fully qualified financial adviser or professional expert for independent advice and verification. To the fullest extent permitted by law, SPH Media shall not be liable for any loss arising from the use of or reliance on any analyses, opinions, recommendations and other information in this podcast. SPH Media accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever that may result or arise from the products, services or information of any third parties.

The world is on fire but hey I have matcha: How little treats are helping us deal with uncertainty
Asia-Pacific
Channel NewsAsia

Japan indicts US Marine on murder charge in Okinawa

The 20-year-old suspect allegedly strangled a 39-year-old woman from Naha in a hotel with a telephone cord. Demonstrators take part in a protest outside the Prime Minister's office following the killing of a Japanese woman in Okinawa, for which a US Marine is a suspect, in Tokyo, Japan on Oct 5, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon) TOKYO: Japanese prosecutors have indicted a US Marine on suspicion of murdering a woman on Okinawa, a court spokesman told AFP on Monday (Oct 26), in a case that prompted public outrage. The alleged killing of the 39-year-old Japanese woman caused Japan's premier to slam the "heinous crime" and reignited controversy over the heavy US military presence on the southern island. "The case was indicted on Oct 25," said the spokesman for the court in Naha, confirming media reports that the suspect had been indicted on charges of murder and robbery. The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that, according to the indictment document, the 20-year-old suspect allegedly strangled the woman from Naha in a hotel with a telephone cord on Oct 3. CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less He is also accused of stealing a backpack containing the woman's wallet and other belongings, the newspaper said. The Marine denied the allegations at the time of his arrest but has now made statements that imply some involvement in the case, the Yomiuri and other media said, citing investigative sources. Crimes including rapes, assaults, hit-and-runs and drunk driving by US military personnel have long triggered protests on the southern Japanese island, which has for years urged other regions in the country to share the burden of hosting US troops. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi has said that officials were reviewing the off-base code of conduct for US troops in Japan following the alleged killing. The high-level bilateral consultations will examine off-duty conduct and the "liberty" policy governing off-base private activities of US military personnel, he said. The existing policy, updated in 2024 following a string of sexual assaults by US military personnel in Okinawa, includes a ban on US military personnel drinking in public off base between 1am and am or going to bars during those hours.

Japan indicts US Marine on murder charge in Okinawa
Europe
BBC Business

How is the US economy really doing under President Trump?

ByBen ChuPolicy and analysis correspondentPublished6 hours agoPresident Donald Trump has been boasting about the performance of the US economy ahead of the midterm congressional elections, claiming he has boosted incomes, reduced inflation and created jobs. While the overall US economy is faring better than many expected after Trump launched his sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs in 2025, there's evidence those import taxes and the impact of the US-Israel war with Iran have pushed up inflation, with the harmful effects felt by most American households. The US economy is also being helped by an AI investment boom, and could falter if that spending were to dry up. So how does all this feel for the average American? BBC Verify has looked at whether the evidence supports the president's claims. The overall US economy is growing at a respectable clip by the country's recent historic standards. The latest data shows US GDP, external - which is how economists measure the size of the US economy - currently expanding at an annualised rate of 2.2%. And it has increased by around 3.2% overall since the end of 2024, just before Trump took office for his second term. That is more growth than any other member of the G7 group of leading economies over that period. The US growth rate has been faster than was forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), external in the immediate wake of Trump's announcement of a swathe of new tariffs on goods coming into the US on 2 April 2025. It downgraded its forecasts at the time, citing the negative impact of Trump's import duties on investment and consumer spending. Though it is important to note that Trump eased the tariffs considerably in the months that followed, reducing the impact that had initially been expected on the economy. The US economy has also been heavily supported in recent years by American technology companies making massive investments in AI, including by constructing data centres around the country.

How is the US economy really doing under President Trump?