- China’s Recovery has been Hampered by the Delta
- Taliban Took Over the Capital of Afghanistan, Kabul
- In the USA, the Delta Variant Continues to Increase its Influence
China’s Recovery has been Hampered by the Delta
As the delta variant exposed new risks in China, retail sales and industrial production fell short as economist’s predicted.
The delta version weakens the recovery in China, which quickly recovered from the effects of the coronavirus outbreak and entered the economic recovery momentum earlier. Also, disruption of global demand has a detrimental impact on economic activity.
The statistics for July’s retail sales and industrial production fell short of forecasts. Retail sales in China climbed by 8.5 percent in July compared to the same time last year. However, according to a Bloomberg study, sales were predicted to rise 10.9 percent during this time frame.
On the other hand, industrial production climbed by 6.4 percent. This data was expected to show a 7.9% increase.
While the Beijing administration’s strong steps to achieve zero cases in the epidemic had an impact on consumer spending, the disruption of the supply chain had a harmful impact on economic activity.
It was decided to partially close the world’s third-largest container port in the country after one of the employees caught the coronavirus.
ANZ China Chief Economist Raymond Yeung said July data revealed that the economy was rapidly losing steam. According to Yeung, the rise of the delta variant also poses risks for the performance of the Chinese economy in August.
While data on China’s economic activity remained below estimates, growth forecasts for the country were also adjusted downward.
Bloomberg Economics and NatWest Group Plc. also announced that there are downside risks on Chinese growth forecasts.
Taliban Took Over the Capital of Afghanistan, Kabul
Entering the borders of Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, the Taliban are taking over the country once again after 20 years. Taliban troops stationed on the outskirts of the capital say the change of power will be “peaceful”.
The Taliban are one step away from taking control of Afghanistan. The capital, Kabul, came under the control of the Taliban yesterday and it is stated that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has resigned and left the country.
In addition, in the images published on social media, it was seen that the Taliban seized the palace of US ally General Rashid Dostum in Mazar-i-Sharif.
Other countries with military units in Afghanistan also began to evacuate their soldiers from the country. In addition, the USA decided to move its embassy in Kabul to the airport. NATO has announced that EU personnel have been transferred to a ‘safer’ region. While Afghanistan is drifting into uncertainty, it is seen that the trillions of dollars spent by the Western authorities, especially the USA, for the last 20 years have not been able to end the Taliban operations in the country.
After 20 years since the US troops deployed to Afghanistan for security purposes in the early 2000s at Bush’s orders, the Taliban once again took control of the country. Taliban forces, which took control of Afghanistan’s leading provincial centers, also captured the slums of Kabul yesterday. Despite the increasing effectiveness of the Taliban in the capital, US coalition troops continue to leave the country.
US President Biden announced that 5,000 more US soldiers would be sent to the region for the safe evacuation of its soldiers and diplomats in Afghanistan. Bush, who took the decision to send US troops, also reacted to Biden’s decision, and the former US president described the decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan as a “big mistake”.
Speaking to the BBC, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen stated that “revenge” will not be taken from the people of Afghanistan and added: “We guarantee the safety of the people of Afghanistan, especially in Kabul. Our leaders ordered the troops to wait at the Kabul border. We stand for a peaceful transition process.”
In the USA, the Delta Variant Continues to Increase its Influence
The number of Covid-19 cases in the United States might soon reach 200,000 per day, a level not seen since the pandemic’s hardest days in January and February, according to the director of the National Institutes of Health.
While the United States currently sees roughly 129,000 new infections per day on average – a 700 percent spike since the beginning of July – that number might rise in the coming weeks said, Dr. Francis Collins.
“I will be surprised if we don’t cross 200,000 cases a day in the next couple of weeks, and that’s heartbreaking considering we never thought we would be back in that space again. There is a concern that the vaccine may start to wane in its effectiveness,” Collins said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 60% of the US population has received at least one dose, and approximately 51% is completely vaccinated.
Infections have been particularly severe in areas with low vaccination rates, such as Louisiana, Texas, Florida, and Mississippi.
Also, Consumer confidence plunged to the lowest level since 2011. Increasing inflation and the number of Covid-19 cases are the main reasons for the decline. In addition, the fear of losing the race against time in herd immunity may negatively affect the markets in the coming period.
