London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Oct 04, 2025

World Bank boss warns over global recession

World Bank boss warns over global recession

The head of the World Bank has warned that Russia's invasion of Ukraine could cause a global recession as the price of food, energy and fertiliser jump.
David Malpass told a US business event on Wednesday that it is difficult to "see how we avoid a recession".

He also said that a series of coronavirus lockdowns in China is adding to concerns about a slowdown.

His comments are the latest warning over the rising risk that the world economy may be set to contract.

"As we look at the global GDP... it's hard right now to see how we avoid a recession," Mr Malpass said, without giving a specific forecast.

"The idea of energy prices doubling is enough to trigger a recession by itself," he added.

Last month, the World Bank cut its global economic growth forecast for this year by almost a full percentage point, to 3.2%.

GDP, or Gross Domestic Product, is a measure of economic growth. It is one of the most important ways of measuring how well, or badly, an economy is performing and is closely watched by economists and central banks.

It helps businesses to judge when to expand and recruit more workers or invest less and cut their workforces.

Governments also use it to guide decisions on everything from tax to spending. It is a key gauge, along with inflation, for central banks when considering whether or not to raise or lower interest rates.

Mr Malpass also said that many European countries were still too dependent on Russia for oil and gas.

That's even as Western nations push ahead with plans to reduce their dependence on Russian energy.

He also told a virtual event organised by the US Chamber of Commerce that moves by Russia to cut gas supplies could cause a "substantial slowdown" in the region.

He said higher energy prices were already weighing on Germany, which is the biggest economy in Europe and the fourth largest in the world.

Developing countries are also being affected by shortages of fertiliser, food and energy, Mr Malpass said.

Mr Malpass also raised concerns about lockdowns in some of China's major cities - including the financial, manufacturing and shipping hub of Shanghai - which he said are "still having ramifications or slowdown impacts on the world".

"China was already going through some contraction of real estate, so the forecast of China's growth before Russia's invasion had already softened substantially for 2022," he said.

"Then the waves of Covid caused lockdowns which further reduced growth expectations for China," he added.

Also on Wednesday, China's premier Li Keqiang said the world's second largest economy had been hit harder by the latest round of lockdowns than it had been at the start of the pandemic in 2020.

He also called for more action by officials to restart factories after lockdowns.

"Progress is not satisfactory," Mr Li said. "Some provinces are reporting that only 30% of businesses have reopened… the ratio must be raised to 80% within a short period of time."

Full or partial lockdowns were imposed in dozens of Chinese cities in March and April, including a long shutdown of Shanghai.

The measures have led to a sharp slowdown in economic activity across the country.

In recent weeks, official figures have shown that large parts of economy have been impacted, from manufacturers to retailers.
Comments

Oh ya 3 year ago
And not a word mentioned about the central banks printing huge amounts of money. Lets just blame Russia for everything. And the MSM prints these lies.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×