ZDNet: Open-source use goes up while the economy goes down. “This is pretty simple really. Open source works, and it’s cheap. And when the Main Street economy is going rotten, smart businesses turn to open source. Tidelift, a major commercial support, and maintenance company for community-led open-source, found the proof for this idea in its third-annual Managed Open Source Survey.”
economics
BBC: China’s economy continues to bounce back from virus slump
BBC: China’s economy continues to bounce back from virus slump. “China’s economy continues its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic according to its latest official figures. The world’s second-biggest economy saw growth of 4.9% between July and September, compared to the same quarter last year. However, the figure is lower than the 5.2% expected by economists.”
Washington Post: U.S. budget deficit breached $3.1 trillion in 2020 as pandemic slammed economy
Washington Post: U.S. budget deficit breached $3.1 trillion in 2020 as pandemic slammed economy. “The U.S. budget deficit eclipsed $3.1 trillion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, according to government data released Friday, by far the biggest one-year gap in U.S. history. The data are a stark reflection of the staggering blow that the coronavirus pandemic has dealt to the U.S. economy.”
Reuters: U.S. economy contracts at 31.4% annualized rate in second quarter
Reuters: U.S. economy contracts at 31.4% annualized rate in second quarter “Gross domestic product plunged at a 31.4% annualized rate last quarter, the deepest drop in output since the government started keeping records in 1947, the Commerce Department said in its third estimate of GDP.”
Washington Post: Top CEOs call for ‘major’ coronavirus stimulus to keep economy from backsliding
Washington Post: Top CEOs call for ‘major’ coronavirus stimulus to keep economy from backsliding. “Roughly 1 in 4 chief executives of some of the nation’s largest companies say their businesses have recovered or will have by year end, despite the lingering ill effects of the coronavirus recession, according to a survey. But the economy remains fragile, they say, and the federal government must provide ‘further major support’ to ensure it does not backslide.”
Washington State Department of Commerce: State launches interactive data tool to help leaders plan and track recovery efforts across regions, sectors and demographics
Washington State Department of Commerce: State launches interactive data tool to help leaders plan and track recovery efforts across regions, sectors and demographics. “[Lisa] Brown and Chris Green, Assistant Director of Economic Development and Competitiveness at Commerce, today unveiled the state’s new Economic Recovery Dashboard, a unique tool for analyzing and visualizing data from public and private organizations to reliably examine the impact of COVID-19 on the state’s economy. The dashboard details, on regional, demographic and industry sector levels, numerous metrics that could help guide state and local leaders as they chart a path to an equitable, statewide economic recovery.”
University of Hawaii: New UHERO tool tracks pulse of Hawaiʻi’s economy
University of Hawaii: New UHERO tool tracks pulse of Hawaiʻi’s economy. “The University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO) in UH Mānoa’s College of Social Sciences has launched a new tool that captures the state’s evolving economic landscape during COVID-19. The UHERO Economic Pulse index considers 18 factors, such as the number of deplaning passengers in Hawaiʻi, percentage of businesses open relative to January 2020, continuing claims of unemployment insurance benefits and average level of job postings relative to January 4–31, 2020.”
BBC: Covid pushes New Zealand into worst recession in years
BBC: Covid pushes New Zealand into worst recession in years. “New Zealand is in its deepest recession in decades, following strict measures in response to the Covid-19 pandemic which were widely praised. The country’s GDP shrank by 12.2% between April and June as the lockdown and border closures hit. It is New Zealand’s first recession since the global financial crisis and its worst since 1987, when the current system of measurement began.”
AP: US trade deficit surges in July to highest in 12 years
AP: US trade deficit surges in July to highest in 12 years. “The U.S. trade deficit surged in July to $63.6 billion, the highest level in 12 years, as imports jumped by a record amount. The Commerce Department reported that the July deficit, the gap between what America buys and what it sells to foreigners, was 18.9% higher than the June deficit of $53.5 billion. It was the largest monthly deficit since July 2008 during the 2007-2009 recession.”
BBC: France in huge coronavirus recovery plan focusing on green energy
BBC: France in huge coronavirus recovery plan focusing on green energy. “France has unveiled a 100bn-euro (£89bn) economic stimulus package to help repair the economic damage caused by coronavirus. President Emmanuel Macron’s government said the investment would include big spending on green energy and transport. Dubbed ‘France re-launch’, it is aimed at reversing rising unemployment, and includes tax cuts for business.”
New York Magazine: A Historian of Economic Crisis on the World After COVID-19
New York Magazine: A Historian of Economic Crisis on the World After COVID-19. “In March, history broke into our house, and ever since, we’ve been cowering in panic rooms, wondering what our home will look like when the mad thief is finally through. Or at least this is how living in the COVID era can feel. We know that an unprecedented economic cataclysm has rippled across the globe. But the precise consequences of this catastrophe — for the global economy, geopolitics, climate change, and our own little lives — remain opaque. If anyone can discern the outlines of what’s on humanity’s horizon, it may be Adam Tooze.”
Phys .org: We urgently need new tools to measure economic recovery after coronavirus
Phys .org: We urgently need new tools to measure economic recovery after coronavirus. “Economies across the world are on course to face the worst fall in GDP figures since 2008. In the UK, GDP fell by 10.4% in the first three months of 2020, and a whopping 20.4% in the month of April, the largest fall since records began in 1997. The Bank of England predicts that GDP will fall by 14% this year, probably more. The IMF has revised downward its forecast for global economic growth from -3% to -4.9% this year. This is scary. But these GDP figures also hide the deep inequalities that our economic system produces. It confuses the growth of markets and prices with prosperity and value. It is assumed that if we make, consume and sell more things, our welfare and life quality improves. Is this true?”
Spectrum News New York: Business Sector Calls for Partnership in Economic Recovery, but de Blasio Focuses on Federal Bailout
Spectrum News New York: Business Sector Calls for Partnership in Economic Recovery, but de Blasio Focuses on Federal Bailout. “New York City is at the edge of a fiscal precipice: a multibillion-dollar budget hole thanks to the coronavirus and a still-undefined economic recovery effort from City Hall. George Arzt, who served as Mayor Ed Koch’s press secretary and is now a political consultant, recounted the early days of the Koch administration, with the crisis of the 1970s still in full swing and the city not yet recovered from near bankruptcy.”
CNN: Half of US adults live in households that lost income in pandemic
CNN: Half of US adults live in households that lost income in pandemic. “The coronavirus pandemic has generated a lot of eye-popping statistics as it wreaks devastation across America. Here’s the latest: Half of US adults live in households that lost income from jobs.”
Phys .org: Socio-economic, environmental impacts of COVID-19 quantified
Phys .org: Socio-economic, environmental impacts of COVID-19 quantified. “The first comprehensive study of the pandemic shows consumption losses amount to more than US$3.8 trillion, triggering full-time equivalent job losses of 147 million and the biggest-ever drop in greenhouse gas emissions.”