figures amongst a host of other key data. the quarterly figures will be the first since beijing scrapped its zero covid restrictions late last year. the chief economist at hang seng bank china told us she is expecting to see an economic rebound that could fade in subsequent quarters. in terms of gdp growth for the first quarter it is very likely to exceed expectations because the trade data was just exceptional, so now we are anticipating a growth rate of about 4.5% and in terms of infrastructure, housing, consumption, all those figures will improve significantly in the first quarter as well. there might be some downside risks but it will mostly show up in the coming months. in the first quarter data probably is just right spots. it s the first set of numbers we are getting in the post pandemic restriction error. we are really going to get a sense of how china has recovered but can it sustain that economic growth going forward? there is certainly some discrepancy between the
let s start in china, where the latest figures just released show the world s second largest economy grew faster than expected in the first three months of the year at 4.5%. this is the first set of quarterly gdp figures following the end of strict covid 19 restrictions in december. they also follow the easing of a three year crackdown on tech firms and property. lets get reaction from julian evans pritchard, head of china economics at capital economics. this is better than expected. most people are saying we re looking at 4% growth, give us your take on this number? really the strength is all about the consumer centre, we saw the vigors beads on the retail sales numbers are more generally in qrs or the household savings rates, so households are feeling more comfortable, households are feeling more comfortable, spinning again, they have comfortable, spinning again, they have the comfortable, spinning again, they have the possibility - comfortable, spinning again, they ha
months of this year. these are the first set of quarterly gdp figures since the end of the country s strict covid poilcy in december. this boosted retail sales, which were up over 10% on this time last year. also a huge expansion in travel, with some 45 million air passengers taking trips last month. all of this has helped spark positivity from investors, with groups like citi upgrading their china growth forecast to 6.1% that s well over china s own targets. joining me now is rory green, chief china economist at consultants ts lombard. these numbers look strong. is it a short term bounce or was it more sustainable. it short-term bounce or was it more sustainable- sustainable. it is generally fairly sustainable sustainable. it is generally fairly sustainable for sustainable. it is generally fairly sustainable for the sustainable. it is generally fairly sustainable for the remainder i sustainable. it is generally fairly sustainable for the remainder of 2024. what sust
there is the wreck of the mary rose. it has come to the surface. and it s exactly a0 years since henry 8th s flagship the mary rose was raised from the bottom of the solent, after 437 years under the sea. the bank of england has been forced to intervene once again in the markets warning of a material risk to financial stability. the emergency move this morning will see the bank buy a wider range of government debt, in order to restore conditions in the markets. it follows on from yesterday s announcement of further meaures aimed at ensuring an orderly end to its emergency bond buying scheme. today the institute for fiscal studies think tank warnted the chancellor will need to make big and painful spending cuts to put the country s finances on a sustainable path. it suggests the chancellor could increase working age benefits in line with average earnings, limit public investment to 2% of national income and cut the budgets of every government department except he