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The article discusses the business climate in Africa. According to the World Bank's annual "Doing Business" report, sub-Saharan Africa is, on average, the most difficult place to do business in the world when it comes to red tape. As a result, over 40% of the region's economy is informal. Big foreign investors are said often to negotiate special deals while small local entrepreneurs are left to cope with business-unfriendly rules that make it hard for them to survive. And firms of all sorts must contend with the severe problems of political upheaval, war, corruption and an HIV/AIDS pandemic. Cumbersome logistics, poor infrastructure, abundant red tape, a shortage of skilled workers and HIV/AIDS remain real challenges. Local entrepreneurs face other problems as well, such as lack of capital--despite the rapid growth of micro-finance in some parts of Africa. Yet, outside troubled countries such as Sudan and Zimbabwe, there is healthy economic growth to exploit. GDP in each of 14 sub-Saharan African countries has grown by at least 5% a year since the mid-1990s. Botswana and South Africa have long topped "best African business environment" charts, but other countries are making quiet progress. Since Uganda started to improve its business environment in the early 1990s, private investment as a share of GDP has more than doubled. Some foreign investors point to a drop in petty corruption and better courts in important countries such as Nigeria. Many businesses in the continent now talk of doing their bit to improve "brand Africa". After consultations for the "Commission for Africa" report, prepared with the G8 summit in mind, a group of big multinationals including De Beers, Nestle and Standard Chartered has formed Business Action for Africa (BAA), which will be launched at next week's business summit.

The article offers charts and a graph showing emerging market indicators, as well as an overview of the economy. In Argentina, GDP increased by 8.0% in the year to the first quarter. In Colombia, industrial production rose by 4.5% in the 12 months to April. Russia's GDP grew by 5.2% in the year to the first quarter. It ran a trade surplus of $101 billion in the year to April. Singapore ran a trade surplus of $16.6 billion over the same period.

The article provides data on economic conditions in developing countries as of June 11, 2005. Having suffered both a drought and a deluge, Thailand's economy contracted in the first quarter for the first time in four years. GDP fell by 0.6% in the quarter, but the economy was still 3.3% bigger than the year before. Taiwan's exports rose by only 4% in the year to May, after growing by 11.2% in the year to April. The government blamed weak global demand for technology products. In Malaysia, industrial production grew by 6.8% in the year to April. Inflation is regaining strength in Turkey. Consumer-price inflation rose to 8.7% in May, after slowing earlier this year. Venezuelans are more confident than most others that their personal fortunes will improve, according to NOP World, a market-research organization. It asked consumers in 30 countries whether they thought their economic situation would get better over the coming year, and whether now was a good time to spend money. The percentage of respondents answering yes determines a country's rank in the index. A score greater than one shows that the proportion of confident consumers in that country exceeds the world average.

The article presents two charts and a graph showing economic indicators for emerging markets. Taiwan's unemployment fell to just over 4% in April, its lowest since March 2001. In Chile and Venezuela, growth slowed in the year to the first quarter. There are statistics on 25 emerging economies, plus a closer look at sexual equality. The World Economic Forum ranks 58 economies according to the "gender gap", a measure of how well an economy employs the talents of the female half of the population.

This article looks at the United States' policies regarding financial aid for developing countries. On May 24th, the European Union announced that its members would double their aid to poor countries by 2015. The ten countries that joined the EU last year, which are mostly poor and recently communist, promised to give 0.33% by 2015. This would mean that EU aid would more than double in a decade, with about half of the new money going to Africa, the continent that needs it most. Since the American government gives only 0.16%, accusations of stinginess are inevitable. Given how little is known about what kind of aid works best, it may be no bad thing that different donors try different approaches. But it might also be no bad thing if the Americans pledged a bit more before the G8 summit in Britain in July.

The article offers charts, a graph, and an overview of emerging-market indicators. Industrial production faltered in the Czech Republic, where it grew by just 0.1% in the year to March, and in neighboring Poland, where it shrank by 3.7% in the same period. In East Asia, Malaysia's industrial production slowed down, growing by 5.0% in the year to March, compared with 7.6% in the year to February. Over the past year, inflation has resurfaced as a worry in several emerging economies. In Russia, consumer-price inflation rose from 10.3% to 13.4%. In Argentina and the Philippines, it has more than doubled to over 8%. But price pressures are easing in Venezuela and Turkey, which have both suffered from acute inflation in the past.

The article presents data on economic conditions in developing emerging markets and developing countries as of May 7, 2005. Industrial production recovered in Singapore and Thailand, increasing by 8.3% and 7.1% respectively in the 12 months to March. In the Philippines, it rose by 2.4% in the year to February. Turkey's consumer prices rose by 8.2% in the year to April, a bit faster than in March. Inflation also picked up in Thailand, reaching 3.6% in the year to April. Prices rose in India by 4.2% in the year to March. South Korea chalked up a trade surplus of $28.8 billion in the year to April; Malaysia ran one of $22.8 billion in the year to March. Statistics on 25 emerging economies, plus a closer look at e-business. Denmark is still the best place in the world to do e-business, reports the Economist Intelligence Unit, a sister firm of The Economist. It has ranked the "e-readiness" of the world's 65 largest economies to find the countries most amenable to internet-based business. The factors considered include broadband and mobile-phone penetration, as well as government regulation. America rose from sixth to second place in the ranking since last year. Britain fell from second to fifth place. India, despite being an IT superpower, is ranked only 49th.

The article presents data on economic conditions in emerging markets as of April 9, 2005. Inflation is accelerating in Argentina. Consumer prices rose by 9.1% in the year to March, up from 8.1% in the year to February. Russia's current-account surplus almost doubled to $60 billion in 2004, thanks to high oil prices. Industrial production in Thailand fell by 1.8% in the year to February.Hong Kong has 7,417 skyscrapers, more than any other city, according to Emporis, a firm that tracks the construction of high-rises. By its definition, a building must be over 35 meters tall to qualify as a skyscraper. New York ranks second with 5,444 skyscrapers; Los Angeles has just 450. Chicago's Sears Tower has more floors than any of its rivals, though other skyscrapers are taller.

The article presents data on economic indicators in several developing countries as of April 2, 2005. In Argentina, GDP grew by 8.4% in the year to the fourth quarter. In Chile, the economy expanded by 7.3% over the same period. Industrial production fell by 7.3% in South Korea in the year to February. In the Philippines, it rose by 5.5% in the year to January. South Africa ran a current-account deficit of 3.2% of GDP in 2004, the highest since 1982. Statistics on 25 emerging economies, plus a closer look at the brain drain.Guyana loses a greater proportion of its high-skilled workforce to OECD countries than any other non-member nation, the OECD reports. It finds that 83% of the country's graduates now live in an OECD country.

The article looks at economic and financial indicators in emerging markets. The economy of South Korea grew by 3.3% in the year to the fourth quarter of 2004. Brazil's current-account surplus narrowed to $11.7 billion in the year to February. Industrial production in Hong Kong rose by 5% in the year to the fourth quarter. Over 280,000 are now dead or missing from the Boxing Day tsunami, reports Swiss Re, a reinsurance company. And yet 13 hurricanes in the United States and its neighbors, plus a record ten typhoons in Japan, were more expensive for the insurers, costing $38 billion.

The article presents emerging market economic indicators. In the year to December, industrial production rose by 4.5% in South Korea and by 3.0% in Thailand. Consumer-price inflation in India slowed to 3.8% in the year to December from 4.2% in the year to November. GDP growth in the Philippines slowed to 5.4% in the year to the fourth quarter from 6.3% in the year to the third quarter. Peru's industrial production rose by 10.8% in the year to November. In the year to January, consumer-price inflation in Colombia ran at 5.4%; in Venezuela, by contrast, prices surged by 18.5%.

Presents data on economic conditions in developing countries as of January 29, 2005. China's economy continues to roar. GDP rose in the year to the fourth quarter by a faster-than-expected 9.5%, compared with a rise of 9.1% in the year to the third quarter. Africa is likely to be the home both of many of the world's fastest- and of its slowest-growing economies in 2005, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, a sister company of The Economist. Some of the world's biggest economies, however, are expected to struggle. Italy and the Netherlands are expected to grow by only 1.5%; Japan and Germany by 1.4%. Zimbabwe is likely to remain at the bottom of the league table, with an outright decline in output of 3.1%.

The article presents data on emerging-market indicators. Several Asian economies reported healthy growth. In the year to the third quarter, GDP grew by 7.2% in Hong Kong, by 6.8% in Malaysia and by 6.3% in the Philippines. Indonesia's economy was the laggard by comparison. Growth was 5.0% in the y ear to the third quarter, and consumer-price inflation ran at 6.2% in the year to November. Brazil's economy grew in the year to the third quarter by 6.1%, it's fastest pace in eight years. Colombia's economy grew my 2.4% during the same period.

The article presents data on economic conditions in emerging markets. The 12-month rate of consumer-price inflation in China fell to 4.3% in October from 5.2% in September. This mainly reflected a slower rise in food prices. Mexico's GDP growth quickened to 4.4% in the year to the third quarter, its fastest growth for almost four years. Brazil's 12-month rate of consumer-price inflation edged up to 6.9% in October, but that was still well below its rate of 14% a year earlier. Hungary's inflation rate fell to 6.3% in October, its lowest this year. Hungary is running the biggest current-account deficit of all among the larger emerging economies.

The article looks at trade policies. The United States is now working on bilateral trade accords with 12 countries. Foreign policy, more than economics, drives some of these deals. As a new World Bank report, "Global Economic Prospects 2005", points out, regional and bilateral trade deals are all the rage. Economists have long pointed out that the gains from multilateral trade liberalisation are far greater than those from bilateral or regional deals. Though the World Bank's report tries to emphasize that regional trade agreements can boost trade, the record is not encouraging. A simulation in the study estimates that a broad global trade agreement could increase world income by $263 billion by 2015, of which $109 billion would go to poor countries. If developing countries all had bilateral agreements with big rich trading partners (the European Union, the United States, Canada and Japan), global income would rise by much less: $112 billion.

The article presents charts and graphs showing emerging market indicators and an overview of global economic conditions. Industrial output in South Korea rose by 10.6% in the year to August. In India, production rose by 7.9% over the same period. In Latin America, factories got busier. Industrial production in Brazil increased by 13.1% in the year to August. Consumer-price inflation in Brazil slackened to 6.7% in the year to September.

The article presents economic and financial indicators for developing countries as of September 2004. Turkey's economy grew by 13.4 percent in the year to the second quarter. Russia's economy grew by 7.4 percent in the year to the second quarter. China posted a $4.49 billion trade surplus in August.

The article provides charted or graphed data for emerging markets and an overview of the economy in various countries including Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Poland. Thailand's economy grew by 6.3% in the year to the second quarter, down slightly from 6.6% in the year to the first quarter. In the year to July, industrial-production growth in Malaysia slowed to 9.9%. Consumer-price inflation ran at 6.3% in the Philippines in the year to August. Poland's economy grew by 6.1% in the year to the second quarter. Since the beginning of 2002, emerging stockmarkets have risen by around 40%, according to an index published by Morgan Stanley.

The article offers economic indicators for emerging markets as of August 2004. China's economy continues to cool gradually. Industrial production growth slowed to 15.5 percent in the year to July, compared with 16.2 percent in the year to June and 23.2 percent in the year to February. Consumer prices in the year to July rose by 3.2 percent in the Czech Republic and by 3.3 percent in Taiwan. Every three months, The Economist polls a group of forecasters and averages their predictions for economic growth and current-account balances in 25 emerging economies. Our seers have become more optimistic since our last poll in April. In 2005, China is still tipped to be the fastest growing emerging economy of the ones listed in our table, with expected growth of 7.9 percent. But Venezuela is now expected to outperform the others this year, with growth revised up to 9.5 percent, from 7.8 percent three months ago.

The article offers a look at economic and financial indicators for developing countries as of July 2004. Inflationary pressures are mounting and economic growth is slackening in China. Consumer prices rose by 5.0% in the year to June, up from 4.4% in May. Norway is still the best place to live, according to the United Nations' annual Human Development Index. The index takes into account life expectancy and education as well as gross domestic product (GDP) per person. So Equatorial Guinea, where life expectancy at birth is 49 years, is ranked 109th even though its oil riches mean that it apparently comes sixth in a conventional comparison of GDP per person.

The article presents economic and financial indicators for developing countries as of June 26, 2004. Industrial output fell by 6.6 percent in Poland in May, dragging the 12-month rate down from 21.8 percent in April to 12.3 percent. Turkey ran a trade deficit of $3 billion in April, raising the 12-month deficit from $25.3 billion to $26.8 billion. Brazil ran a current-account surplus of $1.5 billion in May, raising the 12-month surplus to $6.5 billion. After a setback in 2003, South Korea is recovering sharply, and gross domestic product is forecast to grow by nearly 6 percent a year in 2004 and 2005. The economy has been boosted by rapid growth in China, which has become its biggest trading partner. The export sector, buoyed also by the upturn in world trade, will be the main engine of growth in 2004.

This section presents economic and financial data on 25 emerging-market countries. South Korea's GDP growth accelerated to 5.3% in the year to the first quarter, from 3.9% in the year to the fourth quarter. Malaysia's GDP growth rate rose to 7.6% from 6.6% over the same period. Indonesia's rate also rose, to 4.5% from 4.1%. South Africa saw much more modest growth of only 1.9% in the year to the first quarter. Most emerging markets have become less risky during the past year, according to the latest country-risk analysis by the Economist Intelligence Unit, a sister organisation of "The Economist." The rankings combine measures of political risk (such as the threat of war) and economic risk (such as the size of fiscal deficits).

This section presents economic statistics and news briefs for 25 developing countries. Political turmoil took its toll on India's financial markets. The stockmarket fell by 6.8% in the week to May 19th. In dollar terms, India's stockmarket has fallen by 13.5% since the beginning of the year. Hong Kong's stockmarket rose by nearly 4% on May 19th, its biggest one-day rise in more than a year. Argentina's energy woes are slowing industrial activity. Industrial output fell by 3.9% during April, although it rose by 9.4% over the previous 12 months. In a new report, the Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that 842m people are undernourished. Three-fifths of them live in the Asia-Pacific region, and one-quarter are in sub-Saharan Africa. The FAO argues that agricultural biotechnology could do much to alleviate hunger in poor countries, given more targeted investment and better regulation.

The article presents economic and financial indicators for emerging markets as of April 24, 2004. India moved into a trade surplus in March, its first for two years. Poland's economy is booming: industrial production surged by 23.8 percent in the year to March. Every three months, The Economist polls a group of forecasters and averages their predictions for economic growth and current-account balances in 25 emerging economies. Once again, China is tipped to be the fastest-growing emerging economy tracked in our poll.

Presents emerging market indicators. Rise in the gross domestic product for the Czech Republic; Asian industrial production, which is increasing compared with the same period, 2002; Value of the Chilean peso; Release of the report, "State of the World's Children," from UNICEF, which describes worsening education conditions for girls worldwide; Others.

This article presents emerging market indicators for November 22, 2003. Asian economies have rebounded from the downturn this spring caused by the SARS outbreak. In Taiwan and Singapore, GDP rose by 4.2% and 1.7% respectively in the year to the third quarter. Indonesia grew by 3.9% and Malaysia by 3.5% over the same period. Stockmarkets also fell by over 5% in Thailand and Poland. Other countries with sizeable maritime fleets include Norway, China and America.

Presents emerging market indicators as of August 23, 2003, including consumer confidence and financial markets. The Mexican economy is growing more slowly than that of the United States, its main trading partner. Brazil reduced its benchmark interest rate by 2.5 percentage points to 22%, in its latest attempt to boost the economy. Since the start of 2003 consumer confidence has risen faster in Argentina than in any other country, according to an index compiled by RoperASW, a research consultancy. Relative to levels of confidence in other countries, however, Argentina's consumers remain depressed, being barely more optimistic than their counterparts in the Philippines. Others. The index is based on consumers' views as to whether their personal economic situation will improve over the next year, along with whether they think that now is a good time to buy the goods they need and want.

Government spending on AIDS is rising, but perhaps not by enough. As the lobbying season for AIDS-aid gets going in earnest, UNAIDS, the United Nations (UN) agency charged with combating the disease, has released its latest figures on how much money has been raised in the past, and how much it thinks will be needed in the future. The first two charts in its report seem designed to create just the right atmosphere of hope and concern. One shows that AIDS spending in poor countries has risen tenfold over the past seven years, and that poor countries are taking their responsibilities seriously by providing over a third of the total (up from close to zero). The other suggests that the ratio of unmet need to actual spending is rising.

The article focuses on the problems of poverty in developing nations. Finance ministers from the world's richest economies were able to breathe a sigh of relief after the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, last weekend in Washington D.C. The World Bank's president, James Wolfensohn, had admitted that at times of international crisis the issue of poverty tends to get pushed aside. The rich countries' commitment to helping heavily indebted poor countries was blandly restated without any acknowledgment of the problems raised by some critics and, more important, with only coded criticism of those creditor countries that have yet to give the help they promised.

When developing countries turn to economists for advice on trade, they are usually pointed towards David Ricardo. According to his law of comparative advantage, countries should specialise in whatever they are best at producing, leaving their trading partners to provide everything else. As Ricardo Hausmann and Dani Rodrik, two economists at Harvard University, put it in a recent paper, economic development is a haphazard process of 'self-discovery.' Bangladesh, for example, is good at exporting hats, having sold $175m-worth to America in 2000. And why did Pakistan, a country with a similar mix of land, labour and capital, export $130m-worth of bed-sheets to America in 2000 but a mere $700,000-worth of hats? Mr. Hausmann and Mr. Rodrik cite many examples of countries that have happened upon a lucrative export niche -- cut flowers from Colombia, software from India, footballs from Pakistan -- to which raw factor endowments give only the roughest of guides.

Presents emerging market indicators as of December 21, 2002. Thailand's economy grew by 6.0% in the year to the third quarter, up from 5.1% in the year to the second quarter. In the year to the third quarter, Russia's economy grew by 4.3%. Industrial output rose by 0.8% in the 12 months to November. Between October and November, year-on-year inflation slowed from 2.1% to 1.9% in Malaysia, from 6.9% to 6.7% in Israel and from 1.1% to 0.9% in Poland. In South Africa, inflation stayed at 14.5%. Water poverty; Gross domestic product, industrial production and consumer prices; Trade balance; Financial markets; Others.

Turkey's economy grew by 7.9% in 2002 to the third quarter, down from 8.8% in the year to the second quarter. Just as Brazil's new left-wing government is starting to craft its economic policy, the old foe of inflation is starting to rear its head again: consumer prices rose by 10.9% in the year to November, the first time the country's inflation has been in double figures since November 1996. Elsewhere in Latin America, Chile's consumer-price inflation was unchanged at 3.0%, Colombia's rose to 7.1% and Mexico's climbed to 5.4%. An estimated 120m primary-school-age children are not in school, according to The State of the World's Children 2003, a new report from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Girls are particularly likely to miss out: more than 50m primary-school-age girls are out of school in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia alone.

Presents an overview of economic indicators from emerging markets as of October 26, 2002. Rise in industrial production in Taiwan; Decrease in industrial production in Argentina; Decline in Singaporean consumer prices; Economy; Financial markets; Others.

Offers an overview of emerging-market indicators. Economic growth in China; Rise in Brazil's short-term interest rates; Consumer prices; Economies; Financial markets.

The article presents an overview of economic indicators from emerging markets as of October 12, 2002. Emerging stock markets have held up better than their more developed brethren this year. Share prices in emerging markets have seen an average Loss of 15% in dollar terms since January, half the average decline in rich countries. Markets in Thailand, Indonesia, the Czech Republic and Russia have all enjoyed double-digit dollar gains. Taiwan's consumer prices fell by 0.7% in the 12 months to September. A year ago, Argentina also had deflation, but prices have surged by 38.5% over the past year.

Presents an overview of emerging market indicators for September 14, 2002. Statistics on industrial production and stockmarkets; Rise in consumer price inflation in Latin America; Charted data on the economies and financial markets of China, Philippines, Mexico, South Africa, Poland and other countries, including gross domestic product and interest rates.

Gives information on economic indicators in developing countries as of August 31, 2002. Overview, including the gross domestic product of Venezuela; Political corruption in a number of countries; Economic figures; Financial markets.

The article presents emerging-market indicators among the developing countries of the world, as of August 10, 2002. Argentina's consumer prices rose by 3.2% between June and July, a smaller rise than in recent months, but enough to bring the annual inflation rate to 32.9%. Venezuela's inflation rate is not far behind. It reached 22% in the year to July. Turkey's current account moved into a $884m deficit over the first five troubled months of 2002, compared with a surplus of $544m over the same period in 2001.

Presents tabular data pertaining to emerging-market indicators as of June 22, 2002. Decrease in Asian stock markets; Drop in Argentina's gross domestic product (GDP); Inflation increase in South Africa; Statistics regarding the economies and financial markets of developing countries.

Provides tabular data pertaining to emerging-market indicators as of June 1, 2002. Decrease in Brazil's gross domestic product (GDP); The continued strengthening of the economy of South Korea; Statistics relating to economy and financial markets of emerging-markets.

Presents emerging-market indicators as of May 18, 2002. Israel's economy showing an increase in output; Increase in industrial production in China; Tabular data regarding emerging stockmarkets, economy, and financial markets of developing countries.

Presents date pertaining to emerging-market indicators as of May 11, 2002. Industrial production in Turkey; Rise in inflation in Argentina; Industrial output in Hungary; Information relating to the economy and financial markets of developing countries.

Presents tabular data pertaining to emerging-market indicators as of April 27, 2002. Economic woes faced by Argentina and Hong Kong; Data relating to the economic activity of emerging markets; Data pertaining to emerging-markets' financial markets.

Presents tabular data pertaining to emerging-market indicators as of April 20, 2002. Economic growth seen in China; Increase in India's industrial production; Rise in Malaysia's consumer-price inflation; Data regarding the economy and financial markets of emerging-markets.

Analyzes the U.S.' involvement in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Comments of U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill that there is too little to show for the billions of dollars spent in the developing world; Support of Bush of poorer nations being given money by the International Developing Association, not being lent it; European criticism of Bush's approach to providing aid to developing nations; View that Bush and the U.S. has not provided the necessary economic leadership.

Presents tabular data regarding emerging-market indicators as of April 6, 2002. Rise in South Korea's stockmarket; Information pertaining to the economy of emerging-markets' Financial markets; Telecommunications.

Presents an overview and charted data for emerging markets for March 30, 2002. Value of the Argentine peso; Growth of the Polish economy; Human cost and insurance losses caused by natural disasters in 2001; Others.

Offers observations on successful economic development in Botswana. Theories about why Botswana may be successful; Activities of British colonialists in Botswana; Pursuit of stable policies by the elite and wealthy of Botswana; Importance of aligning the interests of the wealthy with those of the masses.

Presents an overview and charted data for emerging markets for March 23, 2002. Strong consumer spending contributing to growth in South Korea's economy; Increase in South Africa's industrial production; Decline in Argentina's industrial production; Rise of consumer prices in Poland; Amount of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) aid received by China, Vietnam, Russia and other countries; Statistics on currency, interest rates, and stock markets. INSET: Not official aid.

Presents tabular data pertaining to emerging-market indicators as of February 16, 2002. View that the floating of the bolivar in Venezuela may increase inflation; Increase in consumer prices in Russia; Increase in output percentages in Malaysia; Stability index showing Hungary and Poland among the most stable emerging economies.