AP launches global economic tracker

The Associated Press announced Monday that it has launched the AP Global Economy Tracker, the new analytical tool that’s a quarterly analysis of world economic and financial trends that draws on data from 22 countries that account for more than 80 percent of global economic output.

AP economics writer Paul Wiseman is the lead business reporter on this project. His first two stories will be published in all formats, starting Wednesday and Thursday. The inaugural AP Global Economy Tracker stories will explain the challenges the world faces as old economic patterns fade and new ones emerge.

“Our new Global Economy Tracker will give the AP’s global audience easy access to data from the world’s leading economies and inform readers first about trends emerging worldwide,” AP business editor Hal Ritter said.

The AP is focusing on economic indicators, such as GDP, employment and inflation, and on financial indicators, such as stock markets, interest rates and currencies.

The AP Business News staff will report the latest global economic trends and explain their impact on policymakers, investors and other readers. Data from the AP Global Economy Tracker will be presented in an interactive map.