Time (February 27)
“President Trump rolled out the red carpet for Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Feb. 10 for three days of lavish praise, elaborate dinners, lots of golf and a ride on Air Force One…. Compare that with what’s beginning to look like an awkward Trump relationship with Britain and it’s easy to see that the U.S. and Japan have the new ‘special relationship.’”
Tags: Abe, Britain, Japan, Red carpet, Special relationship, Trump, U.S.
The Economist (February 25)
“It is a turning-point for one of the world’s oddest industries…. The supply of new diamonds is expected to peak in the next few years, before beginning a slow decline.”
Tags: Decline, Diamonds, Peak, Supply, Turning-point
Financial Times (February 24)
Germany and Italy now appear to be backing Brussels hardliners on fixing the bill for Brexit. They are supporting Michel Barnier, the chief EU negotiator, “in seeking progress on divorce terms as an opening step.” The move to focus “on Britain’s €60bn exit bill” will come as a major “blow to Downing Street.”
Tags: Barnier, Brexit, Brussels, Divorce terms, Downing Street, EU, Germany, Hardliners, Italy, Negotiator
Institutional Investor (February 23)
As private capital firms accumulate extra funds, the growth in “dry-powder” has caused considerable alarm. Uninvested capital expanded 26.8% in 2015 alone. According to McKinsey & Co., there really isn’t that much to worry about. Though “uninvested capital in the private markets has reached $1.6 trillion,” it “hasn’t outpaced growth in deal volumes.”
Tags: Capital, Deal volumes, Dry-powder, Funds, Growth, Markets, McKinsey, Private capital, Uninvested
New York Times (February 21)
“While not as dangerous as protectionism and xenophobia,” blaming robots for job losses and economic disruption “is also a distraction from real problems and real solutions.” We’ve been through this before. “Automation is the hero of the story in good times and the villain in bad. Since today’s middle class is in the midst of a prolonged period of wage stagnation, it is especially vulnerable to blame-the-robot rhetoric.” Bad policies can result in disruption, but economic history has repeatedly shown “that automation not only substitutes for human labor, it complements it. The disappearance of some jobs and industries gives rise to others.”
Tags: Automation, Dangerous, Disruption, Jobs, Labor, Protectionism, Robots, Wage stagnation, Xenophobia
Euromoney (February Issue)
“New accounting rules requiring banks to take upfront charges against possible losses through the full life of a loan promise damaging pro-cyclicality.” IFRS 9 comes into effect next January. It “will require banks to recognize expected loan losses even before borrowers miss a single interest or principal repayment.” This major change “will hit both reported earnings and capital even if a borrower manages to remain current on debt servicing.” Uncertainty abounds, but it looks like “US and Japanese banks will be subject to their own variant, current expected credit loss (CECL), under US GAAP.”
Tags: Accounting rules, Banks, Borrowers, Capital, CECL, Earnings, GAAP, IFRS 9, Interest, Loan losses, Principal, Repayment, Upfront charges
Fortune (February 19)
“China just took a big swing at North Korea’s economy.” By banning coal imports from North Korea for the remainder of 2017, China is stepping on its “financial lifeline.” Coal is North Korea’s “single largest export item.” The move “could help put international sanctions aimed at North Korea’s nuclear weapons efforts into fuller force.”
Tags: China, Coal imports, Economy, Exports, North Korea, Nuclear weapons, Sanctions
The Economist (February 18)
We are approaching a tipping point. The automotive dominance of internal combustion engines (ICE) looks increasingly limited. Electric cars are “set for rapid forward thrust. Improving technology and tightening regulations on emissions from ICEs is about to propel electric vehicles (EVs) from a niche to the mainstream.” But the transition “from petrol power to volts will be a tough one for carmakers to navigate.”
Tags: Auto, Cars, Combustion, Dominance, Electric, Emissions, Engines, EVs, Mainstream, Regulation, Technology, Tipping point, Transition
Newsweek (February 17)
“Trump’s bizarre press conference nearly defies description.” The one-hour 17 minute event was “funnier than ‘The Apprentice,’ scarier than ‘The Walking Dead.’” It was clearly “one for the ages—or until next time.”
Tags: Bizarre, Funny, Press conference, Scary, The Apprentice, Trump, U.S., Walking Dead
USA Today (February 16)
“Trump’s press conference was a spectacle for the ages.” It was “a rambling, defensive and at times angry performance by the leader of the free world.” During “one of the wildest presidential press conferences on record, Trump lashed out at the media, Hillary Clinton, the intelligence community, judges and Democrats — among many others.”
Tags: Angry, Clinton, Defensive, Intelligence, Media, Press conference, Rambling, Spectacle, Trump, Wilde