Wall Street Journal (December 9)
President Trump promised “a manufacturing boom. He got one—in China.” Cementing its ”status as the world’s indispensable factory floor…. Chinese industrial production broke records this year as its factories churned out more cars, machinery and chemicals than ever before. Despite the disruptions of tariffs, the country’s trade surplus in goods has set a record, as growing shipments to Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa offset the hit from Trump’s levies on direct sales to the U.S.”
Tags: Africa, Asia, Cars, Chemicals, China, Europe, Factories, Indispensable, Industrial production, Latin America, Machinery, Manufacturing boom, Shipments, Status, Tariffs, Trade surplus, Trump, U.S.
The Guardian (December 9)
“Millions of children and teens” under 16 are losing access to their “accounts as Australia’s world-first social media ban begins.” An academic advisory group will be “examining the short-term, medium-term and longer-term impacts of the ban,” both intended (like more sleep, less stress, deeper social interaction) and unintended (like pushing youths to the unregulated dark web). “The ban has garnered worldwide attention, with several nations indicating they will adopt a ban of their own, including Malaysia, Denmark and Norway” while the EU has already “passed a resolution to adopt similar restrictions.”
Tags: Access, Accounts, Australia, Children, Dark web, Denmark, EU, Impacts, Intended, Interaction, Malaysia, Norway, Sleep, Social media ban, Stress, Teens, Unintended, World-first
Bloomberg (December 8)
“Foreign investors are storming into Japan’s once-placid government bond market, exposing the world’s second-largest pool of sovereign debt to bouts of volatility sparked by traders thousands of miles away.” Overseas investors are “on course to scoop up more Japanese government bonds this year than in any period since records began in 2005” and currently “account for roughly 65% of monthly cash JGB transactions, up from 12% in 2009.” Welcomed by some, this “increased foreign involvement also raises the risk of a rapid or unruly retreat.”
Tags: 2005, 65%, Bond market, Foreign investors, Japan, JGB transactions, Overseas, Retreat, Risk, Sovereign debt, Traders, Volatility
Wall Street Journal (December 7)
“Advertising spending will grow more than predicted in 2025 because tariffs didn’t take as big a bite as expected and AI provided a boost…. Global ad revenue excluding U.S. political advertising will grow 8.8% in 2025 to $1.14 trillion, WPP Media said, raising its forecast from the 6% it predicted in June,” while worldwide advertising is now expected to grow 7.1% in 2026, up from June’s forecast of 6.1%.
Tags: $1.14 trillion, 2025, 2026, 8.8%, Ad revenue, Advertising, AI, Forecast, Predicted, Spending, Tariffs, U.S., WPP Media
Washington Post (December 6)
“Trump and Vance promised their trade and immigration policies would usher in a new golden age, leading to a renaissance of new factories that would employ native-born workers…. Yet manufacturing contracted for the ninth straight month in November… as factories face slumping orders and higher prices for inputs because of tariffs.” Republican leaders are urging consumers to “relax.” This is neither “a winning economic message” or at all “soothing… when you’re struggling to pay for groceries, let alone Christmas presents.”
Tags: Consumers, Economic message, Factories, Golden age, Groceries, Immigration, Manufacturing, Native-born, Prices, Relax, Slumping orders, Struggling, Tariffs, Trade, Trump, Vance, Workers
The Economist (December 6)
“EUROPE is breathing a sigh of relief” now that “the risk of such an odious stitch-up” initially put forward by Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump, “now seems to have receded a bit.” But it is not time to rest or squabble. “Enough dithering. Europe must pay to save Ukraine. America will not. Europe’s security depends on agreeing” on how to save Ukraine.
Tags: Agreeing, Dithering, Europe, Odious, Pay, Receded, Relief, Rest, Risk, Security, Squabble, Trump, U.S., Ukraine, Witkoff
Reuters (December 5)
“Assets that rise rapidly above their long-term trend are usually set for a fall…. This year, gold has risen more than 60% in dollar terms, its best performance in 46 years. Adjusted for inflation, gold has never been more expensive. Either we are witnessing another bubble or it’s a paradigm shift.” It may be the latter as speculative euphoria has focused on cryptocurrencies while “central bankers have significantly increased their gold holdings.”
Tags: $60, Assets, Bubble, Central bankers, Cryptocurrencies, Dollar, Expensive, Fall, Gold, Holdings, Inflation, Paradigm shift, Performance, Speculative, Trend
Institutional Investor (December 4)
UBS released its Billionaire Ambitions Report 2025 showing that “there are now more than 3,000 billionaires globally, holding $15.8 trillion in wealth.” There were “more new, self-made billionaires being minted in the United States than anywhere else,” while Europe boasted nearly thirds of the 91 people who became billionaires through inheritance.
Tags: $15.8 trillion, Billionaires, Europe, Inheritance, Self-made, U.S., UBS, Wealth
MarketWatch (December 3)
“The stock market is at record highs. Unemployment is still extremely low at 4.4%. And incomes have been rising faster than prices for the past few years. So why do Americans say they are miserable? It’s no mystery, of course. The answer is relentless inflation” which at 3% annually, hovers ”well above the Fed’s 2% goal.”
Tags: 3%, Incomes, Miserable, Prices, Record highs, Relentless inflation, Rising, Stock market, Unemployment
Washington Post (December 2)
Results have been “predictable” in Iran where “markets were subordinated to ideology, which meant the farming had to occur no matter what.” Now, “reservoirs around Tehran are at dangerously low levels. Water rationing is in effect. Iran’s president has even said the country’s capital city will need to move. And the government still cannot abide a market price for water.”
Tags: Capital, Farming, Government, Ideology, Iran, Market price, Markets, Predictable, Reservoirs, Results, Subordinated, Tehran, Water rationing
