Wall Street Journal (September 16)
“Economic activity in China cooled further in August.” Economists had expected a rebound from the troughs of July. Instead, “softness was visible last month in nearly every aspect of the Chinese economy, with industrial output and retail sales data pointing to sluggish demand and low confidence among businesses and consumers.”
Tags: August, China, Confidence, Consumers, Demand, Economy, Industrial output, Retail sales, Sluggish, Softness, Troughs
Reuters (September 16)
“The last thing the slowing world economy needs is a big and unexpected disruption in oil output.” The drone attacks “took out roughly half of Saudi Arabia’s crude output appear to fit that bill. But even fragile global growth can probably withstand this first cut.” However, if “sustained disruptions to Middle Eastern oil supply–or anything that heightens the risk of them–will buoy crude. That will deliver the deepest cut to growth.”
Tags: Crude, Crude output, Disruption, Drone attacks, Economy, Fragile, Growth, Middle East, Oil, Output, Risk, Saudi Arabia, Supply, Unexpected
Boston Globe (September 8)
“President Trump’s trade war with China isn’t just about how much the next pair of running shoes will cost American consumers…. Its impact is spreading like a virus to all segments of the US economy, affecting the manufacturing supply chain, with the potential to whack consumer confidence.”
Tags: China, Consumers, Economy, Manufacturing, Supply chain, Trade war, Trump, U.S., Virus
Reuters (September 5)
“The most likely outcome is now that GDP growth will come in below 2.5%, perhaps significantly lower, the worst since the recession of 2008/09. By implication, oil consumption growth is likely to slip below 1% and 1 million bpd, in line with BP’s latest forecast,” but well short of the last two decade’s 1.5% average annual growth rate. “Until the global economy recovers momentum, oil consumption growth is likely to remain well below trend, keeping prices under pressure.”
Tags: BP, Economy, Forecast, GDP, Growth, Implication, Momentum, Oil consumption, Outcome, Recession
LA Times (August 23)
“The real threat to the U.S. economy Friday wasn’t Powell,” the Federal Reserve Chairman. “It was Trump’s trade policies and public outbursts. Having righted itself by the end of Powell’s speech, the Dow dropped sharply immediately after the president’s Friday tirade. As of this writing, it was down 455 points.”
The Guardian (July 9)
“The pound has come under fresh selling pressure amid rising fears over the strength of the British economy as no-deal Brexit looms,” tumbling to its lowest sustained level in over two years. “The latest sell-off comes at a time of a stalling UK economy, as the boost from stockpiling before the original Brexit deadline begins to fade” and fears grow that “the economy probably contracted in the three months to June, raising fears of a technical recession.”
Tags: Brexit, Economy, Fears, No-deal, Pound, Pressure, Recession, Sell-off, Stalling, Stockpiling, UK
Reuters (June 28)
“British consumers have turned gloomier about the economy and the outlook for their personal finances,” according to a consumer-sentiment survey. “The GfK consumer sentiment index—which has been negative since shortly before the June 2016 Brexit referendum—fell to -13 in June from May’s seven-month high of -10.” This is just one of the signs pointing to “a lacklustre second quarter for the economy.”
Tags: Brexit, Consumer sentiment, Consumers, Economy, GfK, Gloomier, Lacklustre, Negative, Outlook, Personal finances, Referendum, UK
Wall Street Journal (June 18)
“The boom in U.S. oil production…has become a strategic advantage against authoritarian governments that want to use oil as a weapon. Europe’s weak economy doesn’t have to cope with an oil shock, and the U.S. can squeeze Iran’s exports without damaging the global economy.”
Tags: Authoritarian, Boom, Economy, Exports, Iran, Oil, Production, Shock, Strategic advantage, U.S., Weapon. Europe
Los Angeles Times (June 18)
The President consistently “runs through the talking points about the economy or judges as quickly as possible so he can get to the really important topic: Donald Trump. The problem for Trump is that if the central question of the election is him he will lose because he is not popular.”
Bloomberg (May 23)
“Japan is beginning a major and unprecedented exercise.” Though “new immigration will help keep Japan’s economy and pension system afloat, it will inevitably introduce social strains.” Time alone will tell “whether the country’s culture and institutions will be able to learn from Europe’s experience and manage a smooth transition, or whether immigration will spark a nativist backlash that closes the country off once again.”
Tags: Backlash, Culture, Economy, Europe, Immigration, Japan, Nativist, Pension system, Social strains