The Economist (February 3)
Between 2012 and 2022, half of the Americans who adopted EVs and PHEVs were “living in the 10% of counties with the highest proportion of Democratic voters.” Polarization may best the biggest obstacle limiting “the American market for electric vehicles.” Polarization “is cursing not only America’s politics but, increasingly, its culture and marketplace.”
Tags: 2012, 2022, and PHEVs, Culture, Cursing, Democratic, EVs, Limiting, Market, Obstacle, Polarization, Politics, U.S., Vehicles, Voters
New York Times (January 15, 2014)
After three years without a case, India “can now be declared polio-free.” This “victory is an important milestone in the global effort to eliminate polio,” but much remains to be done to achieve the U.N. Millennium Development Goal of eradicating the disease by 2015, which would mean the world could be declared polio–free in 2018. Unfortunately, 2012 brought backtracking. There were 350 new cases of polio, up from 213 in 2012, and these occurred in 8 countries, up from 4.
Tags: 2012, 2015, 2018, Disease, India, Milestone, Millennium Development Goal, Polio, Polio-free, U.N., Victory
Wall Street Journal (December 26, 2013)
“The Nikkei’s strong performance this year hasn’t dented the enthusiasm of international fund managers.” In the first 11 months of 2012 foreign investors brought inflows of 830 billion yen into Japan’s stock market. In 2013, inflows from foreign investors soared to 14.8 trillion during the same period.
Tags: 2012, Enthusiasm, Foreign investors, Fund managers, International, Japan, Nikkei, Performance, Stock market
Euromoney (January issue)
“It won’t take much to improve on last year’s ECM and M&A revenue numbers. According to Dealogic’s preliminary full-year 2012 figures, ECM revenue fell to $13.3 billion last year—the lowest since 2003. M&A revenue was $17.3 billion in 2012—down 15% compared with 2011.” Debt capital markets, however, fared better in 2012 with DCM revenue at $21.1 billion, a 23% increase over 2011.
Financial Times (January 2)
“The commitment of member governments and, above all, of the European Central Bank to maintain the eurozone looks strong enough to keep it together for another year, at least.”
Tags: 2012, ECB, eurozone, Prediction, Survival
Washington Post (January 2)
The economy may very well determine if President Obama is reelected in 2012. But “given all the possibilities, handicapping the election based on the economy is nearly futile.” Even omitting outside factors like the euro zone crisis or the bubble in China, the U.S. economy remains too hard to call, making it “2012’s political wild card that — when played — may prove decisive, if accidental.”
Los Angeles Times (December 8)
North Korea’s hope of “strategic partnership with the United States has run its course. In its place, the focus of Pyongyang’s policies has decisively shifted to Beijing.” In less than a year, Kim Jong Il made three trips to China. Both countries appear to want a stable 2012. In exchange for aid, China has extracted promises of no new turmoil from Kim. “We believe that this pivot toward Beijing is no routine oscillation in North Korean policy…. we expect the North in the near to medium term to make far less overt trouble.”
Tags: 2012, China, North Korea, Trouble, U.S.
Investment Week (November 10)
Famed investor Jim Rogers predicts the next crisis will be worse than that of 2008. “In 2002 it was bad, in 2008 it was worse and 2012 or 2013 is going to be worse still—be careful.” He points his finger at non-sustainable debt levels which have left countries with few options for increasing economic stimulus. “The world has been spending staggering amounts of money it does not have for a few decades now, and it is all coming home to roost.”
