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Fortune (April 4)

2023/ 04/ 05 by jd in Global News

“After the banking crisis, could the next domino be all those empty office buildings in your downtown? Investors and economists are sounding the alarm about the commercial real estate market, seeing trouble ahead with refinancing. This sector has been hit hard for years now with the shift to remote work bringing about rising vacancy rates and falling property values.”

 

The Week (October 8)

2022/ 10/ 09 by jd in Global News

“Alarm is rising over a global slowdown that’s testing even Apple’s invincibility… In September, Apple was so bullish about its sales projections for the new iPhone 14 that it told suppliers to bump production by roughly 7 percent.” Within just a few weeks, Apple backtracked. “If Apple is struggling to gauge consumer sentiment, that doesn’t bode well for other companies.

 

Reuters (April 1)

2022/ 04/ 03 by jd in Global News

In March, the Japanese yen “lost around 8% against the dollar… dropping to a six-year low below 125 on Monday.” Some believe that level “raises alarm among Japanese authorities, as a previous drop to that level triggered verbal warnings by BOJ’s Kuroda.” However, in terms of the “real, effective exchange rate—an indicator that captures the international competitiveness of a currency,” the yen is performing even worse, having “slid to less than half” of 1995’s peak.

 

Washington Post (December 27)

2021/ 12/ 27 by jd in Global News

“Americans must rally against the real threat to our democracy: China.” During the past decades of neglect, we “largely ignored the rising challenge of China and only now are approaching an appropriate level of alarm…. There isn’t much of a choice here: Rally, or face eclipse.”

 

The Economist (January 25)

2020/ 01/ 27 by jd in Global News

Toshiba has threatened “to block the takeover” of Toshiba Machine by Yoshiaki Murakami with a new share issue. This “should alarm anyone who cares about how Japanese firms are run.” Last year, Japanese corporations held cash in excess of ¥446 trillion, “even after they had bought back a record ¥6.5trn in shares the year before.” This “reluctance to part with cash shortchanges investors in Japan by ¥16trn a year.”

 

LA Times (July 11)

2017/ 07/ 13 by jd in Global News

Worried about an explosion of diabetes, California is investing $5 million in prevention efforts. The cause for alarm is a recent study which found that “46% of adults in California have prediabetes” while 9% of Californians are already diabetic. “Implementing the program should save $45 million a year because of those who end up not developing diabetes — and requiring less medical treatment — as a result of the intervention.”

 

Financial Times (June 7)

2017/ 06/ 10 by jd in Global News

“Change seems inevitable. Japan’s traditional reliance on seniority-based management is crumbling fast, and there is a clear sense of alarm as Toyota, Panasonic and Sony all talk about hiring international talent with both the broader skills and mindset to survive the next wave of technological innovation.”

 

New York Times (April 6)

2014/ 04/ 07 by jd in Global News

“In reality, slower population growth creates enormous possibilities for human flourishing.” Japan may be at the forefront of graying societies, but the nation is hardly alone. Most developed countries are already shrinking. Many developing countries, like China, are soon forecast to contract. This is fueling “dark prophecies” and causing alarm over the future. It shouldn’t. “Population doom of one kind or another is a recurring fad. Like most fads, this one can be safely ignored. Humanity has many legitimate problems to worry about. Falling fertility is not one of them.”

 

[archive]