The Economist (June 6)
“Until recently, conventional wisdom held that Hong Kong’s position would be assured for 20-30 years…. But the trade war, a year of street protests and China’s iron-fisted response to them raise new questions about Hong Kong’s durability.” So far, there is little evidence of capital flight, but the territory must again rise to the challenge or “its time as a global financial centre really will be up.”
Tags: Capital flight, China, Durability, Global financial centre, Hong Kong, Iron-fisted, Protests, Trade war, Wisdom
Bloomberg (January 5)
“From goods leaving the factory floor in China’s industrial towns to gasoline at the pump in Europe and America, prices that stayed low for years are finally going up.” The reflation narrative leaves most policymakers hopeful and a few giddy, but doubts linger about the durability of the recovery.
Tags: Doubts, Durability, Europe, Factories, Gasoline, Policymakers, Recovery, Reflation, U.S.
The Economist (September 21)
“Nine of the world’s ten most valuable firms are American.” A rising stock market and the euro crisis are partly responsible, but the reasons go deeper. “First, America’s mix of resilience and renewal. Three of its nine biggest firms have their roots in a 16-year period in the late 19th century—Exxon, General Electric and Johnson & Johnson. Their durability reflects their powerful corporate cultures. But the country still does creative destruction, too. IBM and Intel have slid down the rankings to be replaced by Apple and Google. Chevron, an energy firm, has gone from a laggard to a world-beater. Success has been anything but parochial. Six of the nine biggest firms sell more abroad than at home.”
Tags: Apple, Chevron, Corporate culture, Creative destruction, Durability, Euro crisis, Exxon, General electric, Google, IBM, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Rankings, Stock market, Success, U.S., Value
