MarketWatch (May 30)
“Rising gas prices and inflation are causing a majority of U.S. households to fall behind financially… and the longer the situation goes on, the more stress it will place on the economy.” According to Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY Parthenon, the U.S. expansion is supported by a fragile pillar formed by “Three A’s,” namely “Affluent consumers, AI investment and Asset appreciation.” This pillar “masks an important reality. A huge swath of middle-class and lower-income families with little or no savings in stocks have not benefited much from the bull market or the AI boom.”
Tags: Affluent consumers, AI boom, AI investment, Asset appreciation Savings, Bull market, Daco, Economist, Economy, Expansion, Fragile, Gas prices, Households, Inflation, Pillar, Stocks, Stress, Three A’s, U.S.
Barron’s (May 27)
“Stocks are near their all-time highs.” Moreover, “investors are nervous about the numerous risks that could hit stocks and the economy. High oil prices and persistent inflation fears. The possibility that this will push the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. Worries about artificial-intelligence disrupting software and other sectors.” Nevertheless, Goldman Sachs believes equities “are still good investments” because “rapidly rising earnings could keep pushing up stock prices” and, rather than dumping equities, investors can manage risk in other ways.
Tags: AI, All-time highs, Earnings, Economy, Equities, Fears, Fed, Goldman Sachs, Inflation, Interest rates, Investors, Nervous, Numerous, Oil prices, Stock prices, Stocks
The Times (May 27)
“Corporate leaders who think decades ahead in business become incredibly short-sighted in advocacy, financing ideas that become roadblocks to innovation and growth.” Big Tech is currently finding out about the phenomena that Milton Friedman dubbed “the suicidal impulse of the business community.” For years, Big Tech “helped fund climate activism,” but they now face “backlash as AI data centres drive demand for energy and infrastructure growth.”
Tags: AI, All-time highs, Earnings, Economy, Equities, Fears, Fed, Goldman Sachs, Inflation, Interest rates, Investors, Nervous, Numerous, Oil prices, Risk, Stock prices, Stocks
The Economist (May 18)
“Since Donald Trump took office in January last year, America’s economy has continued to be the envy of the rich world. In 2025, while Britain, France and Japan eked out annual GDP growth of 1%, give or take, and Germany all but stood still, American output grew by 2.1%.” That growth could have been far more impressive. The Economist calculates that without the drag created by “fitful presidential policymaking,” the U.S. “might be rocketing ahead at nearly 5% annualised growth.”
Tags: 2025, 5%, Drag, Economy, Envy, Fitful, France, GDP growth, Germany, Japan, Policymaking, Rich world, Trump, U.S., UK
Los Angeles Times (May 4)
“Inflation surged to 3.5% in March — the highest level in nearly three years — as gas prices climbed above $4.40 due to Middle East tensions, yet consumers barely flinched. The U.S. economy expanded at a 2% annual rate in the first quarter while unemployment claims hit a 50-year low, signaling unexpected resilience despite inflation pressures.”
Tags: Consumers, Economy, Expanded, Gas prices, Inflation, March, Middle East, Q1, Surged, Tensions, U.S., Unemployment claims, Unexpected
The Guardian (April 5)
This has become “a Japanese century – thanks to the yen’s role as easy money for global finance.” Thanks to “loose monetary policy” the yen has evolved “into the world’s cheapest and most reliable funding currency. By suppressing yields on public debt to keep Japan’s domestic economy afloat, the BoJ effectively created a publicly subsidised funding pipeline for bankers.” They can make a quick buck by borrowing cheaply in yen and investing in higher-return assets, such as US equities. The “yen carry trade” is enormous, with profits for global investors reckoned to run into tens of billions of dollars.”
Tags: Bankers, BOJ, Carry trade, Easy money, Economy, Equities, Funding currency, Global finance, Japanese century, Loose, Monetary policy, Public debt, Reliable, Suppressing, Yields
The Week (March 18)
“In the immediate aftermath of Poland’s Communist collapse, the country was considered one of the most economically dire in Europe — but the status quo has changed in a major way. Poland now has the 20th largest economy in the world.” In 2025, GDP growth of 3.65% and economic output in excess of $1 trillion vaulted the nation over Switzerland and into the top 20.
Tags: $1 trillion, 2025, 20th, 3.65%, Aftermath, Communist collapse, Dire, Economy, Europe, GDP, Growth, Leapfrog, Output, Poland, Switzerland
MarketWatch (March 13)
“America’s “goldilocks” economy is over. The next seven days of the Iran conflict will set the stage for stagflation or global recession.” The U.S. was nearing perfection with unemployment at 4.4% and inflation down to 2.4%. Instead of basking in economic triumph, the U.S. now frets over a potential “doubling of the oil price,” which historically “coincides with a global recession. In today’s terms, that is $120-$140 a barrel. Brent crude brushed the bottom of that range earlier this week.”
Tags: $120-$140 bbl, Brent crude, Conflict, Doubling, Economy, Global recession, Goldilocks, Inflation, Iran, Oil price, Stagflation, U.S., Unemployment
Barron’s (March 12)
“Wall Street is becoming increasingly worried” with the escalating war in Iran. Investors fear the war “could lead to a stagflationary environment where the Federal Reserve can’t step in to boost the economy due to stubborn price growth. Odds of no rate cut in 2026 surged to 46.1% on Thursday.” The odds had stood at just 5.1% a month ago.
Tags: 2026, 46.1%, Economy, Escalating, Fear, Fed, Investors, Iran, Odds, Price growth, Rate cut, Stagflationary, Wall Street, War, Worried
Fortune (February 22)
“Four years after Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s economy has entered a ‘death zone.’” Former Russian central bank advisor Alexandra Prokopenko, currently a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, believes “the Russian economy is eating its own muscle to survive as Putin’s war on Ukraine destroys future capacity.” The economy might not be ”headed for an imminent crash, but GDP has stagnated, oil revenue has been halved amid Western sanctions, and the government’s budget deficit is rapidly draining reserves.”
Tags: Budget deficit, Central bank, Crash, Death zone, Economy, Future capacity, GDP, Government, Invasion, Oil revenue, Prokopenko, Putin, Reserves, Russia, Stagnated, Ukraine, Western sanctions
