New York Times (May 31)
China’s biotechnology sector passed a milestone. This year’s prestigious meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) features “a presentation of a clinical trial conducted only in China.” Typically, the headliners have “featured drug trials that were run mainly at American and European hospitals.” This milestone “reflects the dizzying growth of China’s biotechnology sector. In just a few years, it has transformed from a sleepy industry into a juggernaut rapidly inventing and testing cutting-edge medicines.”
Tags: ASCO, Biotechnology, China, Clinical trial, Cutting-edge medicines, Drug trials, Europe, Growth, Headliners, Inventing, Juggernaut, Milestone, Oncology, Prestigious, Testing, U.S.
Reuters (May 22)
“Asia buys about 80% of oil shipped through the shuttered Strait of Hormuz and stress in foreign exchange markets is one of the clearest signs that rising fuel prices are starting to hurt growth.” Asian governments have been left in “an unenviable position. The path to preserving growth is precarious because falling currencies can shake confidence and stoke inflation, but supporting them with higher rates means a hit for consumers and the economy’s growth engine on top of the fuel shock.”
Tags: Asia, Confidence, Consumers, Currencies, Forex, Governments, Growth, Inflation, Markets, Oil, Precarious, Prices, Rates, Shuttered, Strait of Hormuz, Unenviable
Bloomberg (April 6)
“Chinese bonds may be reaching an historic turning point, with yields climbing from record low levels as deflationary pressures ease and expectations for monetary loosening recede…. Sentiment in the largest emerging debt market has shifted after a slew of upbeat data, from a surprise growth rebound to slower factory-gate price declines, cast fresh doubts on the deflation-driven narrative that has dominated trading in recent years.”
Tags: Bonds, China, Deflationary pressures, Emerging debt market, Expectations, Growth, Historic, Monetary loosening, Rebound, Record low, Sentiment, Turning-point, Upbeat, 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
Wall Street Journal (January 29)
A “deflation doom loop” is “trapping China’s economy.” Despite the nation’s “extraordinary leaps in cutting-edge technology, from artificial intelligence to robotics,” China’s “relentless pursuit of growth through manufacturing has also created a lopsided economy, with much of it stuck in a deflationary spiral. China’s GDP deflator, a broad price gauge, has been negative since 2023, a sign of inadequate demand at home.”
Tags: 2023, AI, China, Deflationary spiral, Doom loop, Economy, GDP deflator, Growth, Lopsided, Manufacturing, Negative, Robotics, Technology
Reuters (December 11)
“India’s blistering growth has a quality problem. GDP is speeding ahead at 8% in the world’s fifth-largest economy but the government is doing the heavy lifting on investment. Policymakers have spent years trying to coax companies into spending more, with limited success. The result: growth that looks fast but feels flimsy.”
Tags: 8%, Coax, Economy, FAST, GDP, Government, Growth, India, Investment, Policymakers, Quality, Spending, Success
New York Times (October 26)
Under Donald Trump, a “casino… now passes for the American economy.” Distinguished by froth, Trump’s “casino economy” is “built on speculation and risk. Across markets and policy, wagers on the future are being made with other people’s money at a cost that could prove catastrophic.” While it’s true that “economies run on risk, growth and ambition…. There’s risk, and then there’s reckless gambling.”
Tags: Ambition, Casino, Casino economy, Catastrophic, Cost, Froth, Future, Gambling, Growth, Money, Reckless, Risk, Speculation, Trump, U.S.
Reuters (October 22)
“Sanae Takaichi wants to spend a lot of money on Japan, but she also needs to sort out some hefty financial obligations to the United States.” She is coming under immediate “pressure to secure backing for $550 billion her predecessor Shigeru Ishiba pledged to invest in U.S. projects as part of his tariff deal with the White House.” Given the new Prime Minister’s “desire to use fiscal spending to boost growth, she’s likely to lean on” private, rather than public, funding “to avoid immediate budgetary constraints.”
Tags: $550 billion, Financial obligations, Fiscal spending, Funding, Growth, Invest, Ishiba, Japan, Money, Pressure, Prime minister, Private, Public, Takaichi, Tariff deal, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (September 26)
“Walmart executives aren’t sugarcoating the message: Artificial intelligence will wipe out jobs and reshape its workforce.” They are not alone. “Companies including Ford, JPMorgan Chase and Amazon have bluntly predicted job losses associated with AI.” For the next three years at Walmart, head count is “expected to stay flat… despite growth plans, as AI eliminates or transforms roles.” Beyond that time frame, the outlook “remains murky” for the specifics of its labor force composition, but it will definitely be leaner.
Tags: AI, Amazon, Companies, Eliminates, Executives, Ford, Growth, Head count, Job losses, JPMorgan Chase, Murky, Reshape, Sugarcoating, Transforms, Walmart, Workforce
Wall Street Journal (September 17)
“Industrial production in the eurozone returned to growth in July, a reflection of resilience as U.S. tariffs threaten to crimp demand.” Monthly “output edged up 0.3%… after a 0.6% slump in June.” The July “increase was driven by a strong 1.5% upswing in production in Germany.” While the tariff threat remains, “the eurozone’s industry has so far proved relatively resilient, having grown in two of the four months since President Trump’s announcement of levies on global trading partners in early April.”
Tags: 0.3%, Demand, eurozone, Germany, Growth, Industrial production, July, Levies, Resilience, Threat, Trading partners, Trump, U.S. tariffs, Upswing
