Reuters (December 13)
“Conflict in the Middle East added geopolitical uncertainty to a luxury industry outlook already clouded by inflation, with shoppers in the U.S. and Europe tightening their purse strings while expectations for a strong post-pandemic rebound in China were derailed by a property crisis” On top of all that, Bergdorf Goodman and other high end retailers are already discounting adding to “concern that a lackluster Christmas could lead to inventory gluts – potentially dragging labels into a discounting spiral that would cheapen their image.”
Tags: Bergdorf Goodman, China, Christmas, Clouded, Discounting, Europe, Geopolitical uncertainty, Inflation, Inventory gluts, Lackluster, Luxury, Middle East, Outlook, Property crisis, Shoppers, Tightening, U.S.
New York Times (November 1)
“After shocks from the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there’s little cushion if the fighting between Hamas and Israel becomes a regional conflict.” An escalation would cloud “the global economy’s outlook, threatening to dampen growth and reignite a rise in energy and food prices.” An escalation would also mark the first time the world has dealt with two simultaneous energy shocks.
Tags: Energy, Escalation, Fighting, Food, Global economy, Hamas, Invasion, Israel, Outlook, Pandemic, Regional conflict, Russia, Shocks, Ukraine
New York Times (September 1)
“The narrative about China has changed with stunning speed, from unstoppable juggernaut to pitiful, helpless giant.” This isn’t solely, however, the result of a recent turn of events. “China’s economic problems have been building for a long time.” The outlook for the next few years seems bleak, but China remains “a bona fide superpower, with enormous capacity to get its act together. Sooner or later it will probably get past the prejudices that are undermining its policy response.”
Tags: China, Economic problems, Helpless, Narrative, Outlook, Pitiful, Policy response, Superpower, Unstoppable juggernaut
Bloomberg (August 8)
“China’s trade plunged in July as slowing global demand clouded the outlook for exports, while domestic pressures weighed on imports in a hit to the economic recovery.” Exports (dollar denominated) fell 14.5% while imports decreased 12.4%. Both figures “were worse than what economists polled by Bloomberg had expected.”
Tags: Bloomberg, China, Domestic pressures, Economic recovery, Economists, Exports, Global demand, Imports, Outlook, Plunged, Trade
Investment Week (August 4)
“The outlook for the UK equity market feels particularly depressed and it is not hard to see why. Even after June’s better-than-expected inflation figures, core UK inflation remains high, which suggests higher interest rates for longer. Commentators are expecting that the base rate, which at 5.25% is at its highest for over 15 years, is likely to peak around 5.75%. This would bring even more pain for mortgage borrowers and greater government borrowing costs to an already faltering economy.”
Tags: 5.25%, 5.75%, Base rate, Borrowers, Depressed, Equity market, Inflation, Interest rates, Mortgage, Outlook, Pain, Peak, UK
Seeking Alpha (May 7)
“Berkshire Hathaway holds $130 billion in cash. That is over 18% of the company’s market cap. Clearly, management is not confident in the near term outlook of U.S. equity markets” in light of “the increasing preponderance of data that supports lower growth and lower earnings. The U.S. has certainly experienced an incredible period of growth and profits over the last 3 years. That phase is coming to an end.”
Tags: $130 billion, Berkshire Hathaway, Cash, Confident, Data, Earnings, Equity markets, Lower growth, Management, Market-cap, Near term, Outlook, Profits, U.S.
Reuters (April 12)
“The International Monetary Fund may have just hammered the final nail in the coffin of a complete economic rebound. With downside risks dominating its outlook, the IMF’s estimates dash any remaining hopes of a full recovery from recent years’ shocks.”
Tags: Dash, Downside risks, Economic rebound, Estimates, Full recovery, IMF, Outlook, Shocks
Financial Times (February 7)
“Investors are befuddled. Until a clear narrative on how the economy will fare emerges, markets will continue to whipsaw…. Markets are still digesting what it means for the US economic outlook, with a hard, a soft, and even a “no landing” scenario on the table, which have varying implications for investors and their positioning.”
Tags: Befuddled, Economy, Hard, Implications, Investors, Landing, Markets, Narrative, Outlook, Scenario, Soft, U.S., Whipsaw
Washington Post (January 30)
“The outlook for the global economy in recent weeks has unexpectedly brightened, with the United States, Europe and China all outperforming expectations and avoiding — at least for now — some predicted stumbles.”
Tags: Brightened, China, Europe, Expectations, Global economy, Outlook, Outperforming, Stumbles, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (October 28)
The U.K. dialed back government stimulus for the fast growing British economy, one of the first big Western economies to step away from the emergency policies put in place to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.” The shift is being spurred by “a buoyant growth outlook and concern over surging inflation,” which is “expected to accelerate to around 5% next year, more than double the BOE’s 2% goal.”
Tags: Buoyant, Concern, Coronavirus, Emergency policies, Fast growing. British economy, Government, Growth, Inflation, Outlook, Pandemic, Stimulus, Surging, U.K.
