New York Times (January 1)
In the years ensuing the appearance of COVID-19, “the big question… was whether America would ever fully recover from that shock. In 2023 we got the answer: yes. Our economy and society have, in fact, healed remarkably well. The big remaining question is when, if ever, the public will be ready to accept the good news.”
Washington Post (July 8)
“The death of Shinzo Abe is a loss to the U.S. and its allies.” The former Prime Minister’s “assassination was a brutal and completely unforeseen end to a life of public service to the people of Japan. The shock of his death will not dissipate quickly. He was a visionary leader, someone who believed his country was capable of taking a central, and responsible, role in international affairs. His loss will be deeply felt in part because he had more contributions to make.”
Tags: Abe, Allies, Assassination, Brutal, Capable, Contributions, Death, International affairs, Japan, Loss, Public service, Responsible, Shock, U.S., Visionary leader
Wall Street Journal (June 16)
The Federal Reserve Board’s 75-point increase “was supposed to signal shock and awe, and it was the Fed’s first move of that magnitude since 1994.” Though the Fed is “front-loading its rate increases,” it does not realize the need to “go all that high to beat inflation.” The current forecast calls for a fed-funds interest rate of only 3.4% by year end. “That means increases will taper off through the rest of the year, and the Fed predicts a peak of only 3.8% in 2023.”
Tags: 1994, 2023, 3.8%, 75-point, Awe, Fed, Forecast, Front-loading, Inflation, Interest rate, Peak, Rate increases, Shock, Signal, Taper
Bloomberg (February 12)
“GameStop is only the most public manifestation of a trend that radically departs from all precedents. Some of the potential consequences are worrying…. The most heavily shorted stocks have been doing well ever since the recovery from the initial shock of the pandemic got under way last March.” This has created “a historic ‘black swan’ disaster for short sellers.”
Tags: Black swan, Consequences, Disaster, GameStop, Historic, Pandemic, Precedents, Recovery, Shock, Shorted stocks, Trend, Worrying
Financial Times (August 15, 2020)
“Forecasters least understand what is going on, and so make their biggest errors, when an economy is hit by a shock that is both novel and large. The coronavirus pandemic is both.”
Tags: Coronavirus, Economy, Errors, Forecasters, Novel, Shock, Understand
Financial Times (March 10)
“At some point the music stops playing for investors.” That happened yesterday. “The initial shock was the cornonavirus outbreak’s impact on the global economy. Then came the blow of an oil price war. Next is escalating financial contagion. Markets are likely to burn until the fuel of high debt levels and aggressive risk taking is extinguished.”
Tags: Cornonavirus, Debt, Economy, Financial contagion, Investors, Markets, Music, Oil price war, Risk-taking, Shock
Bloomberg (March 7)
“A second hit could be coming for China’s economy after its initial shock from the coronavirus…. While China has seen new cases of the virus slow,” growing cases in “the U.S. and Europe…could knock a half percentage point off of China’s gross domestic product for the year as demand for Chinese goods slows.”
Financial Times (September 20)
“Shock and confusion” resulted when overnight repo rates soared to 10%. The Fed was able to calm markets, but the situation is a reminder. “The more that QE (and its partial reversal) reshapes global finance, the greater the risk that the cogs in the machine unexpectedly misfire. That is no reason to panic. But central bank pilots—like investors—are learning on the job. Better hope they stay completely alert.
Tags: 10%, Central banks, Confusion, Fed, Global finance, Misfire, Panic, QE, Repo, Risk, Shock, Unexpected
Wall Street Journal (June 18)
“The boom in U.S. oil production…has become a strategic advantage against authoritarian governments that want to use oil as a weapon. Europe’s weak economy doesn’t have to cope with an oil shock, and the U.S. can squeeze Iran’s exports without damaging the global economy.”
Tags: Authoritarian, Boom, Economy, Exports, Iran, Oil, Production, Shock, Strategic advantage, U.S., Weapon. Europe
Financial Times (February 26)
“Four months after a historic Chinese Communist party congress was expected to answer most questions about Xi Jinping’s second five-year term in office, China’s president has demonstrated that he can still ‘shock and awe’ his political rivals.” The Central Committee’s recommendation to scrap the ten year presidential term limit, almost ensures this protection will be written out of the constitution, further tightening Xi’s powerful grip on China.
Tags: Awe, CCP, China, Constitution, President, Rivals, Shock, Term limit, Xi
