Financial Times (January 25)
The German economy is “faltering.” Despite promises of reform and rebound, “Europe’s largest economy is starting to look more like a slow-moving car crash…. In 2023 it contracted by 0.3 per cent, making it the world’s worst-performing major economy. This has been accompanied by policy setbacks, nationwide strikes, and a steep decline in the ruling coalition’s popularity.”
Tags: 2023, Car crash, Contracted, Decline, Economy, Europe, Faltering, German, Major economy, Promises, Reform, Setbacks, Strikes, Worst-performing
The Guardian (February 5)
“It is finally dawning on more and more people that leaving the EU was a colossal mistake.” Brexit has led to “supply chain disruptions, staffing shortages, higher food prices and extra red tape for business. Public opinion is shifting towards remorse. Instead of hurtling away from the EU into the swaggering prosperity promised by the Leave campaign, Britain is instead receding into a dark timeline of recession, strikes, and political instability. Last week, it was forecast that Britain will be the only G7 economy to shrink in 2023.”
Tags: Brexit, Disruptions, EU, Food prices, G7 economy, Mistake, Political instability, Public opinion, Recession, Red tape, Remorse, Shortages, Shrink, Staffing, Strikes, Supply chain
The Independent (August 25)
On Sunday, British Airways should have been celebrating 100 years of flight, instead BA was experiencing “one of the worst weekends in its 21st-century history.” When the Pilots’ Association called three days of strikes, “the airline told tens of thousands of passengers that their flights were cancelled–only to admit many of the messages were sent in error” because the wrong date range was used in sending the alerts.
Tags: BA, Cancelled, Date, Error, Flights, Passengers, Pilots’ Association, Strikes, Wrong
Investment Week (March 12)
“BBB corporate bonds, the lowest investment grade rating band in which a company’s debt rating can reside, have now grown to make up more than half of the entire global investment grade (IG) market.” When the next downturn strikes,”there could be a cascade of ‘fallen angels’, companies that are downgraded from IG to high yield (HY), swamping the smaller HY market and causing problems for investors as liquidity dries up and imperfect market clearing mechanisms struggle to cope.”
Tags: BBB, Bonds, Debt, Downgrade, Downturn, Fallen angels, High yield, Investment grade, Liquidity, Market clearing, Strikes
Dallas Morning News (April 15)
“We’ll give President Donald Trump this: The coordinated strikes over the weekend that apparently destroyed the heart of Syria’s chemical weapons program were a serious, disciplined and appropriate response to a regime seemingly bent on using such weapons against its own people.” We now hope he’ll “now offer a clear plan for what’s next” in Syria.
Tags: Appropriate, Chemical weapons, Destroyed, Disciplined, Plan, Strikes, Syria, Trump, Weapons
Chicago Tribune (November 5)
“The U.S. drone program has come under enormous pressure from critics who say it claims innocent victims. President Barack Obama has vowed to provide more transparency in how targets are chosen and more accountability for strikes. But the death of Mehsud shows the enormous value of this high-tech warfare…. An international threat who was most likely beyond the reach of conventional troops has been felled. His predecessor met the same fate by the same means.”
Tags: Accountability, High-tech, Mehsud, Obama, Strikes, Targets, Threat, Transparency, Troops, U.S.. Drones, Victims, Warfare
New York Times (February 9, 2012)
The “Greek Tragedy” continues to unfold. “By forcing all Greeks to suffer with no real prospects of relief, Europe is uniting the country, now beset by strikes, against further reforms.” Unfortunately, Greece has little choice. “It cannot survive without Europe’s money, even if it chokes on Europe’s conditions.”
BBC (October 27)
The French National Assembly will vote on President Nicolas Sarkozy’s proposal to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. Most French agree pension reform is essential, yet the measure is explosive. Massive strikes crippled the country and Sarkozy’s approval ratings fell below 30%. The strikes and protests appear to be abating, with employees back to work at 5 of 12 oil refineries. However, a BBC correspondent reports, “the last skirmishes of this battle will still be dangerous both to the government and the economy.”
The French National Assembly will vote on President Nicolas Sarkozy’s proposal to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. Most French agree pension reform is essential, yet the measure is explosive. Massive strikes crippled the country and Sarkozy’s approval ratings fell below 30%. The strikes and protests appear to be abating, with employees back to work at 5 of 12 oil refineries. However, a BBC correspondent reports, “the last skirmishes of this battle will still be dangerous both to the government and the economy.”
Financial Times (June 11)
The rumbling in the world’s “assembly plant” is healthy. Striking Chinese workers are merely doing what has been done in “every successful east Asian country.” Rising wages are “a natural consequence of the country’s development and of the operation of labour markets.“ Both worker skill and productivity have increased throughout China, making it “entirely natural for pay… to rise to reflect those returns.”
Tags: China, Productivity, Strikes, Wages
