Chicago Tribune (July 23)
“Six months after seizing complete control of the federal government, the Republican Party stands divided as ever plunged into a messy war among its factions that has escalated in recent weeks to crisis levels.” On top of that the executive and legislative branches are more frequently at odds. “Frustrated lawmakers are increasingly sounding off at a White House awash in turmoil and struggling to accomplish its legislative agenda.” In return, “President Donald Trump is scolding Republican senators over health care and even threatening electoral retribution.”
Tags: At odds, Crisis, Divided, Executive, Factions, Frustrated, Government, Lawmakers, Legislative, Republicans, Scolding, Trump, Turmoil
Bloomberg (February 12)
The Bank of Japan’s “decision to adopt negative interest rates has failed to rein in the currency’s advance.” In part, this is because money managers are advising wealthy families to favor the yen amid the turmoil in global financial markets. As a result, the yen is outperforming “all 31 other major currencies this year as Japan’s current-account surplus makes it attractive for investors seeking a haven.
Tags: Attractive, BOJ, Currency, Current-account, Haven, Interest rates, Investors, Japan, Money managers, Outperforming, Turmoil, Wealthy, Yen
Financial Times (December 21)
“A surge of deals in the pharmaceuticals, energy and consumer sectors has pushed merger and acquisition activity to an all-time high, surpassing 2007’s peak — but dealmakers have admitted that bond market turmoil and geopolitical instability are their biggest worries for 2016.”
Tags: 2016, Bond market, Consumer sectors, Deals, Energy, Geopolitical instability, M&A, Pharmaceuticals, Turmoil
Wall Street Journal (August 28)
“The turmoil in world markets may push back the date the Federal Reserve raises interest rates…. One consequence even in anticipation of the Fed’s move is that investors in emerging markets risk getting caught in a rip tide of liquidity heading back to the U.S.”
Tags: Emerging markets, Federal Reserve, Interest rates, Investors, Liquidity, Markets, Turmoil, U.S.
Washington Post (August 26)
“First was the dot-com bubble, then the housing bubble. Now comes the commodities bubble.” The stock market’s current turmoil is “driven at least in part by a bubble of raw material prices. Their collapse weighs on world stock markets through fears of slower economic growth and large financial losses.”
Tags: Collapse, Commodities bubble, Dot-com bubble, Economic growth, Housing bubble, Raw material prices, Stock market, Turmoil
The Economist (January 23)
The death of King Abdullah “could hardly have come at a more challenging time for Saudi Arabia.” His successor “King Salman has inherited a realm that is the world’s top oil exporter at a time when prices have plunged; is home to Islam’s holiest sites of Mecca and Medina at a time when jihadist violence is at a peak; and has been dragged into turmoil in the region.”
Tags: Islam, Jihadist, King Abdullah, King Salman, Mecca, Medina, Oil, Prices, Saudi Arabia, Successor, Turmoil, Violence
Wall Street Journal (January 16)
“The prediction that 2015 will be a year of currency turmoil is already coming true.” On Thursday, the Swiss National Bank roiled markets when it dropped its currency peg. “This won’t be the last currency shock as the world’s big central banks go their own way in frantic attempts to spur a slowing global economy.”
Tags: Central bank, Currency peg, Economy, Prediction, Shock, SNB, Switzerland, Turmoil
Bloomberg (December 29)
“The Greek parliament’s decision to trigger elections by rejecting Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s presidential candidate throws Europe back into turmoil. The European Union can avert a full-blown existential crisis, however, if it acknowledges that Greece’s economic pain is real and not entirely self-inflicted.”
New York Times (October 28)
“It is anyone’s guess how much more turmoil the Ukrainian people can take after they have watched their country battered, dismembered and bankrupted.” Nevertheless, Sunday’s elections “demonstrated that a large majority still support reform and a Westward course. At this critical juncture, it is imperative that the United States and European Union support them with immediate, tangible and generous support.”