Financial Times (October 20)
“In just six weeks, Truss cratered the Conservative party’s poll ratings and unleashed turmoil on financial markets. She was forced into a U-turn on her “mini” Budget involving £45bn of unfunded tax cuts, sacked her chancellor and ousted her home secretary.” After vowing to fight on, she then delivered “one of the shortest and bleakest resignation statements in modern British history: she was quitting after only 44 days in office.”
Tags: Bleakest, Budget, Conservative Party, Cratered, Financial markets, Ratings, Resignation, Shortest, Tax cuts, Truss, Turmoil, U-turn
CNN (October 19)
Even with “Trussonomics… tossed out and a total market meltdown avoided, the near-term prospects for Britain’s economy look increasingly wobbly. A recession stretching through the winter looms. Policymakers were facing tough choices even before Truss unleashed financial market chaos. Now, with the government’s credibility tarnished, they’re in an even worse predicament.”
Tags: Avoided, Britain, Chaos. Government, Credibility, Economy, Market, Meltdown, Prospects, Recession, Tarnished, Tossed out, Trussonomics, Wobbly
Forbes (October 18)
“Home builder confidence plunged for a tenth straight month in October as rising interest rates continued to weaken housing demand—prompting economists to warn an unexpected rise in new home sales last month may be short-lived and prices may be on the brink of collapse.”
Tags: Confidence, Economists, Home builder, Home sales, Housing demand, Interest rates, October, Plunged, Rising, Weaken
Reuters (October 17)
“Local governments have long been a pump-primer of China’s growth, but declining state land sales revenue in the wake of an ongoing crackdown on debt in the sector has severely eroded their financial power – a situation exacerbated this year by China’s feeble growth, weak tax income and crippling COVID restrictions.” These bodies now face budget shortfalls of roughly $1 trillion. Amid China’s wobbly economy, “the timing couldn’t be worse.”
Tags: Budget shortfalls, China, COVID restrictions, Crackdown, Debt, Declining Land sales revenue, Economy, Eroded, Feeble, Financial power, Growth, Local governments, Pump-primer, Tax income
Wall Street Journal (October 16)
“Stocks slumped most of last week. Then they unexpectedly surged Thursday, only to tumble again Friday.” The wild swings may be driven by “a classic bear-market rally: a case of beaten-down markets temporarily bouncing higher, only to resume selling off.”
Tags: Bear-market rally, Bouncing higher, Markets, Selling off, Slumped, Stocks, Surged, Tumble, Unexpectedly, Wild swings
New York Times (October 14)
Recent events have undermined the sunny view of globalization that long dominated Western policy. It’s now apparent that despite global integration, there are still dangerous bad actors out there — and interdependence sometimes empowers these bad actors. But it also gives good actors ways to limit bad actors’ ability to do harm.
Tags: Bad actors, Dangerous, Empowers, Global integration, Globalization, Harm, Interdependence, Sunny view, Undermined, Western policy
The Economist (October 13)
“The Communist Party has always been obsessed with control. But under President Xi Jinping that obsession has deepened. After three decades of opening and reform under previous leaders, China has in many ways become more closed and autocratic under Mr Xi.” The obsessive control is, however, weakening China.
Tags: Autocratic, China, Communist party, Control, Leaders, Obsessed, Opening, Reform, Xi
Investment Week (October 12)
Aside from shipping difficulties and “maritime headwinds” hitting China, “the property crisis, fuelled by debt defaults from property developers, has dented the likelihood of Chinese GDP hitting growth targets as local authority revenue takes a hit from land sale income decline. Sentiment has followed suit and many wonder when and where respite will arise.”
Tags: China, Debt defaults, Decline, GDP, Growth targets, Headwinds, Income, Land sale, Maritime, Property crisis, Property developers, Revenue, Sentiment, Shipping
The Guardian (October 12)
“Within a decade, the US will need to deter two major nuclear weapons powers for the first time,” as can be seen from “the Russian arsenal that is increasingly being brandished by Moscow and an expanding Chinese stockpile.” President Biden’s “new national security strategy (NSS) depicts China as the most capable long-term competitor, but Russia as the more immediate, disruptive threat.”
Tags: Arsenal, Biden, Brandished, Capable, China, Competitor, Deter, Expanding, Moscow, National security, Nuclear weapons, Russia, Stockpile, Strategy, U.S.
Bloomberg (October 12)
“In a fresh sign of Japan’s dysfunctional bond market, the 10-year benchmark failed to trade for a third consecutive session Tuesday, the longest such streak since 1999.”
Tags: 10-year, Benchmark, Consecutive, Dysfunctional bond, Failed, Fresh, Japan, Longest, Market, Sign, Streak, Trade
