The Week (November 9)
“Republicans were expecting a ‘red wave’ on Election Day, with the typical gains for the out-of-power party turbo-charged by high inflation and economic malaise. That wave did not materialize, and ‘many pundits and journalists across the spectrum pointed their fingers at former President [Donald] Trump.’”
Tags: Economic malaise, Election day, Inflation, Journalists, Materialize, Out-of-power, Pundits, Red wave, Republicans, Trump, Typical gains
American Banker (November 9)
“Lenders made it harder in the third quarter for both consumers and businesses to access credit,” and this trend looks likely to continue. “If the U.S. economy falls into a recession, more than 80% of banks said they would ‘somewhat’ or ‘substantially’ tighten lending standards for credit cards and loans backed by commercial real estate. More than 70% of banks said they would do the same for auto, commercial and industrial and residential real estate loans.”
Tags: Access, Auto, Banks, Businesses, Commercial, Consumers, Credit, Credit cards, Economy, Industrial, Lenders, Lending standards, Loans, Real estate, Recession, Tighten, U.S.
Bloomberg (November 6)
“For the US, China is a dangerous but distant challenge. For Japan, China is the existential danger next door.” Today, “the threat of Chinese aggression is producing a quiet revolution in Japanese statecraft — and pushing the nation to get ready for a fight.” Much of Japan’s ramp up is being done in the name of North Korea while Prime Minister Kishida, who was “once considered a dove,” is now successfully implementing policies “without provoking nearly as much blowback as the more polarizing Abe.”
Tags: Aggression, Blowback, Challenge, China, Dangerous, Distant, Dove, Existential danger, Japan, Kishida, North Korea, Polarizing, Quiet revolution, Statecraft, Threat, U.S.
Star Tribune (November 5)
“Transoceanic shipping is no longer backed up. But labor shortages at airlines and trucking firms continue to influence U.S. supply chains.” An October survey found that central state supply mangers believed “the speed of deliveries is back to pre-pandemic levels. But about one-third of them also said their biggest challenge for the fourth quarter was supply-chain disruptions,” albeit markedly down “from nearly 60% two months earlier.”
Tags: Airlines, Challenge, Deliveries, Labor shortages, Pandemic, Shipping, Speed, Supply chains, Transoceanic, Trucking firms, U.S.
Washington Post (November 4)
“This week has brought a flurry of speculation over the possibility that Beijing might alter course nearly three years into the pandemic. Investors are watching for signs of recovering demand in China, the world’s second-largest economy, and an end to disruptions to manufacturing and transport that have affected global supply chains.”
Tags: Beijing, China, Disruptions, Economy, Investors, Manufacturing, Pandemic, Possibility, Recovering demand, Signs, Speculation, Transport
Reuters (November 3)
A UNESCO report indicates that “some of the world’s most famous glaciers, including in the Dolomites in Italy, the Yosemite and Yellowstone parks in the United States and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania are set to disappear by 2050 due to global warming, whatever the temperature rise scenario.”
Tags: 2050, Disappear, Dolomites, Famous, Glaciers, Global warming, Italy, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Temperature, U.S., Unesco, Yellowstone, Yosemite
BBC (November 3)
“The Bank of England has warned the UK is facing its longest recession since records began, as it raised interest rates by the most in 33 years,” indicating that “the UK would face a ‘very challenging’ two-year slump with unemployment nearly doubling by 2025.” The BoE’s forecast paints “a picture of a painful economic period, with the UK performing worse than the US and the Eurozone.”
Tags: 2025, BOE, Challenging, Doubling, Forecast, Interest rates, Longest, Painful, Recession, Records, Slump, U.S., UK, Unemployment, Warned, Worse
Wall Street Journal (November 1)
The European Union’s statistics agency released figures that surprised most economists. “Consumer prices were 10.7% higher in October than a year earlier.” This marks “the fastest rate of increase since records began in 1997, two years before the euro was launched,” while at the national level “Germany’s measure of inflation was the highest since December 1951.”
Tags: 10.7%, 1997, Consumer prices, Economists, EU, euro, Fastest, Germany, Highest, Increase, Inflation, October, Records, Statistics agency, Surprised
Nikkei Asia (October 31)
“A record sell-off of China stocks has revealed investors’ fears over the country’s largest companies after Xi Jinping secured his third term,” cementing his grip on leadership. Any hopes “that China’s down-beaten tech sector would revive” or that more open borders might “boost the economy were apparently dashed” when the CCP’s national congress affirmed a Politburo Standing Committee most “notable for a lack of reform-minded top leaders.”
Tags: Borders, CCP’s, China, Companies, Dashed, Down-beaten, Economy, Fears, Grip, Hopes, Investors, Leadership, Politburo Standing Committee, Record, Reform, Sell-off, Stocks, Tech sector, Xi
The Times of India (October 30)
“The developed world’s depletion of global atmospheric commons has led to extreme climatic events across the planet. Climate change is already upon us due to industrialisation in Europe and North America in the past, and in China more recently. Countries that have contributed the least towards historical global emissions — countries that are still developing and poor — are left to fend for themselves. Global poverty has underwritten the riches of the developed world.” India cannot “be expected to pay for climate sins of the West.”
Tags: China, Climate change, Depletion, Developed, Developing, Emissions, Europe, Extreme climatic events, Global atmospheric commons, India, Industrialisation, North America, Poor, Riches