Wall Street Journal (March 10)
“This is the winter that wasn’t in Minnesota and other states across America’s normally frozen northern tier. Record warm temperatures and low snowfall have forced the cancellation of everything from ice fishing tournaments to dog sled races to winter carnivals. Business has dried up for ski resorts, snowmobile makers and any other venture that relies on cold weather and white powder to make a living.”
Tags: Cancellation, Cold weather, Dog sled races, Frozen, Ice fishing, Minnesota, North, Record warm, Ski resorts, Snowfall, Snowmobile makers, Temperatures, Winter, Winter carnivals
Newsweek (March 9)
“America’s teenage population is expected to shrink in the coming decade, whilst the number of people aged 70 or over expands by 14.5 million” as the 70 or over senior population is expected “to boom from 40.8 million to 55.3 million by 2033.” In the two decades since 1971, the U.S. fertility rate fell by 27%. The average woman now bears only 1.66 children, down from 2.26 fifty years ago.
Tags: 1.66 children, 2033, 70 or over, Boom, Fertility rate, Population, Seniors, Shrink, Teenage, U.S., Woman
CNN (March 7)
“February was 1.77 degrees Celsius warmer than the average February in pre-industrial times… and it capped off the hottest 12-month period in recorded history, at 1.56 degrees above pre-industrial levels.” The recent data from the EU’s Copernicus climate monitoring service also confirmed that February was “the ninth month in a row that global records tumbled” and “global ocean temperatures were also off the charts,” especially the North Atlantic, which “has set a new daily temperature record every day since March 5 last year.”
Tags: 1.77 degrees, Climate, Copernicus, EU’s, February, Global records, History, Hottest, North Atlantic, Ocean temperatures, Pre-industrial times, Warmer
Bloomberg (March 6)
“However California’s next monumental blaze begins, the toll will be vast. People will be injured, some will die. Thousands of homes will be destroyed. When the smoke clears, the most populous US state, home to Hollywood, Silicon Valley and a real estate market worth more than $9 trillion, will be ground zero for a sweeping financial crisis.”
Tags: $9 trillion, Blaze, California, Destroyed, Die, Ground zero, Hollywood, Homes, Injured, Monumental, Real estate market, Silicon Valley, Smoke, Toll, U.S., Vast
The Economist (March 6)
“So far the signals” from China’s annual meeting of the National People’s Congress “are not reassuring. They suggest that China lacks a robust plan to deal with its economic slump and that some of its targets are drifting from reality. Power is concentrating even further in the hands of President Xi Jinping.”
Tags: Annual meeting, China, Concentrating, Economic slump, Lacks, National People's Congress, Power, Reality, Reassuring, Robust plan, Signals, Targets, Xi
Wall Street Journal (March 5)
“It is the end of the Chinese growth miracle as we know it, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping seems fine with that. The question now is whether he can steer the country onto a new course— and keep the rest of China on board.”
Forbes (March 4)
“The bitcoin price has topped $60,000 per bitcoin, making it a $1 trillion asset again,” reigniting concerns of possible fallout on the economy should its price tumble. Still, the wind appears to be with bitcoin. “Bank of America analysts have warned the U.S. debt load is about to ramp up to add $1 trillion every 100 days—fueling a bitcoin price surge.”
Tags: $1 trillion, $60k, 100 days, Analysts, Asset, Bitcoin, BoA, Concerns, Debt load, Economy, Fallout, Reigniting, Tumble, U.S.
Financial Times (March 2)
“Surging property prices in recent years has been a common theme for many major cities around the world.” In Tokyo, the difference is “that a longer-lasting trend is driving prices this time. The number of wealthy households in Japan has reached a record 1.5mn as the total amount of financial assets has also risen every year since 2013.” In addition, “demand from wealthy Chinese buyers” is boosting demand.
Tags: 2013, Boosting, Chinese buyers, Cities, Demand, Financial assets, Japan, Property prices, Surging, Tokyo, Trend, Wealthy households
Bloomberg (March 2)
“European Central Bank officials confronting faster-than-expected inflation might also wonder if this is just the last stumble before their 2% target looms large. While the 2.6% outcome for February released on Friday — and a still-stubborn 3.1% result for the so-called core measure — present grounds for caution, the downward momentum in consumer prices is getting harder to ignore.”
Tags: 2% target, Caution, Consumer, Core measure, Downward, ECB, February, Inflation, Momentum, Outcome, Prices, Stumble
Time (March 1)
“Until the 1970s, women in the most prosperous Asian economies like South Korea, Japan, and China were having more than five children on average. Today, that trend is starkly different.” And not just in Asia. Globally, “fertility rates have decreased worldwide” for seven decades. “Even in the most advanced economies, the rate is now 1.6 children per couple, compared to the recommended rate of 2.1 for countries wanting to keep a steady population without any migration.”
Tags: 1970s, Advanced economies, Asia, Asia. Fertility rates, Children, China, Japan, Migration, Population, Prosperous, South Korea, Steady, Women
