The Economist (May 2)
“What was once unthinkable now appears unending. Most energy traders used to assume that, even under attack, Iran would not close the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint through which almost a fifth of the world’s oil ordinarily flows.” It’s been two months since the Iran conflict broke out, “traffic in Hormuz remains near zero. Diplomatic efforts to get it flowing again are intermittent and inconclusive. Although a negotiated resolution is always possible, it is also conceivable that the strait could stay shut indefinitely.”
Tags: Attack, Chokepoint, Conceivable, Conflict, Diplomatic efforts, Energy traders, Inconclusive, Indefinitely, Intermittent, Iran, Negotiated, Oil, Resolution, Strait of Hormuz, Traffic, Unending, Unthinkable
Wall Street Journal (May 1)
In a “a potent symbol of the gathering fiscal stresses” facing America, “U.S. national debt now exceeds 100% of gross domestic product, crossing a once-unthinkable threshold, on the way toward breaking the record set in the wake of World War II.” On March 31, federal debt stood at $31.265 trillion and GDP for the year therein ended was $31.216 trillion.
Tags: 100, Debt, Fiscal stresses, GDP, Potent symbol, Record, Threshold, U.S., Unthinkable, WWII
Financial Times (May 1)
“The European Central Bank and the Bank of England have warned they may need to raise interest rates in the coming months, as central banks grapple with the energy shock triggered by the war in the Middle East. The two central banks on Thursday followed the Federal Reserve in holding interest rates at their current levels, but both indicated future rate rises could be necessary if soaring energy costs spill over into persistently high inflation.”
Tags: BOE, Central banks, Costs, ECB, Energy shock, Fed, Grapple, Interest rates, Middle East, War, Warned
Reuters (March 30)
In India, artificial intelligence has already facilitated significant job cuts. Major downsizing by Oracle and Amazon appears to be “just the beginning of the headcount reductions.” The ensuing jobs crisis in the “vast outsourcing industry spells trouble for the country’s $4 trillion consumption-led economy.” The long-term impact “of AI on the global workforce may ultimately create more jobs. First, though, it may turn India’s already weak consumption and much-vaunted demographic dividend into a nightmare.”
Tags: $4 trillion, AI, Amazon, Consumption-led economy, Crisis, Demographic dividend, Global workforce, Headcount reductions, India, Jobs, Oracle, Outsourcing, Trouble
