Forbes (March 13)
“Like Iceland in its heyday, Singapore’s economic stability and vitality – on the surface at least – has made it the envy of the world at a time when most Western economies are languishing with feeble growth, and high rates of unemployment and poverty.” And, just like Iceland, the Switzerland of Asia will suffer when its economic bubble is punctured. In the meantime, “Singapore’s bubble economy may continue inflating for several more years if the U.S. Fed Funds Rate and SIBOR continue to be held at such low levels.”
Tags: Asia, Bubble, Economic stability, Fed, Growth, Iceland, Poverty, SIBOR, Singapore, Switzerland, U.S., Unemployment, Western economies
Financial Times (March 4)
The Chinese Government appears to be getting serious about tackling air pollution. “The danger is that the leadership of the Communist party will conclude that it needs fast growth more than it needs clean air, clean soil and clean rivers. That would be a mistake.”
Tags: Air pollution, China, Clean air, Clean rivers, Clean soil, Communist party, Government, Growth, Leadership
The Economist (January 25, 2014)
“In some ways, China’s market is still the world’s most enticing. Although it accounts for only around 8% of private consumption in the world, it contributed more than any other country to the growth of consumption in 2011-13.” But China is proving vexing to foreign firms as they find themselves subject to government whims, strong local competition, a tighter labor market and slowing growth. Some are scaling down. Others stumbling or even pulling out. “China is still a rich prize. Firms that can boost productivity, improve governance and respond to local tastes can still prosper. But the golden years are over.”
Tags: China, Competition, Consumption, Enticing, Foreign firms, Golden years, Governance, Government, Growth, Labor market, Productivity, Slowing
Financial Times (December 31, 2014)
“Japan is no longer a backwater for investors…. The authorities are saying the right things and doing most of them.” Japan outperformed in 2013 and despite concerns over the consumption tax increase in 2014, Japan’s prospects remain robust. “With a wide range of one-off stimulus measures in force to counter a shock that may not come, we think growth could surprise significantly to the upside.”
Washington Post (December 5, 2013)
The U.S. does not test well. In contrast, Japan, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan swept top places for math, reading and science in the recent PISA global educational survey. Nevertheless, “the United States has done very well in harnessing the talents of its top 1 percent and in attracting the top 1 percent from the rest of the world to live and work here. These are the engines of innovation, growth and dynamism.” Whether they will keep the U.S. from falling behind, however, remains to be seen.
Tags: Dynamism, Education, Growth, Hong Kong, Innovation, Japan, Math, Reading, Science, Shanghai, Singapore, Taiwan, Talent, U.S.
Financial Times (November 15, 2013)
“Disappointing growth figures in the eurozone and Japan driven by weak export numbers have dashed hopes that a global economic recovery would gather pace in the second half of the year.” Third-quarter eurozone growth fell 0.2% to 0.1% while Japan’s growth rate dropped to 1.9%.
Tags: eurozone, Exports, Global economic recovery, Growth, Japan
New York Times (November 14, 2013)
“After a surprising spurt of strong growth in the first half of the year, the Japanese economy seems to be running out of steam as exports and consumer spending show signs of weakening.” The annualized growth rate was dramatically halved, from 3.8% in the second quarter to 1.9% in the third quarter. However, the consensus suggest the rate will increase in coming quarters ahead of the consumption tax hike in April 2014.
Tags: Consumer spending, Consumption tax, Economy, Exports, Growth, Japan, Weakening
Financial Times (November 11, 2013)
“Japan’s inflationary momentum remains worryingly sluggish. The recent acceleration in prices is the result of surging energy costs, not of domestically generated inflation. Regular wages–excluding overtime and bonuses–fell for a 16th consecutive month in September…. The government must be ready to take more of an activist line to secure its objective.… The government should also be much bolder in its structural reform agenda, aimed at stimulating the rate of long-term growth.”
Tags: Bonuses, Energy costs, Government, Growth, Inflation, Japan, Momentum, Overtime, Sluggish, Structural reform, Wages
Bloomberg (October 28)
“Foreign investors have boosted South Korean stock holdings for a record 41 straight days, lured by the nation’s current-account surplus, strengthening currency and fastest growth in almost two years.”
Washington Post (October 27)
“Not many countries would cheer about an economic growth rate of one-tenth of 1 percent, sustained for a mere three months. But for Spain, which has been mired in negative growth for two years, the tiny uptick in the third quarter of 2013 represents a kind of breakthrough.” For Europe, however, this is just the slightest hint of a “silver lining in a what is still a very dense, dark cloud hanging over Europe’s economy. Spain and its fellow euro-zone debtors — Italy, Portugal, Ireland and Greece — don’t just need a trickle of growth to bring down their unemployment rates and debt-to-gross-domestic-product ratios. They need a gusher; many consecutive months of high-single-digit growth. And there is no short-term prospect of that.”
Tags: Breakthrough, Debt, Economy, Euro zone, Europe, GDP, Greece, Growth, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Unemployment, Uptick
