Wall Street Journal (February 13)
“In 2013, the consumer item with the fastest sales growth was private jets. Last year: used cars and trucks.” As steady growth continues, the U.S. recovery “is now beginning to benefit the average consumer more than the few at the top of the income curve.”
Tags: Consumer, Income, Private jets, Recovery, Sales growth, Trucks, U.S., Used cars
Institutional Investor (August 28)
“Chinese companies are the new force in global M&A.” With $51 billion of outbound M&A, China has surpassed both Japan ($37 billion) and Germany ($49 billion) during the first eight months of 2014. Though it still trails the U.S. ($174 billion), “mainland firms are stepping up the pace of foreign acquisitions, increasingly targeting technology and consumer plays in developed countries.”
Tags: Acquisitions, China, Consumer, Developed countries, Germany, Japan, M&A, Technology, U.S.
New York Times (August 17)
China is both the world’s largest consumer of coal and the world’s largest producer of CO2 emissions. Encouragingly, that may be set to change. “The wretched air in China’s cities is forcing Chinese officials to change their energy policies. If they do a good job tackling local pollution, they could also have a big impact on climate change.” Details are still scarce, but could include a ban on the use of coal in urban areas by 2020.
Tags: Ban, China, Cities, Climate change, CO2 emissions, Coal, Consumer, Energy policies, Officials, Pollution, Producer, Urban areas
Financial Times (October 10)
“The world has just passed a historic milestone: China has overtaken the U.S. as the world’s largest oil importer…. The implications for international relations and global security are profound.” Cinching the global “gas guzzler” title has as much to do with the dramatic increase in domestic U.S. production through fracking as rising living standards in China. While China is now the biggest oil importer, the U.S. remains the biggest consumer. Per capita, the U.S. consumes over seven times more oil than China or 21.5 barrels annually per person.
Tags: China, Consumer, Fracking, Global security, International relations, Living standards, Milestone, Oil imports, U.S.
