Reuters (March 3)
“Europe’s dark defence picture has a bright side. President Donald Trump’s hostility to erstwhile U.S. allies in Europe… has scrambled the continent’s security arrangements. Yet leaders who gathered in London on Sunday have a consolation of sorts: the pressure to rapidly rearm gives them cover to hike taxes.” They can now “legitimately tell their populations that everything has changed. There’s a solid long-term argument for Europeans to make a bigger contribution to their security. It’s a silver lining for an otherwise gloomy outlook.”
Tags: Car dealers, Cold weather, Decline, Drop, Economists, Environment, Indoors, Perilous, Rebound, Retail sales, Retailers, Tariff threats, Trump, U.S.
Seeking Alpha (October 28)
“Benchmark crude oil futures fell Monday in their largest one-day decline in more than two years after Israel’s weekend strikes on Iran avoided energy facilities and ease worries of a wider war that could disrupt global supplies… Analysts said the lack of strikes on oil or nuclear facilities leaves the door open for both sides to de-escalate the conflict.”
Tags: Analysts, Benchmark, Crude oil, De-escalate, Decline, Disrupt, Energy facilities, Futures, Iran, Israel, Nuclear, Oil, Strikes, Wider war
Markets Insider (August 3)
“Japan’s stocks took a hit on Friday, fueled by economic concerns in the US and the Bank of Japan’s interest-rate hike earlier this week.” Closing down 5.8%, the Nikkei marked “its largest daily decline since March 2020 after hitting record highs earlier this month.” The Nikkei was not alone. Amid signs of a cooling economy, U.S. stock indices “tanked across the board over the past two days due to a combination of discouraging economic data points, including rising unemployment and slowing manufacturing and construction.”
Tags: 2020, 5.8%, BOJ, Construction, Cooling, Decline, Discouraging, Economic concerns, Friday, Interest-rate hike, Japan, Manufacturing, Nikkei, Record highs, Stocks, U.S., Unemployment
Bloomberg (June 17)
“China’s home prices fell at a faster pace in May, as the country’s most forceful efforts to support the property market took time to revive demand.” Existing home values dropped by 1%, “the sharpest decline since at least 2011.” Oversupply is “dragging prices lower, giving people less reason to invest in property.” Meanwhile, “investors and analysts remain skeptical” that the government’s recent measures to revive the sector “will be sufficient” given the “funding revealed so far and the slow progress of existing trial programs in several cities.”
Tags: 2011, Analysts, China, Decline, Existing homes, Home prices, Investors, Lower, May, Oversupply, Prices, Property, Skeptical
Financial Times (June 5)
“India’s benchmark Nifty 50 rose 2.3 per cent following a sharp sell-off on Tuesday after a shock election result.” Meanwhile “Japan’s Topix index led losses as it dropped 1.4 per cent, driven lower by a decline in the financial and energy sectors. The yen was the region’s worst-performing currency as it fell 0.6 per cent against the dollar to ¥155.75.”
Tags: Benchmark, Currency, Decline, Election, Energy, Financial, India, Japan, Nifty 50, Sell-off, Shock, Topix, Worst-performing, Yen
The Economist (February 10)
“This year investors in Chinese stocks have been on a hair-raising ride. Even as America’s S&P 500 index reached record highs, markets in China and Hong Kong shed $1.5trn in January alone…. The decline signals a fundamental problem. Investors abroad and at home once saw China’s government as a dependable steward of the economy. Now this trust has seeped away, with severe consequences for China’s growth.”
Tags: $1.5trn, China, Consequences, Decline, Dependable, Economy, Government, Growth, Hair raising, Hong Kong, Investors, Markets, S&P 500, Steward, Stocks, Trust
Financial Times (January 25)
The German economy is “faltering.” Despite promises of reform and rebound, “Europe’s largest economy is starting to look more like a slow-moving car crash…. In 2023 it contracted by 0.3 per cent, making it the world’s worst-performing major economy. This has been accompanied by policy setbacks, nationwide strikes, and a steep decline in the ruling coalition’s popularity.”
Tags: 2023, Car crash, Contracted, Decline, Economy, Europe, Faltering, German, Major economy, Promises, Reform, Setbacks, Strikes, Worst-performing
Wall Street Journal (January 17)
“China last year ceded its centuries-old position as the world’s most populous country to India.” Births in 2023 fell by over half a million, “to just over 9 million in total, accelerating the decline in the country’s population as women shrugged off the government’s exhortations to reproduce.”
Tags: 2023, Accelerating, Births, Ceded, China, Decline, Exhortations, Government, India, Population, Populous, Shrugged, Women
Wall Street Journal (December 22)
“The Federal Reserve is winning its fight over inflation, boosting Americans’ spirits and offering greater reassurance that the U.S. economy can avoid a recession while bringing prices under control.” The PCE index favored by the Fed, “fell 0.1% in November from the previous month, the first decline since April 2020…. Prices were up 2.6% on the year, not far from the Fed’s 2% target.”
Tags: Boosting, Decline, Economy, Fed, Inflation, November, PCE index, Prices, Reassurance, Recession, Target, U.S.
Washington Post (September 21)
“The number of previously occupied homes sold in the United States dropped by 21 percent over the past year…. That’s on top of an 18 percent annual decline the year before, indicating the housing market has continued to slow down amid rising interest rates. Meanwhile, prices continued to rise, with the median sales price climbing 3.9 percent from a year ago to reach $407,100.”
Tags: $407, 100, Decline, Homes, Housing market, Rising interest rates, Sales price, Slow, Sold, U.S.
