The Atlantic (October 14)
“Last week, amid widespread geopolitical turmoil and a weakening U.S. dollar, the price of gold hit a historic high of $4,000 an ounce. This year has so far been gold’s best since 1979.” This is not a portend of a strong economy. Over the most recent half century, gold has proven to be a fairly effective “recession indicator” as “spikes in the price of gold have typically been correlated with widespread inflation and geopolitical dysfunction.”
Tags: 1979, Dysfunction, Economy, Geopolitical turmoil, Gold, High, Inflation, Price, Recession indicator, Spikes, Weakening U.S. dollar, Widespread
The Ecoomist (October 13)
Politicians, economists, investors and others have long argued whether China’s economy is “a bubble waiting to burst” or “a sustainable success.” The argument is shifting, however, as “a new debate is now emerging, which is potentially far nastier. Much of the world falls into one camp: admiring China’s accomplishments, but also reeling from a deluge of Chinese exports. In the other camp is China, utterly convinced of the rightness of its economic model.”
Tags: Accomplishments, Admiring, Argument, Bubble, Burst, China, Convinced, Debate, Deluge, Economists, Economy, Emerging, Exports, Investors, Nastier, Politicians, Reeling, Rightness, Success, Sustainable
Time (September 27)
“The latest move in a sweeping tariff agenda that has roiled global markets and touched various sectors of the economy, as well as Americans’ wallets,” begins with the imposition of tariffs on branded pharmaceuticals (100%), kitchen and bathroom cabinets (50%), upholstered furniture (30%), and semi trucks (25%). Though “Americans could see an uptick in some prices,” this could be limited by exemptions, as well as the existing or expanding U.S. presence of major producers.
Tags: Branded pharmaceuticals, Cabinets, Economy, Exemptions, Furniture, Global markets, Prices, Roiled, Sectors, Semi trucks, Sweeping, Tariffs, Uptick
The Economist (September 20th to 26th)
China’s workforce “has undergone an extraordinary transformation,” diversifying from its base in farming and factories. The world’s largest workforce now includes some 200 million “precarious” gig workers, who provide “a warning for the world.” With technology remaking labor markets, 40% of the labor force in urban areas is now dependent “on some kind of flexible work,” yet many of these gig workers “struggle to buy property and gain access to public services and benefits.” This transformation “will shape China’s economy and society for years to come.”
Tags: 200 million, Benefits, China, Economy, Factories, Farming, Flexible work, Gig workers, Labor markets, Precarious, Property, Public services, Technology, Transformation, Urban, Warning, Workforce
Washington Post (September 20)
“Although investors cheered the Federal Reserve’s recent rate cut and the stock market has kept powering along, the economy is facing growing headwinds on one crucial front — consumer spending,” which is “faltering.” Even upper income consumers “are being more strategic about when to make big purchases, buying in bulk and shopping at cheaper retailers,” but the “shift is most pronounced among lower-income consumers, who are disproportionately vulnerable to rising prices and other economic pressures eroding their purchasing power.”
Tags: Bulk, Consumer spending, Economic pressures, Economy, Faltering, Fed, Headwinds, Investors, Lower-income, Rate cut, Retailers, Rising prices, Stock market, Upper income, Vulnerable
New York Times (September 16)
“While other countries have scrambled to meet President Trump’s demands to strike deals for reduced tariffs, China has kept to its own timetable.” The costly price has been a 15% drop in “China’s exports to the United States… so far this year.” China has successfully offset this with surging exports to other countries, but robust exports are “masking weakness in other parts of its economy. A persistent real estate downturn has wrecked [sic] havoc on the economy. Consumers are spending less, while joblessness among young people remains a major problem. China is also dealing with a stubborn deflationary spiral, spurred by overproduction in key industries and price wars.” Still, given its degree of media control, the Chinese government does not appear anxious about negotiating a trade deal with the U.S.
Tags: China, Consumers, Deals, Deflationary spiral, Demands, Downturn, Economy, Exports, Havoc, Joblessness, Overproduction, Price wars, Real estate, Spending, Surging, Tariffs, Trump, U.S., Weakness
The Economist (September 6)
“Insurgents who want to smash the system often end up running it.” Europe’s hard right is a threat to the economy and leading or polling strong in Britain, France and Germany. “In Italy they are in power; in the Netherlands they briefly led a coalition; and in Poland in June their presidential candidate saw off the nominee from the centre. By 2027 the hard right could be in office in economies worth getting on for half of European GDP.” The best case scenario is ” stagnation, at worst a bond-market rout.”
Tags: Bond-market rout, Britain, Economy, Europe, European GDP, France, Germany, Hard right, Insurgents, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Polling, Power, Smash, Stagnation, Threat
South China Morning Post (August 29)
According to Nomura Holdings, “the ongoing rally in Chinese stocks will do little to boost growth in the mainland’s economy, as equity investments account for a small portion of total household assets.” Only 1.3% of total household assets are in equities. In contrast, Chinese households have about 60% “of their wealth in the struggling property market.”
Tags: China, Economy, Equity, Growth, Household assets, Investments, Nomura, Property market, Rally, Stocks, Struggling, Wealth
Bloomberg (August 28)
“US companies are planning to buy back shares at a historic pace, a sign of Corporate America’s confidence in the economy.” In July, “announced share repurchases totaled $166 billion, the highest dollar value on record.” Subsequently, these went on to surpass “$1 trillion on Aug. 20, marking the shortest amount of time needed to reach that level.”
Tags: $1 trillion, Buy back, Companies, Confidence, Corporate America, Economy, Historic, Record, Share repurchases, Shares, Surpass, U.S.
New York Times (August 25)
The Chinese “housing downturn has not delivered the devastating shock that the United States suffered in the 2008 financial crisis, but it has been hanging over the economy for five years with no end in sight.” Prices for new and secondhand homes continue to fall. “The continuing property market slide comes at a vulnerable moment for the Chinese economy. A trade war has limited China’s ability to rev up its export engine, while consumer spending remains soft. The government is plowing money into semiconductors, robotics and other technologies, but those investments are unlikely to pay off quickly enough to fill the hole left by a shrinking property sector.”
Tags: 2008 financial crisis, China, Consumer spending, Devastating, Downturn, Economy, Export engine, Home prices, Housing, Property market, Semiconductors, Trade war, U.S., Vulnerable
