The Economist (December 5)
“Europe and America have shown that King Coal can be dethroned.” Next Asia must step up to “topple coal.” Fortunately, this “is overwhelmingly in Asia’s interest to do so. Its people, infrastructure and agriculture are dangerously exposed to the droughts, flooding, storms and rising sea levels caused by climate change….. Coal’s days are numbered. The sooner it is consigned to museums and history books, the better.”
Tags: Agriculture, Asia, Coal, Dethroned, Droughts, Europe, Exposed, Flooding, Infrastructure, Sea levels, Storms, Topple, U.S.
Reuters (October 30)
“Climate change will put three times more people at risk of coastal flooding by 2050 than previously thought… with swathes of Asia and cities in North America and Europe all vulnerable to rising seas.” According to the latest study, “300 million people are now living on land that is likely to flood at least once a year on average by mid-century… even if governments manage to make sharp cuts in emissions.”
Tags: Asia, Climate change, Coastal flooding, Emissions, Europe, Flood, North America, Vulnerable
The Economist (July 20)
“A brawl now under way in Asia, between Japan and South Korea, has the potential to be as damaging as much of what Mr Trump has stirred up. It is also a sign that his model of abusing economic partners is spreading.”
Tags: Abusing, Asia, Brawl, Damaging, Economic partners, Japan, South Korea, Trump
The Economist (August 18)
“It is not just in Italy that questions should be asked about monitoring and maintenance regimes. Bridges throughout Europe, America and Asia are all showing signs of deterioration…. With the world covered in reinforced concrete, this is a problem that spans countries. The failure of the Morandi bridge shows that it must not be ignored.”
Tags: Asia, Bridges, Deterioration, Europe, Failure, Italy, Maintenance, Monitoring, Morandi, Reinforced concrete, U.S.
WARC (December 11)
“While China’s slowdown will continue to influence the economic landscape for other Asian markets – many marketers have seen budgets cut – bright spots are emerging, particular as India’s ‘mainstream’ consumer demographic continues to grow at pace.” Now expected to outpace China, India looks poised to add more mainstream consumers than China over the coming decade.
Barron’s (November 20)
According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Ajay Kapur, “Asian and emerging markets could easily double over the next two years or so…. It is really earnings that are driving Asian markets. Global growth is not that strong, but it is pervasive. Of the 38 countries from which we get purchasing-managers index information, 87% are above 50, which means they are expanding. That’s the highest since 2011.”
Tags: Asia, BoA, Earnings, Emerging markets, Expanding, Global growth, Kapur, Merrill Lynch, PMI
Washington Post (November 14)
Donald Trump’s “Asia tour has been at times a disaster, at times a farce.” To pick a “most shameful moment” would be challenging. “There was a time when the world looked to the U.S. president to speak clearly in defense of freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights. I refer to the entirety of modern U.S. history before January, when Trump assumed the high office he now dishonors.”
Tags: Asia, Democracy, Disaster, Dishonor, Farce, Freedom, Human rights, Rule of law, Shameful, Trump, U.S.
South China Moring Post (November 10)
“Custom hats. Gauzy videos. Jumping children, declaring their love. The first half of US President Donald Trump’s whirlwind tour of Asia has been an exercise in the art of flattery…. as leaders across Asia and beyond struggle to understand the unpredictable American and search for ways to win his favour and avoid his wrath.”
The Lancet (October 10)
On a somewhat encouraging note, a recent study on worldwide trends in weight finds “the rising trends in children’s and adolescents’ BMI have plateaued in many high-income countries, albeit at high levels.” On a less positive note, childhood obesity “has accelerated in parts of Asia.” Nevertheless, food security remains an urgent priority because “the number of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years in the world who are moderately or severely underweight remains larger than those who are obese.” Striking the right balance remains challenging as “the experiences of east Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean show that the transition from underweight to overweight and obesity can be rapid, and overwhelm the national capacity needed to engender a healthy transition.”
Tags: Asia, BMI, Caribbean, Childhood obesity, Encouraging, Food security, Latin America, Obesity, Overweight, Study, Underweight, Worldwide trends
Council on Foreign Relations (September 7)
“Congress, again, should take the lead” in Asia. “Not only has the White House paid relatively little attention to growing crises in mainland Southeast Asia but those crises are quickly spiraling out of control.” There is an opportunity “for Congress, rather than the White House, to develop a tough approach to the growing climate of repression in Cambodia” and solve other issues like the crisis affecting the persecuted Rohingya fleeing Myanmar for Bangladesh.
Tags: Asia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Congress, Crises, Lead, Myanmar, Opportunity, Repression, Rohingya, Trump, U.S.
