New York Times (October 22)
Recent reports released by the federal government make clear that “climate change poses a widening threat to national security.” The reports lay out “the ways in which the warming world is beginning to significantly challenge stability worldwide.” These include “Worsening conflict within and between nations. Increased dislocation and migration as people flee climate-fueled instability. Heightened military tension and uncertainty. Financial hazards.”
Tags: Climate change, Conflict, Dislocation, Government, Instability, Migration, Military, National security, Reports, Stability, Tension, Threat, U.S., Uncertainty, Worldwide
Los Angeles Times (November 27)
“A lack of data hides the pandemic’s true toll on American main Streets because many small businesses simply board up without going through Bankruptcy Court.” Vaccines promise hope, but more immediately these businesses face uncertainty and hardship. “As virus cases soar, small businesses at the heart of communities ponder their survival.”
Tags: Bankruptcy Court, Data, Hardship, Hope, Pandemic, Small businesses, Survival, Toll, Uncertainty, Vaccines, Virus
New York Times (November 20)
“Nine months after the I.O.C. and organizers in Tokyo agreed to postpone the 2020 Summer Games for one year, the level of uncertainty surrounding the event has barely waned, even as hopes for a successful Olympics have never been higher.”
Tags: 2020 Summer Games, I.O.C., Olympics, Postpone, Successful, Tokyo, Uncertainty
Wall Street Journal (June 22)
“Giant companies from McDonald’s Corp. to Intel Corp. are husbanding cash, cutting costs and tapping debt, all moves that bolster their resilience amid persistent uncertainty wrought by the new coronavirus.” Looking ahead, they are also trying to figure out “when it will make sense to economize less and spend more to avoid losing out to rivals once the recovery begins in earnest.”
Tags: Cash, Coronavirus, Costs, Debt, Economize, Intel, McDonald's, Recovery, Resilience, Rivals, Uncertainty
The Economist (March 14)
“All governments will struggle” with Covid19. “As they belatedly realise that health systems will buckle and deaths mount,” how well the governments and their leaders cope will be determined by “their attitude to uncertainty; the structure and competence of their health systems; and, above all, whether they are trusted.”
Tags: Attitude, Buckle, Competence, COVID-19, Deaths, Governments, Health systems, Struggle, Trust, Uncertainty
Responsible Investor (February 12)
“The UK’s government and financial regulators have laid out a series of plans to bolster climate disclosure and become the first country in the world to have mandatory TCFD reporting, despite growing uncertainty over its ability to host a successful COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland.”
Tags: Climate disclosure, COP26, Glasgow, Mandatory, Regulators, TCFD reporting, UK, Uncertainty
The Economist (February 1)
“Two things explain why a new infectious disease is so alarming. One is that, at first, it spreads exponentially…. conjuring speculation about a health-care collapse, social and economic upheaval and a deadly pandemic. The other is profound uncertainty. Sparse data and conflicting reports mean that scientists cannot rule out the worst case—and that lets bad information thrive.”
Tags: Alarming, Collapse, Deadly, Disease, Economic, Exponentially, Health care, Infectious, Pandemic, Social, Speculation, Uncertainty, Upheaval
Investment Week (November 18)
The Fed’s “180-degree policy U-turn…from tightening to loosening interest rates” has “increased uncertainty about monetary policy.” Another factor exacerbating matters is “the unpredictable and escalating trade war between the US and China.” Combined, they have “resulted in a higher frequency of volatility spikes and some violent sector rotation.”
Tags: China, Fed, Interest rates, Loosening, Monetary policy, Tightening, Trade war, U-turn, U.S., Uncertainty, Unpredictable, Volatility
Wall Street Journal (November 1)
In the U.S., “GDP growth accelerated to 3% for a time along with investment, but then came Mr. Trump’s trade interventions. More than the damage from tariffs, business confidence fell amid the uncertainty of what Mr. Trump might do next. This has led to slower growth that is reflected in roughly 2% GDP growth in the last two quarters…. The strong evidence is that trade policy is the main growth culprit.”
Tags: Business confidence, Culprit, Damage, GDP, Growth, Interventions, Investment, Tariffs, Trade, Trump, U.S., Uncertainty
Wall Street Journal (May 11)
The tariff spat with China “is a political trade risk the economy hasn’t faced since the 1930s, and no one knows where it might end.” Although there “will be many economic losers,” including U.S. farmers who are getting hit hard, “the broader cost is a continuation of policy uncertainty, as CEOs and investors can’t be sure about their supply chains, their cost of goods and raw material, or how long the tariff brawl will last.” Ultimately, “the impact on GDP is hard to calculate but it’s real.”
Tags: CEOs, China, Cost of goods, Economic losers, Economy, Farmers, Investors, Supply chains, Tariff, Trade risk, U.S., Uncertainty
