Washington Post (April 8)
A recent study from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) “confirms that the investment bust is a global phenomenon. It’s not just the United States but also Europe, Japan and most advanced countries. As important, the main cause of the investment slump is clear-cut: Businesses aren’t expanding because they can already meet most demand with existing capacity.”
Tags: Businesses, Demand, Europe, Existing capacity, Expanding, IMF, Investment, Japan, Slump, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (February 20)
“Wal-Mart’s decision proves that the best way to raise wages is with faster economic growth that creates more demand for labor. Workers can move to better opportunities as more emerge, and their current employers may conclude they have to pay more to keep them.” Wal-Mart will significantly exceed the current U.S. minimum wage of $7.25 when it raises its hourly wage to $9 or more by April and to at least $10 in 2016.
Tags: Demand, Economic growth, Labor, Opportunities, U.S., Wages, Wal-Mart, Workers
Institutional Investor (January 20)
“Once again, Chinese growth data takes center stage.” The International Monetary Fund cited China’s slowing growth as a major reason for its latest downward forecast revision. The IMF slashed expected global GDP growth from 3.8% to 3.5% during 2015. “With a global economy still attuned to demand from a rising China, the nation’s economy remains the central theme for macro and micro-focused investors alike.”
Financial Times (December 19)
Concerns that lower oil prices will spark deflation are misplaced. “While lower oil prices will have a one-off arithmetic effect on the price level and hence reduce inflation, that should boost growth rather than retarding it. Lower oil prices…benefit households almost immediately,” essentially raising real incomes and stimulating demand.
Tags: Concerns, Deflation, Demand, Growth, Households, Inflation, Oil prices, Real incomes
Euromoney (August Issue)
“Key energy suppliers are increasingly politically unstable and Europe faces a rise in prices, even though demand is falling.”
The Economist (April 12)
Rising energy demand, is leading “two of the world’s rising industrial powers, India and China,… to look at the idea of building reactors that run on thorium.” More abundant than uranium, thorium is also less conducive to weapons use, minimizing the threat that it could be misused by rogue bomb makers. China already has over 400 people working on this, with plans for a working prototype reactor by 2015.
Tags: Abundant, Bomb, China, Demand, Energy, India, Industrial, Prototype, Reactor, Reactors, Thorium, Threat, Uranium, Weapons
Investments & Pensions Europe (November Issue)
“UN analysis suggests that if present trends persist, demand for fresh water will outstrip supply by 40% by 2030. By 2050, four billion people will be living in areas facing severe water stress. Add that almost 800m people worldwide do not have access to clean water, while 2.5bn lack basic sanitation, and a worrying picture emerges.” For some investors, however, this suggests opportunities as they begin targeting businesses with water-related growth and avoiding those with unaddressed water-related risk.
Tags: Clean water, Demand, Fresh water, Investors, Opportunities, Risk, Sanitation, Supply, UN, Water stress, Water-related growth
Wall Street Journal (November 4)
By year end, the U.S. is likely to unseat Russia and become the second largest global producer of liquid fuels. The U.S. is now well positioned to escape the capricious yoke of OPEC and “even could surpass Saudi Arabia to become the leading global producer within the next decade.” Former Secretary of State George Schultz and FedEx CEO Fred Smith write, the nation’s leaders should “embrace both the supply revolution now well under way and the emerging demand revolution in oil-displacement technology that, together, promise a more secure and prosperous future.”
Tags: Demand, Energy security, FedEx, Fred Smith, Fuel, Future, George Schultz, Oil-displacement, OPEC, Producer, Revolution, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Supply, Technology, U.S.
Financial Times (October 25)
“A painful and protracted hangover from the financial crisis has slashed demand for cars in Europe, forcing mainstream manufacturers to close factories, lay off workers and fill their financial statements with red ink.” Despite these measures, however, the industry is still struggling with overcapacity, compelling many global automakers to subsidize European losses with sales elsewhere. Providing a glimmer of optimism for Europe, however, Ford “called the bottom of the disastrous market slump on Thursday, the first carmaker confident enough to turn tentative hopes into official profit guidance and draw a financial line under six years of falling sales.”
Tags: Automakers, Carmakers, Demand, Europe, Factories, Financial Crisis, Ford, Guidance, Losses, Manufacturers, Optimism, Overcapacity, Sales, Workers
The Economist (August 3)
“The world’s thirst for oil could be nearing a peak. That is bad news for producers, excellent for everyone else.” Is oil becoming “yesterday’s fuel”? The Economist believes demand may be nearing long-term decline brought about by advances in fracking and automotive technology.
