The Economist (June 4)
“You are having too many babies. For decades that crude message was drilled into the minds of Indians by their rulers.” Slogans on schools proclaimed, “Two or three children, enough.” There were even forced sterilizations in the 1970s. “But when Indian school textbooks are reprinted this summer, they will carry a very different message. They will warn not of the dangers of having too many babies, but of the risks of having too few.” The “surprise baby bust” taking place in India “is a warning to the world. It is not just rich places that are becoming less fertile.”
Tags: 1970s, Babies, Baby bust, Children, Fertile, Forced sterilizations, India, Rich places, Schools, Slogans, Surprise, Textbooks, Warning
AP (May 13)
“The rapid emergence of low-priced EVs from China could shake up the global auto industry in ways not seen since Japanese makers exploded on the scene during the oil crises of the 1970s. BYD, which stands for ‘Build Your Dreams,’ could be a nightmare for the U.S. auto industry.” So far tariffs have shielded the U.S. market, but “Detroit needs to quickly re-learn a lot of design and engineering to keep up while shedding practices from a century of building vehicles.”
Tags: 1970s, BYD, China, Design, Detroit, Emergence, Engineering, EVs, Global auto industry, Japanese makers, Low-priced, Nightmare, Oil crises, Rapid, Shielded, Tariffs, U.S. market
Time (March 1)
“Until the 1970s, women in the most prosperous Asian economies like South Korea, Japan, and China were having more than five children on average. Today, that trend is starkly different.” And not just in Asia. Globally, “fertility rates have decreased worldwide” for seven decades. “Even in the most advanced economies, the rate is now 1.6 children per couple, compared to the recommended rate of 2.1 for countries wanting to keep a steady population without any migration.”
Tags: 1970s, Advanced economies, Asia, Asia. Fertility rates, Children, China, Japan, Migration, Population, Prosperous, South Korea, Steady, Women
LNG Industry (January 6)
“The world’s two largest economies–the US and Mainland China–are poised to be the world’s top export and import markets for LNG in 2022.” In 2021, the US placed third, behind Australia and Qatar, but “was the largest source of LNG supply growth in 2021.” China overtook Japan in 2021, marking “the first time since the early 1970s that Japan has not been the world’s largest LNG importer.”
Tags: 1970s, 2021, 2022, Australia, China, Export, Import, Japan, LNG, Markets, Qatar, Supply growth, Top, US
USA Today (May 14)
“From cars to groceries, prices are skyrocketing.” From March to April, the “eyepopping prices” have included “used car prices climbed 10%; airline fares, 10.2%; hotel rates, 7.6%; car rental prices, 16.2%; admission to sporting events, 10.1%; household furnishings, nearly a percentage point; and car insurance, 2.5%.” It remains unclear whether this is “just a recovery blip, or a return of 1970s-like inflation.”
Tags: 1970s, Airline fares, Car rental, Cars, Eyepopping, Furnishings, Groceries, Hotel rates, Prices, Recovery blip, Skyrocketing, Sporting events, Used cars
