Washington Post (October 1)
The U.S. “federal government shut down at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, after Democrats in Congress failed to reach a deal with Republicans and President Donald Trump to extend funding for federal agencies.” While many “crucial government functions” will cease, “federal work vital to national security will continue, though employees…will go unpaid.” This marks the first shut down “since January 2019, and the fourth of Trump’s two terms.”
Tags: 2019, Congress, Democrats, Employees, Federal government, Functions, Funding, National security, Republicans, Shut down, Trump, U.S., Unpaid
Bloomberg (September 10)
“A deepening selloff in Chinese stocks is exacerbating a crisis of confidence in the world’s second-largest economy, heaping pressure on policymakers to halt the downward spiral.” The benchmark CSI 300 Index “of the nation’s onshore shares is near the lowest levels since January 2019, yet another reflection of the depth of the market gloom.”
Tags: 2019, Benchmark, China, Crisis of confidence, CSI 300 Index, Deepening, Downward spiral, Exacerbating, Policymakers, Pressure, Selloff, Stocks
The Economist (July 5)
“The coalition that Boris Johnson built in 2019, on a promise to ‘get Brexit done,’ has exploded. Labour cut deep into Conservative territory” in “one of the most successful corporate turnarounds in British political history,” reducing the Conservative Party to just 126 seats. “Labour’s landslide victory will turn politics on its head. But even with a majority this big, running bad-tempered Britain will not be easy.”
Tags: 2019, Bad-tempered, Brexit, Conservative Party, Exploded, Johnson, Labour, Landslide victory, Political history, Successful, Turnaround, UK
South China Morning Post (June 28)
“Facing major obstacles in developed countries, many Chinese car manufacturers have already pivoted to emerging markets such as Latin America. In 2023, Chinese cars accounted for 19.5 per cent of all car sales in Mexico, compared with only 6.4 per cent in 2019.”
Tags: 19.5%, 2019, 2023, 6.4%, Car manufacturers, Chinese, Developed countries, Emerging markets, Latin America, Mexico, Obstacles, Pivot, Sales
Wall Street Journal (April 17)
Marking “a sharp reversal” from years of “bolstering their office footprints,” Big Tech is now “downsizing workspace in another blow to office real estate.” Especially hard hit, “San Francisco’s office-vacancy rate hit a record 36.7% in the first quarter,” roughly ten times worse than early 2019 when it stood at 3.6%.
Tags: 2019, 3.6%, 36.7%, Big tech, Downsizing, Footprints, Office, Real estate, Record, Reversal, San Francisco, Vacancy, Workspace
The Economist (April 13)
Extreme weather incidents are increasing in frequency due to climate change. “In the decade from 2000 to 2009 only three thunderstorms cost the industry more than $1bn at current prices. From 2010 to 2019 there were ten. Since 2020 there have already been six. Such storms now account for more than a quarter of the costs to the insurance industry from natural disasters.”
Tags: $1bn, 2010, 2019, 2020, Climate change, Costs, Extreme weather, Frequency, Incidents, Industry, Insurance, Natural disasters, Storms, Thunderstorms
New York Times (February 13)
“Covid has made us reconsider everything, the meaning of home and work, the value of public space, the magnitude and immediacy of death, what it truly means to be a member of a society. We are still finding the answers to those questions, but the America we knew ended in 2019.”
Tags: 2019, Answers, Covid, Death, Home, Immediacy, Magnitude, Meaning, Public, Questions, Reconsider, Society, Space, U.S., Value, Work
Los Angeles Times (November 23)
“L.A.’s infamous Thanksgiving traffic gridlock” is “expected to return with vengeance” after taking 2020 off for Covid. “An estimated 3.8 million Southern Californians will be driving to their holiday destinations — up 9% from last year and only 1% less than in 2019, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.”
Tags: 2019, 2021, Automobile Club of Southern California, California, Covid, Destinations, Gridlock, Holiday, Infamous, L.A., Thanksgiving, Traffic
Institutional Investor (March 9)
“Shareholder activists pulled in their horns in 2020, targeting 10 percent fewer companies than in 2019 and winning 16 percent fewer board seats.”
Tags: 2019, 2020, Activists, Board seats, Companies, Fewer, Shareholders, Targeting
Reuters (January 29)
“Equity analysts are still counting on a speedy reopening. They expect the 1,585 companies included in the Global MSCI Index to report 6% higher net profit this year than they did in 2019, and 21% higher earnings in 2022.” Constituents are “still valued on an average multiple of 21 times this year’s forecast earnings, far above a long-term average of 16 times. With the path out of lockdowns looking uncertain, such exuberance is likely to end in disappointment.”
Tags: 2019, 2022, Analysts, Disappointment, Equity, Exuberance, Forecast earnings, Global MSCI, Lockdowns, Multiples, Profit, Reopening, Uncertain
