Wall Street Journal (March 25)
“Annual issuance of U.S. Treasurys has exploded, nearly doubling since the pandemic began. The government sold a record $23 trillion worth in 2023.” This makes people “nervous” because “rapid growth in markets from tech stocks to mortgage bonds has ended badly in the past.” Given their ubiquity and potentially “unforeseen consequences,” any instability in the Treasury market “could rapidly spread” to other markets.
Tags: $23 trillion, 2023, Doubling, Exploded, Government, Issuance, Mortgage bonds, Nervous, Pandemic, Tech stocks, Treasurys, U.S., Ubiquity, Unforeseen consequences
Foreign Policy (March 11)
Some question China’s 5.2% GDP growth figure for the final quarter of 2023, but even assuming “the figures are accurate, the wider trends of the Chinese economy suggest a worrying state of affairs.” China’s real GDP figure exceeded its nominal figure. This “indicates that Beijing’s gross value of output in real terms was amplified thanks to negative inflation…. If not for deflation, China’s real GDP growth in 2023 would have been even lower and would have certainly missed the national target of 5 percent.”
Tags: 2023, Accurate, China, Deflation, Economy, GDP, Gross value, Growth, Negative inflation, Nominal, Output, Real GDP, Trends, Worrying
New York Times (February 24)
“Investors often see Berkshire as a bellwether of the American economy, given the breadth of its business.” Marking a sharp reversal from a $22 billion loss in 2022, the conglomerate recorded net earnings of $97.1 billion in 2023, “its highest-ever annual profit last year.” Moreover, “Berkshire also reported $37.4 billion in operating earnings, the financial metric that Mr. Buffett prefers because it excludes paper investment gains and losses, for the year, up 21 percent from 2022.”
Tags: 2022, 2023, Bellwether, Berkshire, Conglomerate, Economy, Investment gains, Investors, Loss, Net earnings, Operating earnings, Profit, Reversal, U.S.
Business Insider (February 16)
“The US economy managed to shake off Wall Street’s gloomy forecasts and dodge a long-predicted slump last year — but the same can’t be said for two other members of the G7.” Both the UK and Japan entered technical recessions based on data released Thursday showing each nation’s GDP fell during both of the two last quarters in 2023.
Tags: 2023, Economy, Fell, Forecasts, G7, GDP, Japan, Predicted, Slump, Technical recessions, U.S., UK, Wall Street
South China Morning Post (January 29)
At Davos, Chinese Premier Li Qiang provided WEF delegates with an “early and unexpected disclosure… China’s gross domestic product (GDP) had grown by 5.2 per cent in 2023.” This didn’t come across as powerfully convincing evidence that China’s economy is again healthy. Worries remain about China and its economy. “Challenges related to national security, data flows and market barriers still dominate hearts and minds in decision-making.”
Tags: 2023, 5.2%, Challenges, China, Data flows, Davos, Disclosure, Dominate, Economy, GDP, Li Qiang, Market barriers, National security, Premier, WEF, Worries
Financial Times (January 25)
The German economy is “faltering.” Despite promises of reform and rebound, “Europe’s largest economy is starting to look more like a slow-moving car crash…. In 2023 it contracted by 0.3 per cent, making it the world’s worst-performing major economy. This has been accompanied by policy setbacks, nationwide strikes, and a steep decline in the ruling coalition’s popularity.”
Tags: 2023, Car crash, Contracted, Decline, Economy, Europe, Faltering, German, Major economy, Promises, Reform, Setbacks, Strikes, Worst-performing
Wall Street Journal (January 17)
“China last year ceded its centuries-old position as the world’s most populous country to India.” Births in 2023 fell by over half a million, “to just over 9 million in total, accelerating the decline in the country’s population as women shrugged off the government’s exhortations to reproduce.”
Tags: 2023, Accelerating, Births, Ceded, China, Decline, Exhortations, Government, India, Population, Populous, Shrugged, Women
CNN (January 15)
“Germany’s economy shrank last year for the first time since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic… increasing the risk of an economic contraction in the wider euro area.” GDP dropped 0.3%, both during 2023 overall and during Q4. “The data bodes ill for the entire area that uses the euro because Germany is the largest of its 20 economies.”
The Guardian (January 11)
“Global renewable energy capacity grew by the fastest pace recorded in the last 20 years in 2023,” rising 50% to 510 GW and marking “the 22nd year in a row that renewable capacity additions set a new record.” The tremendous growth in 2023 “could put the world within reach of meeting a key climate target,” set at Cop28, “to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.”
Tags: 2023, 2030, 510 GW, Capacity, Climate target, COP28, Fastest, Global, Growth, Record, Renewable energy, Rising
New York Times (January 1)
In the years ensuing the appearance of COVID-19, “the big question… was whether America would ever fully recover from that shock. In 2023 we got the answer: yes. Our economy and society have, in fact, healed remarkably well. The big remaining question is when, if ever, the public will be ready to accept the good news.”
