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
New York Times (May 27)
“The United States, Europe and other wealthy nations are trying frantically to catch up” to China which, according to the IEA, “accounted for 85 percent of all clean-energy manufacturing investment in the world” in 2022. These nations are now “spending huge amounts on subsidizing homegrown companies while also seeking to block competing Chinese products.” They seem to be making “modest inroads” with China’s share of investment falling to 75% in 2023.
Tags: 2022, 2023, Catch up, China, Clean-energy, Competing, Europe, Homegrown, IEA, Inroads, Manufacturing investment, Subsidizing, U.S., Wealthy nations
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.”