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
Wall Street Journal (December 6)
“2024 is the year the global spillover implications of China’s slowdown will sink in. Advanced economies will downgrade the importance of market access in China, and Global South nations will be forced to find other engines of development.” This will lead to “a new phase of geopolitical conditions, with the anchor assumption of a rising China and declining U.S. being retired. The implications of this will be far reaching and challenging to forecast.”
Tags: 2024, Advanced economies, Assumption, Challenging, China, Downgrade, Far-reaching, Geopolitical conditions, Global South, Global spillover, Implications, Market access, Slowdown, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (August 26)
“Energy common sense is in short supply these days, so all the more reason to cheer Japan for rethinking its flight from nuclear power.” Germany is currently debating whether to keep “its three remaining reactors online. Maybe Japan’s decision will prove compelling. “This should be an easy call as natural gas shortages loom this winter. Advanced economies need reliable base load power, and at least Tokyo understands this.”
Tags: Advanced economies, Base load power, Common sense, Debating, Germany, Japan, Natural gas, Nuclear power, Reliable, Rethinking, Short supply, Shortages, Tokyo, Winter
Reuters (July 14)
“After staring parity against the dollar in the face for days, the euro finally broke the key level.” The immediate cause was surging U.S. inflation, which strengthens “the case for a supersized 100 bps rate hike by the Federal Reserve” should it choose to follow the Bank of Canada, which “paved the way” with “the first 100-basis-point rate increase among the world’s advanced economies in the current policy-tightening cycle.”
Tags: 100 bps, Advanced economies, Bank of Canada, Dollar, euro, Fed, Inflation, Parity, Policy-tightening cycle, Rate hike, Surging, U.S.
Northern Trust Advisor Perspectives (June 8)
“Inflation across advanced economies has increased to rates not seen in multiple decades. Japan, where the headline consumer price index rose by only 2.5% for the twelve months ending in April, stands as an exception.” Though this “appears moderate… it is very high for a country where a generation has never seen sustained price increases. Japan’s inflation has averaged only 0.3% in the past three decades.”
Tags: Advanced economies, CPI, Exception, Generation, Increased, Inflation, Japan, Moderate, Price increases, Rates
