The Week (November 11)
“For decades The Antarctic Treaty was ‘widely regarded as a model of effective global co-operation.’” The model, which froze territorial claims, now appears to be collapsing “as China, Russia, and other emerging nations threaten a new scramble for control of the resource-rich continent.”
Tags: Antarctic Treaty, China, Collapsing, Control, Effective, Emerging nations, Global co-operation, Resource-rich continent, Russia, Territorial claims, Threaten
South China Morning Post (November 7)
“China’s export growth hit a 27-month high in October, as exporters rushed to front-load orders in anticipation of potential heavy tariffs to be imposed by president-elect Donald Trump after his return to the White House…. Exports rose by 12.7 per cent year on year to US$309 billion in October, according to customs data released on Thursday.”
Tags: Anticipation, China, Customs data, Export growth, Exporters, Exports, Front-load orders, Heavy tariffs, October, Trump, White House
Washington Post (October 31)
“With less than a month before the annual U.N. Climate Change Conference, China is so far defying pressure to set ambitious climate targets early and to do more to help poor nations cope with the ravages of a warming world.”
Tags: Ambitious, Annual, China, Climate Change Conference, Climate targets, Cope, Defying, Poor nations, Pressure, Ravages, U.N.
FX Empire (October 26)
The IMF’s latest forecast counteracted any hope attached to China’s stimulus policy. “Markets reacted positively” when the People’s Bank of China “cut 1-year and 5-year loan prime rates (LPR) by 25 basis points” since “lower borrowing costs could drive credit demand and consumption.” In contrast, “the IMF’s latest growth projections… called for caution,” with 2024 growth forecast for China lowered from 5.0% to 4.8%.” Moreover, the IMF pointed out that “Beijing’s maneuvers may not be enough to support an economic recovery.”
Tags: 25 bp, Borrowing costs, Caution, China, Consumption, Credit demand, Economic recovery, Forecast, Growth projections, IMF, Markets, PBOC, Rates, Reacted, Stimulus
Wall Street Journal (October 18)
In his first term, “Donald Trump resurrected tariffs as a tool of economic diplomacy.” His relatively strategic use of tariffs resulted in “a world trading system with a bit more friction, but it remained largely intact.” If re-elected, Trump’s threatens to “radically remake world trade” with the blanket use of tariffs. Aside from higher prices in the U.S., “the outcome could be anything from an all-out trade war, to a new trading system among U.S. allies united by their collective frustration with China.”
Tags: China
South China Morning Post (October 6)
Amid prospects of a stimulus led recovery, China’s travel industry is facing a “reality check” as it confronts what many claim is the “‘worst ever” season. China’s travel data may paint “an optimistic picture,” but consumers “are reluctant to spend amid broader economic anxieties.” Operators are “lamenting” the “Golden Week” season with some travel businesses actually “faring worse than during the darkest days of the coronavirus pandemic.”
Tags: China, Confronts, Economic anxieties, Golden Week, Operators, Prospects, Reality check, Recovery, Spend, Stimulus, Travel industry, Worst ever
Fortune (October 3)
“The boss of German carmaker Mercedes-Benz is bracing his company for a ‘Darwinian battle’ as Europe’s auto giants reel from falling demand and the onslaught of Chinese competitors.” CEO Ola Källenius and Mercedes-Benz are at “a pivotal moment of sink or swim.” As EV uptake slows in the Europe, “a similar demand glut in China and the emergence of cheap competitors from the region has left Europe’s carmakers fighting fires at home and overseas.”
Tags: Carmaker, CEO, China, Competitors, Darwinian battle, Europe, EVs, Falling demand, Germany, Glut, Källenius, Mercedes-Benz, Onslaught
Wall Street Journal (September 29)
Hedge fund veteran Mark Spitznagel “previously said markets would rally as the Fed eases in a Goldilocks phase, but has also warned a recession is coming and that rate cuts are also the opening signal for big reversals down the line. In the current environment, that means in the biggest market bubble in history will soon pop, eventually prompting the Fed to ‘do something heroic’ but doom the economy to stagflation.”
Tags: China, Consuming, Deflationary hole, Long term, Short run, State support, Stimulus
Reuters (September 28)
“Treasury yields and the dollar fell while the Dow registered a record closing high on Friday as a subdued U.S. inflation report lifted expectations of an outsized interest rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s November policy meeting.” On top of that, “a global stock index also reached a record high, helped by China’s stimulus boost, and European shares posted an all-time high close.”
Tags: China, Dollar, Dow, Europe, Expectations, Fed, Global stock, High, Index, Inflation, Interest rate, Policy meeting, Record, Stimulus, U.S., Yields
Financial Times (September 27)
China’s biggest stimulus package since the pandemic has “supercharged markets, putting Chinese stocks on track for their best week since 2008.” The massive package boasts “billions of dollars from the central bank to support the stock market, policy rate cuts, measures to boost bank liquidity and efforts to stabilise China’s prolonged property crisis, including a 50-basis point interest rate cut for mortgage holders.” Nevertheless, it may not be enough “to reignite consumer confidence in the world’s second-largest economy.”
Tags: 2008, Central bank, China, Markets, Mortgage, Pandemic, Property crisis, Rate cuts, Stimulus, Stock market, Stocks, Supercharged