South China Morning Post (December 19)
“China reduced its US Treasury holdings in October to its lowest level in 17 years, as mounting concerns over US debt sustainability and the Federal Reserve’s independence further eroded confidence in dollar-backed assets. The country’s stockpile fell to US$688.7 billion in October, down from US$700.5 billion in September.” At the peak in 2013, China held approximately US$1.32 trillion in Treasuries.
Tags: 2013, Assets, China, Concerns, Confidence, Debt sustainability, Federal Reserve, Independence, Lowest, Peak, S, Treasuries, U
Washington Post (September 13)
The White House may not immediately “move to block Nippon Steel’s bid to acquire U.S. Steel amid mounting concerns over the political and economic consequences of nixing the deal.” In recent weeks, “investors, Pennsylvania Democrats and some members of the steelworkers’ union warned that the deal’s collapse could spark an economic calamity for Pennsylvania’s beleaguered steel belt.” Optimism again appears to be growing that the deal might go through with shares of U.S. Steel rising “by more than 12 percent over the past two days of trading.”
Tags: Block, Calamity, Concerns, Consequences, Economic, Investors, Nippon Steel, Nixing, Optimism, Pennsylvania, Political, Shares, Steelworkers’ union, U.S. Steel, White House
Financial Times (August 23)
“Closely watched gauges of long-term inflation expectations in Europe have reached their lowest levels for almost two years, in a sign that investors think central banks can keep lowering interest rates without risking a flare-up in price pressures.” Concerns are also easing in the U.S., with “markets pricing the average long-term inflation rate at 2.4 per cent, down from 2.6 per cent in July.”
Tags: Central banks, Concerns, Easing, Europe, Expectations, Flare up, Inflation, Interest rates, Investors, Price pressures, Risking, U.S.
Market Watch (July 1)
“So far, high valuations haven’t dimmed investors’ enthusiasm for stocks,” but there are concerns. The forward price-to-earnings ratio of the S&P500 “currently stands at 21.1, above the 90th percentile from the past 40 years. The S&P 500 is even more richly valued on a trailing 12-month basis. In the past, when valuations have been this stretched, the median one-year forward return for the index has been -4%.”
Tags: 4%, Concerns, Dimmed, Enthusiasm, Forward P/E, Forward return, High, Investors, Rich, S&P 500, Stocks, Stretched, Valuations
Wall Street Journal (March 19)
“Foreign investors have increasingly shifted their investments to India from China in recent years, partly because of concerns over Beijing’s unpredictable policy moves and China’s sputtering economy.” The shift doesn’t necessarily shield them. “A recent clampdown on one of India’s biggest financial technology companies rattled investors and serves as a reminder that New Delhi can also make sudden moves with a hefty impact on companies and market value.”
Tags: Beijing, China, Clampdown, Concerns, Economy, Financial, Foreign, Impact, India, Investments, Investors, Shift, Shifted, Sputtering, Technology, Unpredictable
Forbes (March 4)
“The bitcoin price has topped $60,000 per bitcoin, making it a $1 trillion asset again,” reigniting concerns of possible fallout on the economy should its price tumble. Still, the wind appears to be with bitcoin. “Bank of America analysts have warned the U.S. debt load is about to ramp up to add $1 trillion every 100 days—fueling a bitcoin price surge.”
Tags: $1 trillion, $60k, 100 days, Analysts, Asset, Bitcoin, BoA, Concerns, Debt load, Economy, Fallout, Reigniting, Tumble, U.S.
Time (February 28)
“South Korea set a fresh record for the world’s lowest fertility rate as the impact of the nation’s aging demographics looms large for its medical system, social welfare provision and economic growth.” The dearth of babies is considerably “speeding up the aging of South Korean society, generating concerns about the growing fiscal burden of public pensions and health care.”
Tags: Aging, Burden, Concerns, Demographics, Economic growth, Fertility rate, Medical system, Pensions, Record, Social welfare, South Korea
Financial Times (February 1)
“Mounting losses from banks in the US, Asia and Europe have rekindled concerns about weakness in the US commercial property market, a sector that has been under pressure from lower occupancy levels and higher interest rates.” This week New York Community Bancorp, Aozora Bank and Deutsche Bank each warned of related risks or recognized losses, which “mark the latest fallout from the… dual problems of fewer people working in offices since the pandemic and more expensive borrowing costs.”
Tags: Aozora Bank, Asia, Banks, Commercial property, Concerns, Deutsche Bank, Europe, Fallout, Interest rates, Losses, Occupancy, Offices, Pandemic, Pressure, Risks, U.S., Weakness
The Guardian (December 31)
2023 was “the hottest year on record” and may mark “the year humanity put its stamp on Antarctica in ways that will be felt for centuries to come.” The continent “has suffered dramatic shifts that raise serious concerns about its immediate health.” These coincide with “evidence that longer-term transformations linked to the climate crisis have started much sooner” than expected. Beyond “ramifications for local wildlife,” there will be ripple effects “across the globe in ways that are often less well understood.”
Tags: 2023, Antarctica, Climate crisis, Concerns, Evidence, Hottest, Humanity, Ramifications, Record, Shifts, Transformations, Wildlife
New York Times (December 4)
The temperature is rising at COP28 as “climate concerns boil over.” Sultan Ahmed al Jaber lit the fuse with “contentious comments” that expressed “skepticism about the world’s ability to halt a rise in global temperatures by reducing the use of hydrocarbons.” Since the oil executive and Emirati politician is “presiding over the COP28 climate summit,” the remarks are “casting fresh doubts over the U.A.E.’s commitment to addressing the climate crisis.”
Tags: Al Jaber, Climate summit, Concerns, Contentious, COP28, Crisis, Doubts, Hydrocarbons, Oil, Politician, Rise, Skepticism, Sultan, Temperatures, U.A.E
