The Economist (November 9)
“America’s anti-China fervour is partly an overcorrection for its previous complacency about the economic, military and ideological threat the autocratic giant poses.” The U.S. needs to rely upon “a sober assessment not just of China’s strengths, but also of its weaknesses.” Anything less, risks letting a distorted “view of Chinese power” lead to unnecessary “confrontations and, at worst, an avoidable conflict.”
Tags: Anti-China, Autocratic, Complacency, Confrontations, Economic, Fervour, Ideological, Military, Overcorrection, Power, Sober assessment, Strengths, Threat, U.S., Weaknesses
Wall Street Journal (September 20)
“China’s economic and technological strength dwarfs that of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Since 1885 the U.S. has never faced a competitor or group of competitors with a gross domestic product greater than 40% of our own. China’s economy is likely at least 75% of ours. It also has a larger navy (even more so in its home waters) and a shipbuilding capability that far exceeds ours.”
Tags: 1885, China, Cold war, Competitor, Economic, GDP, Navy, Soviet Union, Strength, Technological, U.S.
South China Morning Post (May 25)
Several factors help explain “the outperformance of Japanese shares.” Improved corporate governance and the end of deflation are important, but “the explanation with the most resonance for investors is Japan’s role as a safe haven in an increasingly risky world. This has taken on added significance because of concerns about the deepening geopolitical rift between the US and China, as well as economic and regulatory risks in China itself.” Japan boasts “the only market in Asia big and liquid enough to offer an alternative to China while still providing exposure to the reopening of its economy.”
Tags: Big, China, Corporate governance, Deflation, Economic, Exposure, Factors, Geopolitical rift, Investors, Japan, Liquid, Outperformance, Regulatory risks, Reopening, Risky world, Safe haven, Shares, US
Financial Post (January 13)
“The peculiar clemency of Europe’s winter weather this year is proving a game changer for the region’s prevailing economic and investment trends. A halving in natural gas prices over the past month alone reflects one of the mildest winters on record in the region and takes significant sting out of the Russian gas shock that followed Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year.”
Tags: Clemency, Economic, Europe, Game changer, Halving, Invasion, Investment, Mildest, Natural gas, Prices, Russia, Weather, Winter, Winters
New York Times (September 16)
“Pessimism is deepening as bellwether companies like FedEx and General Electric warn of worsening economic and business conditions.” On Friday, stocks declined, “ending one of the worst weeks of the year for Wall Street.” This may just be the start of bad news. “A parade of prominent investors and corporate executives made it clear that they believed the worst was yet to come for the economy and financial markets.”
Tags: Bellwether, Business conditions, Corporate executives, Economic, FedEx, General electric, Investors, Pessimism, Prominent, Stocks declined, Wall Street, Worsening
New York Times (September 10)
“The queen’s death last week, at 96, is a genuinely traumatic event, leaving many in this stoic country anxious and unmoored. As they come to terms with the loss of a figure who embodied Britain, they are unsure of their nation’s identity, its economic and social well-being, or even its role in the world.”
Tags: 96, Anxious, Britain, Death, Economic, Embodied, Identity, Loss, Queen, Social, Stoic, Traumatic, Unmoored, Unsure
Institutional Investor (August 29)
“Now that investors can get factor-based funds on the cheap, they’re pushing quants in new directions.” This presents new challenges. “One is a move away from a heavy reliance on decades of historical data and back tests to tying this in-depth research to the realities of the current economic and market environment.” Another challenge is “getting the right people” to do this. “Many quant managers historically hired people with expertise in data,” but “now it’s the background in economics and finance that’s become critical.”
Tags: Back tests, Challenges, Cheap, Data, Economic, Economics, Factor-based funds, Finance, Historical data, Investors, Managers, Market, Quants, Realities, Reliance, Research
New York Times (July 4)
3-D printing (or additive manufacturing) began in the 1980s. “The technology, economic and investment trends may finally be falling into place for the industry’s commercial breakout.” 3-D printing “is no longer a novelty technology for a few consumer and industrial products, or for making prototype design concepts.” By 2026, “the 3-D printing market is expected to triple to nearly $45 billion worldwide.”
Tags: $45 billion, 1980s, 3-D printing, Additive manufacturing, Commercial breakout, Consumer, Economic, Industrial, Investment, Prototype, Technology, Trends
Wall Street Journal (May 5)
“With China now an economic and military powerhouse, Taiwan’s lack of preparedness is increasingly dangerous. Taiwan’s economy is two-thirds larger than Israel’s, but Taiwan spends almost two-thirds less as a percentage of gross domestic product on defense.” Especially in light of Ukraine’s invasion, this has to change and just an extra percent of military spending could prove decisive. “Through the force-multiplying miracle of modern weapons, we can help make Taiwan a porcupine and deter aggression that could have profoundly negative consequences for Taiwan, China and the world.”
Tags: Aggression, China, Dangerous, Economic, GDP, Invasion, Israel, Military spending, Porcupine, Powerhouse, Preparedness, Taiwan, Ukraine, Weapons
Bloomberg (September 1)
“European equities advanced the most in a month on Wednesday as investors bet the global economic rebound would persist even as central banks prepare to scale back support.” August marked the seventh consecutive month of advances for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, its “longest winning streak since 2013.”
Tags: Advanced, Central banks, Economic, Equities, Europe, Investors, Rebound, Stoxx 600, Winning streak
