Oilprice.com (October 24)
OPEC recently forecast “that demand for oil is going to continue rising at least until 2045.” In contrast, the just released Energy Outlook from the International Energy Agency forecasts that “demand for oil, natural gas, and coal is set to peak before 2030, which undermines the case for increasing investment in fossil fuels…. While the agency does admit that investment in fossil fuels will remain necessary, it claims the growth era is over.”
Tags: 2030, 2045, Coal, Demand, Energy Outlook, Forecast, Fossil fuels, Growth era, IEC, Investment, Natural gas, Oil, OPEC, Over, Peak
Bankrate (October 10)
“Recession odds between now and September 2024 have dropped to 46 percent, according to experts’ average forecast in Bankrate’s latest quarterly survey of economists. Those probabilities are still close to a coin flip, but they’re down from an average forecast of 59 percent just last quarter. They’re also the lowest odds since the first quarter of 2022.”
Tags: 2022, 2024, 46%, Economists, Experts, Forecast, Lowest, Odds, Probabilities, Quarterly survey, Recession
BBC (April 24)
In the bank’s final quarterly results, Credit Swiss disclosed that nearly $69 billion was withdrawn by depositors during the first three months of 2023. Coming on the heels of a gaping loss in 2022 and forecast loss for 2023, the deposit withdrawal was part of the impetus behind “its forced sale to rival Swiss bank UBS.” The sale has “has angered taxpayers and shareholders of both banks, who were deprived of a vote on the takeover. Some have also argued it has damaged Switzerland’s global reputation as a financial centre.”
Tags: 2023, Banks, Credit Swiss, Damaged, Deposit, Depositors, Forecast, Loss, Quarterly results, Reputation, Shareholders, Switzerland, Takeover, Taxpayers, UBS, Withdrawn
Bloomberg (April 19)
“Sales of previously owned US homes fell in March by more than forecast, underscoring a housing market that’s still on shaky footing despite some signs of stabilizing.” Though inventory remains tight, “the median selling price of a previously owned home fell 0.9% from a year earlier to $375,700 in March — the largest decline since January 2012.”
Tags: Decline, Forecast, Homes, Inventory, March, Sales, Selling price, Shaky, Stabilizing, U.S., Underscoring. Housing market
The Guardian (April 18)
“China’s economy rebounded faster than expected, surpassing growth estimates for the first quarter of the year, after the country relaxed its onerous Covid-19 restrictions and consumer spending surged.” The 4.5% quarterly growth marked “the fastest in a year and beat the 4% rise forecast by analysts polled by Reuters.”
Tags: Analysts, China, Consumer spending, COVID-19, Economy, Estimates, Forecast, Growth, Onerous, Q1, Rebounded, Restrictions, Surpassing
Seeking Alpha (April 5)
“Investors were taken by surprise on April 2nd when news broke that OPEC+…announced unexpected cuts in output. This move came even in spite of a previously rosy forecast for the supply and demand balance that OPEC made public…. Investors would be wise to see this as a bullish development for any company that benefits from higher oil prices. But in particular, the exploration and production companies could be very appealing to consider at this time.”
Tags: Appealing, Bullish, Demand, Exploration, Forecast, Investors, Oil prices, OPEC, Output, Production, Supply, Surprise, Unexpected
The Guardian (March 18)
“The UK remains on track for a ’disastrous decade’ of stagnant incomes and high taxes, despite cuts to public services” based on recent budget analysis. The Resolution Foundation thinktank determined that, after accounting for inflation, “typical household disposable incomes were on course to be lower by the end of the forecast period in 2027-28 than they were before the pandemic.”
Tags: Analysis, Budget, Disastrous decade, Disposable incomes, Forecast, High taxes, Household, Inflation, Pandemic, Public services, Stagnant incomes, Thinktank, UK
Pensions & Investments (February 2)
“Money managers in Europe still expect the U.K. economy to contract, despite the Bank of England’s latest 50-basis-point rate hike and a more subdued inflation forecast.”
Tags: 50-basis-point, BOE, Contract, Economy, Europe, Forecast, Inflation, Money managers, Rate hike, Subdued, U.K.
Washington Post (November 19)
“In 1798, British economist Thomas Malthus forecast that an increasing population would soon outstrip, disastrously, nature’s capacity to feed so many people…. And yet here we are: The world’s population has octupled since Malthus’s day, more than doubled since 1968, and living standards around the world have vastly, though unevenly, improved during that time.” It is worth celebrating November 15, the day “Planet Earth welcomed its eight-billionth living inhabitant.”
Tags: 1798, Celebrating, Earth, Economist, Forecast, Inhabitant, Living standards, Malthus, Nature’s capacity, Octupled, Outstrip, Population
BBC (November 3)
“The Bank of England has warned the UK is facing its longest recession since records began, as it raised interest rates by the most in 33 years,” indicating that “the UK would face a ‘very challenging’ two-year slump with unemployment nearly doubling by 2025.” The BoE’s forecast paints “a picture of a painful economic period, with the UK performing worse than the US and the Eurozone.”
Tags: 2025, BOE, Challenging, Doubling, Forecast, Interest rates, Longest, Painful, Recession, Records, Slump, U.S., UK, Unemployment, Warned, Worse