Washington Post (January 31)
“The unemployment gap between workers with bachelor’s degrees and those with occupational associate’s degrees — such as plumbers, electricians and pipe fitters — flipped in 2025, leaving trade workers with a slight edge for six months out of the past year,” marking “the first time trade workers have had a leg up since the BLS started tracking this data in the 1990s.”
Tags: 2025, Associate’s degrees, Bachelor’s degrees, BLS, Data, Electricians, First time, Gap, Occupational, Pipe fitters, Plumbers, Trade workers, Unemployment
Financial Times (November 15)
“The longest ever US government shutdown has created an unprecedented blind spot over the health of the world’s biggest economy as critical data reports are set to be delayed or ditched.” The Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis and other agencies “were largely unable to collect and publish data during the 43-day shutdown, creating a gap in statistical series that will obscure the economic picture for investors and policymakers.”
Tags: Agencies, Blind spot, BLS, Collect, Data, Delayed, Economy, Gap, Government, Investors, Longest, Obscure, Publish, Reports, Shutdown, Statistical series, U.S.
Institutional Investor (June 10)
“The gap between the best and worst performing outsourced chief investment officer firms is growing — and clients aren’t happy about it…. Among providers that serve endowment and foundation clients, there is significant dispersion — 200 basis points or more — in returns between the top and bottom quartile firms.”
Tags: 200 basis points, Best, Chief investment officer, Clients, Dispersion, Endowment, Foundation, Gap, Outsourced, Performing, Returns, Worst
Financial Times (December 10)
“The world’s leading semiconductor companies are racing to make so-called “2 nanometre” processor chips that will power the next generation of smartphones, data centres and artificial intelligence.” While TSMC “remains the analysts’ favourite to maintain its global supremacy in the sector… Samsung Electronics and Intel have identified the industry’s next leap forward as a chance to close the gap.”
Tags: 2 nanometre, AI, Chips, Data centres, Gap, Intel, Leading, Next-generation, Processor, Samsung, Semiconductor, Smartphones, Supremacy, TSMC
Bloomberg (May 12)
“The euro short-term rate, or ESTR, is currently 10.5 basis points below the central bank’s deposit rate, which is at its highest in 15 years. That’s close to the biggest gap on record…. It’s a sign the ECB’s aggressive rate hikes aren’t rippling out to banks and the economy, making it much harder for the central bank to meet its 2% inflation target.”
Tags: Aggressive, Banks, Deposit rate, ECB, Economy, ESTR, euro, Gap, Inflation target, Rate hikes, Record, Rippling out
CNBC (November 13)
As large U.S. retailers report earnings, inventory levels will dominate the gaze of analysts and investors. Retailers including Walmart, Target and Gap “are trying to sell through a glut of extra merchandise piling up in store backrooms and warehouses…. Balancing inventory has taken on additional urgency, as economists warn of dwindling savings accounts, rising credit card debt and the risk of a recession.”
Tags: Analysts, Debt, Dominate, Earnings, Economists, Gap, Glut, Inventory, Investors, Merchandise, Retailers, Risk, Savings, Target, Urgency, Walmart, Warehouses
Bloomberg (January 18)
“China’s successful control of Covid-19 made it the only major economy to have grown last year, but a wide income inequality gap and still weak consumer spending reflects an unbalanced recovery.”
Tags: China, Consumer spending, Control, COVID-19, Gap, Income inequality, Major economy, Successful, Unbalanced recovery, Weak
Chicago Tribune (September 26)
“The gap between the haves and have-nots in the United States grew last year to its highest level in more than 50 years of tracking income inequality.” Demographics is one of the drivers. “On one side, at the peak of their earnings, are baby boomers who are nearing retirement, if they haven’t already retired. On the other side are millennials and Gen Zers, who are in the early stages of their work life and have lower salaries.”
Tags: Baby boomers, Demographics, Earnings, Gap, Gen Zers, Income inequality, Millennials, Retirement, Salaries, U.S., Work
The Economist (March 22)
“Global spending on basic infrastructure—transport, power, water and communications—currently amounts to $2.7 trillion a year when it ought to be $3.7 trillion. The gap is almost as big as South Korea’s GDP. And it is likely to grow fast.” To close the gap, governments need to step forward, and new ways need to be found to coax private capital investment in infrastructure.
Tags: Communications, Gap, GDP, Government, Infrastructure, Investment, Power, Private capital, South Korea, Spending, Transport, Water
