CNN (January 15)
“For China, the record $1.2 trillion annual trade surplus its authorities reported Wednesday is resounding proof of the resilience of its economy in the face of US trade friction.” The record surplus “also tells another story: one of the far-reaching potential for China’s massive export engine to reshape the global economy – and help Beijing win more leverage in its rivalry with the United States.”
Tags: $1.2 trillion, China, Economy, Export engine, Friction, Global economy, Leverage, Potential, Proof, Record, Resilience, Trade surplus, U.S.
Bloomberg (September 19)
“For the first time since at least the 1990s, China hasn’t bought any US soybeans at the start of the export season, a sign that Beijing is once again using agriculture as leverage in its trade fight with Washington.” In 2024, the US supplied “a fifth of China’s soybean imports, worth more than $12 billion, and accounting for over half of total US soy export value.” This year, “US farmers, flush with bumper harvests, are coping with prices near the lowest levels in years.”
Tags: $12 billion, 1990s, 2024, Agriculture, Bumper harvests, China, Export season, Leverage, Prices, Soybeans, Trade fight, U.S., Washington
South China Morning Post (July 4)
“Beijing’s decision to impose export controls on critical raw materials used in manufacturing semiconductors, communication equipment and solar panels could complicate the US-led efforts to shift critical supply chains away from China.” Its latest move appears to seek “leverage in negotiations with Washington over access to core technology.”
Tags: China, Communication equipment, Core technology, Critical, Export controls, Impose, Leverage, Manufacturing, Negotiations, Raw materials, Semiconductors, Solar panels, Supply chains
Washington Post (October 17)
“While Americans are leaving their jobs at staggering rates — a record 4.3 million quit in August alone — hundreds of thousands of workers with similar grievances about wages, benefits and quality of life are…choosing to dig in and fight.” Empowered by the Great Resignation, union action is up sharply in 2021. “Workers are now harder to replace, especially while many companies are scrambling to meet heightened demand for their products and manage hobbled supply chains. That has given unions new leverage, and made striking less risky.”
Tags: Benefits, Demand, Great Resignation, Grievances, Jobs, Leverage, Quality of life, Risky, Scrambling, Staggering, Striking, Supply chains, U.S., Unions, Wages, Workers
Seeking Alpha (April 6)
Recovery is not just a matter of overcoming the virus. In fact, the world faces an overhanging economic challenge. “We’re likely in the later stages of a global debt supercycle. The sheer amount of debt in the world makes temporary income disruptions a lot more financially impactful than they would be in a system with less leverage. As of 2019, global debt surpassed $250 trillion, which is more than 250% of the world’s GDP.”
Tags: Disruptions, Economic challenge, Global debt, Income, Leverage, Recovery, Supercycle, Virus
Bloomberg (October 1)
“Stocks of the so-called sogo shosha, the groups that drove Japan’s postwar export success—the likes of Itochu Corp., Marubeni Corp. and Mitsubishi Corp.—have rallied as much as 36 percent over the last year, outpacing the race to a three-decade high by the broad Topix Index. The trading companies’ free cash-flow levels are above those reached in their heyday, and their leverage much lower.”
Tags: Export, FCF, Itochu, Japan, Leverage, Marubeni, Mitsubishi, Outpacing, Postwar, Rallied, Sogo shosha, Success, Topix
South China Morning Post (August 3)
“China has just ceded its four-year title as the world’s second-largest stock market to Japan, as an intensifying trade spat with the US and its campaign to reduce leverage weighed on equities.”
Tags: China, Equities, Japan, Leverage, Second-largest, Stock market, Trade spat, U.S., World
Washington Post (December 7)
Moving the embassy to Jerusalem could have been used “as a leverage for peace.” Instead, Donald Trump “used it to smash crockery in the region,” which “pretty well summarizes the Trump Doctrine.” Any so called successes “have been things Trump has undone (the Paris climate accord, the Trans-Pacific Partnership) or is in the process of undoing (the Iran nuclear deal, NAFTA). Relations have soured with Britain, continental Europe and countries from Mexico to Australia.” Meanwhile, Russia is gaining power and “the terrorist threat is decentralizing rather than dissipating.”
Tags: Australia, Crockery, Embassy, Europe, Iran nuclear deal, Jerusalem, Leverage, Mexico, Nafta, Paris climate accord, Peace, Russia, Smash, Terrorist threat, TPP, Trump, UK
Financial Times (October 3)
“By announcing that she will start the formal negotiations for Britain to leave the EU by March 2017, the prime minister has walked into a trap. She has given away what little leverage Britain has in the negotiations — without receiving any of the assurances that she needs to achieve a successful outcome.” This will allow the EU to “simply run the clock down — knowing that the UK will be in an increasingly difficult situation.”
Tags: Assurances, Britain, EU, Leverage, May, Negotiations, Outcome, Prime minister
Washington Post (July 18)
“Energy politics underlie the explosive Ukraine crisis, as Europeans weigh U.S. calls for tougher sanctions against the ability of Russia to disrupt gas supplies this winter.” Despite the roll out of stronger penalties by Washington, the Europeans were dragging their feet, “a sign that many of its governments fear Moscow’s energy leverage more than U.S. displeasure.” With the downing of the Malaysian Airlines flight, Europe may finally be forced to react and Europeans “may be facing a cold winter.”
Tags: Crisis, Downing, Energy, Europe, Gas supplies, Leverage, Malaysian Airlines, Penalties, Politics, Russia, Sanctions, U.S., Ukraine, Washington, Winter
