MarketWatch (December 22)
“The kitchen sink was thrown at the economy in 2025 — punishing tariffs, higher inflation, rising unemployment — but the U.S. might still be growing at an above-average speed in a sign of surprising pluck.” Can the momentum continue? AI may deliver continuing investment and efficiency gains. In addition, 2026 “should also benefit from lower interest rates, relaxed tariffs, fewer taxes and regulations, and more government spending in a midterm-election year.”
Tags: 2025, 2026, AI, Economy, Efficiency gains, Inflation, Interest rates, Investment, Momentum, Regulations, Tariffs, Taxes, U.S., Unemployment
Traders Magazine (April 10)
“The push toward 24-hour trading…. is now becoming more pronounced, as major exchanges and trading platforms adapt to the evolving needs of global markets.” Gaining momentum, the transition is driven by “the influx of capital from international markets.” Major exchanges—including the NYSE, NASDAQ, and CBOE—now recognize “the value in extending their market hours.”
Tags: 24-hour trading, Capital, CBOE, Evolving needs, Exchanges, Global markets, Influx, Major exchanges, Markets, Momentum, Nasdaq, NYSE, Trading platforms, Transition
Reuters (January 18)
The anticipated “mega-merger boom threatens a shareholder bloodbath.” As global conditions improve and central banks cut borrowing costs, mega-deals are expected to proliferate. An expected lighter regulatory touch will provide extra momentum. Based on past results, however, “when acquisitions reach $10 billion or more… the worst fears of shareholders are often confirmed.” Large acquirers generally end up trailing industry peers by 5% in median annualized total return.
Tags: Acquirer, Acquisitions, Bloodbath, Boom, Borrowing costs, Central banks, Expected, Fears, Lagging, Mega-merger, Momentum, Regulatory, Shareholder
The Guardian (August 13)
Ukraine’s attack on Russia has boosted momentum and may undercut “Putin’s strongman image,” possibly “prompting doubts among the elite” or “encouraging squabbling over who is to blame for this embarrassment.” Ultimately, however, “the final judgment on Kyiv’s bet” remains to be seen. “Taking the enemy by surprise is a short-term win. But the consequences of this bold gamble are still playing out.”
Tags: Attack, Blame, Consequences, Doubts, Embarrassment, Momentum, Putin, Russia, Short-term win, Strongman, Surprise, Ukraine, Undercut
Financial Times (April 14)
“Momentum in economies including the US and India has been picking up in recent months, helping stoke optimism that global growth in 2024 will modestly outpace last year’s reading…. providing a bright spot amid a largely lacklustre global economic backdrop .”
Tags: 2024, Bright spot, Economies, Global growth, India, Momentum, Optimism, Outpace, U.S.
Bloomberg (March 2)
“European Central Bank officials confronting faster-than-expected inflation might also wonder if this is just the last stumble before their 2% target looms large. While the 2.6% outcome for February released on Friday — and a still-stubborn 3.1% result for the so-called core measure — present grounds for caution, the downward momentum in consumer prices is getting harder to ignore.”
Tags: 2% target, Caution, Consumer, Core measure, Downward, ECB, February, Inflation, Momentum, Outcome, Prices, Stumble
Investment Week (September 12)
“Annual growth in employees’ average total pay, including bonuses, was 8.5%; which was boosted by the NHS and Civil Service one-off payments made in June and July. Due to the strong momentum in wage growth, the Bank of England is expected to push ahead with a 25 basis point interest rate rise at its Monetary Policy Committee meeting later this month.”
Tags: Annual growth, BOE, Bonuses, Civil Service, Employees, Interest rate, Momentum, MPC, NHS, Rise, Strong, Total pay, Wage growth
Seattle Times (August 4)
“In a sign of growing momentum for vaccine mandates, Microsoft has reversed course and will now require employees to be fully vaccinated to enter the company’s U.S. offices and other worksites.” The revised policy “follows similar moves last week by other employers including tech rivals Google and Facebook, along with Disney and Walmart.”
Tags: Disney, Employees, Employers, Facebook, Google, Mandates, Microsoft, Momentum, Offices, Policy, U.S., Vaccine, Walmart, Worksites
Bloomberg (April 16)
“China’s economy soared in the first quarter as consumer spending strengthened, joining production and investment in recovering from the Covid slump a year ago.” Year on year, GDP “climbed a record 18.3%,” but that is “skewed by comparisons from a year ago when the economy was in lockdown. A better reading of the economy’s momentum comes from quarter-on-quarter growth, which slowed to 0.6% from 2.6% in the previous three months.”
Tags: China, Consumer spending, Covid, Economy, GDP, Investment, Lockdown, Momentum, Production, Record, Recovering, Skewed, Slump, Strengthened
Reuters (September 5)
“The most likely outcome is now that GDP growth will come in below 2.5%, perhaps significantly lower, the worst since the recession of 2008/09. By implication, oil consumption growth is likely to slip below 1% and 1 million bpd, in line with BP’s latest forecast,” but well short of the last two decade’s 1.5% average annual growth rate. “Until the global economy recovers momentum, oil consumption growth is likely to remain well below trend, keeping prices under pressure.”
Tags: BP, Economy, Forecast, GDP, Growth, Implication, Momentum, Oil consumption, Outcome, Recession
