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 (September 15)
“China’s economy picked up steam in August as a summer travel boom and a heftier stimulus push boosted consumer spending and factory output, adding to nascent signs of stabilization…. Optimism is slowly building among some investors that Beijing’s recent efforts to boost the economy and financial markets are starting to bear fruit. Even so, it’s early days — and a single month of data isn’t enough to confirm a sustained recovery trajectory.”
Tags: August, China, Consumer spending, Economy, Factory output, Investors, Nascent, Optimism, Stabilization, Stimulus, Travel boom
Wall Street Journal (August 8)
“July’s gains left hedge funds closing out so-called short positions and cutting risk at the fastest pace in years.” As they race to cover their shorts, they are “providing yet another tailwind for stocks, which have rallied this summer on optimism that a strong economy can withstand higher interest rates.” The rally caught many “short sellers off guard,” and as they “buy the shares back at a high price to limit further losses,” additional demand can drive “prices go even higher.”
Tags: Cutting risk, Gains, Hedge funds, Interest rates, July, Losses, Optimism, Rally, Shares, Short positions, Stocks, Tailwind
The Economist (July 22)
“Economists are not known for their optimism, but today their good cheer is palpable. Not long ago it seemed that an American recession was inevitable.” Now, expectations are heady that this can be averted, but “the surge of hope is… unusual because the world economy is slowing down.” While “falling inflation is good news,” it remains “too early to hail a ‘soft landing.’”
Tags: Averted, Economists, Expectations, Hope, Inevitable, Inflation, Optimism, Recession, Slowing, Surge, U.S., World economy
Market Watch (June 27)
“Stock futures are inching higher at the start of the week as investors seemingly cling to newfound optimism that a bond rout is ending, and the Fed’s rate-hike plans will get pruned due to a global slowdown.” There are, of course, no shortage of issues like surging inflation, but Brynne Kelly suspects “the next black swan for markets could be failing power grids and electricity shortages.” These could prove “catastrophic” as we move into the “height of the summer cooling season amid rising temperatures.”
Tags: Black swan, Bond rout, Catastrophic, Electricity, Fed, Inflation, Investors, Kelly, Markets, Optimism, Power grids, Rate hike, Shortages, Slowdown, Stock futures, Summer
Wall Street Journal (January 13)
“The U.K. appears to have passed the peak of the latest wave of Covid-19 caused by Omicron, a promising sign that the highly transmissible variant’s impact may be brief, if intense, and fueling optimism that the pandemic may be waning.”
Tags: Brief, COVID-19, Impact, Intense, Omicron, Optimism, Pandemic, Peak, Promising, Transmissible, U.K., Variant, Wave
Seattle Times (April 25)
“Even as optimism abounds in the United States, where cases are in steep decline and the vaccine supply has begun to exceed the demand,” fueled on by new variants, the pandemic “has reached one of its bleakest points.” Last week brought a record 5.7 million new COVID-19 infections worldwide, “nearly double the seven-day average in late February. The death toll — now approaching 3.1 million — grew by more than 87,000.”
Reuters (April 1)
“Global equity markets surged on Thursday, with U.S. and European benchmark indexes hitting record highs, as the strongest manufacturing data around the world in decades and a drop in bond yields drove investor optimism.” Support is strong with “multiple tailwinds— stimulus, expectations of record earnings, vaccines—driving stocks higher.”
Tags: Benchmark, Bond yields, Earnings, Equity, Europe, Global, Indexes, Investor, Manufacturing, Markets, Optimism, Stimulus, Surged, Tailwinds, U.S.
ABC News (March 17)
“Optimism is spreading in the U.S. as COVID-19 deaths plummet and states ease restrictions and open vaccinations to younger adults. But across Europe, dread is setting in with another wave of infections that is closing schools and cafes and bringing new lockdowns.”
Tags: COVID-19, Deaths, Dread, Europe, Infections, Lockdowns, Optimism, Restrictions, Spreading, U.S., Vaccinations, Wave
New York Times (January 12)
“As America went through a week from hell, with the prospect of fresh hells yet to come, financial markets signaled … growing optimism.” This actually makes sense. Other things that happened, aside from the act of insurrection, like the Georgia win giving Democrats control over the Senate. This makes “a huge difference for economic policy, making it almost certain that we’ll have an additional large relief package, and fairly likely that we’ll get some much needed investment in infrastructure.”
Tags: Control, Democrats, Economic policy, Financial markets, Georgia, Insurrection, Investment, Optimism, Relief package, Senate, Sense, Signaled, U.S.
