Bloomberg (August 13)
“It seems like Japan’s big recovery is always a quarter away.” The economy may just barely manage growth in the second quarter, but the slow vaccination rollout and ongoing surges mean “the bounce in consumer spending that analysts had been forecasting will have to wait even longer.” Japan has earned “the dubious distinction of being the only G-7 economy to have its growth outlook for this year cut by the International Monetary Fund.”
Tags: Analysts, Bounce, Consumer spending, Economy, G-7, Growth, IMF, Japan, Outlook, Q2, Recovery, Surges, Vaccination
Wall Street Journal (August 12)
“The rapidly-spreading coronavirus Delta variant and its impact on the global economy mean the world will consume less oil this year,” Lowering its forecast, the IEA’s latest market report notes that “the worsening of the pandemic, as well as revisions to historical data, mean its global oil demand outlook has been “appreciably downgraded,” with some of this year’s forecast recovery shifted to 2022.”
Tags: Coronavirus, Data, Delta variant, Demand, Downgraded, Forecast, Global economy, IEA, Impact, Oil, Outlook, Pandemic, Recovery, Worsening
Wall Street Journal (July 29)
“The U.S. economy grew rapidly in the second quarter and exceeded its pre-pandemic size, but the outlook has suddenly turned cloudier due to the fast-spreading Delta coronavirus variant.”
Tags: Cloudier, Coronavirus, Delta, Economy, Fast-spreading, Grew, Outlook, Pre-pandemic, Q2, Size, U.S.
New York Times (April 28)
“California is awash in cash, thanks to a booming market. In a single year, the state’s financial outlook has gone from surplus to deficit to surplus as capital gains tax collections have risen amid a soaring stock market and I.P.O. boom.” At the worst, the state “anticipated a $54 billion shortfall,” but it now expects a $15 billion surplus in the fiscal year that starts July 1.
Tags: Booming, California, Capital-gains, Cash, Deficit, Market, Outlook, Soaring, Stock market, Surplus, Tax collections
Reuters (June 28)
“British consumers have turned gloomier about the economy and the outlook for their personal finances,” according to a consumer-sentiment survey. “The GfK consumer sentiment index—which has been negative since shortly before the June 2016 Brexit referendum—fell to -13 in June from May’s seven-month high of -10.” This is just one of the signs pointing to “a lacklustre second quarter for the economy.”
Tags: Brexit, Consumer sentiment, Consumers, Economy, GfK, Gloomier, Lacklustre, Negative, Outlook, Personal finances, Referendum, UK
BBC (January 17)
In the UK, “Surveyors and estate agents reckon the housing market outlook over the next three months is the worst for 20 years….. It’s the most downbeat reading since records started in October 1998 and the pessimism is blamed on the lack of clarity around Brexit.”
Tags: Brexit, Clarity, Downbeat, Estate agents, Housing market, Outlook, Pessimism, Surveyors, UK
Bloomberg (January 11)
“Trade wars, China’s slowdown, erratic stock markets: The outlook is getting grimmer for an increasing number of companies across the globe.”
Tags: China, Erratic, Grimmer, Outlook, Slowdown, Stock markets, Trade wars
Bloomberg (July 15)
“As the world’s largest exporter, China continues to benefit from robust global demand, but the increase in tensions and trade barriers with the U.S. is weighing on the outlook…. President Xi Jinping may ultimately have to choose between softening his multi-year campaign to control debt levels, or letting growth dip below the target of 6.5 percent.”
Tags: China, Debt levels, Exporter, Global demand, Growth, Outlook, Target, Tensions, Trade barriers, U.S., Xi
Reuters (July 11)
As its first family fights publicly in an unprecedented and ugly manner, the “shrinking returns” of its sovereign wealth fund, GIC, “are adding gloom to Singapore. The sovereign wealth fund, which manages an estimated $343 billion of assets, has delivered its worst annual performance since 2001 barring the financial crisis.” Moreover, the “outlook is depressing too” as GIC prepares for “a protracted period of low returns.”
Tags: Assets, Fight, Financial Crisis, First family, GIC, Gloom, Outlook, Performance, Returns, Singapore, Sovereign wealth fund, Ugly, Unprecedented
Reuters (November 18)
“Japan’s attempts, through Abenomics, to beat back against the tide of demographics may be proving futile.” Though the country may be able to keep printing money, Japan “can’t print people.” Cheap funding won’t stimulate corporate investment unless companies “see both a strong outlook for profits and for market growth,” something that remains unlikely amidst an aging, shrinking population.
Tags: Abenomics, Aging, Corporate investment, Demographic, Funding, Japan, Market growth, Outlook, Population, Profits
