RSS Feed

Calendar

March 2024
M T W T F S S
« Feb    
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Search

Tag Cloud

Archives

Time (June 28)

2018/ 06/ 30 by jd in Global News

Women currently “account for 22% of the Saudi workforce, according to government statistics. Bin Salman’s goal is to get that figure up to 30% by 2030. Not only will having women behind the wheel improve participation in the workforce, it will help the economy. According to Bloomberg, the lifting of the ban could add as much as $90 billion to economic output by 2030.”

 

Reuters (March 27)

2018/ 03/ 30 by jd in Global News

Oil prices are holding firm, “supported by concerns that tensions in the Middle East could lead to supply disruptions, although further rises expected in U.S. crude output loomed over markets.”

 

The Times (January 11)

2018/ 01/ 12 by jd in Global News

Driven by the cheap pound, UK factory growth hit a seven-year high. “Factories are growing at the fastest pace in almost seven years after a solid three months to November that beat all forecasts and put Britain on track to start 2018 on a firm footing.” Still, the manufacturing sector “accounts for only a tenth of output in Britain, with four fifths generated by services.”

 

Financial Times (February 18)

2016/ 02/ 20 by jd in Global News

The conditional deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia delivered “maximum rhetorical impact for the minimum genuine commitment.” Ultimately, it “will not take a single barrel of oil off the market to ease the glut that has driven crude prices down about 70 per cent since the summer of 2014.” The deal reveals “nervousness among the world’s two largest oil producers. But the fact that Saudi Arabia is not already cutting its output, in spite of mounting signs of financial strain, shows that while its strategy might be painful, it is still rational.”

 

Bloomberg (September 28)

2015/ 09/ 30 by jd in Global News

“Something a little worrying has happened to the global economy: Trade is slowing down…. Trade has stopped growing as a percentage of output, the way it had in the past. A few years isn’t necessarily enough to establish a trend, but the slowdown in trade is unprecedented in the postwar era.”

 

Financial Times (August 11)

2015/ 08/ 13 by jd in Global News

Fears are growing of a meltdown in the aluminum market as Chinese output soars and, much like the oil market, supply outstrips demand. “China now accounts for more than half of global supply, up from 18 per cent in 2003 thanks to cheap power and the world’s most efficiently built smelters. Established producers from North America to Russia and the Middle East—facing the lowest prices since the financial crisis, reduced margins and profits—are anxious but do not want to cut capacity for fear of losing market share.”

 

The Economist (July 4)

2015/ 07/ 05 by jd in Global News

“Shale matters. The industry has become huge—listed firms have invested over half a trillion dollars of capital…. Shale firms owe almost as much debt as Greece. After drilling beneath much of Texas and North Dakota, they account for 5% of global oil output. The health of shale firms affects people around the world, from Western drivers and Saudi Arabia’s sheikhs to Asia’s consumers.”

 

Financial Times (May 19)

2015/ 05/ 19 by jd in Global News

“More than $100bn of spending on new projects by the world’s energy companies has been slowed, postponed or axed following the oil price plunge, evidence of the drastic industry action that will curb output in coming years.” The revisions affect 26 major projects worldwide and, taken as a whole, will “delay future production” by up to 1.5 million barrels a day, the equivalent of nearly 2% of global oil production in 2013.

 

New York Times (February 2)

2015/ 02/ 03 by jd in Global News

“Modest growth has never been enough to overcome the damage of the Great Recession and, from there, to reach new levels in terms of output, employment and wages.” Unfortunately, the U.S. is still stuck with modest growth. “For all the talk about accelerating growth, the economy grew last year at a rate of 2.4 percent, basically in line with growth over the past several years.”

 

Financial Times (November 3)

2013/ 11/ 04 by jd in Global News

“Some kinds of public investment bring very high returns for the rest of the economy–such as spending on basic scientific research or fixing infrastructure bottlenecks–and they are under grave threat from today’s swingeing spending cuts in the US.” Austerity is reigning in public sector capital investment, which “has dropped to just 3.6 per cent of US output compared with a postwar average of 5 per cent.”

 

« Older Entries

Newer Entries »

[archive]