The Guardian (July 7)
“Fears of a recession have fallen away, with economists saying Australia is set to safely navigate the biggest global oil supply shock in history even as they warn of substandard growth in the year ahead. The de-escalation of the Middle East conflict has been accompanied by a major retreat in global oil prices back to prewar levels, essentially removing the worst-case scenarios.” But pessimism still runs deep amongst households, with consumer confidence at roughly “a 50-year low as many Australians struggle to cope with substantially higher prices after years of above-average inflation.”
Tags: Australia, Consumer confidence, Cope, De-escalation, Economists, Fears, Global oil prices, Households, Inflation, Middle East conflict, Pessimism, Recession, Retreat, Struggle, Supply shock
OilPrice.com (December 17)
In a survey by the Dalas Fed, oil executives “revealed lingering pessimism…. They expect oil markets to be oversupplied in 2026 if the Trump administration succeeds in ending the Ukraine conflict and Russian sanctions are lifted; however, if Russian sanctions continue, along with reduced oil volumes from Iran and Venezuela, markets may approach a balanced position.”
Tags: 2026, Dallas Fed, Iran, Oil executives, Oil markets, Oversupplied, Pessimism, Russian sanctions, Survey, Trump, Ukraine conflict, Venezuela, Volumes
Market Watch (July 14)
In contrast with previous guidance, Goldman Sachs now expects U.S. home prices to grow only 0.5% in 2025 and 1.2% the following year, “a huge drop from the growth the market saw during the pandemic.” Goldman cited “three big reasons for its pessimism regarding home prices: slowing prices, rising housing supply and persistently high mortgage rates.”
Tags: 0.5%, 2025, Drop, Goldman Sachs, Growth, Guidance, Home prices, Housing supply, Market, Pandemic, Pessimism, Slowing, U.S.
New York Times (September 16)
“Pessimism is deepening as bellwether companies like FedEx and General Electric warn of worsening economic and business conditions.” On Friday, stocks declined, “ending one of the worst weeks of the year for Wall Street.” This may just be the start of bad news. “A parade of prominent investors and corporate executives made it clear that they believed the worst was yet to come for the economy and financial markets.”
Tags: Bellwether, Business conditions, Corporate executives, Economic, FedEx, General electric, Investors, Pessimism, Prominent, Stocks declined, Wall Street, Worsening
Los Angeles Times (November 13)
“The key aim of COP26 was to ‘keep 1.5C alive.’ Despite pessimism among many heading into Glasgow, there is still reason to believe that’s possible. But only if the hard work begins now. We need to hold leaders accountable for their pledges and see to it that plans are carried out. Our future depends on it.”
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 (May 31)
“Chinese equities are once again in the cross hairs of short sellers…. The last time bearish bets were so elevated, such pessimism proved well-founded as China’s bull market turned into a $5 trillion rout.”
Tags: Bearish, Bull market, China, Cross hairs, Equities, Pessimism, Rout, Short sellers
Euromoney (March Issue)
“Investors, bankers and policymakers were caught off-guard in early 2014 as new depths of pessimism about emerging markets were plumbed.”
Tags: Bankers, Emerging markets, Investors, Off-guard, Pessimism, Policymakers
Time (November 1)
Fareed Zakaria, Time’s Editor-at-Large, notes that when he leaves the U.S. to visit India, it appears “the world has been turned upside down. Indians are brimming with hope and faith in the future.” In contrast, the mood in the U.S. is “sour. Americans are glum, dispirited and angry…. The can-do country is convinced that it can’t.”
