Inside EVs (June 30)
Ford CEO Jim Farley is impressed with China’s electric vehicle industry. Speaking at the Aspen Ideas Summit, he said, “it’s the most humbling thing I’ve ever seen.” He recognizes that EVs in China are far more advanced, “They have far superior in-vehicle technology.” American technology “in most cars amounts to a media player, a navigation system and maybe some smart cruise control. China has pushed the envelope far beyond that.” They also offer a better price and better quality than U.S. cars. “Their cost, their quality of their vehicles is far superior to what I see in the West” said Farley who added, “We are in a global competition with China…. And if we lose this we do not have a future at Ford.”
Tags: Advanced, Aspen Ideas Summit, CEO, China, EV, Farley, Ford, Future, Global competition, Humbling, Impressed, Price, Quality, Technology, U.S.
The Atlantic (April 7)
“In his quest to make America great, President Donald Trump is withdrawing the United States from global trade. American families, companies, and investors will pay a price for this…. But the repercussions don’t end there. The tariff regime is also destroying a pillar of American global power, and it will further isolate the country at a moment when others stand ready to fill the vacuum.”
Tags: Companies, Destroying, Families, Global power, Global trade, Investors, Isolate, Price, Repercussions, Tariff regime, Trump, U.S., Vacuum, Withdrawing
Time (March 15)
“Amid widespread economic turmoil, the price of gold has soared to levels never seen before,” with Gold futures exceeding $3,000 per troy ounce. Prices for this safe haven investment “are spiking higher now as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies have kicked off an international trade war that has roiled financial markets and threatened to reignite inflation for families and businesses alike.”
Tags: 000 oz t, 3%, Economic, Gold, Inflation, Investment, Markets, Price, Roiled, Safe haven, Soared, Spiking, Tariff policies, Trade war, Trump, Turmoil, U.S., Widespread
Fortune (November 11)
“Russia’s inflation has gone from bad to worse as it continues to wage war against Ukraine, causing even everyday goods to feel out of reach for the average person.” For example, “the price of a slab of butter has increased by 25.7% since December, prompting a slew of thefts across Russia and highlighting the state of the wartime economy.” To prevent shoplifting, supermarkets and retailers are now “attaching anti-theft tags to cans of meat… butter and other grocery staples.”
Tags: Anti-theft tags, Butter, Economy, Grocery, Inflation, Meat, Price, Retailers, Russia, Shoplifting, Supermarkets, Thefts, Ukraine, War
WARC (May 3)
“Political leaders in France and the US have been publicly critical of companies for making products smaller while maintaining the existing price, but South Korea’s government is one of the first to legislate against it.” The Korea Fair Trade Commission “will now require producers that downsize products to put notices on packages, websites, or at stores for the three months following the change.”
Tags: Companies, Critical, Downsize, France, FTC, Legislate, Notices, Packages, Political leaders, Price, Products, Smaller, South Korea, Stores, U.S., Websites
Financial Times (March 27)
“The price of cocoa surged past $10,000 a tonne for the first time on Tuesday, as a dizzying rise in prices caused by poor harvests in Africa accelerates. Cocoa futures traded as high as $10,080 in New York, more than double their price only two months ago, as traders warned a global shortage of cocoa beans would herald higher price tags for chocolate bars.”
Tags: Africa, Chocolate bars, Cocoa, Dizzying, Double, Futures, Higher, New York, Poor harvests, Price, Shortage, Surged, Traders
BBC (June 13)
“UK wages have risen at their fastest rate in 20 years, excluding the pandemic, raising expectations that UK interest rates will have to rise. Regular pay excluding bonuses increased by 7.2% in the three months to April, although it still lags behind inflation.” The Bank of England has raised “interest rates 12 times since 2021 to try to slow price rises” and warned that surging pay is contributing to inflation.
Tags: 7.2%, BOE, Bonuses, Expectations, Inflation, Interest rates, Pandemic, Pay, Price, Surging pay, UK, Wages
Forbes (March 5)
“The bitcoin price had rocketed by 50% since the beginning of 2023 but stalled out and crashed back, wiping away $100 billion… and reviving fears other crypto companies could follow FTX into bankruptcy.” Silvergate appears likely to be the next to tumble. The crypto bank “is teetering on the verge of collapse—with one short-seller predicting the bank will implode this week.”
Tags: $100 billion, 2023, Bank, Bankruptcy, Bitcoin, Collapse, Crashed, Crypto, Fears, FTX, Price, Short-seller, Silvergate, Stalled, Teetering, Tumble
Bloomberg (March 5)
China’s reopening “means Chinese oil consumption is poised to hit a record this year. Daily demand will reach an all-time high of 16 million barrels a day,” and looks increasingly likely to tip the price back above $100 a barrel amid tight supply.
Tags: 100, 16 mmb/d, China, Consumption, Demand, Oil, Poised, Price, Record, Reopening, Tight supply, Tip
Sydney Morning Herald (July 6)
“Property prices could fall by more than initially feared as the Reserve Bank ratchets up official interest rates to fight surging inflation…. Property watchers were already forecasting price falls of between 15 and 20 per cent in Sydney and Melbourne.” It now looks increasingly likely the price declines will be even steeper.
Tags: 15–20%, Falls, Forecasting, Interest rates, Melbourne, Price, Property prices, Ratchets up, Reserve Bank, Steeper, Surging inflation, Sydney
