Financial Times (February 27)
Although “some demographic experts had been hopeful of a pent-up baby boom in Japan following the pandemic,” 2024 confirmed the worst. “The number of babies born in Japan last year fell to the lowest level since records began 125 years ago as the country’s demographic crisis deepens and government efforts to reverse the decline continue to fail.” For nine years straight, “the decline in births has continued unabated…. Combined with a record 1.6mn deaths last year, the figures mean Japan’s population shrank by almost 900,000 people, net of immigration.”
Tags: 2024, Babies, Baby boom, Births, Deaths, Decline, Demographic crisis, Experts, Fail, Government, Immigration, Japan, Pandemic, Pent-up, Population, Record
Bloomberg (December 11)
“The Nasdaq 100 climbed 1.9% to a new record as the Magnificent Seven once again find themselves in pole position. Wall Street’s optimism surrounding the industry and its AI dreams has seemingly proven enduring.”
Tags: AI, Climbed, Dreams, Magnificent Seven, Nasdaq 100, Optimism, Record, Wall Street
Trader’s Magazine (December 2)
“Assets of the top 100 asset owners globally have returned to growth in 2023 after a fall of 8.7% in 2022.” Achieving a brisk 12.3% increase in 2023, “the world’s largest 100 asset owners (the ‘AO100’) now hold a record US$26.3 trillion.” Chief among them is the “Government Pension Investment Fund of Japan…with an AUM of US$1.59 trillion.” The top three also includes the two largest sovereign wealth funds. Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management in second place with AUM of US$1.55 trillion while China Investment Corporation is now third globally with US$1.24 trillion.”
Tags: 12.3%, 2023, Assets, AUM, China, Government Pension Investment Fund, Growth, Japan, Norway, Record, Top 100, US$26.3 trillion
WARC (November 26)
Global advertising spend looks set to exceed “$1 trillion for the first time this year.” It is on course to grow 10.7% this year to a total of $1.08trn, with online media leading the charge – the strongest growth rate in six years and the largest absolute rise on record if the post-Covid recovery of 2021 (+27.9% year-on-year) is disregarded.”
Tags: $1 trillion, 10.7%, 2021, Advertising spend, First time, Global, Growth rate, Largest, Online media, Post-Covid, Record, Rise
Washington Post (October 2)
“The United States just witnessed its most extreme October heat.” On Tuesday, temperatures hit 117 degrees (47 °C) in Palm Springs, tying the October record for North America. “More than 200 warm weather records were set on Tuesday alone in the western United States on the heels of around 2,500 records set in the final third of September between the Southwest and Upper Midwest.”
Tags: 47 °C, Extreme, Heat, North America, October, Palm Springs, Record, September, Southwest, Temperatures, U.S., Upper Midwest, Weather
Reuters (September 28)
“Treasury yields and the dollar fell while the Dow registered a record closing high on Friday as a subdued U.S. inflation report lifted expectations of an outsized interest rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s November policy meeting.” On top of that, “a global stock index also reached a record high, helped by China’s stimulus boost, and European shares posted an all-time high close.”
Tags: China, Dollar, Dow, Europe, Expectations, Fed, Global stock, High, Index, Inflation, Interest rate, Policy meeting, Record, Stimulus, U.S., Yields
Washington Post (August 29)
“The United States and the entire planet are poised to clinch their most humid summer on record, scientists say. The sweltering conditions, which have pushed this year’s heat close to the limits of survivability in some areas and fueled flooding downpours, are part of a long-term increase in humid heat driven by human-caused climate change.”
Tags: Climate change, Downpours, Flooding, Heat, Human-caused, Humid, Limits, Planet, Record, Summer, Survivability, Sweltering, U.S.
Bloomberg (August 11)
“Japanese equities shed $1.1 trillion in value as they kicked off August with a record three-day loss.” Having some of the froth knocked off, however, is providing bullish investors with “a fresh reason to buy what has been one of 2024’s hottest trades.”
Tags: $1.1 trillion, 2024, August, Bullish, Buy, Equities, Froth, Investors, Japan, Loss, Reason, Record, Shed, Value
Forbes (July 16)
“A double-barreled system of heat waves toppled daily record high temperatures across California, Arizona, Nevada and the Pacific Northwest, as well as some records in the Northeast over the past week, as more than 2,500 municipalities saw their daily heat records matched or broken—and more records are expected to fall as heat advisories remain in effect throughout the East Coast and the South.”
Tags: 2%, 500 municipalities, Arizona, California, Heat waves, High temperatures, Nevada, Northeast, Pacific Northwest, Record, Toppled
Washington Post (June 19)
“Scorching heat waves” are testing the “world’s resilience.” Before summer even began, “heat waves had already slammed disparate stretches of the planet, from Bangkok to Barranquilla.” The heat continued elsewhere in May and June. Now “parts of the United States are bracing for a potential record heat wave this week, while wildfires are already spreading” in the west. “In many ways, the climate disaster is already here.”
Tags: Bangkok, Climate disaster, Heat waves, Record, Scorching, Summer, U.S., Wildfires, World’s resilience
