Financial Times (January 25)
The German economy is “faltering.” Despite promises of reform and rebound, “Europe’s largest economy is starting to look more like a slow-moving car crash…. In 2023 it contracted by 0.3 per cent, making it the world’s worst-performing major economy. This has been accompanied by policy setbacks, nationwide strikes, and a steep decline in the ruling coalition’s popularity.”
Tags: 2023, Car crash, Contracted, Decline, Economy, Europe, Faltering, German, Major economy, Promises, Reform, Setbacks, Strikes, Worst-performing
Nikkei Asia (October 31)
“A record sell-off of China stocks has revealed investors’ fears over the country’s largest companies after Xi Jinping secured his third term,” cementing his grip on leadership. Any hopes “that China’s down-beaten tech sector would revive” or that more open borders might “boost the economy were apparently dashed” when the CCP’s national congress affirmed a Politburo Standing Committee most “notable for a lack of reform-minded top leaders.”
Tags: Borders, CCP’s, China, Companies, Dashed, Down-beaten, Economy, Fears, Grip, Hopes, Investors, Leadership, Politburo Standing Committee, Record, Reform, Sell-off, Stocks, Tech sector, Xi
The Economist (October 13)
“The Communist Party has always been obsessed with control. But under President Xi Jinping that obsession has deepened. After three decades of opening and reform under previous leaders, China has in many ways become more closed and autocratic under Mr Xi.” The obsessive control is, however, weakening China.
Tags: Autocratic, China, Communist party, Control, Leaders, Obsessed, Opening, Reform, Xi
The Economist (June 11)
“Britain is stuck in a 15-year rut. It likes to think of itself as a dynamic, free-market place, but its economy lags behind much of the rich world. There is plenty of speechifying about growth, and no shortage of ideas about how to turn the country round. But the mettle and strategic thinking that reform requires are absent.”
Tags: Dynamic, Economy, Free market, Growth, Ideas, Lags, Mettle, Reform, Rich world, Rut, Speechifying, Strategic thinking, UK
Financial Times (November 24)
“The coronavirus outbreak has exposed Japan’s tardiness on digitization, which posed hurdles as the country tried to adopt online medicine and other digital tools to curb the outbreak.” However, Taro Kono’s “assault on the seal reveals new premier Yoshide Suga’s determination to reform the hidebound state. Hanko seals are universal in Japanese culture…. But they clash with Mr Suga’s move to a digital agency with more government services online.”
Tags: Coronavirus, Determination, Digitization, Hanko, Hidebound, Hurdles, Japan, Kono, Online medicine, Outbreak, Reform, Seal, Suga, Tardiness
The Economist (July 21)
“The headquarters of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), on the banks of Lake Geneva, once belonged to the League of Nations. That ill-fated body was crippled by American isolationism. The building’s occupant today is also at the mercy of decisions taken in Washington.” But all is not lost. “Free-traders are right to be deeply worried, but not yet right to despair.” The WTO “may yet be saved” and there are some encouraging signs. For example, “China and the EU agreed on July 16th to co-operate on WTO reform.”
Tags: China, Crippled, Despair, EU, Free-traders, League of Nations, Reform, U.S. Isolationism, WTO
New York Times (May 25)
Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman brought new hope that he would drag “his hidebound country into the modern age with a new vision.” Reform, however, is now “in reverse in Saudi Arabia” as the young prince cracks down on those who advocated for women’s right to drive. “It will be impossible for Prince Mohammed to legitimately claim the reformist mantle and achieve his economic goals as long as women are prevented from taking their full and rightful place in Saudi Arabia’s future.
Tags: Drive:, Hidebound, MBS, Modern age, Reform, Saudi Arabia, Vision, Women
Washington Post (November 5)
“While accompanied by the rhetoric of reform,” the purge in Saudi Arabia “resembles the approach of authoritarian regimes such as China. President Xi Jinping has used a similar anti-corruption theme to replace a generation of party and military leaders and to alter the collective leadership style adopted by recent Chinese rulers.” It remains to be seen whether the Crown Prince who’s pulling the strings, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), has bitten off too much or if he will succeed with this “very risky power play.”
Tags: Anti-corruption, Authoritarian, China, Crown Prince, MBS, Power play, Purge, Reform, Regimes, Rhetoric, Risky, Saudi Arabia, Xi
The Week (April 9)
“Corporate America almost uniformly craves tax reform. But businesses are deeply split over whether to support the…20 percent tax on imports coming into the U.S….. Major U.S. manufacturers like Boeing and Caterpillar are behind the idea. But retailers like Target and Ikea, as well as other companies that import most of their goods, are lobbying furiously against it.”
Tags: Boeing, Caterpillar, Corporate America, Ikea, Imports, Manufacturers, Reform, Retailers, Target, Tax, U.S.
Financial Times (March 31)
“On one hand, Premium Friday is a gimmicky, well-intended campaign to offset Japan’s overwork culture.” Even though less than 4% of Tokyo’s workers actually clocked out early on the inaugural Premium Friday, the campaign does represent “something fundamentally important to the next few years of Japanese investment: a defining theme of ‘working practice reform’ that will (for better or worse) penetrate all sectors of the economy.”
Tags: Economy, Gimmick, Investment, Japan, Overwork, Premium Friday, Reform, Tokyo
