South China Morning Post (May 25)
Several factors help explain “the outperformance of Japanese shares.” Improved corporate governance and the end of deflation are important, but “the explanation with the most resonance for investors is Japan’s role as a safe haven in an increasingly risky world. This has taken on added significance because of concerns about the deepening geopolitical rift between the US and China, as well as economic and regulatory risks in China itself.” Japan boasts “the only market in Asia big and liquid enough to offer an alternative to China while still providing exposure to the reopening of its economy.”
Tags: Big, China, Corporate governance, Deflation, Economic, Exposure, Factors, Geopolitical rift, Investors, Japan, Liquid, Outperformance, Regulatory risks, Reopening, Risky world, Safe haven, Shares, US
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
South China Morning Post (February 17)
“China’s regulators have unblocked the path for companies to list overseas, reopening the avenue of fundraising after a 20-month obstruction to enable businesses to recapitalise for growth in the post-Covid period.” Applications must be vetted by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) while the issuer must adhere to rules established by industry regulators in “disclosures of customers’ data and anything that could be construed as state secret.”
Tags: China, CSRC, Customers’ data, Disclosures, Fundraising, Growth, Industry regulators, Issuer, Overseas, Post-Covid, Recapitalise, Regulators, Reopening, State secrets, Vetted
Washington Post (September 16)
“Japan is inching closer to a full reopening, with an announcement likely in the coming days. But the country’s prolonged closure during the coronavirus pandemic has done lasting damage to its reputation as a destination for international investors, academics and tourists, experts say.”
Tags: Academics, Coronavirus, Damage, Destination, International, Investors, Japan, Pandemic, Prolonged closure, Reopening, Reputation, Tourists
New York Times (November 17)
“Pandemic stocks have become passé: Peloton, Zoom and others” are making way “for the shares of ‘reopening’ companies.” The shift in market sentiment “reflects a broader reshuffling of the economy, as Americans return to gyms, concerts and other in-person activities.”
Tags: Concerts, Economy, Gyms, In-person, Market, Pandemic stocks, Peloton, Reopening, Reshuffling, Sentiment, Shares, Shift, U.S., Zoom
Boston Globe (April 27)
“A grand experiment is about to take place in office buildings across Greater Boston, as many businesses begin reopening their offices to employees with newfound expectations around working from home.” The results are unknown, “but a significant majority of office employers are poised to move away from mandating the five-day, in-person workweek.”
Tags: Boston, Employees, Employers, Expectations, Five-day, Grand experiment, In-person, Office buildings, Reopening, Working from home, Workweek
Reuters (January 29)
“Equity analysts are still counting on a speedy reopening. They expect the 1,585 companies included in the Global MSCI Index to report 6% higher net profit this year than they did in 2019, and 21% higher earnings in 2022.” Constituents are “still valued on an average multiple of 21 times this year’s forecast earnings, far above a long-term average of 16 times. With the path out of lockdowns looking uncertain, such exuberance is likely to end in disappointment.”
Tags: 2019, 2022, Analysts, Disappointment, Equity, Exuberance, Forecast earnings, Global MSCI, Lockdowns, Multiples, Profit, Reopening, Uncertain
Time (September 22)
“England’s COVID-19 reopening went terribly wrong.” Britain hit 4,422 new cases on September 19, “the most in a single day since late May, when the country was still under national lockdown. The vast majority of those new cases (3,638) were in England…. On Monday, the government’s scientific advisors warned on television that, at current rates, the U.K. could be recording as many as 50,000 new cases per day by mid-October.”
WARC (July 21)
“High levels of concern over COVID-19 come as countries struggle to contain virus outbreak in tandem with the slow reopening of their economies. While 77% of respondents in China were worried, 90% of respondents were also confident about their country’s ability to deal with the virus compared the global percentage of 36%. In India, 53% of respondents were confident, down from a high of 64% in previous surveys, while Japan had the lowest confidence level at 19% but was up from a low of 11%.”
Tags: China, Concern, Confident, Contain, COVID-19, India, Outbreak, Reopening, Struggle, Virus, Worried
Washington Post (June 29)
“The road to a successful reopening of the U.S. economy is strewn with hopeful intentions — and formidable obstacles. The biggest and most important obstacle is a surge in new coronavirus cases, which presumably will lead to more hospitalizations and more deaths as well as more firms shutting down.”
Tags: Coronavirus, Deaths, Economy, Formidable, Hopeful, Hospitalizations, Intentions, Obstacles, Reopening, Successful, Surge, U.S.