Insider (August 2)
“Fitch shocked the markets when it cut the US government’s credit score Tuesday at a time when the economy appears to be in a stable state.” The downgrade from AAA to AA+ has been widely criticized, “from top Biden administration officials to Wall Street,” with “market thinkers” labelling it “bizarre,” “puzzling,” “unwarranted,” “strange” “inept” and “ridiculous.”
Tags: AA+, AAA, Bizarre, Credit score, Criticized, Downgrade, Economy, Fitch, Inept, Markets, Puzzling, Shocked, Stable, Strange, U.S. Government, Unwarranted, Wall Street
Australian Financial Review (February 4)
“Mr Buffett shocked the world in 2020 when Berkshire Hathaway announced that it bought stakes in five of Japan’s biggest trading companies, which at the time were grappling with declining profits as the COVID-19 pandemic reduced demand for fuel and raw materials.” Now, his “surprise bet” is clearly “paying off as the companies expect a record-breaking rebound in profits.”
Tags: 2020, Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett, COVID-19, Demand, Fuel, Grappling, Japan, Pandemic, Profits, Raw materials, Shocked, Stakes, Trading companies
US News and World Report (July 17)
“Just as the European Union was announcing plans to spend billions of euros to contain climate change, massive clouds gathered over Germany and nearby nations to unleash an unprecedented storm that left death and destruction in its wake.” Both politicians and weather forecasters were left “shocked at the ferocity of the precipitation that caused flash flooding that claimed more than 150 lives.”
Tags: Climate change, Death, Destruction, EU, Euros, Ferocity, Forecasters, Germany, Politicians, Precipitation, Shocked, Storm, Unprecedented, Weather
Washington Post (July 20)
“Six months after the coronavirus appeared in America, the nation has failed spectacularly to contain it. The country’s ineffective response has shocked observers around the planet.” Though many other “countries have rigorously driven infection rates nearly to zero,” in the U.S. “coronavirus transmission is out of control. The national response is fragmented, shot through with political rancor and culture-war divisiveness.”
Tags: Contain, Coronavirus, Culture war, Divisiveness, Failed, Fragmented, Ineffective, Infection rates, Out of control, Rancor, Response, Shocked, Spectacularly, Transmission, U.S.
