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The Week (October 8)

2022/ 10/ 09 by jd in Global News

“Alarm is rising over a global slowdown that’s testing even Apple’s invincibility… In September, Apple was so bullish about its sales projections for the new iPhone 14 that it told suppliers to bump production by roughly 7 percent.” Within just a few weeks, Apple backtracked. “If Apple is struggling to gauge consumer sentiment, that doesn’t bode well for other companies.

 

Reuters (January 28)

2022/ 01/ 30 by jd in Global News

“A growing number of Chinese construction and decoration companies are writing off assets or issuing profit warnings as debt woes at China Evergrande Group and other property developers debilitate their suppliers.” Despite government measures “to ease developers’ liquidity stress and support the cooling economy, recent data suggests the problem will get worse.”

 

Bloomberg (December 18)

2020/ 12/ 21 by jd in Global News

“The U.S. launched yet another broadside at China’s technological ambitions this week by blacklisting more than 60 Chinese companies…. While the action will be painful, over the longer term it could be a shot in the arm.” The restrictions may very well “help make China great again.” Under this “massive pressure, Chinese tech giants finally have an incentive to use and improve local suppliers.”

 

Financial Times (March 26)

2019/ 03/ 27 by jd in Global News

“Ten years ago, you knew where you stood with your energy suppliers. Oil companies sold road fuel, while utilities supplied electricity and gas. Today those lines of demarcation are blurring: utilities can fill up your car and oil companies want to keep your lights on.” This will make for a “period of intensified competition and instability, as companies that were previously able largely to forget about each other are now forced to battle for dominance.”

 

New York Times (September 25)

2018/ 09/ 26 by jd in Global News

Companies are discovering that “quitting China is hard to do” as they look to shift operations to avoid Trump tariffs. “Few places can match China’s convenience and reliability.” Not only is China a near comprehensive source of “the ingredients that go into today’s consumer goods,” it also boasts “a dependable source of workers who know how to hold down factory jobs,” along with “reliable roads and rail lines connecting suppliers to assembly plants to ports.”

 

Euromoney (August Issue)

2014/ 08/ 10 by jd in Global News

“Key energy suppliers are increasingly politically unstable and Europe faces a rise in prices, even though demand is falling.”

 

Euromoney (February Issue)

2014/ 02/ 12 by jd in Global News

In Mexico, “cheaper electricity will lower manufacturing costs across the board, and the country could become a competitor in energy-intensive industries such as aluminum and steel production.” President Enrique Peña Nieto introduced sweeping reforms to liberalize the electricity and oil and gas sectors, prompting analysts to add “an extra 1.5% to future GDP growth rates as a direct consequence of the scope of these reforms and many say the risks are on the upside. Suppliers, contractors and a whole host of other industries will benefit.”

 

New York Times (June 27)

2013/ 06/ 28 by jd in Global News

The outsourcing model is broken. “Most American and European brands and retailers use a rotating cast of hundreds of third-world suppliers, instead of establishing long-term relationships with fewer of them.” The result is a race to the bottom and horrid catastrophes like the building collapse in Bangladesh which killed more than 1,100 people. Things must change. Retailers should “contract with fewer factories and establish long-term relationships with them. If they did so, they would have to monitor fewer factories and would have greater influence over suppliers to demand upgrades and changes.”

 

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