Seattle Times (April 25)
“Even as optimism abounds in the United States, where cases are in steep decline and the vaccine supply has begun to exceed the demand,” fueled on by new variants, the pandemic “has reached one of its bleakest points.” Last week brought a record 5.7 million new COVID-19 infections worldwide, “nearly double the seven-day average in late February. The death toll — now approaching 3.1 million — grew by more than 87,000.”
Wall Street Journal (February 5)
“Basing eligibility in stages from oldest to youngest from now on is simple, scientific and fair. As supply increases, this will be the fastest way to inoculate the most people, reduce demands on the health-care system, and allow more businesses to reopen. Interest groups will complain, but the public will understand and politicians won’t take the inevitable grief for favoritism.”
Tags: Businesses, Eligibility, Fair, Fastest, Health-care system, Inoculate, Oldest, Reopen, Scientific, Simple, Supply, Youngest
The Economist (July 18)
“Big change is coming, as countries around the world adopt cleaner sources of energy. Peak demand for oil may still be years away, but covid-19 has given the Middle East and north Africa a taste of the future. Prices of the black stuff plummeted as countries went into lockdown…. Even when the virus recedes, a glut of supply will probably keep prices down. Faced with budgets that no longer add up, Arab states must adapt.”
Tags: Budgets, Change, Cleaner, COVID-19, Energy, Glut, Middle East, North Africa, Peak demand, Plummeted, Prices, Supply
New York Times (June 25)
“On Wednesday it was as if the country had found itself back in March — at the start of the pandemic, in the early days of the lockdown, when masks were in short supply and when the death toll was skyrocketing.” The U.S. “reached another grim milestone on Wednesday as it reported 36,880 new cases,” breaking the previous high set on April 24. Instead of containment, new cases “have roared back in recent weeks.”
Tags: Containment, Death toll, Grim, Lockdown, March, Masks, Milestone, New cases, Pandemic, Skyrocketing, Supply, U.S.
The Times of India (March 26)
“On day one of lockdown, supply of fruits and vegetables took a hit, despite the government having marked it out as an ‘essential service.’ Wholesale suppliers…say there are multiple logistics issues.” The largest “is the closure of state entry points and tolls across India. Some 1.2 crore trucks are said to be stranded across India” with some drivers “getting no food or water as dhabas remain closed for miles along highways, even as essentials rot inside the trucks.”
Tags: Closure, Essential service, Food, Fruits, Government, Highways, Lockdown, Logistics, Stranded, Supply, Tolls, Trucks, Vegetables, Water, Wholesale
New York Times (February 12)
“The coronavirus outbreak in China has generated economic waves that are rocking global commodities markets and disrupting the supply networks that act as the backbone of the global economy…. Whether the downturn is a blip or a serious shock is as much a question of epidemiology as economics.”
Tags: China, Commodities markets, Coronavirus, Disrupting, Downturn, Economic waves, Epidemiology, Networks, Outbreak, Supply
Reuters (September 16)
“The last thing the slowing world economy needs is a big and unexpected disruption in oil output.” The drone attacks “took out roughly half of Saudi Arabia’s crude output appear to fit that bill. But even fragile global growth can probably withstand this first cut.” However, if “sustained disruptions to Middle Eastern oil supply–or anything that heightens the risk of them–will buoy crude. That will deliver the deepest cut to growth.”
Tags: Crude, Crude output, Disruption, Drone attacks, Economy, Fragile, Growth, Middle East, Oil, Output, Risk, Saudi Arabia, Supply, Unexpected
The Economist (February 25)
“It is a turning-point for one of the world’s oddest industries…. The supply of new diamonds is expected to peak in the next few years, before beginning a slow decline.”
Tags: Decline, Diamonds, Peak, Supply, Turning-point
Institutional Investor (July 29)
U.S. REITs have soared on a “torrid rally.” Though the momentum will slow, strong fundamentals should underpin the sector, which is also benefiting from negative interest overseas. “The economy’s seven-year recovery should sustain real estate demand.” Moreover, “banks’ conservative real estate-lending policies in the wake of massive losses during the financial crisis should continue to limit supply.”
Tags: Banks, Demand, Financial Crisis, Fundamentals, Lending, Negative interest, Rally, Real estate, Recovery, REITs, Supply, U.S.
The Economist (January 16)
“Since the new year, the price of oil has surprised even the most bearish punters, plunging by 18%.” With prices already dipping below $30 a barrel, few know how low oil will go or when prices will begin to recover. Analysts have placed the bottom as low as $10, with April deliveries calculated at “anything from $25 to $56 a barrel.” The only thing everyone agrees on is that current supply vastly outstrips demand.