New York Times (February 5)
“A sense of foreboding,” carried over from the pandemic, remains shared by many Americans. Though this “sense of insecurity has seeped into the crevices of everyday experience,” it increasingly seems to “conflict with data points that reflect an unambiguous strengthening of the American economy. Incomes have risen, unemployment remains low and consumer confidence is improving.”
Tags: Conflict, Data points, Economy, Everyday, Foreboding, Incomes, Insecurity, Pandemic, Strengthening, U.S., Unemployment
The Economist (February 3)
Between 2012 and 2022, half of the Americans who adopted EVs and PHEVs were “living in the 10% of counties with the highest proportion of Democratic voters.” Polarization may best the biggest obstacle limiting “the American market for electric vehicles.” Polarization “is cursing not only America’s politics but, increasingly, its culture and marketplace.”
Tags: 2012, 2022, and PHEVs, Culture, Cursing, Democratic, EVs, Limiting, Market, Obstacle, Polarization, Politics, U.S., Vehicles, Voters
Financial Times (February 1)
“Mounting losses from banks in the US, Asia and Europe have rekindled concerns about weakness in the US commercial property market, a sector that has been under pressure from lower occupancy levels and higher interest rates.” This week New York Community Bancorp, Aozora Bank and Deutsche Bank each warned of related risks or recognized losses, which “mark the latest fallout from the… dual problems of fewer people working in offices since the pandemic and more expensive borrowing costs.”
Tags: Aozora Bank, Asia, Banks, Commercial property, Concerns, Deutsche Bank, Europe, Fallout, Interest rates, Losses, Occupancy, Offices, Pandemic, Pressure, Risks, U.S., Weakness
Bloomberg (January 26)
In the “race for world’s biggest economy,” the U.S. has extended its “lead over china.” U.S. GDP “rose 6.3% in nominal terms…last year, outpacing China’s 4.6% gain.” Some of that is due to inflation, but the result “underscores a broader point: The US economy is emerging from the pandemic period in a better place than China’s.”
Tags: Better, China, Economy, Emerging, GDP, Inflation, Lead, Outpacing, Pandemic, Race, U.S., World
Washington Post (January 25)
“The nation’s economy was supposed to have sunk into recession by now, dragged down by the highest interest rates in two decades and a resulting slump in borrowing and spending. Instead, the U.S. economy has kept chugging along. Even more encouraging, inflation, which touched a four-decade high in 2022, has edged steadily lower without the painful layoffs that most economists had thought would be necessary to slow the acceleration of prices.”
Tags: Acceleration, Borrowing, Economists, Economy, Encouraging, Inflation, Interest rates, Layoffs, Painful, Recession, Slump, Spending, U.S.
MarketWatch (January 24)
“Megacap technology stocks have retaken leadership of the U.S. stock market as the S&P 500 continues to hit new record highs, defying hopes on Wall Street for a more broad-based rally.” Since January 1, “the so-called Magnificent Seven have gained a combined $540.7 billion in market capitalization, compared with a total market-cap gain of $802.5 billion for the S&P 500 SPX through Tuesday’s close.”
Tags: $540.7 billion, Broad-based, Magnificent Seven, Market-cap, Megacap, Rally, Record highs, S&P 500 SPX, Stock market, Stocks, Technology, U.S., Wall Street
Markets Insider (January 17)
“The US and European Union are seeing large stockpiles of solar panels after soaring manufacturing capacity fueled a substantial oversupply.” At year end, “an estimated 45 gigawatts of modules in the US and 90 gigawatts in the EU had piled up, nearly twice the forecast installations for 2024.” The glut is leading to “even lower prices” and “fierce competition between manufacturers,” with “less efficient manufacturers… bound to lose out, as overcapacity and low module prices add to financial challenges.”
Tags: 2024, 45 GW, 90 GW, Competition, EU, Forecast installations, Glut, Manufacturing capacity, Overcapacity, Oversupply, Prices, Soaring, Solar panels, Stockpiles, U.S.
Reuters (January 8)
“The world is full of danger. The planet starts 2024 with war in Gaza and Ukraine, superpower rivalry, climate change and slow growth. The possible return of Donald Trump as U.S. president is another risk…. It’s easy to see how the world’s multiple overlapping crises – what some observers have labelled the ‘polycrisis’—could feed on one another, creating a doom loop.” But none of this is inevitable. “There are more optimistic scenarios, and some silver linings in the pessimistic ones.”
Tags: 2024, Climate change, Danger, Doom loop, Gaza, Growth, Optimistic scenarios, Polycrisis, Risk, Rivalry, Superpower, Trump, U.S., Ukraine, War, World
The Week (January 5)
Taiwan’s January 13 presidential election “will have major implications for domestic and global politics.” Current president Tsai Ing-wen is limited to two terms and must step down. Current favorite Vice President Lai Ching-te is likely to continue cozy relations with the U.S., further distancing Taipei and Beijing. His victory might “rankle Xi’s government and increase pressure in the form of military activities around the island.”
Tags: Beijing, Favorite, Implications, January 13, Lai, Military activities, Politics, Presidential election, Pressure, Rankle, Successor, Taiwan, Tsai, U.S., Victory, VP, Xi
Wall Street Journal (January 3)
“Chinese automaker BYD for the first time topped Tesla as the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles on a quarterly basis, a sign of China’s emerging strength in the global market for battery-powered cars…. The Chinese rival’s ascent in the global pecking order has put new pressure on Tesla at a time when the U.S. electric-car maker is already leaning on steep price cuts to juice its sales.”
Tags: Ascent, Automaker, Battery-powered, BYD, China, Emerging, EVs, Global market, Pressure, Price cuts, Sales, Strength, Tesla, U.S.
