New York Times (June 8)
“It’s no wonder grads are booing their commencement speakers” who champion the wonders of AI.” They should be worried, but the truth is “none of this is as inevitable as it seems. Remember putting everything on the blockchain? Remember NFTs? Hell, some of us are old enough to remember that the world was supposed to end in the year 2000.”
Tags: AI, Blockchain, Booing, Commencement, Grads, Inevitable, NFTs, Speakers, Truth, World, Worried
The Economist (April 21)
“Three factors are pushing the world towards the cliff edge. Oil cargoes available to buy are drying up. Refineries are slashing output of fuel. And demand remains artificially high, especially in Europe. Something big must give somewhere large for energy markets to balance.”
Tags: Artificially high, Cargoes, Cliff edge, Demand, Drying up, Energy markets, Europe, Factors, Fuel, Oil, Refineries, Slashing output, World
The Week (April 16)
“The world is reeling from a war-induced oil shock, and China is poised to take advantage. The country builds nearly every component of the 21st-century electrical grid that will be needed to replace the oil currently bottled up in the Strait of Hormuz.” As the age of the petrostate fades, China looks set to become “the world’s first electrostate.”
Tags: 21st century, Advantage, China, Electrical grid, Electrostate, Oil, Oil shock, Petrostate, Poised, Reeling, Replace, Strait of Hormuz, War-induced, World
New York Times (January 24)
“The world will remember Trump’s Greenland outburst.” The President’s “immoral threats against a loyal NATO ally have escalated a crisis in U.S.-European relations, weakened one of history’s most successful alliances and hurt American interests in tangible ways…. Leaders in Beijing and Moscow are no doubt thrilled. America is less safe than it was a week ago.”
Tags: Alliances, Ally, Beijing, Crisis, Escalated, Europe, Greenland, Immoral, Less safe, Moscow, Nato, Outburst, Threats, Thrilled, Trump, World
Bloomberg (July 25)
“The world’s oceans experienced a staggering amount of warming in 2023, as vast marine heat waves affected 96% of their surface, breaking records for intensity, longevity and scale…. That could mark a turning point in the way the oceans behave, potentially signaling a tipping point after which average sea temperatures will be reset higher and some ecosystems may not recover.”
Tags: 2023, 96, Ecosystems, Intensity, Longevity, Marine heat waves, Oceans, Records, Scale, Sea temperatures, Staggering, Surface, Tipping point, Warming, World
The Economist (June 14)
“The world must escape the manufacturing delusion.” Nearly everywhere you turn, “politicians are fixated on factories.” They want to win them, open them, expand them and bring them home. But this fixation “with factories is built on myths—and will be self-defeating…. the global manufacturing push will not succeed. In fact, it is likely to do more harm than good.”
Tags: Escape, Expand, Factories, Fixated, Global, Harm, Manufacturing, Manufacturing delusion, Myths, Open, Politicians, Self-defeating, Succeed, World
The Guardian (April 3)
“The world is fast approaching temperature levels where insurers will no longer be able to offer cover for many climate risks.” Günther Thallinger, a member of the board of Allianz SE, warned “that without insurance, which is already being pulled in some places, many other financial services become unviable, from mortgages to investments.” The climate crisis could “destroy capitalism…with the vast cost of extreme weather impacts leaving the financial sector unable to operate.”
Tags: Allianz, Capitalism, Climate risks, Cost, Cover, Crisis, Destroy, Extreme weather, Financial services, Insurance, Insurers, Investments, Mortgages, Temperature, Thallinger, Unviable, World
Investment Week (April 1)
“Some of the world’s largest investment banks and a major credit ratings agency have upped their expectations of a recession in the US and globally as trade war woes loom large.” U.S. President Donald Trump “is expected to unveil sweeping tariffs on major trading partners on Wednesday.”
Tags: Credit ratings agency, Expectations, Globally, Investment banks, Loom, Major, Recession, Sweeping, Trade war, Trading partners, Trump, U.S., Woes, World
The Economist (November 6)
“The return of Trumponomics excites markets but frightens the world. It may bring stronger growth, higher inflation and a global trade war.”
Tags: Excites, Frightens, Global trade war, Growth, Inflation, Markets, Return, Trumponomics, World
New York Times (August 30)
“The world is well stocked with oil…. Demand continues to grow, but production seems likely to keep pace.” This is one reason “the market seems surprisingly calm” given “the degree of political turmoil not only in Libya but in the Middle East.” The other reason is China. After accounting for “roughly half of consumption increases in the last two decades,” China is no longer driving consumption. The nation’s shift to EVs could even “lead to drops in demand there for diesel this year and for gasoline in 2025.”
Tags: 2025, Calm, China, Consumption, Demand, Diesel, EVs, Gasoline, Libya, Middle East, Oil, Political turmoil, Production, Well stocked, World
