applied know how
Two enduring metaphors of Covid were “flatten the curve” – reduce the incidence of Covid-19 infections to enable an overstretches health care system to cope.
The second was the image of a “V” shaped recovery… much hyped by Politicians facing I’m and the re-election… this thing will go away as fast as it came… we’ll bounce back.
Many pundits bet their reputations on this imagery.… Read more
A record number of CEOs left their positions in October, 2019, a corporate outplacement firm reported Wednesday, the most in one month since the 2008 recession.
The news from Challenger, Gray & Christmas raised eyebrows—and concerns over a possible incoming recession.
“Maybe this means nothing, maybe this is a coincidence, or maybe rich people can see the writing on the wall and are cashing out right now” business reporters have commented
According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas’ report, 1,332 CEOs have already left their companies, far outstripping the total 1,257 departures by this time in 2008.… Read more
Over the last 20 years, the world economy has relied on the Chinese economic growth engine more than it would like to admit. The 1.4 billion people living in the world’s most populous country account for 13% of global GDP, which is significant no matter how it is interpreted. However, in the commodity sector, China has another magnitude of importance. The fact is that China consumes mind-bending amounts of materials, energy, and food.… Read more
In an interesting PR move the staid Bank for International Settlements (BIS)- the Central bankers, banker- has tweeted the following
@BIS_org: US dollar as global unit of account in debt contracts means a stronger dollar constitutes tightening of global financial conditions.
The signs of growth in the US is positive and this has already resulted in a strengthening of the US$ against many international currencies.… Read more
I’ve talked before about the challenge facing the Chinese economy.
Here’s two charts from that detail the slow down and the impact its having out of the main coastal areas.
More and more of the world is inextricably linked into China’s success as shown by Export trade as a proportion of world GDP.
and the overall source of China’s imports
Which shows that more than half of Chinese exports originate in Asia.… Read more