Private equity giant Blackstone is hoping to raise $5 billion to invest in life science ventures, according to a proposal the firm sent to the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana that was seen by The Wall Street Journal.
Category: TRENDS ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC FRONT – Dec 17 2024
SPOTLIGHT: CHINA’S SHIFTING ECONOMIC POLICIES
At China’s Central Economic Work Conference last week, officials indicated Beijing will cut interest rates, raise its budget deficit, and lower banks’ reserve requirements next year to make more room for economic stimulus.
GM PARKS ITS ROBOTAXI PROGRAM
After 10 years and $10 billion in costs, General Motors has abandoned its plan to create a self-driving taxi, saying the costs would continue mounting as competition becomes more intense.
CHINESE CAR COMPANIES ARE OPENING DEALERSHIPS ACROSS MEXICO
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers, including majors BYD, Chery, Geely, and SAIC, are establishing dealerships across Mexico and, according to one Mexico City BYD salesman, the cars are selling as fast as he can get them.
IMF’S INTERNAL INSPECTOR CALLS OUT AGENCY FOR INCONSISTENCIES
The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) internal Independent Evaluation Office has criticized the international funding agency over some of its biggest rescue plans of the past two decades.
EXXON BOOSTS CAPITAL SPENDING IN THE FACE OF GLOBAL OIL GLUT
ExxonMobil, the world’s second-richest oil company behind Aramco, will spend at least $27 billion and as much as $29 billion on capital projects in 2025, the company said in an 11 December statement.
ENERGY AGENCIES ADJUST THEIR 2025 OIL FORECASTS
The International Energy Agency has increased its oil outlook for 2025, forecasting a growth in demand of 1.1 million barrels a day, up from 990,000 it projected in the fall.
EMERGING NATIONS’ CURRENCY VALUES CRASH AGAINST STRONG DOLLAR
A surge in the U.S. dollar and a “confluence of bad news” has sunk the currencies of emerging nations to their lowest values since the U.S. Federal Reserve began raising interest rates in March 2022.
BIDEN HITS CHINA’S CLEAN TECHNOLOGY EXPORTS WITH NEW TARIFFS
The Biden administration has doubled to 50 percent the U.S. tariffs on imported Chinese silicon wafers and polysilicon, both essential in making solar energy panels.
GERMAN ECONOMY WILL BARELY RECOVER IN 2025, CENTRAL BANK SAYS
Germany’s crippled industrial economy is leading the country’s GDP to a 0.2-percent contraction this year, the Bundesbank says, and a recovery will not begin until after the first quarter of 2025.