trendsjournal.com – Page 2 – History Before It Happens

December 19, 2023

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ECONOMIC UPDATE—MARKET OVERVIEW

As we have detailed, two of our Top Trends for 2025 have been dealt and continue to be dealt: The Trump Card and The Wild Card.

40 PERCENT OF AMERICANS SAY LIVING IN U.S. NOT WORTH IT: SURVEY

About two in five Americans told a recent survey that they no longer find living in the country enjoyable, and many have set their sights on moving to another country—especially the younger generation.

AI BOOM A PUBLIC HEALTH BUST

A newly released study found that AI infrastructure development in the U.S. has increased the costs of treating illnesses tied to the air pollution generated by these facilities.

FALLING BOND YIELDS DRIVE THE DOLLAR DOWN

The recent drop in bond yields has devalued the dollar. The bellwether 10-year treasury note’s yield fell as low as 4.24 percent on 28 February, sliding from above 4.8 percent in January and reaching its lowest point since mid-December.

AFTER ISRAEL VIOLATES CEASEFIRE DEAL, IDF BLOCKS ENTRY OF ALL HUMANITARIAN AID TO GAZA

Al Jazeera reported Sunday that Israel banned humanitarian aid into Gaza until Hamas agrees to its new terms and extends Phase 1 of the deal, which ended on Saturday. Hamas called Israel’s move a “war crime and a blatant attack,” the Associated Press reported.

AI FERVOR REACHES EUROPE

Fourth-quarter earnings among tech companies in the MSCI Europe stock index grew by an average of 5.5 percent, compared to analysts’ forecasts of 0.5 percent.

GOOGLE CO-FOUNDER SAYS AI PUSH NEEDS WORKERS TO RETURN TO OFFICES

Google, in a race to lead progress in artificial intelligence (AI), will have a better chance of achieving that goal if workers on the project are in the company’s central offices five days a week, Google cofounder Sergei Brin said in an internal memo reported by The New York Times.

“MAR-A-LAGO ACCORD” A REAL SOLUTION? OR JUST ANOTHER PONZI SCHEME? YOU DECIDE…

THE WORLD right now, today is experiencing a rapidly worsening multi-crisis event, and at the top of the list, there are five interconnected dynamic forces in play.

ISRAEL CARRIES OUT NEW STRIKES ACROSS SYRIA, SAYS IT WILL NOT ALLOW COUNTRY TO BECOME ANOTHER LEBANON

Israel Katz, the head of the IDF, confirmed Israeli strikes across southern Syria last week and said Tel Aviv will not allow the region to become like “southern Lebanon.”

UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE IS THE SOLUTION TO A BROKEN MEDICAL SYSTEM

For over 50 years, there has been no concerted or successful effort to bring down medical costs in the American healthcare system. Nor are the federal health agencies making disease prevention a priority.

HOUSE PASSES BUDGET BLUEPRINT THAT WOULD PUMP MILITARY WITH ANOTHER $100B

So much for U.S. President Donald Trump’s earlier idea to find a way to cut the U.S. military budget by 50 percent.

HONG KONG’S STOCK EXCHANGE PROFITABLE AGAIN AFTER TWO-YEAR DROUGHT

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), which operates Hong Kong’s stock exchange, booked a record profit of HK$13.1 billion, boosted by 71 new companies joining the exchange and a late-year rally after Beijing promised a major economic stimulus for the mainland.

BLOCKCHAIN BATTLES

President Trump has again confirmed support for a U.S. crypto reserve (or stockpile, or whatever other term one might wish to call it).

TRUMP CLASHES WITH ZELENSKY INSIDE OVAL OFFICE, TELLS UKRAINIAN HE HAS ‘NO CARDS’

President Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky had a tense meeting inside the Oval Office Friday that resulted in the Ukrainian leader leaving the White House earlier than expected.

EMBOLDENED ISRAELIS HOLD RALLY, DEMAND THAT GAZA IS EMPTIED

Israelis held a rally last week that focused on the future of Gaza and top government officials who attended said it was clear that U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to ethnically cleanse the enclave is the most viable and what they supported.

TRUMP NAMES CRYPTOCURRENCIES FOR STRATEGIC RESERVE, SPARKING RALLY

In a 2 March social media post, Donald Trump named Bitcoin and Ethereum as mainstays in a U.S. strategic crypto reserve that would include tokens Cardano, Solana, and XRP.

ECONOMIC UPDATE—MARKET OVERVIEW

As we have detailed, two of our Top Trends for 2025 have been dealt and continue to be dealt: The Trump Card and The Wild Card.

“MAR-A-LAGO ACCORD” A REAL SOLUTION? OR JUST ANOTHER PONZI SCHEME? YOU DECIDE…

THE WORLD right now, today is experiencing a rapidly worsening multi-crisis event, and at the top of the list, there are five interconnected dynamic forces in play.

CHINA’S TECHNOLOGY EXTENDS ITS GLOBAL REACH

China’s battery and electric vehicle (EV) companies have been forming collaborations with Western and other Asian countries, but two new deals signal another forward step in China’s worldwide technological advance.

CREATORS: HAVE FUN WITH AI WHILE IT LASTS

I’ve been writing plays since high school and college, and I was a Vassar College Powerhouse Theatre playwriting apprentice way back in the day (summer of 1990).

WHERE’S THE OUTRAGE? ISRAEL ‘CONSISTENTLY BREACHED INTERNATIONAL LAW’ IN GAZA: TOP UN OFFICIAL SAYS

Volker Türk, the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, said last week that Israel prosecuted an assault in Gaza in an “appalling manner” that “consistently breached international law.”

TRUMP CLASHES WITH ZELENSKY INSIDE OVAL OFFICE, TELLS UKRAINIAN HE HAS ‘NO CARDS’

President Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky had a tense meeting inside the Oval Office Friday that resulted in the Ukrainian leader leaving the White House earlier than expected.

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Global Economy

SPOTLIGHT: BIGS GETTING BIGGER

Italy’s Saipem and Norway’s Subsea7 will combine in a merger worth an estimated $4.86 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported. The union will create a global company offering construction, drilling, engineering, and logistics services to the oil and gas industry.

TOP TREND 2023: OFFICE BUILDING BUST

The Trump administration’s plan to slash the federal workforce will dump millions of square feet of empty square feet onto the office property market nationwide at a time when the sector is just beginning to stabilize after sliding for the past five years, The Wall Street Journal reported.

HONG KONG’S STOCK EXCHANGE PROFITABLE AGAIN AFTER TWO-YEAR DROUGHT

The Israel War

WHERE’S THE OUTRAGE? ISRAEL ‘CONSISTENTLY BREACHED INTERNATIONAL LAW’ IN GAZA: TOP UN OFFICIAL SAYS

Volker Türk, the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, said last week that Israel prosecuted an assault in Gaza in an “appalling manner” that “consistently breached international law.”

GAZA-FICATION OF WEST BANK ‘IN FULL SWING,’ REPORT SAYS

The Israeli effort to turn the West Bank into Gaza 2.0 is reportedly taking hold as the IDF turned three of the region’s refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams into something equivalent to what you’d see in northern Gaza.

EMBOLDENED ISRAELIS HOLD RALLY, DEMAND THAT GAZA IS EMPTIED

AI

SPECIAL REPORT: CHINA’S AI SURGE

DeepSeek roiled the AI industry and financial markets last month with news of its world-class R1 model made on the cheap. The news set off a tsunami of Chinese investment and focus on the potential of domestic AI.

AI FERVOR REACHES EUROPE

Fourth-quarter earnings among tech companies in the MSCI Europe stock index grew by an average of 5.5 percent, compared to analysts’ forecasts of 0.5 percent.

MICROSOFT CANCELS LEASES ON DATA CENTERS

Microsoft, which had budgeted $80 billion this year to build out its AI infrastructure, has been canceling leases on “a substantial amount of data center capacity,” Bloomberg reported.

Global Economy

The Israel War

AI

Hi-Tech Science

The above are just a few of the many articles in the latest Trends Journal. CLICK HERE for the full edition.