America, the land of the free and the home of the brave that wages wars to bring freedom and democracy to nations across the globe, and overthrowing “corrupt” leaders has slipped in the international corruption ranking index. In Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index, the U.S. dropped two points to 27th place among the world’s...
Tag: 28 January 2020
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IRAQ: PROTESTS AND THREATS
Now in its fourth month, the countrywide demonstrations in which several hundred have been killed and thousands wounded continued this weekend, as hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens took to the streets. Lacking jobs and basic living standards, and calling for new elections and an end government corruption, the demonstrators were beaten and killed by...
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IRAN: U.S. ON THE WARPATH
While tensions between the United States and Iran have eased somewhat following President Trump’s assassination on 3 January of Iranian general/ number two political leader Qasem Soleimani, Washington has warned more killing of Iranian officials remain a U.S. policy option. Speaking at the annual Davos meeting in Switzerland last week, U.S. Special Representative to Iraq,...
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MONETARY METHADONE: REPO RESCUE TOPS $6 TRILLION
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has pumped $6.6 trillion into major financial trading houses in the last five months through the repo market (repurchase agreement) market, according to data posted on the bank’s website. The first week of the current repo rescue was last 17 through 24 September, when the repo interest rate...
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JUNK DEBT DUE SETS RECORD
Almost $1.2 trillion in speculative-rated corporate bonds – also known as “junk debt” – will come due over the next five years. This sets a record for the amount of risky loans to mature over such a short period, up 14 percent since last year. Looking at growing signs of an economic slowdown ahead, Moody’s...
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TRUMP: IN LA-LA LAND
Addressing the World Economic Forum at Davos last Monday, President Donald Trump told the gathering that the U.S. is “in the midst of an economic boom, the likes of which the world has never seen.” He branded the economy “the great American comeback” and “a stunning turnaround” powered by “a whole new approach centered entirely on...
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NEW YORK CITY: BUY/HOLD/SELL?
The weakness in Manhattan real estate prices and store vacancies that we have been reporting on in the Trends Journal over the past year have spread across the East River to Brooklyn. The dollar volume of real estate sales in Brooklyn last year dropped 30 percent from 2019, to $5.1 billion. The plunge was driven largely...
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IMF FORECAST CASTS SHADOW OVER DAVOS
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) told the World Economic Forum at Davos that it has revised downward its 2020 and 2021 growth forecast for the world’s economy, cutting this year’s outlook from 3.4 to 3.3 percent and next year’s from 3.6 to 3.4 percent. The glum forecast was mirrored by corporate executives attending the conference....
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EUROPE: POLICIES UNDER PRESSURE
The weakness of Europe’s economy in January has surprised analysts, but it comes as no surprise to Trends Journal subscribers. IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the region was stuck at 50.9 as the year began, unchanged from December. Observers had expected it to begin January at 51.2. The German economy’s strength early this...