Tag: XXVII73

Why did the S&P 500 reach record highs last week in the U.S?  For the same simplistic reason the mainstream business media gives for when they go down: the U.S.-China trade war.  This time, it was “positive” news of a partial “Phase-One” deal to roll back tariffs that pushed up equities. The dollar still remained...

The S&P 500 has hit record highs, in part boosted by corporate earnings.  While so far this year 75 percent of the S&P 500 companies posting earnings beat estimates, U.S. company earnings are on pace to post a 2.4 percent decline in the third quarter according to FactSet. Trading volume, however, is relatively low, and...

While the Federal Reserve pumps in trillions of cheap money to keep the White Shoe Boys on the Street gambling, it’s a different game for the average American. Americans are working longer hours, and with “real” wages trending between low and flat the debt burden gets heavier. Adding to the debt load is transference of...

Industrial production in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, has slipped 4.3 percent in the 12 months to September. Last Wednesday, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy slashed Germany’s GDP forecast to 0.3 percent for the third quarter. Growth forecasts for 2020 were reduced from 1.6 percent to 1.0 percent, and for 2021, it was 1.4...

Despite its slowing GDP of 6 percent in the third quarter, the lowest in 27 years (which is still sizeable compared to the 2 percent of the GDP’s of the U.S. and Europe), China is set to be the year’s best performing stock market. It should be noted that major manufacturers in China are diverting...

Either exemplifying the economic slowdown or because the business model is a failure, WeWork is suffering from low-occupancy rates in China. The vacancy rate in Shanghai was 35.7 percent in October. Shenzhen had a 65.3 percent vacancy, and Hong Kong was at 22.1 percent. Central China had a staggering 78.5 percent vacancy rate. WeWork has...

Last week, the IMF reported that almost half of the less advanced economies in the developing world, with a record high $38 billion in market debt and at risk for falling into debt distress. Mozambique, the Republic of Congo, and Zimbabwe are among the list of nine countries in debt distress. An additional 24 countries...

Yesterday was one of the most violent days in the ongoing civil revolt that has paralyzed one of Asia’s busiest and most influential financial centers. Protesters took to the streets during morning rush hour, spreading out across the city in small groups, blocking commercial thoroughfares, vandalizing buildings, and forcing a number of shops to close....

Citizens continue to risk their lives as they vent their anger over government corruption, lack of jobs, extreme poverty, and a destroyed infrastructure bombed out by the U.S. after its illegal and immoral 2003 invasion. In addition to the 319 civilians killed since the government crackdown on street demonstrations that erupted in October, some 15,000...

On 13 October, President Trump announced the pullout of 1,000 U.S. troops from Syria after making a deal with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who launched a military offensive against Kurdish fighters in Syria who Erdoğan views as terrorists.  “The U.S. doesn’t have the forces on hand to stop an invasion of Turkey that is...