Sep 15, 2022 07:51 AM
(This post was last modified: Sep 15, 2022 07:56 AM by C C.)
Worsening US-China relationship could have global economic impact
https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/co...ck-3843396
EXCERPTS: With the “decoupling” of areas of economic activity by the USA and China, there are concerns that the world is entering a crisis of interdependence and even the end of globalisation. The term “decoupling” has been used to describe the lessening of political, investment, trade, innovation, and digital links between China and the West.
[...] In 1995 New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman wrote that “the world is flat”. Friedman described a new phase of globalisation...
[...] Two decades later and the world has changed after the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the increasing competition between China and the USA. The pandemic caused huge economic losses as production and services stopped, major reductions in retail spending as people stayed at home, and disruption to travel that has still not recovered. The impact continues as the policy of “Dynamic Zero Covid” in China has interrupted supply chains, a massive change given that China accounted for 28 per cent of global manufacturing output in 2019. The IMF has warned of the risk of “de-globalisation”, pointing out that the Zero-Covid policies in Asia are a glimpse of what de-globalisation would look like if trade between advanced economies and China drops.
The war in Ukraine has further restricted supply chains, especially for commodities such as wheat (29 per cent from Russia and Ukraine), corn (15 per cent), and sunflower oil (69 per cent), causing significant shortages and price increases. The result is globally high inflation, reaching over 10 per cent in the UK, 9.1 per cent in the Euro area, 8.5 per cent in the USA, and over 70 per cent in Argentina and Turkey.
The outcome of all of these problems is that globalisation has stalled and the world is now a little less flat than Thomas Friedman described in 1995... (MORE - details)
The Impending Railroad Strike Could Grind The Entire Economy To A Halt, Experts Warn
https://dailycaller.com/2022/09/14/railw...-disaster/
INTRO: An impending railway strike could leave 40% of all long distance trade halted and shipping containers stranded in ports if no agreement is reached before Friday morning. Experts, speaking to the Daily Caller News Foundation, stressed that the already weakened trucking industry would be unable to pick up the slack, potentially leading to elevated prices for consumers, particularly in gasoline.
The rail companies predict that a stoppage would cause $2 billion per day in lost productivity, while unions accuse the companies of engaging in “corporate terrorism” designed to scare Congress into halting a strike.
As time runs out for railway unions and railway companies to avoid a strike before a Friday morning deadline, logistics experts who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation warned that a rail strike would have a “ripple effect” that would negatively impact every facet of the U.S. economy.
Two of 12 major railway unions have yet to sign an agreement with rail companies, citing concerns regarding sick days and attendance, while a third saw its members vote down the agreement on Wednesday despite the White House-brokered deal including a record-breaking 24% pay hike over the next five years, according to the WSJ... (MORE - details)
https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/co...ck-3843396
EXCERPTS: With the “decoupling” of areas of economic activity by the USA and China, there are concerns that the world is entering a crisis of interdependence and even the end of globalisation. The term “decoupling” has been used to describe the lessening of political, investment, trade, innovation, and digital links between China and the West.
[...] In 1995 New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman wrote that “the world is flat”. Friedman described a new phase of globalisation...
[...] Two decades later and the world has changed after the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the increasing competition between China and the USA. The pandemic caused huge economic losses as production and services stopped, major reductions in retail spending as people stayed at home, and disruption to travel that has still not recovered. The impact continues as the policy of “Dynamic Zero Covid” in China has interrupted supply chains, a massive change given that China accounted for 28 per cent of global manufacturing output in 2019. The IMF has warned of the risk of “de-globalisation”, pointing out that the Zero-Covid policies in Asia are a glimpse of what de-globalisation would look like if trade between advanced economies and China drops.
The war in Ukraine has further restricted supply chains, especially for commodities such as wheat (29 per cent from Russia and Ukraine), corn (15 per cent), and sunflower oil (69 per cent), causing significant shortages and price increases. The result is globally high inflation, reaching over 10 per cent in the UK, 9.1 per cent in the Euro area, 8.5 per cent in the USA, and over 70 per cent in Argentina and Turkey.
The outcome of all of these problems is that globalisation has stalled and the world is now a little less flat than Thomas Friedman described in 1995... (MORE - details)
The Impending Railroad Strike Could Grind The Entire Economy To A Halt, Experts Warn
https://dailycaller.com/2022/09/14/railw...-disaster/
INTRO: An impending railway strike could leave 40% of all long distance trade halted and shipping containers stranded in ports if no agreement is reached before Friday morning. Experts, speaking to the Daily Caller News Foundation, stressed that the already weakened trucking industry would be unable to pick up the slack, potentially leading to elevated prices for consumers, particularly in gasoline.
The rail companies predict that a stoppage would cause $2 billion per day in lost productivity, while unions accuse the companies of engaging in “corporate terrorism” designed to scare Congress into halting a strike.
As time runs out for railway unions and railway companies to avoid a strike before a Friday morning deadline, logistics experts who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation warned that a rail strike would have a “ripple effect” that would negatively impact every facet of the U.S. economy.
Two of 12 major railway unions have yet to sign an agreement with rail companies, citing concerns regarding sick days and attendance, while a third saw its members vote down the agreement on Wednesday despite the White House-brokered deal including a record-breaking 24% pay hike over the next five years, according to the WSJ... (MORE - details)
