Economics and International Affairs Blog

Thursday, January 18, 2024

Why you should learn this difficult but essential investing trick
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/01/18/when-why-sell-shares-investment-stock-markets/
Playing the contrarian is tough but don’t expect striking results by following the crowd

The Rule of Law Under Fire
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/authoritarianism-theocracy-and-polarization-undermine-the-rule-of-law-by-ana-palacio-2023-12
The post-1945 international order is not perfect, not least because it remains dominated by its leaders and architects: Europe and, especially, the United States. But one should not underestimate the value of a global system that both rests on and perpetuates liberal values, particularly the rule of law.

With the West in decline, the Rest must forge their own path
https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3248041/west-decline-rest-must-forge-their-own-path

Britain’s Post Office Scandal and the Rule of Law
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/uk-post-office-scandal-reveals-danger-stumbling-into-authoritarianism-by-robert-skidelsky-2024-01
The wrongful prosecution and conviction of more than 900 postmasters highlights the erosion of the systems designed to uphold institutional accountability in the United Kingdom. It also underscores the growing threat of a legal paradigm in which individuals are presumed guilty until proven innocent.

An influx of Chinese cars is terrifying the West
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/01/11/an-influx-of-chinese-cars-is-terrifying-the-west

Western firms are quaking as China’s electric-car industry speeds up
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/01/11/an-influx-of-chinese-cars-is-terrifying-the-west
Expertise in batteries and a vast domestic market give Chinese firms an edge

A Lamborghini-Style EV: BYD Goes Upmarket to Outmaneuver Tesla
https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/a-lamborghini-style-ev-byd-goes-upmarket-to-outmaneuver-tesla-2b698578
Chinese automaker expands its electric-vehicle lineup to more than 20 models in its push overseas and into higher price brackets

Indonesia’s bid for EV nickel supremacy is doomed to failure
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/01/19/indonesia-bid-ev-nickel-supremacy-doomed-failure/
The ecological destruction being wrought in pursuit of the metal will amount to little

Consumers Start 2024 on Strong Footing After a Jolly Holiday
https://www.wsj.com/economy/consumers/us-retail-sales-report-2024-030eaa0a

Markets Expect Rate Cuts Soon. Central Banks Say Not So Fast.
https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/markets-expect-rate-cuts-soon-central-banks-say-not-so-fast-95d6c03f
Officials will probably loosen monetary policy in 2024, but they have reasons to move more slowly than investors are betting

The risk of premature central bank celebrations on inflation

Six Reasons Drug Prices Are So High in the U.S.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/17/health/us-drug-prices.html
Research shows prices in the United States are nearly double those in other well-off countries.

Chinese villages offer cash rewards to matchmakers as anxieties grow over rural ‘bachelor crisis’
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3250010/chinese-villages-offer-cash-rewards-matchmakers-anxieties-grow-over-rural-bachelor-crisis
The country has about 30 million unmarried men, and some policymakers worry the imbalance will affect stability and development in countryside

China’s population decline accelerates as economy reaches low growth target
https://www.ft.com/content/d9cf3643-566e-461f-a865-f9e215459cc7
Related: Who stands to gain from China’s demographic collapse?

China Told Women to Have Babies, but Its Population Shrank Again
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/16/business/china-birth-rate-2023.html
Faced with falling births, China’s efforts to stabilize a shrinking population and maintain economic growth are failing.

China’s Economy Grew Last Year, but Strains Lurk Behind the Numbers
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/16/business/china-gdp-q4-2023.html
Gross domestic product expanded 5.2 percent, as China worked to export more to make up for weak demand, high debt and a steep property contraction at home.