“What is the connection between high household debt and the state of the US economy, including the seemingly healthy employment situation there? US personal consumption has remained high despite Trump’s trade wars and slackening business output, investment and confidence. This has been fuelled partly by the Trump tax cuts enacted at the end of 2017 but also (as the data reveals) by high levels of personal borrowing.
“One irony is that buoyant sales of consumer goods has sucked more imports into the US, despite the tariffs levelled against China and others (and hence the rise in the US external deficit). But as long as it can point to overall economic growth and a rising jobs tally, the White House seems happy to ignore such embarrassing inconsistencies.
“What is getting harder to ignore – and which more commentators are remarking upon – is that falling unemployment in the US (at its lowest in 50 years) is being achieved partly at the expense of diminishing job quality over quantity, not to mention declining wages…
“It just is not fashionable any more, it seems, to worry about rising debt, whether in the household, corporate or government sector… But if borrowers no longer care about debt, lenders should and so should governments that will need to bail them out once the music does stop.”
https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3042037/dangerous-mirage-americas-continued-prosperity
“Fracking insiders said that the dynamic growth of shale in recent years is suffering a slowdown as industry investors demand higher returns and lower debt…
“Producers have reduced the number of oil rigs operating for a record 12th month in a row, sidelining a quarter of the country’s drilling rigs in the past year…”
https://www.theepochtimes.com/profit-and-debt-pressures-spark-slowdown-in-shale_3174835.html
“Despite winter’s limited daylight and whiplash-heavy storms and rains, the number of asylum seekers landing on Greek shores shows no sign of abating.
“Not since Europe’s historic agreement with Turkey to curb migrant flows at the height of Syria’s civil war in March 2016 have arrivals been so high. In September alone 10,551 newcomers arrived, the highest in a single month since the deal.”
“The lights are back on, yet it feels like no-one is home.
“The end of load shedding this week may have provided light relief, but its overall impact has been draining. Eskom are likely to sink even further into their black-hole of debt – currently estimated to be worth R450 billion – and it’s threatening to take South Africa with it.”
https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/will-eskom-load-shedding-cause-recession/
“Zimbabwe‘s fuel shortages have reached critical levels just less than two weeks before the Christmas holiday.
“Long winding queues are visible at most fuel stations while most are completely empty. Frustrated and desperate motorists are spending long hours parked at fuel stations.”
https://www.enca.com/news/zimbabwe-fuel-shortages-reach-critical-levels
“Street protests [in Lebanon] took a violent turn on Saturday leading to 54 wounded. It was one of the most violent demonstrations since the wave of protests started nearly two months ago.
“Police forces fired rubber bullets and tear gas while protesters threw stones and small explosives. Demonstrators also tried to push through steel barriers blocking paths to the parliament and government headquarters.”
“Millions of Indian citizens have been cheated by overleveraged and now bankrupt property developers (what does déjà vu mean in English, habibi?).
“Property prices are in free fall, as are retail sales and industrial production. I can easily envision GDP growth falling to 2% as the deflation big chill sends tens of thousands of Indian corporates belly up.”
“The death toll from bloody clashes sparked by contentious citizenship law has risen to six as protesters in north-east India vowed to continue demonstrations.
“Tensions remained high at the epicentre of the unrest in Assam state’s biggest city, Guwahati, with troops patrolling the streets on Sunday.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/16/india-protests-six-dead-as-demonstrators-vow-to-continue-to-fight-citizenship-changes
“Thousands of people joined the biggest protest in Bangkok since a 2014 coup on Saturday, after Thai authorities moved to ban a party that has rallied opposition to the government of the former military ruler Prayuth Chan-ocha…
“At the protest, demonstrators chanted: “Long live democracy, dictatorship get out.””
“China’s small rural banks are scrambling to raise new capital as they struggle to contain a rapidly rising number of overdue loans… 29 rural banks this year have applied to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to raise capital by selling new shares…
“A total of 10 out of the 29 banks reported a non-performing loan ratio of more than 5 per cent, the so-called warning guideline established by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.”
“In a worrying sign for the economy, factory activity in Japan continued to remain in contraction for the eighth consecutive month during December. The Jibun Bank Flash Manufacturing PMI declined to 48.8 in December from the final reading of 48.9 for November…
“Further disappointing economic data was released following a BOJ survey of Japanese companies’ expectations for inflation.”
“Australia‘s budget surplus has been slashed by $2.1billion amid fears the drought and falling iron ore prices could spark the first recession in 29 years.
“Treasurer Josh Frydenberg promised, in the April budget, a surplus would be delivered for the first time since 2007 – before the global financial crisis hit Australia.”
“The reining in of bank risk after the financial crisis is giving way to a loosening of the rules just as the desperation for yield makes banks more willing to gamble…”
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Hi there,
Thanks for all your good work. I used to do this sort of daily reporting professionally for big companies using special software…
A bit of unsolicited advice: Don’t post the images that sit alongside the econ headlines. Including them is misleading and, I believe, serves to undermine your credibility. Use the original headline instead as your graphic. Thanks for listening.
Sorry I haven’t sent you any money yet!