US adds 266k jobs in November

CNBC Article

The US economy added 266,000 jobs last month, exceeding expectations by over 70k. Unemployment also dropped from 3.6% back down to 3.5%, which is the lowest in 2019 and since 1969. This is helped by the end of the GM strike which added 41,300 jobs on its own. This is really great news contradicting so far some opinions that we might head into a recession, and more good news like this might help stem that looming possibility even longer. Bad news on some other economic news of late, but this is reassuring.

Global Economy Will Recover

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/05/global-economy-will-recover-in-the-second-half-of-2020-says-ubs.html

Global growth will recover in the second half of 2020 as the trade war between Washington and Beijing eases and central banks’ monetary policies come into effect said Adrian Zuercher, APAC head of asset allocation at UBS Global Wealth Management’s Chief Investment Office. Tensions are already smoothing with the first phase of the trade deal having taken place in October. The second phase is set to take place on December 15. Do you think these trade deal will continue to succeed and do you think we will avoid entering a recession in 2020?

Saudi Aramco Raises $25.6 Billion in the World's Largest IPO

Saudia Arabia's giant state-owned oil monopoly, Saudi Aramco raised $25.6 billion dollars at IPO. The deal raised more than Alibaba's in 2014, and is valued at half a trillion dollars higher than Apple. While it does look like a can't miss opportunity, I believe there will be some uncertainty in the future due its connection with climate change. Not only has the threat of climate change been an issue for the company already, but it most will loom larger in the future.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/05/investing/saudi-aramco-ipo-price/index.html

OPEC meeting ends with market expecting deep production cut

OPEC members are getting closer to a deal with cutting oil production. Official numbers will be released Friday, but estimates seem to be higher than expected, around a 500,000 barrels per day cut. This would bring daily production down to  1.7 million barrels per day which is a 23% decrease. With the US drilling more and more oil markets are flooded with American oil decreasing prices further. A cut was expected, but it is not clear what magnitude of an effect this will have on prices as many OPEC countries are already under-producing.

With the trade war having no end in sight do you think we should expect more cuts to oil production in order to support prices with the slowing global trade?





https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/05/opec-december-meeting-opec-production-cuts-in-question.html

Can Christmas Save the US Economy?

Due to the recent rise of uncertainty within the Us economy coming from factors such as the trade war, impending impeachment hearings, as well as the question of who will be in office in little over a year from now. With the holiday shopping season now here, many are relying on consumer spending to be the life ring of the US economy. However, many experts believe that relying on consumer spending as an underlying indicator of growth is not sustainable and can only carry the economy so far. What do you for-see happening in the coming months with the US economy? After the holiday season will consumption still be so strong?

This startup pays crypto holders interest on bitcoin

There is a new company named BlockFi that is rolling out a new trading platform that allows users to trade, borrow, and earn interest on their crypto currencies. I found this article interesting due to the fact that most of buzz surrounding crypto currencies has died down for the most.  After reading this article, Im curious of two things. Will this become a popular platform, and it this really the future of finance/economics. If this new platform proves that there is some serious money to be made through lending crypto, how long will it take until major banks offer loans in these types of currencies.

The US-China trade and its impact on a potential recession

"According to a recent survey by the National Association for Business Economics, seven out of 10 economists expect a recession by the end of 2021."

We are nearing the end of 2019 and there has been little resolution to our trade war with China. Trump has actually renewed trade tensions recently. He has even stated there is "no deadline" for the trade war and claims that he wants to wait till after the 2020 election to fix this problem. This may be in response to some economists beliefs that Trump is waiting ease tensions with China right up until the election. 

However, our domestic and global economies will not go on pause until he is ready to end this war. As we learned in class, imposing tariffs raises interest rates and lowers the amount of overall trade. If action is not taken soon, business investment may drop further due to trade uncertainty. And since investment is very volatile, GDP can decrease significantly, potentially contributing to a recession

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-finance-202/2019/12/04/the-finance-202-trump-could-spark-a-global-recession-if-he-imposes-more-china-tariffs-economists-predict/5de6e17688e0fa652bbbdbac/

Why US Garlic Farmers are fans of Trump

Garlic farmers in the USA seem grateful to Donald Trump for sanctions on China which has reduced imports of garlic into the USA. This has brought joy to farmers and is boosting the sales of locally grown garlic and is allowing their garlic to thrive especially in the large USA market.

The 25% tax put on garlic imports from China seems to be doing a whole lot of good for local USA farmers.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/business-50493488/why-us-garlic-farmers-are-fans-of-trump-s-tariffs?intlink_from_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Ftopics%2Fc1038wnxypvt%2Fus-economy&link_location=live-reporting-map

Ford's Global Job Cut by end of August

About 7000 jobs are set to be cut in the global workforce of American automotive giant Ford. The carmaker will reduce its US workforce by 2,300 as it seeks to save $600m (£470m) per year. Most of these jobs are in management positions according to Ford. some of these job losses will be as a result of voluntary redundancies and compulsory redundancies. Chief executive, Jim Hackett said, “To succeed in our competitive industry, and position Ford to win in a fast-changing future, we must reduce bureaucracy, empower managers, speed decision-making and focus on the most valuable work, and cost cuts,” 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/ford-job-cuts-global-us-car-industry-a8922301.html

Mid-sized American companies are already moving away from China

         As the Chinese-American trade war continues, American corporations and mid-sized firms face an increasingly uncertain economic future in China. Mid-sized firms, fearing the prolonged impact of these trade tensions, have realized the need to diversify away from China to protect their interests. Mid-sized firms have pursued the diversification of their corporations by shifting “their supply chains to other parts of Asia and by selling more to other countries to make up what they can’t sell to China.” To make up for some of their economic losses, the article notes that mid-sized firms in America have specifically sought new markets in Europe, other parts of Asia, and Latin America. The article also notes that the increasing cost of domestic labor in China has also played an essential role in the diversification of mid-sized firms.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/04/investing/midsized-companies-china-survey/index.html