Debt and inflation

BANGKOK, June 25 (Reuters): Thailand's inflation will remain elevated this year but should fall back into the central bank's target range of 1-3% in the second quarter of next year, a bank official had announced, South-East Asia's second-largest economy is expected to return to its pre-pandemic level late this year or early next year, Sakkapop Panyanukul, a senior director at the Bank of Thailand, told a trade seminar. The BOT predicts headline inflation of 6.2% this year and 2.5% next year. Thailand's economy is expected to grow by 3% this year and 3.7% next year, driven by exports, increased domestic demand and a recovery in tourism, the state planning agency had said earlier. Exports, a key driver of growth, still had momentum despite the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on the global economy, Danucha Pichayanan, head of the National Economic and Social Development Council, told a business seminar. "The Russia-Ukraine issue is a risk but it's also an opportunity, … [Read more...] about Thai inflation seen back to target in Q2 2023, says central bank; economy expected to grow by 3% in 2022

With inflation breaking records, gas prices pushing $10 per gallon and the border exploding with hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, President Joe Biden decided to issue an executive order to “enhance protections for transgender children and take steps to ban conversion therapy as efforts continue in Texas and other states to restrict gender-affirming medical care.” “Gender affirming medical care” is a woke term that includes chemical castration and puberty blockers, as well as hormone injections from the opposite sex. It also includes actual castration and mastectomies that are not medically necessary. These irreversible and dangerous medical actions are more accurately described as “gender destroying.” They have nothing to do with care. There’s no way to know what the president means by “conversion therapy” in this this context, but it is clearly an effort prohibit any restrictions by states like Texas against parents who want to experiment on their own children with … [Read more...] about SYLVESTER: Inflation, Gas Prices, Drag Queens And Biden’s Sinking Poll Numbers

BlackRock President Rob Kapito claimed that an “entitled generation” will be shocked by how upcoming shortages in labor and raw materials will remove normal items from shelves. Kapito, 65, stated that recent inflation is going to keep having a significant impact on the global economy and will push an entire generation to deal with a wave of shortages, according to Bloomberg. “For the first time, this generation is going to go into a store and not be able to get what they want,” Kapito told the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association at a conference Tuesday. “We have a very entitled generation that has never had to sacrifice.” BlackRock’s president warned of inflation’s dramatic effects, with an “entitled generation” now learning what it means to suffer from shortages https://t.co/HaybYqLAqE — Bloomberg (@business) March 30, 2022 Kapito described the economic situation as having “scarcity inflation” caused by the shortage of workers and … [Read more...] about ‘Put On Your Seat Belts’: BlackRock President Warns ‘Entitled Generation’ Of Shortages Due To Inflation

Wall Street, New York City (File image: Reuters) Global dealmaking is entering an arid season as raging inflation and a stock market rout curb the appetite of many corporate boards to expand through acquisitions. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February and fears that an economic recession is looming dealt a blow to merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the second quarter. The value of announced deals dropped 25.5% year-on-year to $1 trillion, according to Dealogic data. "Companies are standing back from M&A in the short term as they are more focused on the impact of a recession on their business. The timing for dealmaking will come but I don't think it's quite there yet," said Alison Harding-Jones, Citigroup Inc's EMEA M&A head. M&A activity in the United States plunged 40% to $456 billion in the second quarter, while Asia Pacific was down 10%, Dealogic data showed. Close Europe was the only region where dealmaking didn't crash. Activity … [Read more...] about Global M&A deals brace for dry spell as boardrooms put expansion on backburner

PETALING JAYA: The Government is doing its best to tackle the uncertainties brought about by several issues affecting the world and will strive to reduce the economic burden on the people, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (pic). "The world situation is not so stable now not only because of Covid-19, but also due to the Russia-Ukraine war and other major factors affecting the world. "The sharp rise in inflation is a major challenge facing the world, including Malaysia," said the Transport Minister. Malaysia, he said, was also facing the issue of inflation in food, which is influenced by the rising global food prices which are mostly the main input to local food products. "The Malaysian Family Government is doing its best to address this issue, including providing a subsidy of RM77.3bil for petrol, cooking oil, food and several critical sectors to lessen the burden of the people," he said. Dr Wee, who is also MCA president, delivered his speech at the Federation of Hakka … [Read more...] about Dr Wee: Government doing its best to tackle global uncertainties

Wall Street, New York City (File image: Reuters) Wall Street's main indices soared on Friday in a broad rally as signs of slowing economic growth and a recent pullback in commodity prices tempered expectations for the Federal Reserve's rate-hike plans. The S&P 500 rose over 3% for its biggest one-day percentage rise since May 2020. All 11 of the benchmark index's sectors ended at least 1.5% higher. Stocks rebounded this week as financial markets have been roiled over worries that rapid rate hikes by the Fed to rein in 40-year-high inflation could cause a recession. Still, investors have been gauging when the market might hit its bottom after the benchmark S&P 500 earlier this month recorded a 20% drop from its January closing peak, confirming the common definition of a bear market. "Some of the moves, the sellers just get exhausted so you don’t have as much capital moving out," said Shawn Cruz, head trading strategist at TD Ameritrade. "This might be a … [Read more...] about Wall Street mints big gains to end a strong week

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Rarely have the stakes for a Group of Seven summit been so sky-high and the expectations for success so deep in the mud. Even the agenda for the June 26-28 confab in the Bavarian Alps suggests the G-7’s worldview is currently a million miles wide and one inch deep. Look, it’s grand that the host, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, has put together a multifaceted program for the leaders of key industrialized democracies. Few can quibble with discussions on helping Ukraine and additional Russian sanctions. Topics from climate change to food security to gender equality are very worthy of focus. But the G-7’s best shot for impact and relevance on June 29, the day after the summit, is something almost completely absent from the pre-summit conversation: a grand deal on currencies. Granted, foreign-exchange issues tend to be handled a bit lower down the political food chain, by finance ministers and central bank … [Read more...] about To Put The G7 Back In Business, Strike A New Deal On The Dollar

(Representative image: Reuters) Dear Reader, A whiff of change wafted through the markets this week. The focus shifted from worrying over inflation to concerns about growth. The advance Purchasing Managers Indices (PMIs) for the current month for the US and the Eurozone showed slowing growth, but while they indicated inflation was cooling in the US, it continued to rise relentlessly in the Eurozone. They also reflected stalling demand and falling business confidence. The New York Fed’s economic model predicted an 80 percent chance of a hard landing for the US. UK consumer confidence hit a record low. In China, housing starts and property transactions reached extreme lows. The worries over an imminent recession in the US, the UK and the Eurozone sent commodity prices sharply lower. Copper prices have moved down dramatically. My colleague Ravi Ananthanarayanan wrote about the dark clouds hovering over steel . Crude oil prices too fell. That dissipated some of the … [Read more...] about MC Pro Weekender | A new narrative

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The compensation of Family Office CEOs has jumped by a huge 133% in the last six years. In 2016, as part of the first Agreus Compensation Benchmark Report, we revealed that the most common salary belonging to CEOs sat between £150,001 and £200,000. By 2017 this had increased to £300,000 and now, the most common basic salary achieved by Family Office CEOs stands at £300,001 - £350,000. An increase of as much as £200,000 in just six years. In 2016, the average CEO salary stood at £165,000. Fast-forward to today and this average sits around the £200,001 to £250,000 mark. When considering the fact that just 6% of CEOs today are paid less than £100,000 and and a further 13% less than £150,000, you can imagine this figure is much higher in practice with 49% achieving way over £200,000 a year. This is particularly interesting when looking at national salary increases for the same time period. While Family Office CEO … [Read more...] about Family Office CEO Compensation Jumps By More Than 100%

- A + A (June 25): UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who survived a confidence vote just two weeks ago, is facing fresh threats to his leadership after his Conservative Party lost two key parliamentary seats, according to reports. Tory rebels seeking his ouster want to scrap the party’s rule that prevents another leadership poll from taking place for a year, the Times and the Telegraph reported. They’re organising to take over an internal panel of backbenchers known as the 1922 Committee that sets party rules on confidence votes, according to the reports. Andrew Bridgen, a Tory lawmaker, told GB News on Friday (June 24) that he would stand for the election to the executive of the 1922 Committee to try and change the rules. Nominations open next week and the vote could be the following week, he said. The rules can be altered at any time by a simple majority of the typically 18-member executive, according to the Telegraph. Graham Brady, the chairman of the … [Read more...] about UK PM Johnson may face new ouster effort after election loss