Tag: Economic News

China Ends Underwhelming Year With Fresh Signs of Weakness
World

China Ends Underwhelming Year With Fresh Signs of Weakness

Dec. 30, 2023 10:18 pm ETChina’s economy showed fresh signs of weakness as the year drew to a close, piling pressure on Beijing to take bold new steps to fire up growth in 2024.Surveys suggest factory activity slid deeper into contraction in December due to thin order books at home and abroad, while the services sector struggled as consumers kept a tight leash on spending.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
How I, and Everyone Else, Got 2023 So Wrong
Money

How I, and Everyone Else, Got 2023 So Wrong

It is good practice to learn from your mistakes, but even better is to learn from other people’s mistakes. My biggest error in 2023 was the same as everyone else’s: being in the consensus that the fastest rate hikes in 40 years would cause a recession. They didn’t, but there is still deep disagreement on why—and the direction of your portfolio depends on the answer.As a reminder, at this time in 2022, predictions of recession were the norm—and on some measures stronger than they had ever been outside an actual recession. I wasn’t persuaded by the economic models, because they paid no heed to the effects of the pandemic on supply and demand. But I thought it unlikely that the nascent stock rally would continue, because it was a bet on inflation’s coming down without the economy being hit. ...
Five Investors on How to Navigate the Bond Market in 2024
World

Five Investors on How to Navigate the Bond Market in 2024

Updated Dec. 30, 2023 12:10 am ETA resilient U.S. economy and cooling inflation fueled an intense year-end bond rally. Now, some suspect investors are too sanguine about the months ahead.The rally marked the latest in a series of swings that sent the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury, which falls when bond prices rise, leaping and diving throughout the past 12 months. Fears of a prolonged stretch of higher interest rates repeatedly drove the yield to decade-plus highs, only for stress on the banking system and a Federal Reserve pivot to drag it down again. Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Five Investors on How to Navigate the Bond Market in 2024
Money

Five Investors on How to Navigate the Bond Market in 2024

Updated Dec. 30, 2023 12:10 am ETA resilient U.S. economy and cooling inflation fueled an intense year-end bond rally. Now, some suspect investors are too sanguine about the months ahead.The rally marked the latest in a series of swings that sent the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury, which falls when bond prices rise, leaping and diving throughout the past 12 months. Fears of a prolonged stretch of higher interest rates repeatedly drove the yield to decade-plus highs, only for stress on the banking system and a Federal Reserve pivot to drag it down again. Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
The Fed Alone Can’t Make Gold Sparkle in 2024
Money

The Fed Alone Can’t Make Gold Sparkle in 2024

Updated Dec. 29, 2023 4:23 pm ETOn the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: five gold rings, which turned out to be much more expensive than a year ago. The key investment question is whether they will be worth even more by the time next Christmas comes around.New York gold futures closed at $2,062.40 an ounce Friday, ending the year with a 13.34% gain and very near the record close of $2,081.90 reached Wednesday. This snaps a two-year losing streak.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Trane Technologies Subsidiaries to Remain in Texas Two-Step Bankruptcies
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Trane Technologies Subsidiaries to Remain in Texas Two-Step Bankruptcies

Dec. 29, 2023 2:04 pm ET|WSJ ProA bankruptcy judge is allowing U.S. affiliates of Irish air conditioning manufacturer Trane Technologies to remain in bankruptcy, denying a request from asbestos-injury claimants to dismiss the cases created through a controversial strategy known as the Texas Two-Step. Judge J. Craig Whitley of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Charlotte, N.C. issued his decision Thursday, rejecting the request to dismiss the chapter 11 cases. Trane placed subsidiaries Aldrich Pump and Murray Boiler under bankruptcy in June 2020 to handle about 90,000 asbestos-related lawsuits. Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
How China Manages Its Currency—and Why That Matters
World

How China Manages Its Currency—and Why That Matters

Updated Dec. 29, 2023 8:31 am ETChina’s approach to its currency is a mix of bold ambition and fear of dollar strength.The yuan has lost 3% of its value against the greenback in 2023 and was doing even worse before the dollar slipped against most global currencies in November. The yuan traded around 16-year lows against the dollar in September. A dollar now buys around 7.11 yuan.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
2024 Could Be the Year of the Yen
Money

2024 Could Be the Year of the Yen

The Japanese yen has been one of the worst performing currencies of the past couple of years. It could do better in 2024.The yen has lost around 20% against the dollar since the end of 2021, underperforming other major currencies. Japan’s central bank kept its ultralow interest rates while most of its peers have been raising rates aggressively. Higher yields outside of Japan have driven the currency lower and lower.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Spanish Inflation Holds Steady in December
World

Spanish Inflation Holds Steady in December

The rate of annual inflation in Spain held steady in December, keeping price rises stable but above the wider eurozone average.The country’s consumer-price index rose by 3.3% on a yearly basis, the same rate as a month earlier, according to figures set out Friday by national statistics agency INE. The rate is harmonized to European Union standards and was in line with the expectations of economists polled by FactSet.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8