Daily update
Daily update
- The US Black Friday celebrations begin. US consumers have just spent the past 18 months indulging in hedonistic excess by buying enormous amounts of durable goods. This may slow demand now. If you bought a washing machine in 2021, you do not rush to buy a new washing machine in 2022— these things are not iPhones.
- The UK Chancellor declared that the UK’s divorce from Europe may make the UK richer. The logic of this is hard to follow. The separation did lead to more positive immigration, which is an economic benefit. However, the UK government is contemplating trashing one of the UK’s most successful exports—education—by limiting foreign students.
- Asian markets continue to fret over the rising COVID cases in China. At this stage, the economic damage has probably already been done—fear and policy restrictions are established, and fluctuations in case numbers are unlikely to significantly alter either any further.
- German consumer sentiment was a little weaker than expected, probably reflecting the European news flow. German consumer reality was revised stronger as part of the third quarter GDP revisions; in line with most German data, growth was revised positively in the third quarter with a stronger private sector.
