Saturday, November 23

Author: Patti Mohr

Patti Mohr is a U.S.-based journalist. She writes about global diplomacy, economics, and infringements on individual freedom. Patti is the founder of the Global Economic Report. Her goal is to elevate journalistic principles and share the pursuit of truth in concert with others.
5 Takeaways From Fed Chair Powell’s Jackson Hole Speech
25Aug By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Types of News: Brief

5 Takeaways From Fed Chair Powell’s Jackson Hole Speech

August 25, 2023—Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivered a carefully worded speech this morning to the annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Kansas City Federal Reserve hosts the event. Moran, Wyoming, US, on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg Here are the key takeaways from the highly anticipated speech: 1. 3 Percent Is Not The New 2 Percent With the annual inflation rate in the United States down to 3.2 percent, some observers have wondered if that lower rate would suffice. Powell made clear it does not. The target is still 2 percent, and the central bank will not end a restrictive financial policy until the rate reaches that. "It is the Fed's job to bring inflation down to our 2 percent goal, and we will do so," Po...
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Despite High Interest Rates, U.S. Housing Sector Sees An Usual Rise
17Aug By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Economics, Types of News: Brief

Despite High Interest Rates, U.S. Housing Sector Sees An Usual Rise

Housing Costs Squeeze Buyers August 17, 2023--Even as mortgage rates in the United States hover at a 22-year high, the housing sector continues to defy logic by rising in price. In fact, increasing costs of shelter in the United States were "by far the largest contributor" to the inflation rate, according to the latest CPI report. The cost of housing rose by an annualized rate of 7.7 percent last month. Meanwhile, the overall inflation rate stood at 3.2 percent. The unusual resilience to rate increases by the Federal Reserve has led Goldman Sachs to revise its prediction for the sector from a drop of 2.2 percent to a rise of 1.8 percent, several news outlets including Axios reported. An 'Aberration' of Trends The investment firm described the unusual occurrence as "unsustainab...
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China Sees Sharpest Decline In Trade Since Early Pandemic
8Aug By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Types of News: Brief

China Sees Sharpest Decline In Trade Since Early Pandemic

August 8, 2023—China's trade with the rest of the world fell by 14.5 percent year-on-year in July, according to government data. That was the sharpest drop in imports and exports since early 2020. The decline was more than the 12.5 percent fall predicted by a poll of economists conducted by Reuters. Exports from the world's second-largest economy have fallen for three straight months, as the consumer and business appetite for China's goods in Europe and the United States has fallen. The decline may reflect weaker demand for China-made products as well as other factors such as shifts in supply chain, high global inflation, and rising interest rates. The largest drops in foreign buying of goods occurred in the computer, steel, and clothing sectors, according to reporting by the Financ...
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Tax Prep Software Shared Data With Big Tech
2Aug By Patti MohrNo Comments
Big Tech, Digital Economy, Types of News: Brief

Tax Prep Software Shared Data With Big Tech

Meta Pixel Collects Massive Amounts Of Information August 2, 2023—Several tax-preparation companies used a computer code known as pixels to share millions of data about users with Meta and Google, according to a congressional investigation. The companies TaxAct, TaxSlayer, and H&R Block confirmed to Senate investigators that they used Meta Pixel on their websites and a similar code for Google Analytics. The Meta Pixel is a piece of code used to track website visitors and their actions offsite. According to Meta, the parent company of Facebook, it is used for advertising and ad-targeting purposes. But the congressional report reveals that pixels contain "massive amounts of user data." Data Shared The report indicates that taxpayers who used the company websites to file th...
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El Salvador’s Bukele Rises In Popularity In Latin America
29Jul By Patti MohrNo Comments
Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Democracy, Human rights, Types of News: Bit

El Salvador’s Bukele Rises In Popularity In Latin America

July 29, 2023—Reporting for the Los Angeles Times, Kate Linthicum describes El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele has become a "hero on the right" for Latin American leaders even as human rights groups cry foul. It's been four years since Bukele took office and two years since he declared himself as the world's "coolest dictator." Today, many in Latin America view the president as a model for fighting gangs, violent crime, and corruption, even if it comes at the cost of civil liberties. Critics complain that the El Salvadorian leader embraces authoritarianism, but "as homicides plunged, Bukele's approval ratings skyrocketed," Linthicum writes in a LAT report this week. Even as he clears the way for mass criminal trials of hundreds of people at a time, his popularity rises in count...
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US Fed Raises Funds Rate By Quarter Basis Point
26Jul By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Types of News: Bit

US Fed Raises Funds Rate By Quarter Basis Point

July 26, 2023—Citing ongoing concerns about elevated inflation, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced today it is raising its Federal Funds rate by a quarter of a basis point to 5.25 to 5.50 percent. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the economy is weathering the monetary-policy tightening well, and the Federal Reserve is committed to achieving its target of 2 percent inflation. The current U.S. inflation rate is hovering right around 3 percent. The key to whether the Fed's Board of Governors would begin cutting rates, Powell said, would be when inflation comes down in a credible fashion, not when the rate hits 2 percent. He doesn't see the inflation rate dipping down to its 2 percent target until 2025 or thereafter, Powell said during the press conference.
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Global Housing Prices See Both Modest Dips And Gains In 2023
25Jul By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Economics, Types of News: Bit

Global Housing Prices See Both Modest Dips And Gains In 2023

July 25, 2023—With some exceptions, the prices of housing have dipped modestly in 2023 in response to higher interest rates, according to Fitch Ratings. In its midyear report, Fitch found that nominal housing prices reacted to rising interest rates with slight drops in prices in most countries under its radar. The exceptions were Australia, Denmark, Japan, Italy, Colombia, Mexico, and Spain, where prices rose. Factors that are impacting prices include inventory, wages, labor markets, government support for homebuyers, building costs, as well as interest rates.
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U.S. Stock Ownership Rises to 61 Percent
24Jul By Patti MohrNo Comments
Climate Action, ESG, Sustainable Finance, Finance, Investing, Types of News: Bit

U.S. Stock Ownership Rises to 61 Percent

July 24, 2023—Individual stock ownership in the United States fell after the 2008 financial collapse from 62 percent in 2007 to a low of 52 percent in 2013 and 2016. But now Americans' ownership stake in capital markets is rising. According to a Gallup poll taken in April, 61 percent of respondents said they own individual stock, a mutual fund, or a self-directed 401(k) stock fund. Stock ownership is significant not only as an indication of personal savings but also in regard to empowering individuals. For example, proxy votes, like the one that Disney faced in April, give shareholders to have a say in company decisions. It is a key benefit of capitalism that supports sustainable finance.
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Most U.S. Journalists Fear Restrictions On Free Press
24Jul By Patti MohrNo Comments
Types of News: Brief

Most U.S. Journalists Fear Restrictions On Free Press

July 24, 2023—Nearly six-in-ten journalists working in the United States reported having major concerns about potential restrictions on press freedoms. According to a Pew Research Center poll of 11,889 U.S. journalists, 33 percent of respondents answering the question said they are "extremely" concerned about the possibility the U.S. government would restrict press freedoms. An additional 24 percent said they were "very" concerned. The survey, which Pew conducted in 2022 also identified issues with "widespread misinformation, political polarization and the impact of social media."
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Currency Wars: Dollar Dominance Here To Stay? Maybe. Maybe Not.
16May By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Geopolitics, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Types of News: Brief

Currency Wars: Dollar Dominance Here To Stay? Maybe. Maybe Not.

China, India, and Others Vie For Status The United States has a significant economic advantage in having the U.S. dollar serve as the dominant form of global exchange. But several global leaders want to change that. China and Russia have long plotted to bring the dollar down. China wants its yuan to take over as the global currency leader. It's convincing trading partners like Argentina and Brazil to dump the dollar as a means for making trade and instead use the yuan. As Washington Post reporters Meaghan Tobin, Lyric Li, and David Feliba explained in an article today, Argentina's economy is in crisis, and its holdings of U.S. dollars are running thin. As a result, the government agreed last month to pay for $1 billion worth of Chinese imports with yuan. A New BRICS Currency ...
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