Several signs of weak demand in the American economy appeared this week, and the bad news was compounded by an increase in jobless claims. While Americans are buying less goods and services, especially less houses, Americans are also struggling to find and keep jobs. Initial jobless claims rose 6,000 to reach 265,000 this week, according to the Department of Labor, while continuing jobless claims fell slightly to 2.18 million.
A tapped out American middle class is shying away from an increasingly expensive real estate market. Several indicators of weak housing activity are pointing to a pause in the 6-year bull run in real estate. Most Americans, facing stagnant wages, job insecurity, and declining economic prospects, sour on the idea of being locked into one house for a long period of time.
Vietnam will hold its parliamentary election in May 2016. The three key positions of president, prime minister and chairperson of the National Assembly will all be elected. However, perhaps the most interesting aspect of this election is the emerging group of self-nominated candidates. This election, around 30 civil society activists are running for the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) controlled National Assembly.
The Hobbesian tones of Australia’s new Defence White Paper of 2016 (DWP16) have been noted already and most have come to see the concepts and capability proposals outlined in DWP16 as being reasonable and relatively balanced. There are those who suggest alternatives, but they involve taking significant political and strategic risks — from which DWP16 has steered.
New ADBI research (Aizawa and Helble, forthcoming) studies how overweight and obesity have become major threats to public health in Indonesia. The evidence shows that obesity, which was previously a problem among high-income groups in the country, has spread across all income groups. Obesity in the lower-income groups, in particular, has been rising rapidly.
Northeast China is under heavy pressure to reduce overcapacity. As the economy is rebalancing, so must “China’s Rustbelt.” But how?
In the next five years, China’s steel sector should reduce capacity by 100-150 million metric tons, while the coal mining sector will cut capacity by 500 million tons, with another 500 million tons to be restructured in the following 3-5 years.
While some observers claim China is heading for another property bubble, the big picture is more complex. There are signs of bubble formation in some cities and excessive inventory in others, but there is solid growth in many.
A few weeks ago, international observers declared that China’s real estate frenzy was back, as Shenzhen prices surged 50 percent. Others lamented that, while prices are soaring in some big cities, there are bubbles in other parts of the country.
Disappointing manufacturing figures and weak retail sales data confirms that America’s economy is struggling, despite cheering from the Federal Reserve. Manufacturing rose slightly in March, but at a slower pace than in recent months. In addition, slower still since the financial crisis in 2009, according to a new study by Markit Economics.
According to the Markit Flash Purchasing Managers Index, which rose slightly to 51.3 in February, manufacturing activity is “well below the post-crisis average” of 54.1.
The unthinkable is happening in Malaysian politics. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad and his jailed former deputy Anwar Ibrahim have joined hands in a seemingly impossible alliance to unseat Prime Minister Najib Razak. Never before in Malaysian history have such sworn enemies buried their hatchets for a common cause.
It has been more than 20 years since former Australia Prime Minister Paul Keating declared that ‘no country is more important to Australia than Indonesia. If we fail to get this relationship right, and nurture and develop it, the whole web of our foreign relations is incomplete’. What has changed since then and what progress has been made?
