Actions before marketing: world trade is in disarray. It’s still booming
Want more good news? For all the supply chain issues making it harder to get a couch or laptop – including a shortage of shipping containers, coronavirus complications, and shortages of key items like computer chips – recent data shows that global trade is still booming, providing crucial information fueling economic recovery.
In the second quarter of 2021, the value of international merchandise trade for the Group of 20 countries hit a new record, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said this week.
A new report from the Netherlands Bureau of Economic Policy Analysis CPB on behalf of the European Commission shows that world merchandise trade is stabilizing at very high levels after a “vigorous” recovery.
Merchandise trade is about 5% higher than it was before the pandemic, the group said on Wednesday.
A good question: how can global trade increase with supply chains under such constraint?
The strength of consumers, who shop after months of savings, is history.
The Port of Long Beach said earlier this month it handled a record number of containers in July, driven by “resilient consumer demand.” The Port of Los Angeles handled 4% more containers in July compared to 2020.
“This remarkable and sustained increase in imports is pushing the supply chain to new levels,” said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.
Rising demand for raw materials, especially from China, Japan and South Korea, is also playing a role, the OECD said. Australian exports rose 10% in the last quarter on sales of metals, coal and grains, while Brazilian exports jumped 29% on demand for iron ore and soybeans.
But the OECD also said that “rising commodity prices explain much of the increase.” This logic follows: if companies pay more for corn, it means that the value of shipments increases.
This sends a more ambiguous signal to the economy as policymakers worry about inflation.
The Nasdaq has just reached 15,000 for the first time. And after?
Right now, it seems like nothing can stop the stock market.
According to the research firm Bespoke Investment Group, this is the sixth time that the Nasdaq has crossed the threshold of 1000 points since the start of the pandemic.
That’s not all: the S&P 500 gained around 0.2% and also hit a new record. It is not far from crossing the mark of 4,500.
It is also approaching a notable milestone – a milestone that has been in the works for more than two decades.
The Dow Jones is currently just over 600 points hitting 36,000. It only needs about 2% to get there.
Why it matters: In 1999, journalist James Glassman and economist Kevin Hassett, who later served as the White House’s senior economic adviser to President Donald Trump, published a book called “Dow 36,000: The News strategy to profit from the coming rise of the stock market. “
The Dow peaked just above 11,400 in early 2000. Hassett and Glassman predicted that the Dow could reach 36,000 as early as 2005. This did not happen. But 22 years after the book’s release, the prophecy is about to become a reality.
Pinduoduo sells all of its last quarter profit
One of China’s biggest tech companies just made hundreds of millions of dollars and plans to give it their all.
“This is an important and difficult task, in which we will invest patiently,” CEO Chen Lei said in a statement, adding that he would personally oversee the project.
The move is an important one for the Nasdaq-listed company, which reported profit for the first time as a state-owned company in the June quarter. It comes as Beijing steps up its efforts to redistribute wealth – and exercises its regulatory power when it comes to private companies.
Pinduoduo’s move follows a similar announcement by internet and gaming company Tencent, which said last week it would spend $ 7.7 billion to achieve Beijing’s goal of “common prosperity” for all. The company said it would support raising incomes for the poor and tackling educational inequalities.
Following
Also today: US durable goods orders for July are mailed at 8:30 a.m. ET.