Juggling Dynamite

The shift of production back to North America and Europe is a macro theme with legs.  First, came trade disputes and rising protectionism along with steadily rising emission restrictions and carbon taxes that make international shipping more expensive.  Next, COVID-19 showed the west its vulnerability in having essential equipment, supplies and medicines made far from home in places like China. Now, record flooding is compounding risks to current supply chains.  The world’s second-largest and most highly-indebted economy has swooned in 2020–and the hits keep coming.

The worst flooding in six decades in China is displacing millions and straining the Three Gorges Dam. WSJ’s Jonathan Cheng explains how the natural disaster is hampering the country’s efforts to restart an economy already battered by the coronavirus pandemic.  Here is a direct video link.

The mammoth Three Gorges Dam has long been rumoured to have been poorly constructed and vulnerable to disaster (see Three Gorges Dam could collapse).

As in the most populated areas of Canada, uneconomically high property prices and rents in Australia were only made possible by unsustainable domestic debt levels.  COVID-19 is proving a mean-reversion catalyst.

Sydney’s rental market has changed rapidly since the start of the pandemic. Thousands of homes across the city are sitting empty and rents have been heavily discounted. Commercial rents are taking a dive too as shops go out of business and companies rethink the need for expensive office space.  Here is a direct video link.

Danielle appeared on CBC Business Panel with Jacqueline Hansen discussing key business news this week.  Here is a direct video link.