ºìÌÒÊÓƵ Blog - By Author: Seth Kunio

With the growing energy demand around the world, renewable energy is accounting for a greater of the expansion.

After U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent threats to withdraw military aid to Ukraine, European countries have continued to increase their military spending. The U.K., Germany, and Denmark have recently pledged to increase their military spending while Eastern European countries have already increased their spending.

In early January, China released its 2024 trade surplus at a staggering $ billion, shattering the previous record of $ billion set two years prior. Exports in December also reached new highs with a surplus of $ billion in the month alone. While some economists believe this shows China’s dominance in manufacturing, others argue it shows unsustainable growth with risks of deflation.

The whisky industry, long dominated by traditional producers in Scotland, Ireland, and the United States, is experiencing a shift in international markets. Recent developments highlight international challenges and opportunities for whisky producers, highlighting the changing dynamics of international trade and shifting consumer tastes.

New president-elect Donald Trump has proposed several new policies, including one that involves establishing tariffs on countries around the world. However, many economists are worried about the subsequent impact on the United States and the global economy.

As birth rates around the world continue to shrink, world governments are spending billions of dollars to combat this. Yet, there has been little progress in slowing down the continued shrinking birthrates through Europe, Asia, and the United States. This has caused worry in governments around the world about the increased burdens on their economies and the lack of workers needed.

As the conflict with Israel expands, many people are worried about the price of oil skyrocketing. However, due to a lack of reliance on Middle East production, increasing global production and decreasing demand for oil should help to keep prices steady.

While the U.S economy has been strong through 2024 following the pandemic, the European economy has lagged. and the U.K., the two European economies, narrowly avoided a recession. This is partly due to lower government spending, resulting in lower consumer and private spending.

Over the past few months- and August of 2024, in particular- India has seen strikes and protest erupt across the country. These strikes, involving port workers, doctors, and farmers, have had significant adverse impact on both the national and global economies.

With climate change exacerbating inclement weather and environmental norms across the globe, experts predict an increase of as much as  degrees Fahrenheit in global temperatures by the end of the century. To help quell the rapidly rising temperatures, initiatives are pouring of dollars into new worldwide.

Last September, the World Bank announced it would begin implementing new steps to lend an additional  over the next ten years. This, along with other new initiatives, would allow the World Bank to lend  more to developing countries.

In June , Britain voted to end its  membership in the European Union. On January 31, , the controversial decision to leave the union went into effect. Since that decision, Britain has had conflicting economic results with higher inflation and lower GDP.

Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, authorized a new crypto product that could revolutionize the market. The SEC has approved  applications to offer exchange-traded funds, or EFTs, to the market. More than billion dollars worth of ETFs were bought and sold during the first day of trading, showing the potential market in the future.

For the first time since 2014, a worrisome development has occurred in China. Firms have taken more money out than they have reinvested back into the country. For years both foreign and domestic companies funneled their profits back into China. Now those profits are leaving the country, due to changing interest rates, rising wages and increased risk.

The El Nino-La Nina cycle is a naturally occurring phenomena- resulting from interactions between the ocean surface and atmosphere over the tropical Pacific- that been going on for of years, with episodes happening roughly every to 7 years. The El Nino and La Nina patterns are opposing climate cycles in the Pacific Ocean. However, with rising surface temperatures in the sea, the effects of El Nino are beginning to compound.

Two years after the collapse of China’s real-estate bubble, worries that it may collapse again are starting to rise. China’s private property developer, Country Garden, is struggling to pay back their enormous loans. Dealing with strict government regulations has made it even more difficult for companies to deal with their growing debt.

As the world pivots away from fossil fuels and towards a sustainable future, one intriguing option is geothermal energy. By using fracking techniques developed by the oil and gas companies, companies are able to harvest heat from the Earth to power generators connected to the power grid. Geothermal energy is a nearly ; according to scientists at Fervo Energy, there is enough geothermal energy in the United States alone to power the country several times over.

The two leading generals of the  largest country in Africa have clashed over the country’s vast economic and political power. So, what is happening on the global economic stage in the face of this conflict? 

Oil prices continue to fall, hitting almost  lows. One of the new factors impacting the global price of oil is the current banking turmoil further adding to the confusion of world prices. 

The current earthquakes seen in Turkey are a devastating event that will have ramifications in all sectors of life. In this blog we will be discussing the economic impact. The recent earthquakes in Turkey will significantly impact the Turkish economy, which will ripple throughout the world economy. Turkey has the  largest economy in the world at nearly . Economic consequences of this disaster are seeming to be high inflation, a collapsing stock market, and a devastated agricultural sector.

With the Russian-Ukrainian war approaching a year, the market for oil and gas has been volatile. And new Western sanctions aimed at curbing Russia's economy are expected to impact prices again.

After some delay, Russia has decided to extend its grain deal with Ukraine for another , easing fears that Russia might abandon the deal. This deal will continue allowing Ukraine to ship grain through the . Ukraine is already shipping  of tons of grain through this deal. Ukraine is also a top supplier of  barley, and supplies  of the world’s sunflower oil.

With society on the edge of its seat in anticipation of a continued recession, the U.S. is going against expectations and is appearing to turn around the economy. The U.S. economy grew by in the third quarter of this year after declining by in the first quarter and in the second quarter, which by definition takes the economy out of a recession. This is introducing reduced fears of a future recession; however, it does not prove that the economy has fully recovered.

Porsche’s recent initial public offering (IPO), valued at around billion, is one of the largest in European history. This IPO raised about  for Volkswagen which owns Porsche. The company offered  of Porsche’s preferred stock to investors, putting up about 12.5% of the entire company. This IPO is happening during a time that is seeing the market for IPOs drying up due to the volatility of the market.

The European Union has recently decided to expand its regulation into U.S. companies that interact with European countries. The most recent example is the blockage of the merging between American company Illumina Inc. and European company Grail Inc. Grail’s technology aims to help , which Illumina was looking to accelerate as a in genetic variation and function technologies. The blocking of this acquisition demonstrates the emphasis the EU is putting on extending its power.