Demographic change poses a formidable challenge for Australia: Despite only a modest increase in the old-age dependency ratio, the number of people aged 65 and older will almost double from 4.1mn today to 7.4mn within the next 30 years.
An unprecedented and intensifying shortage of materials, notably semiconductors, is creating a supply-demand mismatch in Europe's automotive sector that could last until H1 2022.
In 2020, Working Capital Requirements in the West increased (+5 days in North America and +1 day across Western Europe) while it dropped in regions such as Latin America (-3 days), Eastern Europe (-2 days) and APAC (-1 day).
In its closely-watched pre-holiday meeting, coming close on the heels of its strategy review, the ECB offered its first indications on how the new inflation target - raised from “close to but below 2%” to a symmetric medium-term target of 2% - will be implemented.
The SPAC party isn’t over yet, but don’t wait up for another phase of record high offerings as seen in 2020 and Q1 2021 — at least in the US. After hitting record highs in both volume and number, and becoming the preferred path over Initial Public Offerings, SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Companies) offerings came to a virtual halt in Q2 2021.
