Amidst the shock of President Trump’s announcement of global tariffs, a small yet crucial detail may have escaped some people’s attention. Towards the end of his speech, President Trump remarked – “We need more people. We need people to run these plants and to help the auto workers and the teamsters and the non-union people […]
“Make America great again” means welcoming immigrants again Read More »
A most dramatic move to stem declining birth rates and shrinking populations – Hungary announced that it will offer life-long tax exemptions for mothers with 2 or more children. But will it work? Hungary has already introduced housing subsidies, childcare benefits, and low-interest family loans to help young parents. Yet despite these measures, their birthrate
Hungary offers life-long tax exemptions for mothers Read More »
“America’s New Millionaire Class: Plumbers and HVAC Entrepreneurs”, was the headline of an article in the Wall Street Journal this weekend. My book “The Age of Decay: How Aging and Shrinking Populations could Usher in the Decline of Civilization”, highlights the downside of rising educational attainment in developed countries. Put simply, too many young people
America’s New Millionaire Class: Plumbers Read More »
I was intrigued by this curious headline in The Japan Times “Bus group Ryobi sets up forex fund to survive population fall”. It turns out this 114-year-old bus operator in rural Japan, is setting up an AI-powered forex hedge fund to diversify from its traditional business, which is being impacted by the consistent decline in
Japanese bus company tilts to survive population fall Read More »
A headline in the Wall Street Journal yesterday…”Suddenly There Aren’t Enough Babies. The Whole World Is Alarmed.” These reports are becoming much more frequent, from countries all around the world. Are investors taking this into account? Are they considering the impact of a declining and ageing population on the companies or bonds they invest in?
Investors ignore demographic declines at their peril Read More »
Reuters reported on 19 Jan 2024 that Germany shortened foreigners’ paths to citizenship and ended a ban on dual nationality by passing a naturalisation law designed to reflect the reality of a society that has long been ethnically diverse and to attract more migrant worker. Citizenship will be available after five years’ residence, reduced from
Labour-hungry Germany eases citizenship path despite migration rows Read More »
Reuters reported on 17 January 2024 that China’s population fell for a second consecutive year in 2023. The National Bureau of Statistics said the total number of people in China dropped by 2.08 million, to 1.409 billion in 2023. That was well above the population decline of 850,000 in 2022, which had been the first
China’s population drops for second year, with record low birth rate Read More »
Bloomberg reported that while most governments in the Americas have deployed troops and erected barriers to stem an exodus of millions of Venezuelans, Brazil is welcoming the newcomers with open arms. Brazil is drawing migrants into its economy to fill the many basic but gruelling jobs that its own citizens don’t want. Most of these
Brazil leads the way in welcoming migrant labor Read More »
In January 2023, the Japanese Prime minister Fumio Kishida said the the government must take urgent steps to tackle the country’s declining birth rate, saying it was “now or never” for the world’s oldest society. Alarmingly, the Prime Minister admitted “Our nation is on the cusp of whether it can maintain its societal functions”. This is
Japan’s Prime Minister warns that societal functions may falter Read More »