Global Economy Briefs

As of May 4, 42 percent of the total French workforce was either fully or partially unemployed, representing 12 percent of total annual hours worked and with an output equivalent of 11 percent of annual GDP. Half of that GDP loss is associated with just three industries: manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade and construction.

A policy agenda for how America's chief executives can help sustain capitalism

There are certain basic concepts, such as intangible assets, that as a manager you should know well. Why? Because intangibles are meaningful and material to your business at many different levels, and yet you cannot rely on accounting to help manage them because intangibles are not on your company’s balance sheet unless they have been acquired.

In the coming months, global executives could find themselves trying to navigate an international currency market wherein both the USD and the RMB are competing in a ‘how low can you go’ devaluation game. This new battleground, if it fully manifests, could be more detrimental and problematic for global businesses than anything we’ve seen from the tariffs to date.

American retailers are working hard to leverage this Memorial Day weekend to boost sales. Heavyweights like Amazon, Target, Macy’s, and Home Depot all have big promotional plans to accomplish this.

The labor shortages in blue-collar jobs are unlikely to disappear any time soon. An important reason: The combination of the US population becoming more educated and the concentration of disability among less educated people is significantly reducing the share of less educated people in the labor force.

Continued uncertainty over the outcome of Brexit negotiations is not helping. Unemployment in the UK now stands at its lowest level in four decades. Gross domestic product growth at the start of the third quarter of 2018 also shows an economy in decent shape, having grown faster than in the prior two quarters.