Weak Economy, Strong Republicans

That’s what the political equation might ultimately boil down to for the upcoming midterm elections. The U.S. economic recovery losing steam is a boon for the GOP, The Wall Street Journal reports. The OPEC decision to cut oil production and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes are negatively impacting the economy. In NBC News polling last month, Americans backed Republicans on economic issues by 19 percentage points. The Democrats are currently counting on women coming to vote for their candidates as the party promises to enshrine abortion protections into law following the majority-conservative Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. “We’re getting whipsawed through a really tough economy,” Democratic strategist Paul Begala said. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

In NBC News polling last month, Americans backed Republicans on economic issues by 19 percentage points.

Canada’s Costly Housing

Canadian single-family homes in the country’s largest city, Toronto, were up 7.7% between February and August compared to the same period last year, in a trend of rising housing costs nationally. The high prices are being driven, in part, by increased development in Canada’s real estate market. According to British-based realtor Knight Frank’s global house price index report for the second quarter, Canada’s housing prices were up 8.2% from last year, the 10th-highest increase globally. Canada’s central bank has raised interest rates to combat inflation. That, in turn, is also fueling a spike in housing prices. (Source: The New York Times).

Paris Goes Dark

The French capital is seeing an increasing number of shops switching off the power. Last Thursday, Energy Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told households, companies and municipalities to cut power by 10% for France to save on power and avoid possible shortages in the coming winter. Amid disruptions to energy supplies because of Russia’s war in Ukraine, France is also encouraging more remote work to reduce office energy consumption. Companies and households have also been instructed to limit their use of heaters. (Sources: The Wall Street Journal, France24, Bloomberg)

Chinese Semiconductor Stocks Down

Listed Chinese firms in the semiconductor sector saw their stocks drop at the start of the week after the U.S. government announced restrictions on sales to China. On Friday, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced new controls to restrict the export of semiconductor materials into China from the U.S., which has been a key source of these input components for the Asian giant. Bloomberg reports that Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd. stocks dropped 10%, while Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics Group Co. shares fell 25%. President Biden signed a $280 billion funding bill in August to boost local semiconductor manufacturing and science research. (Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters)

Economy a Priority for Malaysian Voters

Future economic prospects and inflationary pressures are set to be the main factors in Malaysia’s upcoming elections, slated early by the government in a shock announcement on Monday. This announcement comes amid expectations that economic growth could slow down next year — when elections were originally expected.

Future economic prospects and inflationary pressures are set to be the main factors in Malaysia’s upcoming elections.

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