Nicholas N. Eberstadt, an expert in demography, asserts that “the world is entering a new phase of depopulation”. “The total number of births in China last year was probably not seen for three centuries. In Italy, we are at levels last seen in the time of Leonardo da Vinci. And in Spain, such a low level as last year’s had never been recorded before. In fact, statistics dating back to…
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Norbert Rücker (Julius Baer) | The oil market is off to a rocky start as the tensions between the United States and Iran escalate. The situation brings lots of uncertainty and geopolitical tea-leaf reading on reactions. While the closure of the Strait of Hormuz remains a very unlikely event, the deterioration in Iraq bears supply risks. Geopolitics tend to be a temporary force on oil markets and we believe this time is no different. We raise our near-term forecast to USD 65 per barrel, and maintain a Neutral view on oil.