MZ Weekly Thread for January 13, 2025
Manufacturing services and trends, China trade, ISM figures, payrolls, German economy, tariffs and more.

Each Monday I publish a thread of stories, charts and graphs I find interesting. I send it to all subscribers of my newsletter. If you also find this post interesting please share it with others.
China leads countries with the most STEM graduates, by a considerable margin.
The scale of China’s STEM training push is spectacular, matching most of the rest of the world combined.
— Adam Tooze (@adam_tooze) January 12, 2025
Sign up for more insight here: https://t.co/VpKFUvUJJb pic.twitter.com/TSE6EQhm9R
Monthly imports from China for US and EU from Brad Setser, senior fellow, Council on Foreign Relations on X @BradSetser.

December 2024 manufacturing jobs monthly employment change vs prior month manufacturing jobs monthly for November 2024.

From the same source, monthly employment by sector for goods-producing and service-producing sectors.

Singapore has the most powerful passport in the world with its citizens able to visit 195 countries and territories without a prior visa according to the Henley Passport Index.

According to recent ISM data prices are rising. Chart below courtesy Ayesha Tariq, CFA on X @AyeshaTariq where JOLTS is Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.

⚠️ U.S. ISM Services PMI Price Index surged to 64.4 in December, the highest reading since February 2023. https://t.co/p4YK6Z6gj8 pic.twitter.com/EhFC6bZKTs
— MacroMicro (@MacroMicroMe) January 7, 2025
US non-farm payrolls (jobs) trend.
December nonfarm payrolls +256k vs. +165k est. & +212k prior (rev down from +227k) pic.twitter.com/2SHpoXpmFu
— Liz Ann Sonders (@LizAnnSonders) January 10, 2025
German industry continues to reflect a difficult business environment as insolvencies jump 16 per cent in 2024.
Good Morning from #Germany, where company insolvencies surged by 16.8% in 2024, reflecting the toll of a contracting economy. For the first time since 2017, the total number of insolvencies exceeded 20,000. pic.twitter.com/fsxuxzYHnG
— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) January 10, 2025
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What matters when formulating contract electronic strategy? How do you identify supplier profit centers and what are you doing to protect against margin erosion for your outsourcing programs? Why do provider capabilities often not match capabilities they claim? How are you benchmarking your supply chain against competitors?
I’ve spent 25+ years in contract electronics industry setting up contract electronic divisions and running operations, protecting EMS program profits, manufacturing capacity M&A and more. I run a technology solutions firm. A lot of times this means asking the right questions.
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Eye-opening chart. While the US with its free market principles has been able to leave Covid behind, Europe with its regulations and socialist redistribution mindset has not recovered. There is a reason why Americans are becoming wealthier and Europeans poorer. pic.twitter.com/GPPkdj34TC
— Michael A. Arouet (@MichaelAArouet) January 6, 2025
Average tariff rate on U.S. goods imports for consumption.
This is a good chart that puts the proposed tariffs into context. pic.twitter.com/XVUan1cApb
— Ayesha Tariq, CFA (@AyeshaTariq) January 6, 2025
Food for thought for those blaming current weakness of the UK economy on Brexit. The problems started much sooner. pic.twitter.com/VsE2OJ12tu
— Michael A. Arouet (@MichaelAArouet) January 6, 2025
Two lost decades. Grotesque overregulation, bureaucracy, and lack of innovation have their price. Europe is on its way to become open-air museum. pic.twitter.com/XENpxSHg4O
— Michael A. Arouet (@MichaelAArouet) January 11, 2025
Mineral and rare earth resource deposits in Greenland.
The most important category in this chart is „Other“. It’s mainly rare earths. Don’t take Trump’s approach to Greenland too lightly, it would solve some strategic problems for the US. pic.twitter.com/Yeae2jtjjo
— Michael A. Arouet (@MichaelAArouet) January 8, 2025
Uranium prices hit all-time high.
Enriched Uranium prices hit all-time high 📈🚨 pic.twitter.com/jEtu6zRHaA
— Barchart (@Barchart) January 12, 2025
Cattle price hit all-time high.
Cattle Price hits a new all-time high 🐂📈🚨 pic.twitter.com/gloCpKibHQ
— Barchart (@Barchart) January 12, 2025
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