The Intelligence: Land of the rising sums
The Intelligence from The Economist
The Economist
4.5 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 24 November 2023
⏱️ 31 minutes
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Summary
Look past short-term stumbles: there are plenty of reasons to think Japan may spin out of its decades-long deflationary spiral. But how to avoid another false dawn? A visit to a mine in Zimbabwe reveals how valuable lithium is becoming to the continent—and China’s role in securing it (13:09). And remembering a “Rosie the Riveter” who kept riveting until age 95 (21:38).
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Attention at all passengers. You can now book your train tickets on Uber and get 10% back in Uber credits to spend on your next train journey. |
| 0:11.0 | So no excuses not to visit your in-laws this Christmas. |
| 0:16.5 | Trains now on Uber. T's and C's apply check the Uber app. The Economist. |
| 0:27.0 | Hello and welcome to thera Oganbei. |
| 0:35.0 | Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:37.0 | And I'm Ora Oganbei. |
| 0:39.0 | Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:47.1 | The green transition is going to lean hard on new parts of the periodic table, but no element |
| 0:52.4 | is so prized at the moment as lithium. of the |
| 0:55.0 | parts of the periodic table, but no element is so prized at the moment as lithium for batteries. |
| 0:56.0 | Our correspondent visits Africa's biggest lithium mine, |
| 0:59.0 | finding how China is getting a particularly firm foothold. |
| 1:03.0 | And Eleanor Otto built aeroplanes for Boeing until she was well into her 90s. |
| 1:10.0 | Our obituaries editor pays tribute to the longest working Rosie the Rivertter. But first. Prices are rising all over the place, but there's one country where that is in the long view good news, Japan. |
| 1:40.0 | After decades of sluggish growth and a deflationary spiral, there are loads of promising economic signs. |
| 1:47.0 | Foreign investors are piling in, wages are up, and a new generation of business leaders is coming of age, eager to add some dynamism |
| 1:55.6 | to a business culture dominated by big industrial names like Toyota and Sony. |
| 2:01.6 | Now it's not all good news. Rising prices still bring some pain and knocks to |
| 2:06.4 | demand. Recent quarterly GDP numbers were down by more than 2% year on year. And on Wednesday, the government cut its short-term predictions on capital and |
| 2:16.4 | consumer spending. But Prime Minister Kishidafumio seems clear about his mission. |
| 2:21.6 | Kizi Kiz economy, economy, economy. |
| 2:28.0 | In Japan's parliament last month, he said he'd do everything he could for it including stimulus measures to the tune of |
... |
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