International
Capacity/price strains will linger, but may not worsen
The manufacturing PMIs showed that manufacturers in Asia Pacific and especially Europe are coping with the COVID wave
InternationalSony's Bungie purchase may signal metaverse plan
Sony will buy video game developer Bungie for USD3.6bn to revive its Play Station offering
InternationalChina’s economic activity will be soft in early 2022
China’s Caixin manufacturing PMI contracted in January and the services survey also weakened slightly
ChinaGermany will lead euro-area economic activity in 2022
Euro-area grew by 0.3% quarter-on-quarter in October-December, led by France and dragged back by Germany
EUMetaverse holds unknowable societal risks
Corporates are investing billions of dollars in developing technology, products and services for the metaverse
InternationalDamage funding will become more salient globally
Natural disasters are estimated to have cost nearly USD350bn globally last year
InternationalMonitoring US workers, and pushback against, will grow
Employer monitoring of employees is growing, as are the concerns about the extent to which this invades workers’ privacy
United StatesInternational internet satellite rivalry will grow
The EU has announced plans for its own broadband satellite constellation
International
