The Decisive Podcast: Insights and analysis to empower confident decision-making.
Episodes
Steel markets: 10 minutes with an expert
06 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Steel prices are weak, and that makes it a buyer's market. What's fueling that weakness? How long will it last? Where is demand strongest? Our exper...
Global food security: Inflation impact and government responses
30 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Climate-related effects have been augmented by weather phenomena such as El Niño in certain geographies. This is impacting agricultural production wh...
Global food security: The food supply chain and El Nino's impact
23 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Climate-related effects have been augmented by weather phenomena such as El Niño in certain geographies. This is impacting agricultural production wh...
PMI in Focus: Insights on Romania, supply chain, and more
16 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In their first podcast of the year, our Purchasing Managers' Index team of economists provide insights on the impact of Red Sea shipping disruptions o...
The global cocoa trade
09 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you're a chocolate lover, you probably eat up headlines declaring how good it is for your health. You may also get alarmed by news stories of suppl...
Five elections to watch in 2024
02 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
National interest objectives will influence reordering of relationships between countries and in multilateral forums, impacting global challenges, flo...
US economic predictions in an election year
24 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In our first episode of 2024, we talked about our top 10 predictions for the global economy in the coming year. In this episode, we unveil our U.S. re...
Logistics rewired: The world's largest ocean container shipping event
17 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One of our key themes for 2024 is logistics rewired. At the world's largest ocean container shipping event, TPM, shippers and their transportation pro...
Regional construction outlooks for 2024
10 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, our experts provide regional insights into construction markets around the globe. Learn more about what's impacting construction spen...
Global construction outlook for 2024
03 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we share insights from our webinar on the global construction outlook for 2024. We discuss changes in our macroeconomic forecast that...
Labor market outlook for 2024
27 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
S&P Global Market Intelligence sees five key overlapping themes for the year ahead. In this episode, we will cut across the themes of economic fault l...
Supply chain resilience
20 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
S&P Global Market Intelligence sees five key overlapping themes for the year ahead. In this episode, we explore the theme of supply chain resilience. ...
Geopolitical reordering in 2024
13 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We see five key overlapping themes for the year ahead. In this episode, we explore the theme of geopolitical reordering. National interest objectives ...
Top 10 economic predictions for 2024
06 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
S&P Global Market Intelligence sees five key overlapping themes for the year ahead. In this episode, we will delve into the economic fault lines theme...
A disjointed world: Themes for 2024
16 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The global environment has still not settled onto a clear pathway toward a new stability. As we enter 2024 in this disjointed world, we confront risks...
Swings in US interest rates
09 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Financial conditions in the US have tightened significantly of late, with a rapid jump in yields on longer-term Treasury securities, a material rise i...
Deceptive shipping practices
02 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Deceptive shipping practices began to emerge as a topic of interest in 2020, following guidance from the US Treasury Department. Subterfuge shippin...
Water stress and the 2024 sustainability outlook
25 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Droughts and flood events in recent years have highlighted the importance of water as a strategic global resource. Climate change will impact access t...
PMI Insights: A look at the Americas
18 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our Purchasing Managers' Index team discusses key 2023 themes through the lens of economies in the Americas. The economists see quite a subdued pic...
Monetary policy moves in Central Europe and Central Asia
11 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Inflation was the economic bogeyman of 2022. Some Central European central banks believe they've banished the bogeyman and are cutting or preparing to...
Commercial and residential construction in Europe
04 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We share our outlook for commercial and residential construction in Europe. We expect nonresidential structure spending to decline across the region. ...
Global construction outlook update
28 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we share an excerpt from our recent webinar exploring our latest global construction outlook. Our expert discusses the global economi...
Political change in South and Southeast Asia
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Political change is coming to South and Southeast Asia. Elections have concluded this year in the Maldives and Thailand, and are scheduled to take pla...
A consumer carol: Outlook for US holiday spending
14 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our forecast for US holiday sales is looking "delightfully average," according to Michael Zdinak, director, US economics, S&P Global Market Intelligen...
Supply chain outlook for Q4 2023
07 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The supply chain story of 2023 so far has been one of normalization. Demand has slowed down with U. S. seaborne imports of consumer goods falling in t...
Russia's economy today
30 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Russia's economy seemed to show remarkable resilience in the face of waves of sanctions that followed its invasion of Ukraine. But recently the bank o...
High interest in home improvement
23 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The US market for home improvement was at an all-time high during the pandemic when many people were forced to live, work, and educate their children ...
PMI Insights: Extreme weather impact
16 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
2023 has delivered some extreme weather, from extreme heat in Southern Europe to a dry spell that affected crop yields in Southeast Asia and Australia...
Sustainability at sea: Port performance and emissions
09 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We all think of emissions when we're stuck in traffic, cars idling all around us. But how many of us think of ships waiting to get into busy ports? We...
A bigger BRICS
02 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
South Africa hosted this year's heads of state summit for the BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, and mainland China along with South Africa. ...
Critical minerals in sub-Saharan Africa
26 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sub-Saharan Africa has a potentially important role to play in the global supply chain of critical minerals, having very sizeable reserves of minerals...
A long war in Ukraine
19 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Roughly 18 months ago, Russia invaded Ukraine, sending shock waves through financial and commodities markets. Since then, we've seen rounds of sanctio...
Nearshoring to Mexico: The supply chain story
12 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cars. Steel. Semiconductors. Appliances. Pharmaceuticals. More products are being made in Mexico for the US market — a trend known as nearshoring...
Nearshoring to Mexico: Operational insights
05 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Building your manufacturing facility in Mexico can pay dividends. It can also pose risks to your business. How do companies weigh these factors when d...
Nearshoring to Mexico: The big picture
29 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You may have heard about companies nearshoring to Mexico. Each week there seems to be another headline announcing an investment in the country's manuf...
Supply chain outlook: Right place, right time
22 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Supply chains are almost back to normal in terms of activity, inventories and seasonality. Yet there are plenty of uncertainties in both government po...
PMI Insights: Divergent trends in goods and services
15 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our Purchasing Managers' Index team compiles data for more than 40 economies around the world. In this episode, the economists explore the divergence ...
NATO in the spotlight
08 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The 74-year-old North Atlantic Treaty Organization, better known as NATO, is holding its summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11 and 12. The event w...
Housing markets in focus: Asia-Pacific
01 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
House prices experienced sharp increases in most developed economies during the last decade as record-low interest rates supported demand for property...
Housing markets in focus: MENA and sub-Saharan Africa
24 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
House prices experienced sharp increases in most developed economies during the last decade as record-low interest rates supported demand for property...
Housing markets in focus: The US, Canada and Europe
17 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
House prices experienced sharp increases in most developed economies during the last decade as record-low interest rates supported demand for property...
Brazil's political and economic outlook
10 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is seeking to position Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America, as a country willing to expand and diversify...
Turkey's election: What Erdogan's victory means
03 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On May 28, voters in Turkey went to the polls for a second time to choose their president after a vote two-weeks earlier proved inconclusive. In this ...
India's global ambitions
27 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's a big year for India. It's become the world's most populous country. In September, it will host the G20 summit, at a crucial time for global part...
Investigating industry credit risk in times of economic instability: BONUS EPISODE
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the stressed economy continues to impact global industries, volatility, reduced demand, disrupted supply chains, and higher costs, among other fact...
PMI Insights: Evolving trends in sub-Saharan Africa
20 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our Purchasing Managers' Index team compiles data for more than 40 economies around the world. In this episode, the economists unpack recent events in...
Global construction outlook: 10 minutes with an expert
13 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What is driving construction spending in 2023? Our expert discusses the economic forces at play in various regions and shares our global outlook for t...
Ghosting sanctions with a shadow fleet
06 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Russia has repeatedly stated that it will not work with the G7 oil price cap for crude oil that took effect in December 2022, or with the subsequent p...
Ripple effects of recent bank failures
29 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We began 2023 grappling with worries of high and persistent inflation. Now we are looking at a new downside risk to the global economy: turbulence i...
US economic insights: Black swans, inflation and more
22 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The US economy has been on a roller coaster ride since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, making the job of economists even harder. What indicat...
Supply chain outlook: A year of two halves
17 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The year 2023 is a year of two halves for global supply chains. During second quarter 2023, a normalization of supply chain conditions will continue a...
Global security hot spots
08 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
While the Russia-Ukraine war continues, violent incidents are occurring across the globe, including ongoing protests in Europe, terrorist attacks in A...
The global economy: Recessions averted or delayed?
01 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The global economic expansion is moving forward at a subdued pace in 2023, as tightening monetary policies and pandemic scars are creating challenging...
Europe's economic resilience
25 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We've seen some positive surprises recently on real GDP and survey data in the eurozone and European Union, indicating the economy is more resilient t...
Analyzing the US China trade relationship
18 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Trade between the US and China reached a record in 2022 with imports and exports between the countries exceeding $690 billion. What are the forces sha...
Critical minerals and geopolitical risks
11 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Countries around the world are developing strategies around minerals that they consider critical to their economies and their national security, such ...
South African economy: 10 minutes with an economist
04 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode will provide you with a deep dive into the uncertainty facing South Africa's economy in 2023. Our expert shares the top macroeconomic for...
South African politics: 10 minutes with an expert
25 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode will provide you with a deep dive into the political governance and policy changes expected in South Africa at the start of 2023, followi...
Russia - Ukraine War, One Year On
18 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, creating the largest land war in Europe since World War II. In the process, the war accelerated already-high...
PMI Insights: Inflation trends, China re-opening, top 10 indicators
11 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Economists on our Purchasing Managers' Index team use the prism of our PMI datasets to look at some of the most important themes in the global economy...
Labor pains in 2023
21 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tight labor markets made headlines in 2022 as inflation rose to a record and employment and vacancy rates remained high. But what will 2023 bring? Eco...
The New Pragmatism
14 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A world ordered for decades by globalization and geoeconomics has become a world oriented around geopolitics. An accumulation of shocks from the COVID...
Top 10 economic predictions for 2023
07 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Supply chain disruptions, persistent inflation and the removal of pandemic-related government support and accommodative monetary policy provided a cha...
Sub-Saharan Africa 2023 outlook
31 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What trends and events are expected to shape the economies of sub-Saharan Africa in 2023? We discuss inflation, interest rates, elections and more. Th...
The secret ingredient for electric vehicles
17 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Electrical steel is a niche product that is essential for making transformers, generators and electric motors. While it only constitutes about 1% of g...
Lula returns: The policy outlook for Brazil
19 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was Brazil's president from 2003 to 2010, will return to office in January after winning the presidential election by ...
Purchasing Managers Index: Stocks of finished goods and a new data set
19 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tune in for the latest trends seen in our Purchasing Managers Index data. Our economists discuss the strength of Middle East economies and challenges ...
Hosting COP27 Showcases How Africa is Handling Climate Change
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Having the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27, in Egypt naturally shines a spotlight on the policies African nations are considering on e...
Tool time? The outlook for the home improvement market
05 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Do you dream about renovating your home? Are you wondering whether rising interest rates, inflation and labor issues will turn that dream into a night...
Inflation and inventories: Two trends shaping US holiday sales
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Bargain hunting is coming back into fashion this holiday season as inflation drives up prices and inventories remain high for certain categories of go...
Energy Prices and Availability as Winter Approaches
22 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Energy markets will be tight everywhere through the end of 2022 and start of 2023. Europe has the highest likelihood of lack of availability of natura...
The impacts of conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa
01 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Armed conflict has broken out in Ethiopia and insurgents have delayed the development of liquified natural gas facilities in Mozambique. Our sub-Sahar...
Zeroing in on attractive construction markets
24 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Where should you build your next hotel or export office? Our expert talks about the five-year outlook for global construction and which markets are at...
Insight from our Purchasing Managers' Index data: Australia, Taiwan and more
17 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our economists discuss dominant themes through the lenses of our Purchasing Managers' Index data sets. What are the recent trends in the Australian pr...
Higher metals prices are likely in 2023
10 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The risk for metals pricing and availability in 2023 is extreme and it is to the upside. That's mainly because energy prices are high and energy avail...
Mexico's nearshoring potential
03 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Companies are considering nearshoring, or relocating operations closer to destination markets, in response to recent supply chain shocks from the Russ...
Managing price volatility in commodities contracts
31 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How can you capture commodities price volatility in your supply contracts and mitigate your risk? Our experts discuss how to balance risk between part...
Stagflation ahead? Understanding the drivers and impacts of higher inflation
28 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dealing with high inflation is never simple. With stagflation, it's even more complicated. The Fed is sending clear signals that controlling inflation...
Inflation and unrest in sub-Saharan Africa
20 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A slowdown in food and oil prices could bring inflation down in the sub-Saharan African region in the coming months, although the downward path will b...
Timber! Lumber prices fall from historic highs
30 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Lumber prices have dropped sharply in recent months, leading other commodities down from the levels seen after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A surge i...
Inflationary pressures in the Sub-Saharan Africa region
20 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Increased pricing pressures are being felt across the Sub-saharan Africa. Banks have hiked their policy rates by 100, 150 and even 200 bases points de...
The Age of Food Scarcity
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With a decrease in food outputs linked to the Russia-Ukraine war, how are businesses and governments coping with rising food costs and the knock-on in...
Cyber risks today
25 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
While digital technology allows people to connect at unprecedented scale and speed without concern for proximity, it has also allowed malicious actors...
Lockdowns and labor issues – the next wave of PMI insights
19 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Local COVID-related lockdowns in mainland China, the war in Ukraine, labor shortages, and supply chain disruptions continue to negatively impact the g...
The power of politics: The influence of global elections in 2022
14 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A number of critical elections in 2022 will influence more than who holds political office. With a rapidly shifting political landscape and an ongoing...
Have metal prices reached a melting point?
21 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Join our metals experts, John Anton and John Mothersole as they delve into the volatility of metals pricing in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukr...
Sub-Saharan Africa: Recovery interrupted?
02 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Like most of the world, the Sub-Saharan African region is only slowly starting to recover from the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. With growing ...
Ripples and waves - February signals broad-based improvements
19 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our PMI(TM) team digs into the February PMI survey results which indicate waning impacts from COVID-19 on the services economies and large bounces acr...
Electrical machinery: The next challenge in supply chain disruption
26 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pricing pressures on nonferrous metals have negatively impacted the machinery and equipment categories – specifically electrical machinery. If we la...
Commodity pricing pressure: Top down and bottom up
26 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Commodity prices experience huge spikes over the past two years. We are beginning to see escalation rates slow for many raw materials. However, betwee...
Sub-Saharan Africa: Regional vulnerability to rising interest rates
19 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The US Federal Reserve is expected to start rate tightening in March. What will this mean for countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with less solid macroeco...
Geostrategy 2022: Risks on the Horizon
12 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Volatility shocks to a wide range of sectors will likely continue for much of the year ahead. Not only are global threats increasing, but they're also...
Irregular migration
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Immigration has quickly become one of the frontline issues affecting the stability of societies and economies. Traditional drivers of irregular migrat...
Pressure at the ballot box: Critical elections in Sub-Saharan Africa
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our sub-Saharan research team discusses the current political challenges connected to elections, and pre-elections, in South Africa and Nigeria. What ...
Chemical reactions: Buying conditions in 2022
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Following on a year of severe supply disruption including weather, trade challenges, and supply chain breakdowns, are chemical markets slowly starting...
A Year of transitions: Top-10 Economic Predictions for 2022
10 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
IHS Markit economists will reveal our top-10 predictions for the global economy in 2022. Topics include the recovery paths of major economies, trends ...
Sub-Saharan Africa challenges for 2022. Could it be more challenging than 2021?
18 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Like the rest of the world, Sub-Saharan Africa suffered greatly from COVID-19 outbreaks and the resulting lock downs. Our Africa team explores how Afr...
Get your money's worth: Using PMI data to assess currency valuation
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Our PMI data have long been used to accurately nowcast - assess the current health of economies. Relying on its early release, well in advance of comp...
Tariff redux: Section 232
04 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The United States and the EU have agreed to Section 232 revisions that take effect on 1 January 2022. The new agreement is much like the quota-and-tar...
Hey big spender: Infrastructure
04 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What's new in the infrastructure bill and when will we start to see the benefits? Two critical questions to understand when looking at the Infrastruct...