January 16. Skyscrapers to heaven
-GBP posted a new low on hard Brexit fears. Risk assets opening softer for the US holiday.
–From the Washington Post last week: “That’s the theory at least behind what’s known as the “skyscraper index.” Andrew Lawrence, an economist at a British investment bank, posited in 1999 that the massive buildings were the product of overheated economies that quickly went bust. The Sears Tower was built just as the U.S. entered the paradox of stagflation. And as Malaysia stole the title of world’s tallest building, it was being engulfed by the Asian financial crisis.
Looking back in history, the Chrysler and Empire State buildings were completed one year into the Great Depression. Lawrence has extended his analysis from the 1800s to the 2010 anointment of the current title holder, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and found that the correlation still holds.”
–The story above cites a few skyscrapers or ‘mega-tall” buildings in China. But for those that believe in the skyscraper index, here’s another article that will absolutely cement fears of a hard landing:
“In the so-called “race to the top,” China is so far above the competition that it can hardly make out any of its competitors. In 2016, a total of 128 buildings of 200 meters in height or more were completed around the world, 84 of those were in China, according to a year-end report from the US-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). That’s more than double the next ten countries combined.
The United States came in second with seven skyscrapers completed, four less than the number built in the city of Shenzhen alone. South Korea was in third with six skyscrapers, the same as the number built in both Guangzhou and Chongqing. Chengdu and Dalian finished the year with five a piece.”
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www.washingtonpost.com
The Shanghai Tower in China was officially crowned the second-tallest building in the world last week. The same day, as if on cue, the country’s stock …
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shanghaiist.com
To literally no one’s surprise, China dominated the skies in 2016,
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