Like walking on eggs

Published 20/11, 2024 at 16:11

In the times we live in now, my editorial columns have a tendency to be more about the world situation than the industries the magazine covers, but it is inevitable that one is affected by the world situation. In my almost 64 years of life, I have never before experienced such imbalance and uncertainty in the world, at least not in the part of the world where I live and work. As well as Russia's invasion of the Ukraine, the war between Israel and Palestinians, and now Hezbollah in Lebanon, must also be added the American election, which will have a major affect one way or another. Further Trump gained a strong victory in the US election. However, at this point it is difficult to know what that will mean with Trump in the office.

It's really a rough time, both politically and economically, in the world at present. Since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the EU and NATO have given their support to Ukraine. If Russia were to win the war, this would mean not only suffering for the Ukrainian people but also a threat to the security of Europe. What has happened quite recently is that North Korea has given increased support to Russia in the war by sending ground troops to the fighting in Ukraine. For some time now, Russia has been supplied with weapons that have meant large revenues for North Korea. There is talk that North Korea's strengthened BMP comes to 25% from revenues from the manufacture of weapons for Russia. This development naturally puts large parts of the rest of the world, including the EU and the USA, on full alert, facing questions as to how to act and will the war extend elsewhere. However, what we have learned very recently is that South Korea will support Ukraine in the war.

With an already rather strained market situation in many parts of the world, and with continued high inflation and high interest rates, the global situation is slowing down Europe's efforts to turn the economy around. This continues to affect our industry and results in increased caution when starting construction, infrastructural projects, etc. In short, the willingness of the contractors to invest is reduced, which also affects manufacturers and their investments. At present it’s more about hibernating than thriving. 

Despite everything, the situation in Europe and the USA is actually picking up somewhat. Inflation has gone down in several countries, and with it, interest rates, but so far we have not seen any immediate effects. Caution lingers which affects the willingness to invest. The events of the last couple of shaky months of this year will have a major significance on next year’s outcome. It is quite easy to assess what the needs to be done right now to move in the right direction. We need to see an end to the wars mentioned. Only then can the world see a light at the end of the tunnel. And if the wars escalate, the world economy could fall back and end up in a worse situation than we have experienced so far. We live in a world and in a world situation that can be compared to walking on eggs.

 

Jan Hermansson
Editor-in-Chief
jan.hermansson@pdworld.com

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