Media narratives around the World Cup, Earth's rapidly greying population and Warren Buffett's investment strategy
November 2022
Hello and welcome!👋
The countdown to 2023 is on. There are only a handful of weeks left to the holiday season. I’ve been doing some globe-trotting for meetings as the end of the year approaches. So this edition was written in Dubai and Singapore.
Don’t forget you can follow Deep Dive on Instagram for additional updates.
DIFFERENCE OF OPINION
Sports can be political, as the government of Qatar is discovering. Condemnation and controversy cast a shadow over the opening of the FIFA World Cup tournament, with several groups lambasting the Gulf state for its conservative laws and treatment of foreign labourers.
But international media narratives around the event are incredibly mixed, demonstrating how diplomatic relations, geography and cultural values can shape perspectives.
Britain’s Guardian newspaper is one of the loudest critics of Qatar’s World Cup, calling the football contest “a grubby hymn to money and power” built on “stadiums of shame”. Its investigation alleges that the mega construction project claimed the lives of 6,500 migrant workers.
However, the fact checkers at Germany’s DW News dispute that statistic, saying the tally refers “to non-Qataris of various nationalities and in various occupations who have died in Qatar in the past decade” (which encompasses the Covid-19 pandemic). DW News also quotes research from the World Health Organization that found “general mortality rates for migrant workers in Qatar are lower than they are in their home countries”.
Staying on the issue of foreign labourers, a column in India Today dismisses censure of Qatar’s policies as “rather baseless”. Its contributor writes: “Qatar provided a golden opportunity for the migrant construction labour and professionals to find lucrative jobs…India certainly doesn’t need the Western media or pop star Dua Lipa to take a stand for the Indian workers in Qatar”.
Annoyance with Western rhetoric is the subject of an article in the New York Times. It delves into Doha’s frustration with the media coverage, “which they [Qataris] believe is underpinned by prejudices based in racism, Orientalism and Islamophobia”.
The Economist takes a distinct approach to the debate. “Qatar may not be a democracy, but it is not the despicable despotate of cartoonish editorials,” notes its leaders section. “The previous emir, under no popular pressure at all, introduced elections of a sort. He also set up a news channel, Al Jazeera, that is more outspoken than its Arab rivals”.
“A lot of the indignant pundits sound as if they simply do not like Muslims or rich people,” the piece adds. The Economist’s main gripe is the environmental impact, with “dubious” carbon-neutral labels attached to the tournament.
ADDING HEADCOUNT
Planet Earth hit a milestone in November. According to the UN, the global population probably rose to 8 billion in the middle of the month.
While that figure sounds enormous, the UN says the human race is increasing at a slower pace compared to previous decades. Its latest projections suggest the world’s population could reach around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050.
A fascinating - and perhaps worrying - trend is the ‘greying’ of Earth’s inhabitants. Longevity driven by medical advancements combined with falling birth rates mean the global population is rapidly ageing. Currently, 1 in 10 people is aged 65 and above. By 2050, it’s expected that the number of 65+ year olds will be more than twice the number of children under 5.
Key economies are bracing for an excess of pensioners over toddlers, including Japan, South Korea, China, Germany and Italy. In Japan, nearly 3 out of 10 residents are aged 65+, and the 75+ cohort already make up 15% of the country’s total population.
Elsewhere in the region, South Korea holds the record for the world’s lowest fertility rate of 0.81. The average across developed nations is 1.6 children per woman. This is alarming for Korean policymakers because they need an expanding and relatively young workforce to fill jobs and, subsequently, generate tax revenue to support welfare spending on the elderly.
Over in Europe, the Italian statistics agency says the country’s population could shrink by as much as 11.5 million by 2070. A worst case scenario model puts that loss at a staggering 18 million people.
As these states prepare for rising healthcare bills and labour shortages, some countries are thinking about how to sustainably manage their surging headcounts. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Nigeria, India, Pakistan and the Philippines are forecast to see their populations balloon.
BUFFETT BETS BILLIONS
The colour red is still dominating stock portfolios as leading markets continue their downward spiral. The list of problems keeping investors up at night is long: challenging economic climate, interest rate hikes, implosion of crypto exchange FTX, tech sector layoffs etc. Even “buy the dip” proponents seem cautious, with many adopting a wait-and-see mode.
So when legendary investor Warren Buffett recently disclosed his multibillion dollar purchases, financial analysts were especially intrigued and excited. The headline is Buffett’s new US$4.1 billion stake in TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.) through his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway.
The Taiwanese titan is the top contract chipmaker, counting the likes of Apple and Nvidia among its clients. Yet despite TSMC’s enviable expertise and product base, its share price had dropped due to weaker demand and escalating US-China tensions.
Buffett is known for his patience and long-term view of company performance - so his stake in TSMC signals confidence in the semiconductor industry, particularly Taiwan’s capabilities.
The Oracle of Omaha typically concentrates Berkshire’s portfolio on consumer-focused brands (such as Coca-Cola and Apple), financial services (American Express and Bank of America) and energy (Chevron and Occidental Petroleum).
Thanks for reading! Take care and stay curious, Sara x