The Week in Numbers: record trade, soaring prices
From China's record trade surplus, to soaring prices for U.S. shoppers, this is the Week in Numbers...
Just over $676 billion is the record trade surplus posted by China for 2021. Exports to the U.S. account for a huge chunk number, with Chinese buys of U.S. goods way short of targets set in a Trump-era trade deal. That may not do much for trans-pacific tensions.
$100 billion is the record value hit by Ford this week. The automaker hit that level as investors start to believe in its electrification strategy. The number puts it well ahead of arch-rival General Motors. But it's still miles behind Tesla, valued at $1 trillion.
7% is the near-40-year high hit by U.S. inflation. Now the Federal Reserve has signaled it will soon start hiking rates to stop price rises from wiping out wage gains.
Fed Governor Lael Brainard: "Our monetary policy is focused on getting inflation back down to 2% while sustaining a recovery that includes everyone. This is our most important task."
$157 million is the size of an onshore bond that Evergrande has to make payments on... only not quite as soon as expected. The ailing property giant this week reached agreement with creditors to reschedule. That's allowed it to dodge a default, again, though more deadlines loom.
And $11 billion is the price for a digital farm. To be more precise, it's how much Take-Two Interactive is paying to acquire Zynga, maker of FarmVille and other popular mobile games. It's the largest ever deal in the sector.
