The Decisive Podcast: Insights and analysis to empower confident decision-making.

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, often with tragic human consequences. Extreme weather events like droughts and floods also present risks to economies and supply chains. For example, the level of the Rhine River in Europe can impact the transportation of a range of raw materials, rippling through to industrial performance. Our Purchasing Managers' Index and other survey data can pick up this impact, helping to assess behavioral changes as nations transition to greener and more efficient forms of energy. Our PMI economists share the signals they see in the data and how they provide insights into over 40 countries and regions around the world. Featured experts: Paul Smith, Director, Economic Indices, S&P Global Market Intelligence https://www.spglobal.com/en/enterprise/experts/smith-paul.html Andrew Harker, Director, Economic Indicators & Surveys, S&P Global Market Intelligence https://www.spglobal.com/en/enterprise/experts/harker-andrew.html Phil Smith, Economics Associate Director, Economic Indicators & Surveys, S&P Global Market Intelligence https://www.spglobal.com/en/enterprise/experts/smith-phil.html Explore our full library of S&P Global Market Intelligence podcasts here: https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/podcasts/

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 may be stuck in road traffic for an hour, but ships can be waiting many hours to enter a port, generating emissions all the while. What is the shipping industry doing to manage these wait times and get closer to their emissions targets — and save money in the process? Featured expert: Turloch Mooney, director, S&P Global Market Intelligence https://www.spglobal.com/en/enterprise/experts/mooney-turloch.html

South Africa hosted this year's heads of state summit for the BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, and mainland China along with South Africa. The alliance admitted Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates as members from January 2024. And there's an indication of future expansion as well.

What's the reasoning behind the expansion, and why are these countries eager to join?

Featured expert:

Lange Malimela, head of Country Risk for sub-Saharan Africa at S&P Global Market Intelligence https://www.spglobal.com/en/enterprise/experts/malimela-langelihle.html

Sub-Saharan Africa has a potentially important role to play in the global supply chain of critical minerals, having very sizeable reserves of minerals needed for the green economy transition.

Development of extractive industries on the continent is often constrained by weak infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, and narrow financial markets. The increasing scrutiny over the compliance with environmental, social, and governance standards also poses challenges.

We explore these challenges and opportunities and share insights from our recent analysis.

Featured experts:

Alisa Strobel, Senior Economist, Sub-Saharan Africa, S&P Global Market Intelligence https://www.spglobal.com/en/enterprise/experts/strobel-alisa.html

Thea Fourie, Director for Sub-Saharan Africa Economics and Risk, S&P Global Market Intelligence https://www.spglobal.com/en/enterprise/experts/fourie-thea.html

Langelihle Malimela, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa Country Risk, S&P Global Market Intelligence https://www.spglobal.com/en/enterprise/experts/malimela-langelihle.html

Archbold Macheka, Senior Economist, Sub-Saharan Africa, S&P Global Market Intelligence

Roughly 18 months ago, Russia invaded Ukraine, sending shock waves through financial and commodities markets.

Since then, we've seen rounds of sanctions from the US and EU, an expansion of NATO, and an attempted mutiny in Russia. Still, the war grinds on.

How long is the conflict likely to last? What risk factors could influence its trajectory? We discuss our recent report on the outlook for the war.

Featured expert:

Alex Kokcharov, Associate Director, Country Risk, Europe and CIS https://www.spglobal.com/en/enterprise/experts/kokcharov-alex.html

Cars. Steel. Semiconductors. Appliances. Pharmaceuticals. More products are being made in Mexico for the US market — a trend known as nearshoring. In our three-episode series on nearshoring to Mexico, you will hear the story behind the attraction and how long the love affair may last. We started with an overview of the economic and geopolitical risks and opportunities in episode one. We delved into the operational side in episode two. And in this, the final episode in the series, we'll tell the supply chain story. Featured expert: Chris Rogers, head of supply chain research, S&P Global Market Intelligence https://www.spglobal.com/en/enterprise/experts/rogers-chris.html

Building your manufacturing facility in Mexico can pay dividends. It can also pose risks to your business. How do companies weigh these factors when deciding whether to locate their operations in Mexico?

In our three-episode series on nearshoring to Mexico, you will hear the story behind the attraction and how long the love affair may last. In our first episode, We set the scene with an overview of the economic and geopolitical forces driving the trend. In this episode, we'll delve into the operational side. Is Mexico's infrastructure drawing companies in? What is the risk of labor and social unrest?

Featured experts:

Emily Crowley, director, Pricing & Purchasing, S&P Global Market Intelligence https://www.spglobal.com/en/enterprise/experts/crowley-emily.html

Johanna Marris, senior analyst - Latin America country risk, S&P Global Market Intelligence https://www.spglobal.com/en/enterprise/experts/marris-johanna.html

You may have heard about companies nearshoring to Mexico. Each week there seems to be another headline announcing an investment in the country's manufacturing sector.

In our three-episode series on nearshoring to Mexico, you will hear the story behind the attraction and how long the love affair may last. We'll start in this episode with an overview of the economic and geopolitical risks and opportunities.

Featured speakers:

Rafael Amiel, director of Latin America economics https://www.spglobal.com/en/enterprise/experts/amiel-rafael.html Jose Enrique Macip, Senior Analyst, Latin America Country Risk https://www.spglobal.com/en/enterprise/experts/macip-jose.html

Supply chains are almost back to normal in terms of activity, inventories and seasonality. Yet there are plenty of uncertainties in both government policy and physical risk heading into the second half of 2023.

In this episode, the head of supply chain research at S&P Global Market Intelligence shares insights from his recent Q3 outlook report.

Featured speaker: Chris Rogers, head of supply chain research, S&P Global Market Intelligence https://www.spglobal.com/en/enterprise/experts/rogers-chris.html

Sign up for the complimentary Supply Chain Essentials newsletter here: https://ow.ly/YNBI50Phl0z

Our Purchasing Managers' Index team compiles data for more than 40 economies around the world. In this episode, the economists explore the divergence in the performance of the manufacturing and services sectors in countries including Australia and Greece. They zero in on how this is showing up in labor markets, looking at employment growth and wages.

Learn more about our Purchasing Managers' Index here: http://ow.ly/VjM050OsqWf

Featured speakers:

Paul Smith, Director, Economic Indices, S&P Global Market Intelligence https://www.spglobal.com/en/enterprise/experts/smith-paul.html Andrew Harker, Director, Economic Indicators & Surveys, S&P Global Market Intelligence https://www.spglobal.com/en/enterprise/experts/harker-andrew.html Jingyi Pan, Economics Associate Director, Economic Indicators & Surveys, S&P Global Market Intelligence https://www.spglobal.com/en/enterprise/experts/pan-jingyi.html