Markets
Currency Wars: A Race to the Bottom
Currency Wars: A Race to the Bottom
“Printing dollars at home means higher inflation in China, higher food prices in Egypt and stock bubbles in Brazil. Printing money means that U.S. debt is devalued so foreign creditors get paid back in cheaper dollars. The devaluation means higher unemployment in developing economies as their exports become more expensive for Americans. The resulting inflation also means higher prices for inputs needed in developing economies like copper, corn, oil and wheat. Foreign countries have begun to fight back against U.S.-caused inflation through subsidies, tariffs and capital controls; the currency war is expanding fast.” – Jim Rickards, Currency Wars
Many consider deliberate currency devaluation to be a tool that can help jump start a nation’s economy. The aim of such a practice is to increase exports while encouraging domestic purchases by making goods outside of the country relatively more expensive.
However, like any good prisoner’s dilemma, this might be the case if only one country acted in isolation. The reality is that many major countries engage in the same policy, and the end result – as the infographic details – is a race to the bottom.
So far the “winner” in the race is Japan. The BoJ has been rolling with the Abenomics plan for almost two years now and the results are in…
The BoJ’s balance sheet has since exploded in size and they also have the highest public sector debt in the world.
Advertising
Charting Revenue: How The New York Times Makes Money
This graphic tracks the New York Times’ revenue streams over the past two decades, identifying its transition from advertising to subscription-reliant.
Creator Program
When it comes to quality and accessible content, whether it be entertainment or news, consumers are often willing to pay for it.
Similar to the the precedent set by the music industry, many news outlets have also been figuring out how to transition into a paid digital monetization model. Over the past decade or so, The New York Times (NY Times)—one of the world’s most iconic and widely read news organizations—has been transforming its revenue model to fit this trend.
This chart from creator Trendline uses annual reports from the The New York Times Company to visualize how this seemingly simple transition helped the organization adapt to the digital era.
The New York Times’ Revenue Transition
The NY Times has always been one of the world’s most-widely circulated papers. Before the launch of its digital subscription model, it earned half its revenue from print and online advertisements.
The rest of its income came in through circulation and other avenues including licensing, referrals, commercial printing, events, and so on. But after annual revenues dropped by more than $500 million from 2006 to 2010, something had to change.
| NY Revenue By Year | Print Circulation | Digital Subscription | Advertising | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | $623M | $1,196M | $168M | $1,987M | |
| 2004 | $616M | $1,222M | $165M | $2,003M | |
| 2005 | $616M | $1,262M | $157M | $2,035M | |
| 2006 | $637M | $1,269M | $172M | $2,078M | |
| 2007 | $646M | $1,223M | $183M | $2,052M | |
| 2008 | $668M | $1,068M | $181M | $1,917M | |
| 2009 | $683M | $797M | $101M | $1,581M | |
| 2010 | $684M | $780M | $93M | $1,557M | |
| 2011 | $659M | $47M | $756M | $93M | $1,555M |
| 2012 | $681M | $114M | $712M | $88M | $1,595M |
| 2013 | $673M | $151M | $667M | $86M | $1,577M |
| 2014 | $668M | $172M | $662M | $86M | $1,588M |
| 2015 | $653M | $199M | $639M | $89M | $1,580M |
| 2016 | $647M | $232M | $581M | $94M | $1,554M |
| 2017 | $668M | $340M | $559M | $109M | $1,676M |
| 2018 | $642M | $400M | $558M | $148M | $1,748M |
| 2019 | $624M | $460M | $531M | $198M | $1,813M |
| 2020 | $597M | $598M | $392M | $196M | $1,783M |
| 2021 | $588M | $774M | $498M | $215M | $2,075M |
| 2022 | $574M | $979M | $523M | $233M | $2,308M |
In 2011, the NY Times launched its new digital subscription model and put some of its online articles behind a paywall. It bet that consumers would be willing to pay for quality content.
And while it faced a rocky start, with revenue through print circulation and advertising slowly dwindling and some consumers frustrated that once-available content was now paywalled, its income through digital subscriptions began to climb.
After digital subscription revenues first launched in 2011, they totaled to $47 million of revenue in their first year. By 2022 they had climbed to $979 million and accounted for 42% of total revenue.
Why Are Readers Paying for News?
More than half of U.S. adults subscribe to the news in some format. That (perhaps surprisingly) includes around four out of 10 adults under the age of 35.
One of the main reasons cited for this was the consistency of publications in covering a variety of news topics.
And given the NY Times’ popularity, it’s no surprise that it recently ranked as the most popular news subscription.
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