Is the global investment boom turning to bust?
Why capex spending is now heading in the wrong direction
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ALMOST wherever you look, companies seem to be scaling back their ambitions. Meta, the owner of Facebook, recently said that it would invest less in 2023 than previously promised.
Disney is slimming its capital expenditure (capex) plans for this year by a tenth, meaning punier investment in its theme parks. Calavo Growers, a huge producer of avocados and other fruit, intends to reduce its capital expenditures “while we navigate near-term uncertainties”.
The anecdotes are part of an unfortunate broader trend. A global survey of purchasing managers tracks new orders of investment goods, a proxy for capital spending. After surging in 2021, it now points to demand in line with the 2018-19 average.
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