The Hindu Editorial (A cloudy horizon) – Dec 18, 2023

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The Hindu Editorial (A cloudy horizon) – Dec 18, 2023:

cloudy (adjective) – indefinite, uncertain, unclear.
horizon (noun) – outlook, perspective, ambit, perception, purview.
underscore (verb) – underline, emphasise, highlight, stress, call/draw attention to.
criticality (noun) – crucial importance/significance.
upward (adjective) – rising, ascending, mounting.
swing (noun) – change, drift, tendency, turnaround.
retreat (verb) – move back, withdraw, pull back, recoil, recede, retract.
contraction (noun) – In economics, it refers to a decline in national output as measured by gross domestic product; economic decline (recession).
dip (verb) – decrease, drop, decline, reduce, diminish, plummet, lessen.
drop (verb) – decrease, decline, lessen, fall, slump, plummet, sink, slip, go down.
cool (verb) – reduce, lessen, diminish, decrease.
merchandise (noun) – goods, commodities, produce, product.
trade deficit (noun) – a trade deficit (a deficit in the balance of trade) occurs when the value of a country’s imports exceeds that of its exports. It is also called a trade gap.
sequentially (adverb) – in succession, successively, continuously.
import bill (noun) – the total amount of imports made by a country. This includes both physical imports of goods and imports of services.
on the other hand (phrase) – as an alternative, or, as another option, as a substitute.
contract (verb) – decline, decrease, diminish, reduce.
tally (noun) – total, count.
denote (verb) – indicate, signify, represent.
year-on-year (adjective) – year over year (for comparison).
uptick (noun) – a small increase or upward trend.
noise (noun) – meaningless information; data with a large amount of additional meaningless information is called noise.
listen through (phrasal verb) – to notice something in its entirety.
dip (noun) – decrease, drop, decline, reduction, lessening.
attribute (verb) – ascribe, assign, connect/associate with.
discretionary (adjective) – optional, voluntary, subjective, up to the individual, non-mandatory, non-compulsory.
deficit (noun) – shortfall, deficiency, shortage, undersupply, slippage.
range-bound (market) (adjective) – when a market, or the value of a particular stock, bond, commodity or currency, moves within a relatively tight range for a certain period of time.
recall (verb) – remember, recollect, think of something from the past.
hit (verb) – reach, attain, touch, arrive at (a particular level).
ease (verb) – lessen, reduce, decrease.
resurge (verb) – rise again.
make sense (phrase) – be accepted, be convincing, hold up, prove true.
divergence (noun) – difference, variance, mismatch, deviation, departure, abnormality, irregularity.
yo-yo (verb) – alternate, vary, oscillate.
yo-yo effect (noun) – the cyclic loss and gain of something.
of sorts (phrase) – of a sort, to some degree or extent; used when something is not a good or typical example of its kind of thing; of an inferior kind.
hazardous (adjective) – risky, perilous, dangerous, precarious, unsafe; uncertain, unpredictable, speculative.
exacerbate (phrasal verb) – increase, escalate, add to, intensify, heighten, aggravate, make worse.
relative (adjective) – reasonable, considerable, some, moderate, comparative.
certainty (noun) – confidence, assurance, sureness, reliability.
relative certainty (noun) – objective probability.
moderate (verb) – reduce, ease, lessen, decrease.
magnitude (noun) – size, percentage, ratio, proportion, scale.
quarter (noun) – a period of three months (considered as one fourth of a year).
QuantEco research (noun) – it is an independent economics research firm offering nuanced insights on Indian economy covering macros and financial markets. As a leading research house, they specialize in delivering business economics and financial markets intelligence to corporates and investors.
flag (verb) – indicate, point out, identify; draw attention to something
the obvious (noun) – the clear, apparent thing; something that is evident/visible/undeniable.
get a grip (phrase) – to take control of a situation so that you can deal with it successfully.
official (noun) – officer, bureaucrat, office-holder, functionary, mandarin.
cite (verb) – mention, refer to, point to, adduce, invoke, turn to, resort to.
World Trade Organization (WTO) (noun) – an intergovernmental organization that is concerned with the regulation of international trade between nations.
global trade flow (noun) – flow of imports and exports between countries.
strengthen (verb) – fortify, reinforce, bolster.
Federal Reserve (US) (noun) – the central banking system of the United States (The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is India’s central banking institution).
rate cut (noun) – a decision by a central bank (like RBI in India) to reduce its main interest rate to the banks (like SBI, ICICI & etc. in India) when these commercial banks get money from the central bank. Once this rate goes down, the banks are in a position to give loans at lower interest rates to individuals and the industry.
central bank (noun) – the banking regulator of a county’s banking system. (e.g. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the central bank of India).
take one’s cue from (phrase) – follow the advice of someone, be highly influenced by someone; follow, imitate, copy, mimic.
global demand (noun) – the total demand for final goods and services in all parts of the world.
perhaps (adverb) – maybe, possibly, probably, conceivably, it is possible (that).
look up (phrasal verb) – improve, get better, pick up, progress.
for instance (phrase) – as an example.
government-commissioned (adjective) – employed/appointed by the government.
commission (verb) – employ, appoint, recruit, authorize, engage.
logistics (noun) – the process of coordinating and moving/transporting resources (people, materials, goods, inventory and equipment) from the point of origin to the point of destination.
decade (noun) – a period of ten years.
infrastructure (noun) – the basic physical or organisational structure or framework that a country or organization needs in order to function properly. For a whole nation, it includes all the physical systems such as buildings, roads & railways networks, utilities, etc.
spends (noun) – expenditure, costs, outgoings, expenses.
in tandem (phrase) – alongside each other.
far more (phrase) – much more.