“If Earth really is about to stop being habitable, why pay your debts at all? If we’re literally talking about human extinction being inevitable in the next decade or so — and more on that in a minute — we’re free, and there’s no point in doing anything that doesn’t give us raw, hedonistic pleasure…
“So could the presence of climate nihilism prompt some kind of debt crisis that tears apart civilization too soon? Could we tweet our way to an even faster doom?
“…I ran this possibility past Joseph Tainter, an archeologist and anthropologist who specializes in the collapse of societies, and superficially, his worry was somewhat similar to mine. “Everything today runs on credit. My understanding is that in 2008, credit nearly froze up. That would bring on a collapse — ATMs would not dispense cash, stores would not accept checks or cards, stores would not be able to restock shelves,” he told me in an email.”
https://theoutline.com/post/7593/climate-change-apocalypse-student-loans?zd=1&zi=wvqeoptn
“More than a decade since the global economic meltdown of 2008 devastated lives across the world, no one who caused the crisis has been held responsible.
“”The 2008 financial crisis displayed what the world now identifies as financial contagion,”
“…says Philip J Baker, the former managing partner of a US-based hedge fund that collapsed during the financial crisis.
“Despite this, “zero Wall Street chief executives have been to prison, even though there is today absolutely no doubt that Wall Street executives and politicians were complicit in creating the crisis,” he says.”
“Despite the currently healthy economic figures, from unemployment to foreclosure rates, under the surface the country still bears bruises from the financial crisis. Some of them may never heal without a targeted treatment plan.
“Here’s what’s still ailing America after ten years on the mend.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/24/economy/great-recession-us-economy/index.html
“Since the global financial crisis central banks have slashed rates and pumped trillions into the bond markets, and they still cannot hit their inflation targets.”
https://www.ft.com/content/9093d760-9659-11e9-8cfb-30c211dcd229
“Will the Conservative members preparing to vote for Johnson even care if Brexit ends up leading to the dissolution of the union?
“Last week’s YouGov survey of Tory members revealed just how far the card-carrying zealots will go, revealing the majority were happy to see Scotland and Northern Ireland leave the union as long as Brexit was delivered.”
“A slump in German business confidence deepened in June as trade tensions weighed on manufacturers. U.S.-led protectionist threats have clouded the growth outlook in Europe’s largest economy for months, contributing to a manufacturing slump and boosting fears that domestic demand will be undermined.
“European Central Bank President Mario Draghi last week said he’ll inject fresh monetary stimulus for the euro zone unless the economy improves.”
“Analysts believe that US sanctions could derail a recovery in Turkey and trigger a fresh slide in the lira.
“The currency’s plunge last year was exacerbated by tensions between the two countries spiking after the detention of an American pastor. Reports indicate Trump is mulling how to hit Turkey with sanctions if it does take delivery of the Russian system.”
“As the U.S. piles sanction after sanction on Iran, it’s the average person who feels it the most.
“From a subway performer’s battered leather hat devoid of tips, to a bride-to-be’s empty purse, the lack of cash from the economic pressure facing Iran’s 80 million people can be seen everywhere.”
“Africa is facing another potential debt crisis today, with around 40 percent of low-income countries in the region now in debt distress or at high risk of it, according to an IMF report released a year ago.
““We went through, just in the last 20 years, this big debt forgiveness for a lot of African countries,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa for African Affairs Tibor Nagy, referring to the HIPC programme.
““Now all of a sudden are we going to go through another cycle of that? … I certainly would not be sympathetic, and I don’t think my administration would be sympathetic to that kind of situation.””
“Used car sales in China have also declined amid a contraction in overall car sales, which dropped 3.29% in May, says key industry body China Automobile Dealers Association.”
https://www.euronews.com/2019/06/24/chinas-used-car-platform-renrenche-looks-to-slash-jobs-by-60-percent-source-says
“Sales of new cars in Australia have fallen for 14 consecutive months, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
“That would normally drive a lift in sales for used car dealer Robert Bakhos but he says this time is different.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-25/car-sales-slump-as-economy-hits-speed-bump/11240180
“As property prices crumbled and the sharemarket sagged last year, Australian household wealth plunged by close to $500 billion, according to Fidelity International estimates.
“Indeed, 2018 goes down as the steepest fall in household wealth since 2009, when more than $1 trillion was chalked off the country’s notional chalkboard.”
https://www.afr.com/markets/equity-markets/property-slump-wipes-500b-from-wealth-20190625-p5211t
“The trade coverage of new import-restrictive measures introduced during the period (October 2018 to May 2019) was more than 3.5 times the average since May 2012 at $335.9 billion.
“This is the second highest figure on record, after the $480.9 billion reported in the previous period.
“Together, these two periods represent a dramatic spike in the trade coverage of import-restrictive measures, leading WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo to call on G20 economies to work together urgently to ease trade tensions.”
https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/wto-g20-trade-restrictions-historically-high
“With growth stalling pretty much globally, the pressure is building on central banks to take appropriate measures. Another thing to consider would be whether central banks have the required policy tools to arrest the slowdown. US interest rates are less than half of what they were before the 2008-2009 crisis…
“So, the key takeaway is, central banks don’t really have the policy tools. And secondly, examples from other countries suggest that low interest rates haven’t really lifted the economies. India and Europe are cases in point.”
https://marketrealist.com/2019/06/lessons-from-other-countries-are-interest-rates-the-only-issue/
“The world is heading back into the labyrinth of lower interest rates. The US Federal Reserve’s patience has finally run out and the global economy is lurching towards a new reckoning on rates, possibly as early as July’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
“Despite a near-record US economic expansion, the Fed sees something on the horizon it doesn’t like.”
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