“Gold soared to an all-time high and the dollar weakened to a multiyear low on concerns that a resurgent coronavirus and rising tensions with Beijing could hit recovery in the world’s biggest economy.
“The price of the precious metal, which investors typically view as a haven in times of uncertainty, climbed as much as 2.2 per cent to a record $1,944.71 per troy ounce on Monday. Its value has jumped by more than a quarter this year…
“This weekend we perhaps got a glimpse of how challenging life will be this winter without a vaccine,” said Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid, pointing to rising case numbers in the US and parts of Europe and Asia.””
https://www.ft.com/content/728eab35-4771-4b4f-9597-a25c6c863ef5
“Senate Republicans will agree to extend the enhanced weekly unemployment benefits, but would reduce benefits from $600 a week to approximately $200 a week…
“Donald Trump, has argued, the $600 a week unemployment benefits mean that some recipients receive more money while they are unemployed compared to then they were working. Mnuchin echoed this sentiment, and says that this creates a potential disincentive to return to work.”
“The coronavirus has derailed the economy and the labor market, leading to 18 straight weeks with more than 1 million initial jobless claims.
“The massive pool of unemployed Americans has quickly saturated the market for contract-based drivers and delivery people, just as ridership on services like Uber and Lyft has come to a screeching halt.”
“Midtown Manhattan, the muscular power center of New York City for a century, faces an economic catastrophe, a cascade of loss upon loss that threatens to alter the very identity of the city’s corporate base.
“The coronavirus’s toll of lost professions, lost professionals and untold billions of lost income and tax revenue may take years to understand and resolve.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/26/nyregion/nyc-coronavirus-time-life-building.html
“Large demonstrations turned violent around the country over the weekend as tens of thousands of Americans continued a monthslong wave of civil unrest protesting racism and police tactics…
“Protests have taken place across the U.S. after the May 25 death of George Floyd, who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis. But many marches grew in size and intensity over the weekend…”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/violence-erupts-around-protests-across-u-s-11595784837
“[Canadian] generations who came before have suffered through the Great Depression, war-rationing, the collapse of the cod industry, and the more recent global recession of 2008…
“… they have some advice for those of us facing …global recession. First, consider bartering, gardening and foraging.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/recession-advice-deons-1.5645601
“Six months ago, Prime Minister Boris Johnson celebrated Brexit by describing Britain as the Superman of global trade.
“Now, the UK risks becoming an also-ran, losing its easy access to the huge EU common market, unable to strike a groundbreaking deal with the United States and on the brink of a trade fight with China.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/24/business/brexit-trade-deals-boris-johnson/index.html
“Almost a quarter of small UK businesses have cut jobs in the past few months despite the government’s furlough scheme…
“Larger companies have unleashed a savage round of job cuts in recent weeks… However, many of the new jobs predicted in the next year were expected in smaller businesses that are struggling to survive…”
https://www.ft.com/content/78e68cc9-5c4c-4981-801b-f0c075117a50
“The scale of the economic carnage unleashed across the eurozone by Covid-19 lockdowns will be laid bare this week as experts brace for a record-breaking collapse in growth.
“City economists forecast a dramatic 15.6pc plunge in growth between April and June – four times deeper than the 3.6pc slide in the first quarter, which was itself a record for the 19-member currency bloc.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/07/26/eurozone-set-record-quarterly-contraction/
“Shares in Europe’s biggest travel companies tumbled on Monday as newly imposed travel curbs following a string of local spikes in coronavirus infections raised fears over the pandemic’s lasting impact on the industry…
“Spain’s tourism sector is particularly feeling the brunt of the latest caution, prompting an angry response from Madrid. “Spain is a safe country,” said foreign minister Arancha González Laya.”
https://www.ft.com/content/584ee262-d539-40ca-b145-e42865f2bc6b
“Europe’s biggest banks are set to unveil another huge round of provisions for loan losses, as they take stock of the damage wrought by Covid-19 around the globe…
“Few economists are projecting rapid “V-shaped” recoveries and more pain is expected when government support schemes wind down in the autumn.”
https://www.ft.com/content/d42d735a-9aa3-454e-955a-3e0b22eda03d
“Two out of every five [South African] adults interviewed between May and June reported that their household had lost its main source of income since the lockdown started. This has had devastating consequences for household food security and hunger.
“Of the adults we interviewed, 47% reported that their home ran out of money to buy food in April.”
“Thousands took to the streets in Israel on Saturday evening, with the main protest taking place in capital Jerusalem outside the official residence of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu…
“The protests have been going on for the past few weeks, sparked by what critics see as a government failure to handle the coronavirus crisis after initially keeping the threat of the virus at bay.”
“…turmoil is universal in the wake of the pandemic, but the despair is particularly pronounced in the Middle East, where wave after wave of war, displacement and disease has left this generation feeling bitter and hopeless…
“…the pandemic in some Arab countries was the final blow to economies now on the cusp of complete collapse.”
“With the gradual increase in inflation in Iran since the beginning of 2020, the purchasing power of the people, especially the lower classes of society, has sharply decreased.
“Criticizing the rise in inflation, Mohammad Ghasemi, Head of Parliamentary Research Center, said: “We are born and aged with double-digit inflation…
“The inflation rate in Iran is one of the highest inflation rates in the world.””
“Tens of thousands of people have marched across Russia’s southeastern city of Khabarovsk on the border with China to protest the arrest of the regional governor on murder charges…
“…continuing a two-week wave of protests that has challenged the Kremlin.”
“Hundreds of Thai protesters sang a Japanese cartoon jingle on Sunday with lyrics mocking the government as hungry hamsters feasting on taxpayer cash
“…[it is] part of a new protest movement by youth who say they are using whimsical tactics for serious ends.”
“The FT has constructed its own measure of the slowdown and recovery. Official figures lag behind activity, since they are mostly monthly, and China’s data is sometimes viewed as open to political manipulation.
“After showing steady improvement since the trough in February, the index indicates China’s recovery has fallen back in recent weeks.”
https://www.ft.com/content/272354f2-f970-4ae4-a8ae-848c4baf8f4a
“The Chinese military began live-fire drills in the South China Sea on Saturday in a challenge to U.S. freedom of navigation operations there, as the two powers trade shows of military and diplomatic force…
“The exercises are the latest move in a sharp rise in tensions between China and the U.S. in recent weeks over the South China Sea, the vast majority of which is claimed by Beijing under its “nine-dash line.””
“Australian beef exports into China are set to face increasing competition, while wool producers are being urged to minimise their reliance on Chinese demand, as trade tensions with Beijing continue to shape Australia’s agriculture industry…
“…reports suggested thermal coal mines in Australia have been temporarily shutting down as a result of a drop-off in demand caused by Beijing’s directive…”
“The financial system has turned credit intermediation into a debt mint that produces assets to enrich investors but leaves households, firms, and governments struggling with unsustainable liabilities.
“The COVID-19 crisis makes reform more urgent than ever.”
https://www.theasset.com/viewpoint/41120/the-debt-predators
“One of the unexpected consequences of the COVID crisis and the international response to it may well be to accelerate the transition to digital wallets.
“In a world of digital currency, the government could press a few buttons and send the stimulus cash into consumers’ pockets in a flash.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbirch/2020/07/26/hitler-and-helicopter-money/#32713d447e32
““The main driver behind gold’s latest rally “has been real rates that continue to plummet and don’t show signs of easing anytime soon,” Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at Oanda Corp., said by phone.
“”Gold is also drawing investors “concerned that stagflation will win out…””
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/message-behind-gold-rally-world-130000487.html
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