“The World Bank’s new chief economist has warned the recovery will last even longer than the financial crisis aftermath as China struggles to rescue global growth again.
“Carmen Reinhart dashed hopes of a rapid V-shaped rebound by predicting that recoveries in advanced economies will take more than five years on a per capita income basis.
“She told The Sunday Telegraph: “I think it will be longer [than the financial crisis recovery]… We are talking upwards of five years. Look, the damage being done is being done really to every sector.”
“A forthcoming report by the Washington-based development bank will reveal that the “extremely regressive” Covid-19 shock will mean global poverty rates rise for the first year since 2000.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/08/15/world-bank-dashes-hopes-swift-recovery/
“Violent clashes erupted across the US this weekend between protesters from opposite ends of the political spectrum.
“Confrontations reached boiling point in both Kalamazoo, MIchigan, and Stone Mountain, Georgia, after far-right groups were met with counter protesters.”
“‘When I first arrived in LA 40 years ago, the town smelled of orange blossoms. Now the streets stink of urine. There is a beautiful park in Westwood but you can’t go there because there are people slumped on the ground and you step on a carpet of needles.
“‘White flight is real. The elites and middle classes are leaving LA. People are taking losses on the sales of their homes to get out.’”
“The number of empty apartments for rent in Manhattan soared to their highest level in recent history, topping 13,000, as residents fled the city and landlords struggled to find new tenants.
“The number of apartments for rent, or listing inventory, more than doubled over last year…”
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/13/empty-apartments-in-manhattan-reach-record-high-topping-13000.html
“Mid-August should be boom time for central London. The streets would usually bustle with shoppers, workers and tourists, looking to spend their cash in the West End’s shops, restaurants and leisure attractions.
“But not this year. Vast swathes of the capital’s streets that once hummed with traffic and pedestrians lie quiet.”
“The Hague: Dozens arrested after several nights of riots.
“The mayor of the Dutch city had issued an emergency order after scores of young people took to the streets, pelting police officers with stones and fireworks. Social workers cited “coronavirus boredom” as the motive.”
https://www.dw.com/en/the-hague-dozens-arrested-after-several-nights-of-riots/a-54581224
“Through an initiative on Facebook, Bulgarian expatriates in 20 cities in foreign countries were joining protests on August 16 demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Boiko Borissov’s government and Prosecutor-General Ivan Geshev.
“This was the 39th consecutive day of the protests.”
“Authorities in Belarus have freed at least 2,000 of about 7,000 people who had been pulled off the streets by riot police in the days following a disputed election that kept the country’s iron-fisted leader, Alexander Lukashenko, in power.
“As they reunited with loved ones early on Friday, they told of being struck repeatedly with truncheons, being threatened with gang rape and held amid harsh conditions and overcrowded cells.”
“There is no escaping from the trauma in Beirut. Hospitals inundated with victims of the explosion are now filling with protesters injured by the security forces.
“Firas Hamdan told me he was out on the streets protesting last Saturday, and while filming a live broadcast on Facebook he was almost killed.”
“Surpassing the most dire economic forecasts on the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Israel’s gross domestic product plunged by 28.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020, as compared to the first quarter, in the worst economic downturn in over 40 years, according to an official estimate Sunday.”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-virus-battered-economy-sees-sharpest-contraction-in-45-years/
“Thailand’s economy saw its biggest annual contraction in 22 years and a record quarterly fall in the April-June period, as the coronavirus pandemic and restriction measures hit tourism, exports and domestic activity, prompting an outlook downgrade.
“South-east Asia’s second-largest economy, which is heavily reliant on tourism and exports, shrank 12.2 per cent in the second quarter…”
“Thailand protests: Hunger Games salute a sign of defiance as thousands rally in Bangkok in historic demand for change.
“Thousands of protesters gathered in Bangkok to demand political reform, with many demonstrators calling for “a real democracy”.”
“A spike in new coronavirus cases in South Korea prompted authorities to reimpose tighter social distancing curbs in Seoul but that did not stop thousands of demonstrators from protesting against President Moon Jae-in’s policies on Saturday.”
“China’s top banking regulatory official said on Thursday that the country’s banks have to deal with 3.4 trillion yuan (US$489.5 billion) worth of non-performing loans in 2020 – flagging a big risk for the banking system in the world’s second-largest economy.
“The total marks a hefty increase from 2.3 trillion yuan in 2019, and the value of bad loans could be even higher in 2021.”
“Japan was hit by its biggest economic contraction on record in the second quarter as the coronavirus pandemic crushed consumption and exports…
“The third straight quarter of declines knocked the size of real gross domestic product (GDP) to decade-low levels… [ie, Japan’s economy was in contraction *before* the pandemic].”
“Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said on Friday that… in total, three out of four Chileans – 14 million people – were at present beneficiaries of some form of social support.”
https://en.mercopress.com/2020/08/15/chile-some-14-million-have-received-some-form-of-social-support
“Peru’s economy contracted 18.06% in June versus the same period a year earlier, the South American country’s government said on Saturday…
“…the fourth straight month of contraction due to the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic.”
“Venezuelans brave open sea on tubes, fishing for survival:
“A small but growing number of people in the coastal town of La Guaira, just a few minutes from the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, have turned to the sea for sustenance since the COVID-19 pandemic has shut down the Caribbean nation’s already miserable economy.”
“Nigeria on verge of collapse, Bode George warns. People are hungry and therefore, they are angry. The bandits we are seeing are pushed into it by something.
“In a situation whereby no job, no guarantee on feeding, no housing, they are just existing and when they are invited to any cultism or anything to survive, they will participate. What is paramount now is food security and job creation.”
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/08/nigeria-on-verge-of-collapse-bode-george-warns/
“Developing nation debt has more than doubled in the past decade and left more than 50 countries facing a repayment crisis, according to a campaign group.
“Data from the Jubilee Debt Campaign shows that even without taking full account of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a sharp jump in the number of poor countries in debt distress since 2018.”
“The emerging-market rally that has all but wiped out the losses since the start of the coronavirus pandemic looks headed for a late-August reappraisal amid a resurgence of trade tensions and delays to U.S. stimulus…
“...the most significant policy meeting may be in Turkey, where the central bank has resorted to backdoor monetary tightening to anchor the lira. The currency has depreciated 5.4% versus the dollar this month.”
“Oil Companies Wonder If It’s Worth Looking for Oil Anymore…
“As the coronavirus ravages economies and cripples demand, European oil majors have made some uncomfortable admissions in recent months: oil and gas worth billions of dollars might never be pumped out of the ground.”
“Why are people worrying about inflation with another Great Depression looming?
“The real threat, bigger threat than ever as the world’s three biggest economies stumble in epic fashion, is deflation.”
https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/It-is-time-to-talk-about-the-real-danger-facing-the-world-economy
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