“Millions of Americans Face Loss of Jobless Aid: ‘Without It, I’m Dead in the Water’:
“Two critical unemployment programs are set to expire at the end of the year, potentially leaving millions of Americans vulnerable to eviction and hunger and threatening to short-circuit an economic recovery that has already lost momentum.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/business/economy/unemployment-benefits-cutoff.html
““Born between 1997 and 2012, some Gen Zers – teens and college students – are entering the labour market for the first time during an unprecedented economic crisis…
“The global economy has been brought to its knees by COVID-19 and one generation may never fully bounce back from the beating: Generation Z.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/11/10/will-gen-z-ever-recover-from-the-coronavirus-recession
“Stagflation: America’s Next Potential Economic Hurdle:
“…the Federal Reserve can not simply fix the problem by restoring credit and flooding the financial system with liquidity. The Federal Reserve must also restore demand and income. The latter is a much more difficult problem to tackle than easing monetary conditions.
“And no matter how much liquidity is restored to corporations, the Federal Reserve can not force consumer demand higher.”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stagflation-americas-next-potential-economic-215722918.html
“Mounting commercial real estate losses [US] threaten banks, recovery.
“Big changes in downtown property values could cost banks, bondholders.
“Regulators are raising alarms.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/11/11/commercial-real-estate-economy/
“Britain is “sleepwalking into a debt crisis” after a steep rise in emergency borrowing by low- and middle-income households to cope with the Covid-19 jobs crisis.
“Research by the debt charity Stepchange found that household borrowing and arrears linked to the coronavirus pandemic have soared 66% since May to £10.3bn. The number of people who are in severe debt has risen to 1.2 million – nearly doubling since March…”
“Food banks a ‘sticking plaster’ as UK demand skyrockets, warns charity head:
“Trussell Trust says handouts ‘normalised’ with 47% rise in food parcels given out between April and September.”
“The number of foreign-born workers employed in the UK fell by almost 600,000 in the past year as Covid laid waste to the jobs market and sparked an exodus of migrants.
“There are now 765,000 fewer people of working age born abroad in Britain than there were a year ago, with a bigger fall in those from the EU than those from the rest of the world.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/11/10/covid-pushes-jobless-rate-highest-since-2016/
“Croydon Council has gone bust after running up £1.5 billion in debt, according to local MP Chris Philp.
“In statement the council acknowledged it faced “severe ongoing financial challenges” and all new non-essential spending would be scrapped.”
“Drilling activity in the UK oil and gas sector this year is set to slump to the lowest level since the 1970s, with lower activity expected to negatively impact production in 2021-22, and fears for the competitiveness of the overall North Sea basin, industry group Oil & Gas UK said Nov. 11.
“The report said 54 wells had been drilled overall in the first 10 months of 2020, down from a full-year level of 112 in 2019, with just six exploration wells drilled and the possibility of no further exploration wells will being drilled this year.”
“Brussels looks set to lock the City of London out of European markets from 1 January…
“City A.M. understands the UK’s financial services firms are heading toward the default position of having to deal with individual host countries’ regulatory regimes from next year… The decision will be a serious blow for the City of London.”
https://www.cityam.com/brexit-eu-set-to-shut-out-the-city-of-london-from-1-january/
“Banks in Europe Face $1.7 Trillion Covid-19 Cliff:
“The economies of Europe plunged this year… Yet the unprecedented levels of government and financial-sector support, including repayment moratoriums sometimes covering a quarter of all outstanding loans, have kept households and companies afloat. That means banks haven’t had to recognize those loans as potentially soured.
“Even bank CEOs are wondering what happens when the support ends.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/european-covid-19-relief-supports-banks-apparent-resilience-11605090804
“Elke König, chair of the Single Resolution Board said… “Be aware non-performing loans are coming [for EU banks] and the best thing to do is address them early . . . That is the best thing we can do for the time being, and then it is steering through the fog…
“”The entire debate . . . always lacks one component: who is footing the bill,” she said. “It feels sometimes as if this is the magic system,” one where losses are supposed to evaporate, something “that is not going to happen”.”
https://www.ft.com/content/3c6b4eb0-5b3d-4a37-87e5-d83da8de217d
“The coronavirus crisis is hobbling banks, with Switzerland’s financial regulator warning that credit defaults are the next shoe to drop.
“Finma added defaults and losses on loans abroad as a key risk for banks and insurers, in an annual risk monitor disclosed on Wednesday.”
https://www.finews.com/news/english-news/43721-finma-risk-monitor-banking-switzerland-coronavirus
“India in Historic Technical Recession, RBI ‘Nowcast’ Shows:
“India’s economy probably shrank for a second straight quarter, according to a team of economists including Michael Patra, the central bank’s deputy governor in charge of monetary policy, pushing the country into an unprecedented recession.”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/india-historic-technical-recession-rbi-180259892.html
“China’s interbank bond market regulator said on Thursday it is launching an investigation into Yongcheng Coal & Electricity Holding Group Co Ltd after the state-owned firm defaulted on a bond payment.”
“Opec slashes oil demand outlook on Covid restrictions:
“Opec said demand for its crude oil next year will be lower than initially anticipated, putting greater pressure on producer countries to reconsider their plan to unload more barrels on the market from January.”
https://www.ft.com/content/ff79bf26-bc3f-4a83-be74-638b3123fc74
“Russia tapped the global debt market on Thursday for the first time this year by opening the books for two sovereign euro-denominated Eurobonds, in a bid to secure additional funding…
“Moscow has been seeking additional sources of funding to make up for a budget shortfall caused by lower oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-eurobond-yield-idUSKBN27S13Y
“Nigeria’s double-bind: Chronic instability has been the curse of Nigeria’s economy.
“Despite its huge oil and gas resources—or perhaps because of them—Africa’s biggest economy has been unable to prevent wide swings in its fortunes. This year, it slipped into a recession for the second time in four years.”
https://www.gfmag.com/magazine/november-2020/nigerias-double-bind
“President João Lourenço of Angola has stepped up his fight to recover billions of dollars allegedly stolen under his predecessor as Africa’s second-biggest oil producer battles to escape the continent’s largest debt crisis.”
https://www.ft.com/content/5ebceb76-5e3f-4e08-98b8-3345b86a3482
“…while a successful vaccine could indeed give the global economy a shot in the arm in 2021, say economists, it will take longer to heal from a historic blow to jobs, investment and businesses—a task complicated by the current surge in infections in much of the West.”
“Some of the world’s top central bankers have warned the global economy will still need support this year and next to weather the coronavirus crisis even if a successful vaccine is found.
“In remarks that contrast with the euphoria in financial markets since Pfizer and BioNTech announced “extraordinary” results for their experimental vaccine, policy makers said the near-term outlook will remain dominated by rising infections and new lockdowns.”
“Just eight months after they swung into action to avert a crippling depression and credit crunch, central banks are in the uncomfortable position of relying on governments to power fragile economic rebounds.
“The decisions their counterparts make will affect not just the growth outlook for the next few quarters, but could shape central banks’ policy options, and even their credibility, for years to come.”
You can read the previous ‘Economic’ thread here and visit my Patreon page here. I’ll be back tomorrow with a ‘Climate’ thread.
