“The world’s financial system could collapse and create an economic downturn as disastrous as the coronavirus recession or the global financial crisis if growing fears of a devasting cyber-security hack are realised.
“Research from the International Monetary Fund released on Tuesday found the reliance of the financial system and consumers on digital services was increasingly at risk from cyber attacks that were being fuelled by falling prices for hacking tools and a target-rich environment.”
“Of all the 78 US Treasury secretaries since Alexander Hamilton first took up the office in 1789, few have faced an in-tray piled quite so high as the one that will greet the first woman in the job: Janet Yellen.”
“…The first female US Treasury secretary must tackle the damage wreaked by the pandemic while keeping Wall Street happy.”
“US Consumer Debt Creeps Up to $4.16 Trillion:
“The increase in non-revolving debt in October 2020 could indicate Americans tapping into their home equity to survive loss of income during the pandemic, or to pay down higher interest revolving debt.”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/consumer-debt-creeps-4-16-214323151.html
“Increasing numbers of children are going hungry in the United States as it weathers the world’s worst coronavirus outbreak, which has… caused a once-in-a-generation economic crisis…
“Nearly 12 percent of adults said they lived in a household where there was not enough to eat “sometimes” or “often” last month, according to the Commerce Department.”
“‘Existential peril’: Mass transit faces huge service cuts across US:
“In Boston, transit officials warned of ending weekend service on the commuter rail and shutting down the city’s ferries. In Washington, weekend and late-night metro service would be eliminated, and 19 of the system’s 91 stations would close. In Atlanta, 70 of the city’s 110 bus routes have already been suspended, a move that could become permanent.”
“New York City is in dire financial straits because of the coronavirus pandemic and will go bankrupt if the situation isn’t addressed, according to a former deputy mayor.”
https://www.kmjnow.com/news/nycs-finances-bleak-will-go-bankrupt-if-not-fixed-says-ex-official/
“Citizens Advice Scotland financial health spokesman Myles Fitt said:
“”There is a perfect financial storm brewing for many people in the months ahead. A combination of income support measures such as furlough and payment support measures will come to an end, leaving a backlog of arrears plus on-going payments to meet, but with less or no income due to job losses of reduction of hours.””
“Scotland now has more than three times as many food banks as McDonald’s restaurants, research has found.”
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scotland-three-times-more-food-23121359
“The threat of a new year surge in unemployment has been highlighted by a labour market report showing that the outlook for jobs in the UK is the weakest in Europe.
“…the regular ManpowerGroup employment outlook survey reported that the chances of finding a job in retail and hospitality were currently worse than during the first nationwide lockdown in the spring.”
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/dec/08/outlook-jobs-uk-weakest-europe-manpowergroup-report
“The UK joblessness rate could be twice as high as official figures suggest because millions of people do not show up on them.
“Almost two million people in Britain are in “hidden unemployment”. They are out of work and eager to find jobs but are classified as economically inactive rather than unemployed. This is because they are not actively seeking work — they may be unable to access jobs, be in poor health or have caring responsibilities.”
“UK Government leaks “worse case scenario planning” with likelihood of no deal now 50/50.
“Food and medical supply shortages, queues of 7,000 trucks in Kent and the collapse of one in 20 local authorities are all included in the document.”
“Cars were ignited by furious gangs of rioters in Paris today as thousands marched against a new law making it illegal to film the police.
“Flames and thick black smoke filled major streets in the French capital on Saturday as youths wearing black masks and balaclavas threw missiles including Molotov Cocktails at the police.”
“Italians in country’s richest city turn to food banks and pawn shops as Covid cripples economy:
“More than 5 million are now at risk of poverty in Milan and with many struggling to get government support, the community is banding together like never before.”
“Eurozone governments’ borrowing has rocketed to fund their response to the coronavirus pandemic, reigniting longstanding calls for the European Central Bank to ease debt burdens by forgiving sovereign bonds it owns.
“The proposal was floated by academic economists as an answer to the single currency area’s last debt crisis in 2012.”
https://www.ft.com/content/0295ccb3-bc57-415c-89f7-5d4e63a64c88
“Japan announced a fresh $708 billion economic stimulus package on Tuesday to speed up the recovery from the country’s deep coronavirus-driven slump, while targeting investment in new growth areas such as green and digital innovation.
“The new package will include about 40 trillion yen ($384.54 billion) in direct fiscal spending…”
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-stimulus-idUKKBN28I03C
“China’s commercial banks are reducing their exposure to local corporate bonds after a spate of high-profile defaults rocked the nation’s credit markets in November.”
“Apartment rental specialist Danke is rapidly coming undone, with landlords and tenants protesting on the streets of China’s biggest cities and unpaid employees threatening to sue.”
“Thousands show loyalty to Thai king amid anti-monarchy protests:
“Thousands of yellow-clad supporters greeted Thailand’s king on Saturday as he led a birthday commemoration for his revered late father, the latest in a series of public appearances at a time of unprecedented challenge to the monarchy from student-led protesters.”
“‘King, please come back and save the country!’: Massive protests in Nepal demand the restoration of Hindu Monarchy.”
https://www.opindia.com/2020/12/nepal-hindu-monarchy-royalists-rashtriya-prajatantra-party-rsn-rpp/
“Thousands of people protested outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence Saturday night, on the 24th week of such mass demonstrations against the premier.
“Clashes developed around 9 p.m. and 27 people were arrested… Media reports said many protesters at the rally chanted “We’ve come to banish the darkness,” a refrain from a popular song of the Hanukkah holiday…”
“The removal of subsidies in Lebanon without guarantees to protect the vulnerable would amount to a social catastrophe, two U.N. agencies said on Monday, warning there is no parachute to soften the blow.”
https://uk.reuters.com/article/lebanon-crisis-subsidies-unitednations-idUKKBN28H1E3
“The World Bank has rejected an appeal by Lebanon to subsidize medicines in the crisis-hit country despite warnings that vital drug stocks are running low.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1772966/middle-east
“Inflation in Sudan has risen to one of the highest levels in the world, and the country risks slipping into hyperinflation unless it gets its budget deficit and money supply under control, economists say…
“The government has run up enormous budget deficits by subsidising the cost of fuel, then financed the deficits by printing money. This has debased the currency…”
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-sudan-economy-idUKKBN2890CH
“Kenya has terminated part of the tax relief measures extended to cushion households and businesses from the adverse impact of the Covid-19 in a desperate move to save an ailing economy closing in on a Ksh9 trillion ($90 billion) debt ceiling, with the risk of debt distress rising to ‘high’ from ‘moderate.’”
“Continuing optimism about a possible oil market recovery in H1 2021 is largely based on the wishful thinking of OPEC leaders, such as Saudi Arabia, and an irrational view on the positive effects of COVID vaccines on the global economy…
“At the same time, the market is still struggling with an extremely high oil storage level, which has only partially decreased due to high refinery runs. When looking at the demand for petroleum products, however, there is an imminent threat of a storage build up.”
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/The-Worrying-Truth-About-The-New-OPEC-Agreement.html
“The oilfield service (OFS) market is projected to lose a cumulative $340 billion in purchases value over the next eight years, a Rystad Energy analysis shows, as peak oil demand will arrive earlier and at a lower level than previously thought, leading to reduced E&P investments.”
“The finance ministry of the world’s biggest energy exporter [Russia] has started preparing for the possibility of lower budget revenues in case global oil demand declines sooner than expected.
““The peak of consumption may have already passed,” Deputy Finance Minister Vladimir Kolychev said in an interview in Moscow.”
“Voracious cash appetite among virus-strapped companies and a battered economy that makes buybacks tough to justify are warping supply and demand dynamics in the stock market, something for bulls to worry about heading into year end.”
“Greed is driving the U.S. stock market to new highs.
“Fear will replace greed. I provide nine reasons to be fearful. If something cannot go on forever, it will end. The questions are not if but when, and how bad.”
You can read the previous ‘Economic’ thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with a ‘Climate’ thread (freakish warmth persisting in the Russian Arctic).
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