Lights going off in Lebanon now: “An energy company responsible for about one quarter of Lebanon’s electricity supply has turned off its generators.
“Karpowership, a Turkish company, says it is owed more than $100m (£71m) by Lebanon and has not been paid in 18 months.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-57112611
“The coming crisis in Idlib, Syria…
“Caught between a severe economic crisis exacerbated by Lebanon’s economic meltdown, further U.S. sanctions in 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation is desperate in all of Syria.”
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2021/05/13/the-coming-crisis-in-idlib/
“Israel warplanes target Gaza as army says rockets fired ‘non-stop’ over southern border.
“Israeli fighter jets have hit targets in central Gaza, the military said on Saturday, and Palestinian militants fired rockets in retaliation after a day of deadly violence rocked the West Bank and unrest persisted inside Israel.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/15/israel-gaza-west-bank-rockets-jerusalem-warplanes
“Algeria: Hirak Defies Protest Ban To Mark 117th Friday Demonstration…
“Video footage shows hundreds of protestors facing off against police in riot gear in front of Algiers’ al-Rahma mosque. Police used riot shields to force the crowd through a narrow corridor away from the mosque.”
“‘We want the whole world to know’: Women and girls bear brunt of South Sudan’s extreme hunger crisis…
“Pibor is at the epicentre of the harrowing hunger crisis currently engulfing South Sudan. NGO workers warn the region is currently in the grips of the most extreme hunger crisis in “living memory”.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/south-sudan-women-hunger-pibor-b1847070.html
“Covid explodes in Paraguay and the health system collapses…
“Paraguay is currently going through its worst time of health crisis, with a rapid increase the number of cases and deaths, hospital collapse, intensive care units with full occupancy and queue of patients waiting for beds.”
“The Pandemic of Hunger in Rio’s Favelas: A Struggle Between Grief and Empty Stomachs…
” Today, amid the pandemic, over 50% of Brazilians are living in hunger. Furthermore, there is nutricide, which happens “when people are forced to buy processed foods, which in the long run causes problems such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” explains Andressa Cabral…”
https://rioonwatch.org/?p=65764
“With fuel and food scarce, people in Colombia’s Cali ask for negotiation…
“Residents of the Colombian city of Cali, the epicenter of protests against the government of Ivan Duque, are struggling under the weight of demonstrators’ road blockades, which have tripled some foods prices and made gasoline scarce.”
“Already under massive stress from the virus, more Indian workers turn to ‘gig economy’ livelihoods… India’s work culture is at an inflection point.
“The coronavirus pandemic is shaking up the country’s labor force, shifting the focus sharply to gig economy jobs — or on-demand, part-time work given to contract workers.”
“Everest climbers caught up in Nepal’s growing Covid crisis…
“The devastating coronavirus crisis overwhelming India is wreaking havoc in neighbouring Nepal, where surging cases have pushed hospitals to the brink of collapse and threatened the climbing industry that is crucial to the Himalayan economy.”
https://www.ft.com/content/2ce28d01-74b0-4371-ab35-b65a45d61396
“If you need cash in Myanmar, you have to get up early.
“Queues start forming outside banks at 4 a.m., where the first 15 or 30 customers are given a plastic token that will allow them to enter the bank when it opens at 9:30 a.m. and withdraw cash, according to more than a dozen people who spoke to Reuters.”
“Suicides rise in Thailand as Covid decimates its tourism industry. Health officials compare the country’s current economic situation to the 1997 Asian financial crisis, when suicide increased by over 20pc…
“There have long been fears that Covid-19, and the restrictions brought in to contain it, could lead to a mental health crisis and a possible increase in suicide rates around the globe.”
“Chinese companies’ dollar bonds hit as Beijing tightens credit.
“Concerns grow among offshore investors as more than $100bn in debts due this year… The prospect of defaults has also forced international investors to reassess how much Chinese government support financially stretched companies will receive. Foreign investors have long assumed that Beijing would bail out state-backed groups.”
https://www.ft.com/content/fa577173-1d7d-4a44-8614-2326835d1969
“Japan Inc squeezed by surging costs and frugal consumer fears.
“The global surge in commodities prices has now made Japan’s decades-old fight against its “deflationary mindset” even more critical as businesses in the world’s third-largest economy’s struggle to break even.”
https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/japan-inc-squeezed-by-surging-costs-and-frugal-consumer-fears/
“London’s St Paul’s Cathedral is at risk of closure, after tourist income from ticket sales plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Those who run the architectural masterpiece say the building is rotting, and the centuries-old roof is leaking into buckets on the floor.”
“Fears loom in Spanish tourism industry as restrictions in Britain, Germany threaten summer rebound.
“Visitors from both countries are key to the success of Spain’s high season and its economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis.”
“Nearly 2 million jobless Americans are set to lose their pandemic unemployment benefits early, with Georgia, Arizona and Ohio becoming the latest Republican-led states to announce they would cease payments.
“The payments, which Democrats recently extended until early September as part of their $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package, will end as soon as June 12 in some states.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/13/politics/pandemic-unemployment-benefits-gop/index.html
“A sprawling shopping mall in Syracuse, New York, may be driven into one of the biggest municipal-bond defaults since the onset of the pandemic.
“Already struggling before the lockdowns hammered retailers, Destiny USA, the state’s largest mall, said it doesn’t know if it will generate enough cash to keep running and pay its debts this year.”
“One Small Crack In A Bridge, One Giant Crack In The Supply Chain… The Hernando de Soto bridge crosses the mighty Mississippi which is a crucial waterway for barges transporting crops to export markets.
“Authorities are saying that barge traffic can’t resume until engineers confirm that the bridge is safe to travel under. The full inspection itself could take weeks.”
“Supply chain worries loom over global economy… Cycles of shortages may lead to speculative binges and then deeper recessions spurred by inventory liquidation.”
https://www.ft.com/content/cc289bda-4a4a-40f0-b545-83736cae2a07
“The auto industry will suffer a $110 billion hit to revenues this year due to the ongoing shortage of semiconductor chips, according to a new analysis from AlixPartners consulting firm…
“With no clear resolution in sight, the industry will likely produce about 3.9 million fewer vehicles than originally planned for all of 2021, the firm said.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/chip-shortage-could-cost-automakers-110-billion-n1267342
“Inflation alert: Container shipping rates just spiked (again)…
“The headlines last August and September blared: “Trans-Pacific rates are going crazy.” “Rates are on fire.” “Records shattered.” Oh, what cargo shippers would give to pay the rates they paid eight or nine months ago. Those earlier records were repeatedly shattered. It just happened yet again.”
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/inflation-alert-container-shipping-rates-have-just-spiked-again
“Global interest rates move off of 5,000 year lows…
“Last year marked the secular low point for inflation and interest rates and 2021 is bringing global rates off the lowest point since 3000 BC, BofA Data Analytics says.”
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3696553-global-interest-rates-move-off-of-5000-year-lows
“…as recently as December, the volume of negative-yielding debt hit a new record of about $18trn…
“Yet with inflation stirring, the era of the negative bond yield might be drawing to a close. And that promises to bring its own headaches. Particularly within the eurozone.”
https://moneyweek.com/investments/bonds/government-bonds/603253/negative-bond-yields-end-of-an-era
You can read the previous ‘Economic’ thread here. I’ll be back on Monday with a ‘Climate’ thread.
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