“Where COVID-19 has precipitated unprecedented debts, climate change could trigger defaults across a planet which a United Nations panel says is dangerously close to runaway warming.
“To avert disaster, countries are committing to carbon cutting steps. But these will be costly and likely to add to a global debt pile which asset manager Janus Henderson estimates ballooned to $62.5 trillion by the end of last year.”
https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/debt-warm-climate-coronavirus-carbon-set-scene-default-2021-08-12/
“US consumer confidence in shock fall below early pandemic low. The yield on the benchmark ten-year US Treasury bond fell by almost seven basis points to dip below 1.3 per cent last night after American consumer sentiment dropped to its lowest level since 2011.
“The University of Michigan index of consumer confidence fell by 13.5 per cent in the month to mid-August, dipping beyond the lows reached in April 2020 when the pandemic took hold.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/us-consumer-confidence-in-shock-fall-below-early-pandemic-low-xjgjkfllb
“An “unprecedented” number of migrants were intercepted illegally crossing the US-Mexico border in July, the head of America’s Homeland Security department has said.
“Border guards recorded more than 200,000 instances of people attempting to enter the United States during the month, according to US Customs and Border Protection.”
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/877928-unprecedented-number-of-migrants-cross-mexico-border-us
“[English] Channel migrant crossings reach record high as man dies. Nearly 600 migrants crossed the Channel on the same day a man died making the journey, the government has confirmed.
“The Home Office said UK authorities dealt with 592 people on Thursday – the highest figure for a single day.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-58213583
“Thousands gathered Saturday in the streets of Montreal [Canada] to protest against the province of Quebec’s Covid-19 vaccine passport, which will go into effect early next month.
“Holding signs that said “Freedom!” and “We are not laboratory rats,” the demonstrators, many of whom came with their families, paraded peacefully under a blazing sun in downtown Montreal.”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/yellow-stars-on-display-at-montreal-protest-against-vaccine-passport/
“Protesters took to the streets of France for the fifth consecutive Saturday to oppose the country’s pass sanitaire – health pass – now required for everyday activities.
“More than 250,000 people were expected at about 200 demonstrations, an increase in the number that officials said had turned out last week. Protesters have accused the government of underestimating the numbers and playing down support.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/14/fifth-consecutive-weekend-of-protests-in-france-over-covid-pass
“Bitter harvest for French winemakers hit by worst weather in 40 years.
“Frost, hail and rains have conspired to destroy swathes of the crop and leave parts of a vital industry cruelly exposed… hail stones fell from the sky with such force that Gautier’s vines, 1.5 metres high in a normal year, were shorn down by about 75 centimetres.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bitter-harvest-for-french-winemakers-hit-by-worst-weather-in-40-years-6c9025hjq
“The latest Chinese market to buckle under pressure from Beijing’s wide-ranging corporate crackdown: junk bonds…
Stress has been building following a string of debt defaults and growing concern about a few large issuers… “There’s a confidence crisis in Chinese high-yield debt,” said Paul Lukaszewski, head of corporate debt for the Asia Pacific region at Aberdeen Standard Investments in Singapore.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-corporate-crackdown-adds-to-junk-bond-distress-11629019801
“Home Prices in World’s Most Expensive Market Break Record.
“Hong Kong’s home prices jumped to a record high, joining other global real estate markets that are soaring on low mortgage rates and rising demand as the pandemic slowly recedes.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-13/home-prices-in-world-s-most-expensive-market-break-record
“Sydney lockdown extended statewide as Australia faces ‘worst’ COVID episode.
“Australian police hiked fines for people breaking lockdown rules in Sydney and the rest of its home state on Saturday and strict stay-at-home orders were extended statewide amid a record jump in daily new COVID-19 infections.”
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australias-victoria-reports-21-new-local-covid-19-cases-2021-08-13/
“Russia releases worst pandemic death numbers to date.
“Russia’s daily coronavirus deaths are on the rise after infections peaked in July. Authorities blame the infectious Delta variant and a slow vaccination rate. Moscow said late on Friday that the mortality rate in the city in July was 70% higher than before the pandemic in 2019…”
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-daily-covid-19-deaths-hit-new-record-2021-08-14/
“Iran Hit by Worst Covid-19 Wave Yet as Vaccine Rollout Flounders.
“Hospitals across the country are overwhelmed. Many face shortages of beds and exhausted personnel, prompting the armed forces to say they would help turn mosques and stadiums into facilities for convalescing patients.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/iran-hit-by-worst-covid-19-wave-yet-as-vaccine-rollout-flounders-11628859038
“Thousands rush to leave Afghanistan as chaos unfolds at Kabul airport in wake of Taliban control.
“There were scenes of chaos and desperation at Kabul’s international airport on Sunday as thousands of foreigners, Afghans and American diplomats sought to flee the country in the wake of the Taliban’s swift takeover of Afghanistan.”
“North Korea military threats ‘intended to deflect from economic crisis’…
“Battered by extreme weather, coronavirus restrictions and international sanctions imposed in response to its ballistic and nuclear missile programmes, North Korea is facing one of the worst economic crises in its 73-year history.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/13/north-korea-military-threats-intended-to-deflect-from-economic-crisis
“Turkey: Anti-foreigner sentiment boils over in Ankara riots.
“There are approximately 4 million refugees in Turkey, and they are increasingly the objects of hostility — as the recent riots in Ankara have shown. Experts warn that the situation is likely to escalate in future.”
https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-anti-foreigner-sentiment-boils-over-in-ankara-riots/a-58861412
“At least 20 killed and 79 injured in fuel tank explosion in Lebanon…
“The Lebanese army on Saturday said it had seized thousands of litres of gasoline and diesel that distributors were stockpiling in pumps across the country, and the past week has seen multiple incidents of tankers being hijacked.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/15/lebanon-fuel-truck-blast-deaths
“Haitians heartbroken as deadly quake heaps misery on crisis-hit nation…
““We have this political crisis, Covid-19 is still there, we have an economic crisis and we are now facing this earthquake and its aftermath. It’s really, really hard. It’s like you don’t have a break,” she said. “Instead of things getting better you feel like you are going into deeper trouble.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/15/haitians-heartbroken-as-deadly-quake-heaps-misery-on-crisis-hit-nation
“Is Morocco’s ‘Arab Spring’ moment finally here?
“After a fiery suicide by a cart driver, hundreds of Moroccans protested against their government. But this is not the first such case and it probably won’t be the last… Lockdowns, a lack of tourism and the resulting impact on the economy has widened pre-existing income inequalities…”
https://www.dw.com/en/is-moroccos-arab-spring-moment-finally-here/a-58846817
“Riots damaged South Africa’s fragile food system – now it needs radical reforms.
“During the first two weeks of July 2021, South Africa witnessed violent protests and massive destruction of critical economic infrastructure and trade-logistic corridors in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng.”
https://www.news24.com/fin24/opinion/sifiso-ntombela-riots-damaged-sas-fragile-food-system-now-it-needs-radical-reforms-20210813
“‘An economic calamity’: Africa faces years of post-Covid instability.
“Analysts and experts are warning of many years of instability across Africa, possibly leading to wars and political upheavals, as the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic deepens across the continent.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/13/an-economic-calamity-africa-faces-years-of-post-covid-instability
“Wheat Supplies Are Shrinking and It’s Bad News for Bread Prices.
“Crop losses in two of the world’s biggest wheat exporters and quality concerns in a third have pushed prices to multiyear highs, adding to worries about food price inflation for millions of the world’s most vulnerable… The impact will be felt by households and governments alike…”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-14/wheat-supplies-are-shrinking-and-it-s-bad-news-for-bread-prices
You can read the previous ‘Economic’ thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with a ‘Climate’ thread.
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