“The Global Economy Is Rapidly Slowing Down.
“Energy inflation is squelching worldwide growth… China’s economic slowdown has been very swift… In the U.S., economic growth has also slowed dramatically…”
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4462097-global-economy-rapidly-slowing-down
“Bond Market Sends a Warning on Growth to Hawkish Central Banks…
“The bond market’s age-old measure of growth is flashing an ominous warning as the world’s central banks move closer to boosting interest rates from near record lows.”
“New companies raising cash swell US junk bond market to record size. Outstanding debt rises above $1.5tn as nearly 150 issuers borrow from investors seeking yield…
“The IMF recently warned that rising financial leverage, driven by investors’ search for yield, could “exacerbate existing vulnerabilities” in the financial system.”
https://www.ft.com/content/b76e2d6f-5e40-479a-bcf9-1e27181a9d67
“No end in sight for labor shortages as U.S. companies fight high costs.
“Labor shortages may be the most intractable of the cost risks that U.S. companies faced in the latest quarter, and as the earnings season moves into its peak there are signs the problem will persist, some strategists say.”
“People [in the UK] are dying at home without the correct nursing support or pain relief because of staff shortages, according to the end-of-life charity Marie Curie.
“One in three nurses, responding to a survey by the charity and Nursing Standard, say a lack of staff is the main challenge providing quality care to dying people.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/nurses-dying-shortages-marie-curie-b1945768.html
“UK faces medicine shortages.
“Ninety percent of the UK’s medicines are imported from abroad meaning disruptions caused by the outcomes of Brexit and a lack of HGV drivers has caused a significant problem in transporting drugs into the country.”
https://www.nationalhealthexecutive.com/articles/uk-medicine-shortages
“France threatens to block ports and slow-down customs checks as fishing row [with UK] reaches boiling point.
“Jean Castex, France’s prime minister, will unveil a series of retaliatory measures if French fishermen are not provided greater access to the UK’s coastal waters.”
“EU countries splinter ahead of crisis talks on energy price spike… Divisions have deepened among European Union countries…
“Countries are struggling to agree… on a longer term plan to cushion against fossil-fuel price swings, which Spain, France, the Czech Republic and Greece say warrant a bigger shake-up of the way EU energy markets work.”
“Sales in European Collateralized Loan Obligations Hit Post Financial-Crisis Record.
“Annual sales of new collateralized loan obligations reached a post-financial crisis record in Europe, a symbolic milestone for the asset class that was once seen as a niche corner of the debt market.”
“Supply chain warnings intensify. German recovery under threat; Warehouse space runs short; Retailers scramble to adapt…
““Sand in the wheels of the economy is holding back the recovery” was how today’s closely watched Ifo survey characterised a six-month low in German business confidence.”
https://www.ft.com/content/abe672e8-43d4-451d-aa70-f01927dd70c2
“Modern Land becomes latest Chinese developer to miss a bond payment…
“Modern Land said that principal and interest payments on a bond worth $250m were “not met” by a Monday deadline. Earlier this month the company had asked for a 3-month extension to the maturity, a proposal it later withdrew, saying its liquidity issues had not been resolved.”
https://www.ft.com/content/5248fe9d-c7e2-46dc-964a-7b8307183e6b
“China’s Regional Hinterland Suffers as Beijing Reins In Debt.
“The economic gap between China’s less-developed western region and the wealthier eastern parts of the nation widened in the third quarter as Beijing’s crackdown on property and local government debt weighed on growth.”
“China Gas Stations Ration Diesel Adding to Supply Chain Squeeze…
“Long lines of vehicles are snaking from pump stations across Guangxi and Anhui province in east and southwest China…
“Truck drivers uploaded videos to social media platforms to share their plight.”
“Sri Lanka’s economy seen as a ‘ticking time bomb’.
“Sri Lanka’s COVID-stricken economy is being likened to a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment as foreign reserves plummet, the cost of living rises and the central bank carries on printing money.”
https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Sri-Lanka-s-economy-seen-as-a-ticking-time-bomb
“Pakistan is staring down barrel of economic gun…
“Pakistan’s advisor to the Prime Minister on financial matters, Shaukat Tarin, left Washington without concluding talks with the IMF for the next tranche of USD 1 billion from the approved $6 billion loan…. The reason stated was that “the (Pakistan) government was reluctant to take certain steps needed to reduce the ever-widening gap between revenues and expenditure.””
https://www.thestatesman.com/opinion/pakistan-staring-barrel-economic-gun-1503020926.html
“Iran says cyberattack closes gas stations across country.
“A cyberattack targeted gas stations Tuesday across Iran, shutting down a government system that manages fuel subsidies and leaving angry motorists stranded in long lines at shuttered stations.”
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/cyberattack-hits-iranian-gas-stations-nation-80786605
“Morocco’s New Economy Minister Blames PJD for Country’s Economic Crisis…
“The new Minister of Economy appeared to take the view that despite the current unprecedented global crisis, the pandemic is not the source of Morocco’s “worsened economic situation.””
“South African state power utility Eskom said it was extending scheduled power cuts until Saturday because of a shortage of generation capacity.
“Eskom regularly enforces outages over faults at its coal-fired power stations that hold back economic growth in Africa’s most industrialised nation.”
“Haiti brought to brink by fuel shortages.
“Haiti’s capital has been brought to the brink of exhaustion by fuel shortages, after staggering along despite an earthquake, the assassination of the president, gang violence and mass kidnappings.”
https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/international/haiti-brought-to-brink-by-fuel-shortages_234542
“Mexico’s economic activity unexpectedly contracted in August as the services sector sputtered, calling into question the strength of the nation’s recovery…
““This is bad news,” central bank deputy governor Jonathan Heath wrote in a Twitter post after the data was released. “It’s primarily the result of a 2.5% decline in tertiary activities (commerce and services).””
“Fuel goes up in Brazil amid international surge in crude oil.
“Brazil’s oil company Petrobras Monday decreed an increase in the price of gasoline of 7.04% at refineries and 9.15% in the case of diesel fuel, it was announced. These adjustments were to impact the price consumers pay at pumps as of Tuesday.”
https://en.mercopress.com/2021/10/25/fuel-goes-up-in-brazil-amid-international-surge-in-crude-oil
“Indigenous Ecuadorans block roads to protest fuel prices.
“Indigenous Ecuadorans blocked roads with rocks and burning tires Tuesday to protest soaring fuel prices as the country grapples with a state of emergency and battles challenges on multiple fronts.”
“Blackstone Inc. co-founder Stephen Schwarzman said the world is facing energy shortages so severe they could cause social unrest.
““We’re going to end up with a real shortage of energy,” he said at a conference in Saudi Arabia.” …His comments were echoed by Larry Fink, who said there’s a high probability of oil soon reaching $100 a barrel…”
“Aramco Warns That World’s Spare Oil Supplies Falling Rapidly…
“It’s a “huge concern,” Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said in an interview in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital. “The spare capacity is shrinking.””
“Brent oil ‘scarcity premium’ widens as $100 a barrel forecast.
“The scarcity premium embedded in the structure of Brent crude oil futures has widened to the most since 2013 this week, a sign of the tight market underpinning oil’s rally that pundits increasingly predict will push the market to $100 a barrel.”
“Moody’s warns of ‘systemic risks’ in private credit industry.
“The burgeoning private credit industry of lending to buyout groups has grown to about $1tn, but opacity, eroding standards and the difficulty in trading these slices of debt pose “systemic risks”, according to rating agency Moody’s.”
https://www.ft.com/content/862d0efb-09e5-4d92-b8aa-7856a59adb20
You can read the previous ‘Economic’ thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with a ‘Climate’ thread.
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