“Why the global inflation surge could signal an economic collapse.
“The link between inflation and asset price collapse or debt market implosion might have been forgotten, but it is still there. Policymakers cannot afford to ignore the increasingly shaky state of the foundations on which the global economy rests.”
“Wheat hits 9-year peak on supply woes…
“Chicago wheat futures advanced 1.2% on Monday to their highest level in nine years as shrinking supplies in top global exporters underpinned the market.”
“Democrats worry inflation could imperil agenda and congressional majorities…
“Americans are taking notice of high prices with growing alarm, and their concerns appear to be negatively affecting Biden’s approval rating, which had already been falling in recent months.”
“Rocketing food prices leave Britain facing recipe for disaster.
“Britain’s cost of living squeeze is set to worsen with the highest global food prices in half a century lasting until 2023 as the gas crisis sends fertiliser costs soaring, experts predict… [global] prices are already above levels seen during the last food crisis early last decade, which sparked social unrest across the world.”
“UK energy crisis: Avro Energy collapsed owing £90m to customers…
“Avro Energy ceased trading still owing £90m to customers, according to its administrators. Alvarez and Marsal said the challenger firm had failed to supply customers who had paid for gas and electricity in advance.”
https://www.cityam.com/low-power-avro-energy-collapsed-owing-90m-to-customers/
“Energy crisis could worsen poverty for millions of Europeans.
“Energy prices have skyrocketed in the past months, increasing the concern that millions of Europeans will have to choose between paying their bills and putting food on the table this winter.”
“Covid: Huge protests across Europe over new restrictions.
“Tens of thousands of people have been marching in the Belgian capital, Brussels… On Saturday, people hurled fireworks at police and set fire to bicycles in The Hague… Thousands of demonstrators also took to the streets in Austria, Croatia and Italy as anger mounted over new curbs.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-59363256
“Germany’s cautious consumers feel the pinch from surging inflation…
“Spiralling prices are a sensitive subject in a country where people’s approach to money is still haunted by the hyperinflation of the 1920s and 1940s that wiped out most Germans’ savings.”
https://www.ft.com/content/7d34231b-9868-4484-93b1-37ab5dc66c7a
“As Pandemic Evictions Rise, Spaniards Declare ‘War’ on Wall Street Landlords.
“Protesters in Barcelona are pushing back against foreign investment firms that have bought up thousands of homes over the past decade and are forcing out residents who can’t pay the rent.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/21/world/europe/spain-evictions-cerberus-covid.html
“Portugal’s ‘illegal homes’ increase by another 11,000 through pandemic… “The crisis brought by the pandemic has facilitated the return of illegal homes… particularly in large cities.
““Shacks, camps, pre-fabricated buildings, even commercial premises transformed into unlicensed lodging are the new homes by those disinherited by the pandemic. Since 2018, clandestine housing hasn’t stopped growing”.”
https://www.portugalresident.com/portugals-illegal-homes-increase-by-another-11000-through-pandemic/
“From Bathhouses to Fisheries, Hidden Inflation Is Creeping Across Japan.
“As winter descends on Japan, the soaring energy prices squeezing budgets around the world are starting to hurt the nation’s consumers and companies.”
“China Central Bank Advisor Warns About ‘Quasi-Stagflation’ Risk.
“China’s economy could enter a period of “quasi-stagflation” with relatively slow growth and excessively high producer-price inflation, said Liu Shijin, an adviser to the nation’s central bank.”
“Time is running out for China to sort out its real estate sector…
“In the fast-churn, high-leverage world of Chinese builders, every step is a chance to squeeze in hidden debt… In short, developers end up borrowing from everyone.”
“From Singapore and Hong Kong to Malaysia, Philippines to India, how inflation and rising food costs are changing the face of hunger…
“In Singapore, food banks are busy; in Malaysia, meat is off the menu for many. In India, lamp oil is used for cooking and in the Philippines, the cost of your pizza could feed 150 people.”
“Sri Lanka has abandoned its attempt to become the world’s first entirely organic farming nation amid spiralling food prices and weeks of protest…
“The government [had] said it would make farming in the South Asian nation more sustainable and environmentally friendly.”
“Consumer confidence in Turkey fell to its lowest level since a data series began in 2004 after the lira slumped to successive record lows against the dollar…
“Turkey’s lira has slumped by almost 15 percent against the dollar this month, taking losses this year to more than 30 percent…”
https://ahvalnews.com/turkish-lira/turkish-consumer-confidence-slides-record-low-after-liras-slump
“U.N. warns of ‘colossal’ collapse of Afghan banking system.
“The United Nations on Monday pushed for urgent action to prop up Afghanistan’s banks, warning that a spike in people unable to repay loans, lower deposits and a cash liquidity crunch could cause the financial system to collapse within months.”
“Pakistan is on the verge of a massive gas crunch as temperatures begin to fall in most parts of the country, forcing the two public gas utilities to ration the fuel for cooking, heating, transport, electricity generation, industrial use, etc.”
https://www.dawn.com/news/1659144
“North Korea is on the verge of a humanitarian collapse…
“There are reports of sky-high inflation, with prices for essential goods in Pyongyang rocketing. In June, shampoo was being sold for $200 (£148) in the capital. Even by North Korean standards, the economic situation is dire.”
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/north-korea-is-on-the-verge-of-a-humanitarian-collapse
“The fight over how to save Argentina’s freefalling economy.
“Peronistas’ crushing election defeat and the rise of an ‘anarcho-capitalist’ show voters want fresh answers over how to end cycle of despair… Javier Milei has ideas for the embattled Argentine economy as big and wild as his 70s rockstar hair – and voters are listening.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/11/21/fight-save-argentinas-freefalling-economy/
“Chileans face stark choice in vote for president after two years of unrest.
“Voters in Chile head to the polls on Sunday in a general election in which the two frontrunners for president offer starkly contrasting visions for the country’s future after two years of street protests and political unrest.”
“Indigenous community evicted as land clashes over agribusiness rock Paraguay.
“Armed police with water cannons and a low-flying helicopter have faced off against indigenous villagers brandishing sticks and bows in the latest clash over land rights in Paraguay…”
“‘I lost everything’: Guadeloupe riots overtake COVID protest.
“France is sending police special forces to its overseas Caribbean territory of Guadeloupe as protests over COVID-19 restrictions have erupted into rioting and looting for the third day in a row.”
“Protests Erupt in Tunisia Demanding Activation of Law 38…
“Angry protesters chanted against the President’s decision, stressing that his rejection of the law, which Saied himself approved and ordered its publication in the official gazette, “is killing our dreams.””
https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3316361/protests-erupt-tunisia-demanding-activation-law-38
“Sudan anti-coup protest death toll rises to 40 as teenager dies.
“Teenager succumbs to his wounds after being shot in head by live rounds days earlier, taking protest death toll to at least 40.”
“Malawi police fire teargas at anti-government protesters.
“Malawi police on Friday fired teargas to quell an anti-government protest over alleged corruption and economic mismanagement by President Lazarus Chakwera’s administration.”
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/malawi-police-fire-teargas-anti-113907505.html
“Soaring gas prices force Nigerians back to using charcoal and firewood.
“People in Nigeria are being left with no choice but to go back to burning charcoal and wood despite its devastating effects on their health and the environment.”
“‘Millions face starvation by January’…stocks running low in Masvingo, Matabeleland, Midlands and Manicaland…
“Zimbabwe’s rural communities and poor urbanites have been finding it increasingly hard to access basic foodstuffs following a spirited rise in the cost of living…”
“The numbers are difficult to absorb. According to a new IPC report, a record 27 million Congolese – roughly a quarter of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC’s) population – are facing hunger…
“For the first time, there are similar levels of hunger in towns and cities as remote rural areas…”
“Supply-chain shock raises risk of more volatile economic cycles…
“Intriguingly — and also for the first time in almost forty years — the percentage of companies citing “shortages” exceeded the number experiencing “insufficient demand”. This is as important as it is unusual: supply constraints at present exceed demand constraints.”
https://www.ft.com/content/e702f0bd-fde2-467e-8354-04f60909f76d
“Central banks are stuck in a ‘hall of mirrors’…
“There is …a deep suspicion that all the post-crash bailouts and “unconventional measures” have done is make the rich richer.
“Central banks have acquired a lot of financial assets, but are losing the public’s trust.”
https://www.ft.com/content/970dbfd2-681a-4fb2-b074-91b1e032838e
“Eventually soaring Icarus fell back to earth with a thud… we face the real prospect of a loss of confidence in the very basis of currency.”
https://thinkscotland.org/2021/11/eventually-soaring-icarus-fell-back-to-earth-with-a-thud/
“There is no easy escape from the global debt trap…
“As financial markets and total debts grow as a share of GDP, they become increasingly fragile. Asset prices and the cost of servicing the debt grow more sensitive to rate rises, and now represent a double threat to the global economy.“
https://www.ft.com/content/c9e0c2c1-55af-4258-9c92-92faa111f41e
“Second Winter of Woe Threatens Global Economy…
“The world economy is approaching the northern hemisphere winter in disarray, unable to shake off the coronavirus crisis amid persisting supply disruptions, soaring prices and resurgent outbreaks.”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/second-winter-woe-threatens-global-210000566.html
You can read the previous ‘Economic’ thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with a ‘Climate’ thread.
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