“Global economy faces uncertainty. Countries around the world appear to be faced with economic slow down as well as a surge in inflationary pressures, a situation typically termed as stagflation. Also, there is no clear idea when the current supply chain bottlenecks will ease.
“Global financial markets are also at the same time facing turbulence, further adding to the climate of economic uncertainty.”
https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/global-economy-faces-uncertainty/
“Higher food costs make the math even harder for Americans on food stamps.
“While many people who receive SNAP benefits are in the workforce, they still don’t earn enough to buy healthy food — and some don’t even have enough cash on hand “to get past a day or two.””
“Biden to release 50m barrels of oil in effort to bring down rising US gas prices.
“Biden administration says oil supply hasn’t kept up with demand as economy recovers from pandemic, with gas prices double what they were in 2020.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/23/gas-prices-biden-release-us-oil-barrels
“Energy Crisis Claims Its Biggest Victim In The UK Yet.
“The energy crisis and soaring wholesale power and natural gas prices claimed its biggest victim so far in the UK when Bulb, a power and gas supplier serving 1.7 million customers, said on Monday that it would enter into special administration.”
“In Spain, wave of protests over price hikes puts a damper on recovery.
“Truckers, farmers, auto and metal workers, hairdressers and pensioners are all staging marches against soaring production costs and inflation.”
“Austria begins lockdown after Covid restrictions spark protests across Europe.
“Protests and violence erupted across Europe over tougher Covid-19 restrictions to contain the latest wave of infections, as Austria took the drastic measure of starting a full national lockdown on Monday.”
“Czechs protest restrictions on unvaccinated as cases soar.
“Protesters marched through the Czech capital of Prague on Monday to decry the government’s restrictions on unvaccinated people as new infections soared in the European Union nation.”
https://www.euronews.com/2021/11/22/czechs-protest-restrictions-on-unvaccinated-as-cases-soar
“Bosnian coal miners halt work, protest against lower wages.
“Thousands of miners halted work at Bosnia’s seven coal mines on Tuesday in support of colleagues protesting in Sarajevo against what they said were government violations of work and pay regulations.”
“People take to streets to protest economic crisis in Turkey, call on AKP to resign.
“Several people in different cities across Turkey took to the streets and protested the economic crisis and high cost of living. They urged the government to resign.”
“Children skipping meals in majority of families in Lebanon, UNICEF says…
“More than half of families in Lebanon had at least one child who skipped a meal by October 2021 amid a “dramatic deterioration of living conditions”, the UN’s children’s fund said in a report released on Tuesday.”
“On the scrap heap: Syria’s ‘horrific’ child labour…
“There is no official data in Syria on child labour rates. But they are believed to have steadily increased throughout the course of the conflict, with the coronavirus pandemic and an economic crisis fuelling further spikes over the past year.”
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20211122-on-the-scrap-heap-syria-s-horrific-child-labour
“World’s highest child soldier numbers in West, Central Africa.
“West and Central Africa is the region with the highest number of child soldiers in the world, as well as the most underage victims of sexual violence, according to a new report by the United Nations Children’s Fund.”
“Food inflation in Nigeria rises by 100% in 10 years…
“The rising rate of food inflation is evidenced in the rising prices of food items such as rice, beans, bread, yam, vegetables, fruits and eggs which have all gone up by at least 100 per cent between 2011 and the current year.”
“Ghana’s economy is suffering from ‘stagflation’…
“CPP noted that the economy is caught in a spiral of depreciation and inflation with no growth and no wealth creation for the country. The Nkrumahist party is demanding accountability from the Nana Akufo-Addo government for all the monies it has borrowed since assuming power in 2017.”
https://www.modernghana.com/news/1120742/ghanas-economy-is-stacked-in-stagflation-says.html
“Eskom Failures Leave South Africa Set for Years of Power Cuts.
“South Africa’s deepening energy crisis looks set to persist for at least two more years, with operational problems at the monolithic state power utility showing no signs of abating and plans to add new generation capacity ensnared in legal wrangling and red tape.”
“Nine Iranian soldiers killed in clashes with US Navy: Iran…
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), known as Iran’s elite force, says nine Iranian soldiers were killed in clashes with the US naval forces in the Persian Gulf.”
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/911228-nine-iranian-soldiers-killed-in-clashes-with-us-navy-iran
“Pakistan bank chief warns of taper tantrum-style shock to emerging markets.
“Pakistan’s central bank governor has warned that emerging markets are vulnerable to a taper tantrum-style shock if advanced economies do not act sooner to manage rising global inflation.”
https://www.ft.com/content/7c34058e-76d1-439c-ad9b-9345ef45e27c
“China’s Coal Crunch Isn’t Over Yet as Cold Weather Drives Demand.
“Record coal production hasn’t ended China’s energy crisis, as the threat of extreme cold this winter could deplete supplies again soon.”
“Chinese birthrate falls to lowest since 1978…
“Data released by the country’s national bureau of statistics shows there were 8.5 births per 1,000 people in 2020, the first time in decades that the figure has fallen below 10…”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/23/chinese-birthrate-falls-to-lowest-since-1978
“China on high alert for mounting economic headwinds as Li Keqiang meets with local government heads.
“A meeting between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and 10 local government heads on Monday shows Beijing is on high alert for mounting headwinds for the world’s second-biggest economy…”
“New Zealand interest rate hike raises pressure on central banks over inflation…
“In a warning signal for central banks around the world as they struggle to contain inflationary pressures, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) raised the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 0.75% as expected in its final policy meeting of the year on Wednesday.”
“Inflation Is Raging Everywhere, But It’s Worst in Latin America.
“Price surges are busting through policy makers’ targets in all the region’s major economies, with annual inflation prints this month of 6% in Chile, 6.2% in Mexico, 10.7% in Brazil and a whopping 52% in Argentina.”
“Cuba Experiences Its Worst Economic Crisis Since the End of the Soviet Union.
“The economic crisis manifests itself in long lines — in a country already ravaged by COVID-19 — to buy necessities. Blackouts in major cities are common and a broken health care system exists due to the lack of investment…”
“French Caribbean rocked by fresh unrest over Covid measures.
“Protesters in French overseas territories in the Caribbean opposing measures to limit the spread of Covid-19 clashed again with security forces on Tuesday as the Paris government vowed to restore order.”
“Parliament building and police station burned down during protests in Solomon Islands.
“The tensions between the provincial and national government intensified in 2019 when Sogavare announced that Solomon Islands would switch its diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China, to the chagrin of Malaita premier Daniel Suidani.”
“Fertilizer shortage may lead to spring scramble on North America’s farms.
“A global shortage of nitrogen fertilizer is driving prices to record levels, prompting North America’s farmers to delay purchases and raising the risk of a spring scramble to apply the crop nutrient before planting season.”
“Aluminum Inventories Have Fallen To Critical Levels.
“The aluminum market is now in deficit. First, the rest of the world outside China — and then China itself, for a number of reasons — have found primary production not meeting downstream demand. And, guess what: those stocks are running down. In fact, a Bloomberg report suggests they have all but gone.”
“A Few Hundred Billion Dollars Won’t Fix All the [Chip] Shortages…
“Governments are making multibillion-dollar announcements to deal with the global chip shortage. That’s unlikely to help at this point and only risks muddying priorities for the future.”
You can read the previous ‘Economic’ thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with a ‘Climate’ thread.
If you found value in this content, please help me continue this work by becoming a patron of my work via Patreon. And if you are already a subscriber or have donated – thank you! It means a lot.
