This will be my final thread until the 30th. Happy Christmas/Holidays, everyone! Could you please raise a glass to my noble webmaster and fairy doom-mother, Anne? She both pays for this site and deals with all the technicalities. I literally could not do this without her.
“But like all dreams, I’m afraid this won’t last forever. On the stroke of 12, the spell will be broken and nothing will be as it was before.”
“After about a year of uncertainty in 2022, global economy is in a steep slowdown, according to the latest report by World Bank.
“While speaking about growth in its report, 2022 in Nine Charts, it said, “The global economy is now in its steepest slowdown following a post-recession recovery since 1970 – with global consumer confidence already suffering a much sharper decline than during the run-up to previous global recessions.”
“…The World Bank in its report also said that an increase in the severity of natural hazards continues to illuminate the social and economic impacts of climate change.”
https://www.livemint.com/news/world/global-economy-in-steep-slowdown-world-bank-11671515657844.html
“Global semiconductor revenue to shrink by 4% in 2023, the first contraction since 2019…
“Gartner’s practice VP Richard Gordon, in a forecast said, “The short-term outlook for semiconductor revenue has worsened. Rapid deterioration in the global economy and weakening consumer demand will negatively impact the semiconductor market in 2023.” For Gartner, the global semiconductor revenue is projected to decline 3.6% in 2023.”
“Taiwan’s export orders likely contracted again in November, a Reuters poll showed on Monday, as global demand for the island’s technology-related goods cools and at a faster clip than the previous month.
“The median forecast from a poll of 18 economists was for export orders to fall 11.2% from a year earlier.”
“Mounting global price pressures threaten to trigger more rate rises.
“Underlying price pressures are still mounting in most major developed economies despite the recent falls in headline inflation… Core inflation — which excludes changes in food and energy prices, and is viewed by rate setters as a better measure of the persistence of price pressures — is accelerating in many parts of the world, according to an analysis of official statistics by the Financial Times.”
https://www.ft.com/content/7354b85e-64b5-4cc5-bcf3-ee74fe6d4915
“A record central bank gold rush has been triggered by fears of Western sanctions after Russia was made a pariah state in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, according to the World Gold Council.
“Officials in many countries outside the West are rethinking their foreign currency reserves after the sanctions meant Russia’s central bank lost the use of its war chest, hampering its ability to protect the ruble and its banking system.”
“Billions of Dollars in Fed Discount Window Suggests All Is Not Well in Banking…
““It is surprising that in spite of the available amount liquidity in the system, usage at the discount window still increased,” write JPMorgan Chase & Co. analysts led by Jay Barry. “Borrowing at the discount window is often seen as a last resort for banks in terms of sourcing funding, and hence there is an implicit stigma associated with it.””
“Financial risks grow in shadowy corner of markets, worrying Washington…
“One area that has some analysts concerned is the roughly $1.5 trillion market in private lending, which has more than doubled in size over the past several years and now rivals junk bonds as a source of corporate funds… Private equity companies use much of that borrowed money in leveraged buyouts.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/18/shadow-banking-financial-risk/
“Car repossessions are on the rise in warning sign for the [US] economy.
“A growing number of consumers are falling behind on their car payments, a trend financial analysts fear will continue, in a sign of the strain soaring car prices and prolonged inflation are having on household budgets.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/economics/car-repossessions-are-rise-warning-sign-economy-rcna61916
“‘Britain is already in the longest recession since records began’…
“Chief economist Yael Selfin said the decline is being driven by the soaring energy and food prices facing households. They have suffered the biggest drop in living standards on record as the surging cost of living eats into wages.”
“UK government digs in as industrial action escalates.
“…Prime Minister Rishi Sunak accused Mike Lynch, general secretary of the RMT trade union of behaving like the “Grinch” who stole Christmas and said unions were “causing misery for millions with transport strikes in particular cruelly timed”.”
https://www.ft.com/content/013c8814-5642-44b3-9801-e987c5f48b11
“UK ‘prepper’ movement growing with more people hoarding supplies at home in case current crises escalate…
“Barry is a so-called prepper, part of a growing community in the UK defined by the phrase: “Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.” …Online prepping forums and YouTube channels, including Barry’s own, are attracting thousands of new members every week, as people ask for advice about what to buy and how to store it.”
“Electricity companies warn they remain at risk of cash crunch.
“Electricity companies are urging the UK government to boost access to a £40bn state-backed liquidity support scheme, as continued price volatility in wholesale power markets reignites fears that some suppliers and generators might run out of cash.”
https://www.ft.com/content/bd70ef9b-dad0-48c1-a9cd-a8c3d378cf57
“EU countries agree gas price cap to battle energy crisis…
“Following the announcement of the deal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the decision was an attack on market pricing, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency. “This is a violation of the market price-setting, an infringement on market processes, any reference to a [price] cap is unacceptable,” Peskov was cited as saying.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/19/eu-countries-agree-gas-price-cap-to-battle-energy-crisis
“Europe’s $1 Trillion Energy Bill Only Marks Start of the Crisis.
“After this winter, the region will have to refill gas reserves with little to no deliveries from Russia, intensifying competition for tankers of the fuel. Even with more facilities to import liquefied natural gas coming online, the market is expected to remain tight until 2026…”
“Orban’s Food Price Caps Backfire for Hungarian Holiday Shoppers.
“A plan to shield Hungarians from the European Union’s highest inflation before the holidays has backfired, with retailers rationing staple foods in a throwback to the nation’s communist past… The government sees what is the EU’s fastest inflation — at 22.5% — accelerating to 25% by year-end.”
“Greek protesters demand higher wages.
“Workers, civil servants and students staged protests Saturday in Athens to draw attention to the soaring cost of living. Demonstrators gathered in front of the parliament building, responding to the call of The All-Workers Militant Front, a trade union affiliated with the Communist Party of Greece, to protest.”
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/greek-protesters-demand-higher-wages/2766623
“China’s cities fall quiet amid warning of three Covid waves over winter.
“Across major cities people appear to be staying inside, either with the virus or in fear of contracting it, but authorities have pushed on with the reopening. There are also mounting questions over the full impact of the current outbreak.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/19/china-covid-waves-winter-cities-quiet
“Chinese business confidence falls to lowest in almost a decade on COVID.
“China’s business confidence fell to its lowest since January 2013, a survey by World Economics showed on Monday, reflecting the impact of surging COVID-19 cases on economic activity with the abrupt lifting of many pandemic control measures.”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chinese-business-confidence-lowest-almost-012615816.html
“Violent protests in Peru evoke memories of darkest days of civil war.
“Huamanga, a picturesque Andean city of cobbled streets and whitewashed plazas, was eerily silent. Shop doors were bolted, and the tiny taxis known as ticos were absent in the aftermath of the worst violence it has seen in decades.”
“Crunch Time for Giant Copper Mine as Panama Readies Halt Order…
“In an announcement that sent ripples across the mining industry and the copper market, Panama’s cabinet last week authorized the commerce minister to issue a resolution placing the Cobre Panama mine on care and maintenance after tax talks collapsed.”
“Liberians protest over economic hardship and president’s absence…
“Large protests have taken place sporadically during Weah’s five years in office, but anger over his government’s management of the economy has grown as Liberians grapple with rising food and fuel prices linked to the Ukraine war and fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Ghana to default on most external debt as economic crisis worsens.
“Ghana on Monday suspended payments on most of its external debt, effectively defaulting as the country struggles to plug its cavernous balance of payments deficit. Its finance ministry said it will not service debts including its Eurobonds, commercial loans and most bilateral loans…”
“Syria fuel crisis slows down life in Damascus.
“Syrian student Ziad al-Ezz can no longer get to university as severe fuel shortages cripple the capital Damascus, pushing residents to seek alternatives for heating and shuttering businesses.”
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/181220221
“Three Jordanian police officers killed in raid as social unrest continues…
“The shooting erupted during an operation to arrest a man suspected of killing a senior police commander last week. Jordan’s public security directorate said five other officers were wounded during the raid in the Ma’an governorate, a restive area in the south of the country…”
https://www.ft.com/content/279c0c5f-82b9-43cd-9512-5ea46bd27ec7
“Social media report protests by Iranian oil workers for higher wages.
“The activist HRANA news agency said on Saturday that a group of oil workers protested outside the Pars Oil and Petrochemical Company in Asaluyeh in the southern Bushehr Province on the Gulf coast. It said in addition to wage increases and pension bonuses, the removal of high income taxes and salary cap, improved welfare services and health conditions were among the protesters’ demands.”
“Without biodiversity the global economy would crumble…
” the market economy can be thought of as a system of creating wealth from applying human ingenuity to the gifts that nature provides us. We harvest the bounties of nature, and bring them to market to trade for a profit… dig deep enough into any value chain and eventually you end up where we started: transforming environmental resources into states that facilitate human consumption.”
You can read the previous “Economic” thread here. I’ll be back on the 30th with a new thread and I wish you all a very Happy Christmas/Holidays in the meantime.
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Thank you Anne! We appreciate this news blog very much.