Daily updates on climate change and the global economy.

Daily updates on climate change and the global economy.
Stay current with what’s happening around the world with a quick scan of top news.

Daily updates on climate change and the global economy.
Stay current with what’s happening around the world with a quick scan of top news.

Daily updates on climate change and the global economy.
Stay current with what’s happening around the world with a quick scan of top news.

Daily updates on climate change and the global economy.
Stay current with what’s happening around the world with a quick scan of top news.

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The financial crisis lurking in the shadows: Why regulators must now turn their attention to shadow banking…

“Despite the mostly peripheral nature of shadow banks, experts are concerned that the traditional financial sector will still face risks of contagion if large shadow banks were to collapse… analysts identified credit hedge funds and broker dealers as amongst the most risky shadow banks due to their higher level of leverage.”

https://www.cityam.com/the-financial-crisis-lurking-in-the-shadows-why-regulators-must-now-turn-their-attention-to-shadow-banking/


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Uh oh! The crypto collapse has reached the real financial system.

Silvergate, one of the most important banks in crypto, is in big trouble. Maybe existential trouble… Silvergate was a pass-through point for crypto… So Silvergate’s troubles are a problem for the entire crypto industry.”

https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/4/23623964/crypto-silvergate-bank-run-stablecoins-dollars


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French shipping giant CMA CGM warns demand is deteriorating.

“A downturn that began in the second half of last year “remained at play in 2023, as market conditions in the transport and logistics industry continue to deteriorate,” the world’s third-largest container line said in a statement Friday… The bleak outlook from the French transporter is in line with European rivals A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S and Hapag-Lloyd AG…”

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/trade/exports/insights/french-shipping-giant-cma-cgm-warns-demand-is-deteriorating/articleshow/98440537.cms


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U.S. Bank: Truck freight volumes continue to decline.

“The volume of freight moved by truck in the peak shipping season of 2022 dropped by the largest year-over-year level since the heart of the pandemic, according to the latest U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index. Fourth-quarter truck freight shipments contracted 7.1% year-over-year…”

https://www.fleetequipmentmag.com/truck-freight-volumes-decline/


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‘There has to be a mistake’ – shock as electricity bills arrive [Ireland].

“When Úna Ni Chonaire Fulham opened her most recent bill from Electric Ireland she said she felt “shock” firstly, then thought “there has to be a mistake”. Una was charged €2,285 for a total of 71 days’ usage from 1 December last year to 9 February this year.”

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2023/0305/1360378-electricity-bills/


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In Britain, ‘warm hubs’ emerge to beat soaring energy costs.

“On a blustery late-winter day in Shakespeare’s birthplace, the foyer of the Other Place theater is a cozy refuge. Visitors are having meetings over coffee, checking emails, writing poetry, learning to sew. It looks and feels like an arty café in the pictureque streets of Stratford-upon-Avon, but it’s a “warm hub”…”

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/britain-warm-hubs-emerge-beat-soaring-energy-costs-97627372


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Mental health crisis takes its toll on UK workforce…

“Mental ill health appears to be playing a significant — and in some age groups, growing — role in this picture. IPPR, a think tank, said in December that a mental health issue was the most common condition among working-age people who were not in work due to poor health.”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/mental-health-crisis-takes-its-toll-on-uk-workforce-2x0xz5zrc


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Farmers from Belgium’s northern region of Flanders drove thousands of tractors into Brussels on Friday in a protest against a new regional government plan to limit nitrogen emissions…

“Agricultural organisations said in a joint statement that the nitrogen agreement as it now stands “will cause a socio-economic carnage”.”

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/tractors-descend-brussels-farmer-protest-over-plans-limit-nitrogen-emissions-2023-03-03/


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France braces for strikes that could bring the country ‘to a standstill’ for days on end.

“Strikes against bitterly contested plans to reform pensions in France continue on Tuesday, and this time unions have upped the ante. Unlike previous walkouts, this week’s industrial action has no pre-arranged end date.”

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20230306-france-braces-for-strikes-that-could-bring-the-country-to-a-standstill-for-days-on-end


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Demonstrators, police clash as Greece train crash protests resume.

“Clashes have erupted between police and a group of demonstrators outside the Greek parliament in Athens on the fringes of a protest by thousands of students and railway workers over Greece’s deadliest train crash in living memory.”

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/5/demonstrators-police-clash-amid-train-crash-protests-in-athens


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ECB must do more to tackle inflation ‘monster’, says Christine Lagarde.

“Christine Lagarde has warned that underlying price pressures will remain “sticky in the short term” and signalled that further interest rate rises from the European Central Bank are very likely as “inflation is a monster that we need to knock on the head”. The ECB was not seeking to “break the economy” with rate increases, Lagarde told Spain’s El Correo…”

https://www.ft.com/content/83d44991-4988-4e4f-8143-81d34b2b4173


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The New European Energy Normal Remains Rather Painful.

“Gas prices are down from their peak, but still elevated. European companies face a long-term loss of competitiveness… For the region’s energy-intensive industries, such as chemical companies and glass manufacturers, prices remain catastrophically elevated.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-03-06/europe-s-energy-crisis-the-new-normal-remains-rather-painful


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Traditional, heavy warfare has returned to Europe with Ukraine conflict…

“…the idea was widespread that future conflicts would be economic, or fought in cyberspace; by mercenaries or simply deniably in the way Russia’s first incursions into Ukraine in 2014 were led by separatist rebels infiltrated by Moscow’s forces. War, in short, would be less bloody – and much cheaper.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/06/traditional-heavy-warfare-has-returned-to-europe-with-ukraine-conflict


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China increases military spending in face of ‘escalating’ threats…

“Outgoing Premier Li Keqiang told delegates to the National People’s Congress (NPC) that “external attempts to suppress and contain China are escalating”. “The armed forces should intensify military training and preparedness across the board,” he said…”

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230304-china-s-rubber-stamp-parliament-to-begin-meetings-hand-xi-third-term


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Why has China announced its lowest growth target in decades?

“China’s economy faces serious long-term challenges… Many economists believe that China’s high-growth era — characterised by decades of double-digit expansion each year — is now in the past.”

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/3/6/why-did-china-set-its-lowest-economic-growth-target-in-decades


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Food supplies to Australia’s biggest supermarkets can no longer be guaranteed after the shock collapse of one of the county’s biggest trucking firms.

“News broke late last month that Scott’s Refrigerated Logistics – one of Australia’s biggest trucking firms, which services major super­markets, including Coles, IGA and Aldi – had been plunged into receivership.”

https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/receivers-of-collapsed-trucking-giant-admit-continuity-of-food-supply-cant-be-guaranteed/news-story/0e994f116738dd4188dfc6a5abb4e848


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Peru government condemns attack on police station as 27 injured in clashes.

“The Peruvian defense and interior ministries on Saturday strongly condemned an attack by anti-government protesters on a police station in the Juli district – situated in the southern Puno region – in which the facility was set on fire, adding that 27 people had been wounded in clashes in the city.”

https://www.laprensalatina.com/peru-government-condemns-attack-on-police-station-as-27-injured-in-clashes/


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Suriname’s Unrest Is a Warning. The world’s existing mechanisms to help developing countries through debt crises are coming up short…

“High costs of living exacerbated by government efforts to address a sovereign debt crisis are driving the unrest in Suriname. The country has defaulted on its foreign debt three times since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic…”

https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/03/03/suriname-riots-inflation-debt-imf-china-india-pandemic/


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Kenya slowly sinking in debt, inflation, weakening shilling…

“Kenya’s government technocrats are scrounging for options to stem a loading economic crisis that has forced many households to keep tightening their belts, with close to six million people suffering acute food shortage. A poll published this week painted an economy racing towards a cliff.”

https://www.zawya.com/en/economy/africa/kenya-slowly-sinking-in-debt-inflation-weakening-shilling-onwi0wgk


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Kenya hit by nationwide power outage.

“Kenya was hit by a nationwide power blackout on Saturday evening caused by a “system disturbance”, electricity distributor Kenya Power (KPLC.NR) said. “We are working to restore normalcy within the shortest time possible,” Kenya Power said in a statement.”

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/kenya-hit-by-nationwide-power-outage-2023-03-04/


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Tunisia: Thousands march against food prices and president’s crackdown on critics.

“Thousands of people have marched through Tunisia’s capital, protesting against an expanding crackdown on opposition voices and a proposed lifting of subsidies for food and other goods. Saturday’s march, organised by Tunisia’s central trade union, was the latest challenge to President Kais Saied…”

https://news.sky.com/story/tunisia-thousands-march-against-food-prices-and-presidents-crackdown-on-critics-12826022


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Egypt non-oil activity contracts for 27th month as prices surge.

“Egypt’s non-oil private sector activity shrank for the 27th month in a row in February as surging inflation and obstacles to importing from abroad extended business travails, a survey showed on Sunday.”

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/egypt-non-oil-activity-contracts-27th-month-prices-surge-2023-03-05/


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Pakistani drug firms head for closure amid economic crisis.

“Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry has warned that dozens of local companies will be forced to close due to unaffordable production costs caused by the rupee’s devaluation, import hiccups and spiralling inflation.”

https://www.dw.com/en/pakistani-drug-firms-head-for-closure-amid-economic-crisis/a-64861867


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World’s Riskiest Markets Stumble Into Crisis With Dollars Scarce.

Hospitals delaying surgery in Sri Lanka. International flights suspended in Nigeria. Car factories shuttered in Pakistan… In some of the world’s most vulnerable developing nations, the situations on the ground are dire. Shortages of dollars are crimping access to everything from raw materials to medicine.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/world-riskiest-markets-stumble-crisis-130000294.html


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UN development chief sounds alarm over debt distress.

“A top UN official has warned that “urgent” measures are needed to help 52 countries facing debt repayment problems that put some at risk of default. Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Development Programme, told AFP that 25 of the 52 were spending more than a fifth of government revenues servicing external debt.”

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230305-un-development-chief-sounds-alarm-over-debt-distress


You can read the previous “Economic” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with a “Climate” thread.

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