The U.S. needs minerals for green tech. Will Western mines have enough water?
“There’s still going to be places where you say, yes, there’s lithium in the ground here, but this is a no-go,” Boulanger says. “We’re going to have to make some choices in a world that’s already experiencing the effects of climate change.
“What’s not our drinking water today, in five years we may already be relying on it.”
US Treasury ETF suffers biggest meltdown on record as rates continue to surge
The iShare 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF has declined 45% from its closing high in 2020, and is down a whopping 50% from its intra-day high reached on March 9, 2020. That’s the biggest decline the ETF has suffered since its July 2002 inception. The ETF is now trading at its lowest level since February 2011.
The sharp declines have snowballed since the Federal Reserve began hiking interest rates in 2022 in its ongoing bid to tame inflation. And the declines could get even worse if the Fed moves forward with further interest rate hikes, something Fed President Neel Kashkari believes is more likely than not.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chart-day-us-treasury-etf-035904022.html
US credit crunch advances
It will be interesting to see what effect the latest round of rising yields does to small banks. Recall that it was bond losses that triggered the small bank crisis. More to come there.
https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2023/09/us-credit-crunch-advances/
People with student loans regret borrowing too much
Americans are facing a mountain of student loan debt, totaling more than $1.7 trillion, and it’s a serious source of stress for many borrowers. In fact, almost a quarter of people who have student loan debt say borrowing too much is their biggest financial regret, according to a recent Bankrate survey. “I think what this shows is student loan debt can really become a huge inhibitor for Americans to grow their wealth,” said Bankrate’s Sarah Foster. “They say that they haven’t really been able to buy a house because of that debt. Some of them are delaying getting married or having children.”
https://www.azfamily.com/2023/09/26/people-with-student-loans-regret-borrowing-too-much/
Central banks across Europe pause for breath after mammoth rate hike run, but face ‘triple dilemma
High inflation continues to plague European households and businesses, and central banks in the region have yet to declare victory on bringing it to target.
But September marked a change in tone in their messaging, as some central banks put the breaks on interest rate hikes after nearly two years, while others appeared to be at the brink of peak rates. This has turned market attention to how long rates will be held at current levels, amid strains on economic growth.
…The recent surge in oil prices poses an additional headache, he added, potentially fuelling inflation while dragging on economic growth — and making future interest rate decisions even more difficult to call.
What ‘peak oil’ will mean for China
China’s energy mix will shift towards coal and renewables
China has been the engine of global oil demand since its accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001. About half of the global increase in oil demand since 2000 has come from China, which has trebled its consumption over that period, according to estimates by BP.
[It’s talking about peak oil supply – not peak oil demand. Ha ha!]
[Financial Times]
Coal makes a quiet resurgence in the clean energy era
A new report by the International Energy Agency found that global coal demand hit an all-time high in 2022 amid the energy crisis, eclipsing the previous record set in 2013.
While the IEA believes that coal consumption may soon hit its peak, along with demand for oil and gas, trends so far this year tell a different story. United States thermal coal exports reached their highest levels since 2018 in the first eight months of 2023, according to new data. Exports soared by 20% over the same period last year as Asian countries increased their demand for coal.
The green transition in US manufacturing also presents a bit of a paradox. For example, Panasonic built a new electric vehicle plant in Kansas to aid its transition to clean energy. But the factory’s vast energy needs have led the county where the factory is located to extend the life of a local coal plant.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/27/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html
FEMA delays $2.8 billion in disaster aid to keep from running out of money
The agency has paused aid for long-term disaster recovery in nearly every U.S. state and territory while scrambling to conserve cash in case a government shutdown collides with hurricane season
…it has also disrupted longer-term recovery projects in communities hit by past calamities, from flooding in rural Washington state to hurricane damage in Puerto Rico.
[Financial Times]
Saudi Arabia announces crucial step forward in its nascent nuclear power plans
Saudi Arabia announced its commitment to building a nuclear energy program, as well as a pledge to allow greater oversight for atomic energy inspectors, at a time when the kingdom is pushing ahead with its drive to become a more powerful player on the international stage.
Muscle, wood, coal, oil: what earlier energy transitions tell us about renewables
In 2022, the burning of fossil fuels provided 82% of the world’s energy. In 2000, it was 87%. Even as renewables have undergone tremendous growth, they’ve been offset by increased demand for energy.
That’s why the United Nations earlier this month released a global stocktake – an assessment on how the world is going in weaning itself off these energy-dense but dangerously polluting fuels. Short answer: progress, but nowhere near enough, soon enough.
‘Rental recession’: London office vacancies hit 30-year high
Jeffries analysts estimated there had been a 20% contraction in London office usage as working from home and hybrid working, as well as a move toward green offices, continue to be a priority.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/27/rental-recession-london-office-vacancies-hit-30-year-high.html
As migrants clash near high-volume shelters, neighbors and businesses grow alarmed: ‘We don’t feel safe’
Over the weekend, a fight broke out near the 1,163-resident migrant shelter at the former Standard Club, 320 S. Plymouth Court, just the latest brawl to be caught on camera outside one of the high-population shelters downtown.
With the city buckling under the growing number of migrants — 12 buses carrying 560 more asylum hopefuls arrived this weekend — and no sign of the influx slowing down, tensions among migrants, residents and business owners are reaching a boiling point. The neighbors say they’ve witnessed frequent fights, loitering and other misconduct.
(Volunteers say buses of migrants arriving in Chicago at increased rate)
While most told the Tribune they fully support efforts to aid the migrants, they have grown weary of the city’s solution to cram thousands of people into highly trafficked shelters, and they’re concerned about safety — not only for themselves, but for migrants, too.
[Chicago Tribune]
On N.Y.’s Staten Island, anti-immigration protests intensify as migrants stream in
Fossella says the city’s budget can’t handle taking care of so many migrants and Staten Island shouldn’t have to suffer the consequences. In fact, Fossella is one of several Staten Island leaders who has supported secession.
https://www.npr.org/2023/09/27/1201878358/migrants-staten-island-anti-immigration-protests-newyork
Global trade falls at fastest pace since pandemic
Demand for goods exports weakens on the back of higher inflation, rate rises and spending on services
World trade volumes fell at their fastest annual pace for almost three years in July, according to closely watched figures that signal rising interest rates are beginning to impact global demand for goods.
[Financial Times]
You can read the previous “Economy” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with a “Climate” thread.
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Muscles wood coal what can etc etc.
Really funny article with nice pictures…. if only it were true!!! It’s total nonsense I thought as I drove along the paved country roads that connect my remote village to the rest of the world.
Asphalt…. endless connecting roads from here to there how about that….. hmmmm
It’s a pity this site doesn’t have the ability to upload photos. Otherwise I would post some pictures of how my village and its inhabitants lived here far away in Europe in the 1950s. The forests had been largely cut down and the ‘fossil’ era only made its entry with the first tractor around 1950! I have written many stories about it. The time when roads were unpaved paths…. a lifetime ago.
Well and now heading for an ‘intermittent’ transition era with solar panels and wind turbines based eh….. let me think for a moment…. fossil fuels and production processes. Ah well
Today the French budget was debated for 2024. France has a large national debt that is common knowledge. There are all sorts of reasons for this but let me highlight one. To this day, the French government pays 37% of the energy bills of all French households!!! That is finally being abolished over a period of two years because rising energy prices and the mega-investment ‘on a roll’ for the construction and upgrading of new and old nuclear power plants leaves the government with no financial room left.
Additionally, what is interesting about the 2024 budget that ‘diesel’ for farmers and fishermen and construction activities. Anything that does not ‘hit the public highway’ will be phased out. But….
they do look forward to start taxing the ‘discretionary’ flay vehicle industry extra. There, the middle distillates (paraffin) remain completely untaxed…..
We love our discretionary economy and actually consider it superior over the direct ‘(re)production economy’ I had a few conversations with, among others, my children and their friends all in their forties with children….and holidays and ‘relaxation’ are sacred….
That’s what you do it all for then is the adage …..!!!
it’s all fine by me… times will change before they realise it. Leave them in the delusion of the great and everlasting consumerist ‘ experience for a while longer…..
What good are ‘subversive preachers’ 🙂
Muscle strength is what they will have to rely on and that is why they are all at the gym and consuming all kinds of ‘strength drinks and proteins’
https://www.francetvinfo.fr/…/inflation-transition…
I hear you. Yes, these articles are ridiculous. We see what TPTB are saying, though. Panopticon favors MSM sites so we are trying to follow that approach. He assumes his readers can see through the BS.
As always, so interesting about France. Yeah, those 6-week universal vacations will be over soon LOL!
I cannot see the rise in anti-immigration going anywhere but into chaos. So many places have fallen to these extremes and ethnic cleansing ultimately arises. TEOTWAWKI
Thanks, Dale. I agree. It looks grim. 100% for sure TEOTWAWKI.
Where’s the Main Slime Media’s front page from Trump’s Apprentice.
Judge Arthur Engoron tells the Trumps,”Your Fired.”
Politics are local. There are millions of politicians that will do nothing to stop the destruction of the habitat. But we mustn’t say anything that would offend certain supporters. AGW will cause them to suffer indescribable deaths,deservedly so.
Any economic group, political group,religious group,gun group,technology group,or any corporation, etc. have a solution to prevent horrible deaths of the one’s they love?
I have been known to ask stupid questions.
Let’s start a list of disaster movies that might be similar to what this species is about to experience.