Many thanks to my special sponsor for September 2024 – ANON
“September’s Big Borrowing Spree Underscores Emerging Market Fear. Issuers rush out $28 billion of bonds in September record…
“Borrowers in the developing world are shoring up their defenses against volatility that could shake their biggest markets in the US and derail refinancing plans. In just the first five days of the month, they’ve sold more bonds than at the outset of any previous September.”
“Don’t bet on inflation staying boring. Volatility is here to stay…
“Changes in central bank policy, expectations, labour markets and globalisation mean that inflation will likely stay volatile going forward. Central banks reacted strongly to the recent surge in inflation. But calibrating the policy response perfectly in real-time, with so many moving pieces, is near impossible.”
https://www.ft.com/content/696d6f5f-2691-44cb-9a77-3774e3795aa0
“High-flying markets are jittery…
“It is interesting… that the mentality of the markets should be so febrile… There is a twitchy, awkward, frightened mood in the air. Investors are desperate for reassurance. They know shares are still close to record highs, but the S&P 500 index had a nasty dip in July.”
“Companies issue record level of US debt to avoid market turbulence and election risk…
“Twenty-nine US investment-grade bond deals hit the market on Tuesday alone following the Labor Day holiday, data from LSEG shows — the highest daily number on record.”
https://www.ft.com/content/42281d97-48d0-4034-9173-0b4905bc9bc9
“The $53 trillion shadow hanging over the US election…
“At this week’s US presidential debate, there’s likely to be at least some discussion of the big spending plans of the rival candidates. There’ll probably be less focus on their impact on America’s burgeoning government debt and deficits.”
“U.S. debt is so massive, interest costs alone are now $3 billion a day…
“With U.S. debt now at $35.3 trillion, the cost of paying the interest on all that borrowing has soared recently and now averages out to $3 billion a day, according to Apollo chief economist Torsten Sløk. And that includes Saturdays and Sundays…”
https://fortune.com/2024/09/07/us-debt-crisis-daily-interest-expense-3-billion-fed-rate-cuts/
“Morgan Stanley Cuts Oil Forecast Again as Market Concerns Deepen…
“Brent recently tumbled to the lowest close since late 2021 as sustained concerns about weaker Chinese demand fused with signals that the US economy may be slowing. At the same time, output remains ample…”
“Iron ore fell below $90 a ton for the first time since November 2022, with the steelmaking material remaining under pressure as demand slumps in biggest buyer China.
“Steel consumption in China has weakened because of the country’s protracted real estate slowdown.”
“China’s rescue plan for property market appears insufficient to reverse price decline…
“Three months since China rolled out sweeping measures to rescue its beleaguered property market, the tide has yet to turn, with housing prices continuing to fall. Across 100 cities in China, prices of second-hand homes fell year on year from January to August, with August marking the 28th consecutive month of price decline.”
“China Deflation Risk Grows as Signs of Economic Weakness Mount…
““The deflationary pressure in China is getting more entrenched,” Michelle Lam, Greater China economist at Societe Generale. “This may well fuel a downward price-wage spiral which will require more radical policy response.””
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-consumer-prices-inch-deflation-013235367.html
“‘Crush them’: are China’s local governments using unsustainable tactics to repay debt?
“From ‘smashing pots’ to special bonds, regional officials are running out of ways to squeeze businesses for more money, experts say… The debt load of local governments totalled about 40 trillion yuan (US$5.64 trillion) last year, accounting for more than 30 per cent of China’s gross domestic product…”
“Just eggs and rice: Weak yen, deflation dents the ‘Japanese dream’ for international workers.
“Three years ago, 80,000 yen would have been equivalent to close to double the average monthly salary in the Philippines, which stands at around 36,500 pesos (approx. $650). Since then, the yen’s value has fallen by roughly 15%.”
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240906/p2a/00m/0bu/034000c
“Italy in talks to create nuclear power firm, Bloomberg News reports…
“If the Italian parliament approves the draft legislation in the course of 2025 it will potentially reverse the country’s current ban on nuclear power production. Discussions regarding an international partner are underway, though a final choice hasn’t been made, the report added.2
“Which rural area will take the UK’s nuclear waste?
“Sellafield is filling up – and experts say we have no choice but to find somewhere new to keep this material safe. Nuclear power is also part of the government’s stated mission for ”clean power by 2030”. More nuclear power means more nuclear waste.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czx6e2x0kdyo
“Terminator-style robots that can speak and react to soldiers will be used by the British Army in battleground scenarios for the first time.
“The machines, created with the same size head and torso as an average male, are fitted with AI software ChatGPT and can engage in conversation with soldiers in training sessions.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/09/07/terminator-style-robots-british-army-train-soldiers/
“‘We’ll arrest people quicker at protests from now on’: Met police deputy chief…
“The capital has seen a number of large-scale protests since October last year, some of which have drawn hundreds of thousands of people to central London. Among them were demonstrations held by Just Stop Oil, Extinction Rebellion, and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign…”
“Mass protests erupt in France after Macron picks Barnier as PM…
“More than 100,000 left-wing demonstrators were reported to have taken to the streets across France to protest President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to appoint centre-right Michel Barnier as PM, with left-wing parties accusing him of stealing legislative elections.”
“France asks European Commission for delay on budget plans…
“The French government has asked the European Commission for an extension on addressing its plans to tackle the budget deficit, confirmed La Tribune Dimanche and the French press agency AFP.”
“Rise of far right in Germany’s east isn’t over yet.
“Far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) have already won the most votes in regional elections this month in the eastern state of Thuringia. Now Germany’s bracing for a further political shockwave, as polls suggest the AfD could also take the most votes in Brandenburg state’s election in a few weeks time.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2ng0nyj2no
“NATO members Latvia, Romania say Russian drones breached airspace…
“Bucharest strongly condemned the “renewed violation” brought on by Moscow’s “illegal attacks”. Latvia’s President Edgars Rinkevics, meanwhile, said a Russian military drone had crashed in the eastern part of its territory.”
“Ukraine faces military salary crisis as defense budget runs out.
“The financial strain has been a long-standing issue within Ukraine’s military, which has faced increasing challenges in covering salaries, particularly for those soldiers engaged in active operations.”
https://tvpworld.com/82183879/-ukraine-faces-military-salary-crisis-as-defense-budget-runs-out
“US offers $10 million for info on Russian Cadet Blizzard hackers behind major attacks.
“”These cyber actors are responsible for computer network operations against global targets for the purposes of espionage, sabotage, and reputational harm since at least 2020,” the agencies said. “Since early 2022, the primary focus of the cyber actors appears to be targeting and disrupting efforts to provide aid to Ukraine.””
https://thehackernews.com/2024/09/us-offers-10-million-for-info-on.html
“Iran admits sending missiles to Russia…
“Iran has confirmed that it is sending ballistic missiles to Russian forces fighting in Ukraine in exchange for soybeans and wheat… Iran is under heavy Western sanctions that limit its access to hard currencies, forcing it to barter goods for food and fuel.”
“The Afghanistan hospital struggling to save its starving babies…
“Bibi Hajira is one of 3.2 million children with acute malnutrition, which is ravaging the country. It’s a condition that has plagued Afghanistan for decades, triggered by 40 years of war, extreme poverty and a multitude of factors in the three years since the Taliban took over.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj35611ngyro
“Economic crisis driving more women to become breadwinners in Pakistan…
“Prolonged inflation has forced up the price of basic groceries such as tomatoes by 100%. Electricity and gas bills have risen by 300% compared to July last year, according to official data.”
“Pakistan says 8 Afghan troops killed in latest border clash…
“Pakistani sources claimed that eight Afghan troops, including two “commanders”, were killed in fresh round of clashes that began when Taliban forces attempted to construct a security outpost along a porous border, which has long been a bone of contention between the two neighbors.”
https://news.az/news/pakistan-says-8-afghan-troops-killed-in-latest-border-crash
“Fresh clashes in Manipur [NE India] leave five dead…
“Manipur state has been rocked by periodic violence for more than a year between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community. The conflict has simmered since then, splitting previously cohabitating communities along ethnic lines.”
https://www.easterneye.biz/fresh-clashes-manipur-ethnic-violence-india/
“‘China’s water bomb, a threat…’ Arunachal MP, Tibetan researcher alarmed by Beijing’s hydro project…
“Although China have made a number of hydropower projects occupying Tibet’s rivers but the upcoming mega hydropower project on the Brahmaputra River near Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh has become a matter of serious concern not only for India but also for Bangladesh and Tibetan environmentalists.”
“Kuwait Is Awash in Oil Money. But It Can’t Keep the Power On…
“Mishari al-Olyan, 40, a lawyer, said the rolling blackouts that the government had resorted to recently as electricity demand surged were a “catastrophe.” His father needs an oxygen tank to breathe — and the tank needs electricity to operate, he said.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/08/world/middleeast/kuwait-power-cuts-climate.html
“Can Saudi Arabia Actually Afford Vision 2030?
“Saudi Arabia’s breakeven oil price has risen due to increased spending on Vision 2030 and production cuts aimed at supporting oil prices. The IMF warns that Saudi Arabia needs an oil price of $96.20 per barrel to balance its budget, raising concerns about potential deficits.”
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Can-Saudi-Arabia-Actually-Afford-Vision-2030.html
“At least 14 killed in Israeli air strikes on central Syria.
“Israeli air strikes on Syria’s Masyaf region late Sunday killed at least 14 people, reported the SANA news agency. The strikes, which destroyed military facilities, wounded at least 43 others, Syria’s state media said. There was no immediate comment from Israel.”
“West Bank escalation signals potential for a multifront regional conflict…
“Israeli military raids, settler attacks and a vicious cycle of violence have claimed the lives of more than 662 Palestinians and 24 Israelis in the West Bank since Oct. 7, raising the specter of a new active front in a regional conflict.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2570614/middle-east
“Not sick, high – IDF soldiers eat donated hash-spiked cookies.
“A number of IDF soldiers in the reserves, serving in a base in the South, were hospitalized over the weekend, after eating cookies that the military police suspects were spiked with Hash. They felt ill and a possible infection was ruled out.”
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1ou2ejn0
“Tens of thousands of Israeli protesters took to the streets on Saturday in a new wave of protests to press Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sign a deal with Hamas to free captives held in Gaza.
“An estimated 750,000 people hit the streets across Israel, including Tel Aviv and Haifa…”
“Sudan: Abusive Warring Parties Acquire New Weapons.
“The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), warring parties responsible for widespread war crimes and other atrocities in the current conflict in Sudan, have newly acquired modern foreign-made weapons and military equipment, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.”
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/09/09/sudan-abusive-warring-parties-acquire-new-weapons
“Economic shocks ‘encourage people to vote for populists’ [concludes LSE study]…
“Since 2008, the global economy has suffered a series of sharp shocks, including the banking crisis, pandemic and energy price surge following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Britain has also had to contend with Brexit in 2016, complicating trade with continental Europe.”
“Financial nihilism: The end of faith in the real value of money.
“More and more people, especially those between the ages of 20 and 35, are investing in cryptocurrencies. They have lost confidence in the intrinsic value of money and in the conventional ways of obtaining it.”
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You can read the previous “Economic” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with a “Climate” thread.
How is cryptocurrency any better than conventional money? If we face economic collapse neither will retain any true value. Survival items, especially food, will be the most valuable. Who will trade their food for money of any kind when survival is at stake?
What makes Tesla worth ~$210 per share? How can Tesla market cap be higher than the next 7 auto makers combined? Elon Musk’s BS seems to have the most value at the moment. He’s got people paying $8000 USD (down from $12000) for FSD which is, at best, a shi++y level two driving assistant.
If people believe what Elon says they will believe almost anything. How’s that Mars colony coming along Elon? Weren’t you supposed to land 4 Starships (2 cargo, 2 passenger) on Mars this year? Did you get that Starship into low earth orbit yet?
“How is cryptocurrency any better than conventional money?”
Obviously, as you say, Ed, in a full blown collapse situation, only physical cash, precious metal or goods for barter are going to be much use. I thought the article made a very interesting point, though, ie that young people “have lost confidence in the intrinsic value of money and in the conventional ways of obtaining it.”
It’s like, at the margins, we are starting to wake up from the fever dream that is fiat currency.
Wow we’re a mess. There no way out of here.
When I first learned about collapse 20 years ago (via peak-oil) there was mention of a book that predicted everything would go to shit by 2030. Whadda ya know…
And even if there were some new financial tool that could goose the global economy – I’m pretty sure there isn’t, and I’m even more sure there isn’t some affordable energy miracle waiting in the wings – that just accelerates our eco/climate plight.
It is indeed an all-encompassing predicament.
“Changes in central bank policy, expectations, labour markets and globalisation mean that inflation will likely stay volatile going forward.” – FT article.
Wait, what?! Central banks?!? Globalisation?!?!? I thought these were all the things that were supposed to REDUCE inflation volatility?!?! Oh, right, the real reasons include climate change, which we certainly can’t mention here.
I haven’t had time to listen to it, yet but Paul Beckwith’s latest is on this very subject:
“How Climate Change is Driving Up Inflation: ClimateFlation.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3B2oPA-o-U
How Bizarre,
The biggest project in history begins: 52 billion solar panels, and America covered
https://www.ecoticias.com/en/energy-project-52-billion-solar-panels/6142/
Is this REAL? They can be serious, can they? Why so serious, you ask?
For a long time, the world of the energy and automotive industries has been striving to find a solution to the high carbon emissions coming from these sectors. To make this possible, different scientists and specialists have set to work and searched for a solution to help reduce or neutralize the carbon of these industries. Now, a megaproject has been launched to turn on more than 52 billion solar panels. It seems to be science-fictional, but now has been confirmed.
A promising project leaves the energy sector on tenterhooks
The integration of solar panels on highways and roads throughout the world could represent a crucial step towards reducing carbon dioxide emissions, offering a significant source of clean, renewable energy to meet the energy demands of the population.
Some challenges present in this project
We are talking about the production costs of this amount of solar panels, which would represent an obvious problem since we are talking about 3.2 million kilometers of highways throughout the world. Not to mention the large structures needed to place these solar panels several meters above the ground.
Even the maintenance of these solar panels would represent a complex conflict as they are located several meters above ground through large structures. This situation is further complicated by the need for specialized equipment and trained personnel to perform maintenance tasks, which could further increase costs.
Oh, we’ll worry about the last bit as we go, future technologies will take care of it, like it has with nuclear waste..
The Human experiment is one vast shootshow
Is it not surreal how the paved surface, without which all those absurdly-monikered “clean energy” vehicles can’t fly over the surface of the earth , is always ignored? Not to mention the round enablers of that flight: the tires.
Both of these integral, oil-intensive necessities of automotive transport are ignored as though they are trivial. However the 3.2 million kilometers cited, and the half billion tires/year (car robofactory produces approximately 100 million new vehicles/year, each with 4 tires and a spare = 500 million tires for new vehicles alone, and they last only half as long as they did a generation ago, as the vehicles’ weight has doubled in that time) suggests they are anything but trivial .
Very very relevant points, Rob. Plus hail storms and other violent weather.
“Solar roads were always a terrible idea. It was a non-solution to a non-problem, but unfortunately humans are attracted to such things.”
https://www.fresheconomicthinking.com/p/solar-roads-were-always-a-terrible
And, I would add, we are inclined to focus on the gleaming end-product, when it comes to renewable technologies, either ignoring the toxic back-story or happily discounting it on the basis that, overall, fossil fuels must be worse.
Brusaw is still getting government grants for this Solar Roadways Co. with a current total of just under $3.6M
A few of the grant titles:
SELF SUSTAINING-INTELLIGENT PAVEMENT SYSTEMS
SOLAR ROADWAYS AND RUNWAYS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY
Latest grant: PORTABLE SOLAR PANELS FOR DRONE TAKEOFF AND LANDING PADS 6/17/24
https://www.highergov.com/awardee/solar-roadways-inc-10426326/
Plus, they raised all kinds of money on StartEngine – $2,499,937.42
and I think that was their second fund raiser. That was in 2021.
This is where the fleecing began.
How Bizarre
By Tilly Armstrong Assistant Consumer Editor For Dailymail.Com
11:51 07 Sep 2024, updated 12:36 07 Sep 2024
Condo sales are declining in major cities in Texas, sparking fears the state could be following in Florida’s footsteps.
Unsold homes are piling up in Fort Worth and Dallas, as high insurance costs and destructive natural disasters make condos a tough sell, new data from Redfin shows.
comes as Florida faces a catastrophic real estate crisis, which is seeing condo listings skyrocket as desperate owners try to flee.
Alongside elevated insurance costs and higher Home Owners Association (HOA) fees, owners are trying to dodge a costly new law requiring extra safety checks.
The number of condos for sale in Florida has increased by 53 percent in the year to July, according to Redfin. But Texas is quickly catching up – with a 42 percent rise in that time.
Across the US, the number of condos for sale is also increasing and pending sales are falling – though not as much as in Florida and Texas.
In Houston, for example, condo inventory is up 35.9 percent, sales are down 35.3 percent, and prices have fallen 6.5 percent.
In Fort Worth, listings have increased 65.4 percent and sales have fallen 33.3 percent.
Meanwhile in Dallas, the number of condos for sale is up 61.7 percent. For San Antonio it has jumped 58.3 percent and for Austin by 28.6 percent.
There are several reasons why demand for condos is cooling in the Lone Star State.
Frequent and intense natural disasters in Texas – as in Florida – are a major factor in surging home insurance costs. In turn, this contributes to surging HOA fees in condo buildings, as maintenance costs are passed on to unit owners.
Those rising costs, along with the danger of being caught in a natural disaster itself, are scaring off condo buyers and motivating owners to sell, Redfin said.
Texas has been hit by extreme weather this year – including the largest wildfire in the state’s history, flooding, tropical storms and deadly Hurricane Beryl.
Looks as if the best course of dwelling is mobile, living in a tent or yurt structure or bamboo
Which reminds me of Who’s Next…album by the Who, Roger Daltry is 80 now and singing The Song is Over
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SKX6GOmTGBA&pp=ygUUZ29pbmcgbW9iaWxlIHRoZSB3aG8%3D
I wore that vinyl out as a kid….
And so it begins. The great US real estate crash and climate migration.
I think as things collapse so will the bs our dear techno leaders and puppet politicians in office will be exposed as frauds and lying at best. If corruption doesn’t come out first.
https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/2024/09/09/septic-inspectors-sue-kitsap-county-health-department-over-fees/75077938007/?utm_source=Kitsap-Sun-Daily-Briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailybriefing&utm_term=hero&utm_content=PBKS-E-NLETTER65
Here is one local story about septic systems sying local health department claims racketeering.
Here is the link without paywall:
https://archive.vn/V0Clb
https://maritime-executive.com/article/german-bailout-of-meyer-werft-is-coming-together
Another bail in? Yeah how long will this last before things go belly up
Thames Water looked likely to be our next bail-in story, but it seems it’s more fun to let predatory hedge funds chew on its carcass instead:
“A combative Wall Street hedge fund is positioned to play a central role in the future of Thames Water after scooping up the company’s loans at knockdown prices. New York-based Elliott Management is among a pack of aggressive US players to have hoovered up Thames Water debt at steep discounts in an attempt to capitalise on the financial uncertainty engulfing Britain’s largest water supplier.
“Elliott, which manages assets worth around $65bn (£50bn), has snapped up cut-price bonds running into many hundreds of millions of pounds. It now ranks among the largest lenders in a pool of an estimated 90 financial institutions that Thames counts as senior creditors.
“It comes as ministers seek a solution to the Thames crisis that will avoid emergency nationalisation and a further threat to the overburdened public finances.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/09/08/thames-water-debt-emergency-seized-us-hedge-funds/
Fine round-up of the mounting crises across the globe, but surely there is room for more side angles.
In the US, it’s electoral presidential politics, but the signage in hinterland America is exclusively of the “Fuck Biden” signs waving over shotgun shacks.
Interestingly, since there is about zero of interest in this long-shameful billion-dollar lie-ztravaganza from top to bottom, only believers of authoritarian monontheisms are allowed to be presidential aspirants.
Harris, like Obama, was born to educated, even left-wing parents, but went the Obama sellout route and chucked away all of that precious secular inheritance to become a holy-rolling Baptist. Coach Tim is an adherent of Martin Luther’s brand of wingnut monotheism, Trump, ex-casino owner pretends to be a Christian nut. J.D. is the real Opus Dei deal, a whack-job rabid Catholic supplicant.
And yet the fringe candidates are even more mobbed-up in that ol’ time religious virus. Cornel West is a gasbag Christian preacher, and his running-mate Ms. Abdullah is a devout adherent of the Muslim religion. Claudia de la Cruz is a liberation theology Christian minister-type. Jill Stein grew up in the Abrahamic faith tradition of Judaism, while her chosen running mate, Butch Ware, is a professor of Islamic Studies in the extreme Sufi ascetic sect version.
Secular atheism was flavor-of-the-month a couple of decades ago, but despite the American populace’s growing “Nones” disaffiliation with organized religion, somehow all, from 0.1’s to front-runners, of the presidential aspirants have to espouse pre-Enlightenment institutionalized God-bothering.
Martin, thank you for that pithy summary.
I must admit, I have grown very lazy when it comes to staying abreast of politicians and their idiosyncrasies. I’ve somewhat come to peace with the inevitability of worsening political dysfunction, so I just kind of roll my eyes and move on.
As Sting once sang:
“You could say I’d lost my belief in our politicians
They all seemed like game show hosts to me”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7km4EHgkQiw
https://alaskapublic.org/2024/09/09/in-internet-less-sitka-its-both-mayhem-and-a-golden-moment/
Sitka a place without internet! Coming to city near you this is what collapse looks like
“What happens for 8,000 people who have deeply integrated the internet into their lives, when the switch gets flipped off?” OMG! I can’t text or send pictures letting everyone know how impressive I am.
Thoughts & prayers. 😉
As we watch conditions on this rock continue to get worse because of AGW, it will be fun watching when the entitled first world has to resort
to actual physical labor to aquire the needs to continue their existence. The preppers that can’t prep for what’s coming don’t impress me on their You Tube brilliance.
“What happens for” 8,ooo,ooo,ooo.. Yes,they are all zeros.
“U.S. debt is so massive, interest costs alone are now $3 billion a day… ”
“I see it, I want it , I pitch a fit, I get it.”
330,000,000 insatiables seem to think there are no consequences or costs & that they could not be victims of the collateral damage.
We’ll be having none of that, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without.” I’m sick of the specialness of this species.