Very many thanks to this month’s kind sponsor, John Bee, who wishes me to exhort, “Go Steelers!”
“Remember the global financial crisis? Well, high-risk securities are back.
“…experts believe new risks are emerging. And this time, they are linked to highly indebted companies backed by private equity firms, which are part of the growing but opaque portion of the financial system known as the shadow banking sector.”
“Trump and GOP eye new limits on Consumer Financial Protection Bureau…
“President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are weighing vast changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, seeking to limit the powers and funding of a federal watchdog agency formed in the wake of the 2008 banking crisis.“
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/11/23/trump-republicans-cfpb/
“As Musk Assumes Deregulation Role, Tesla Racks Up Pollution Violations…
“The door to the plant’s [Austin, Texas] giant casting furnace… wouldn’t shut, spewing toxins into the air and raising temperatures for workers on the floor to as high as 100 degrees. Hazardous wastewater from production—containing paint, oil and other chemicals—was also flowing untreated into the city’s sewer, in violation of state guidelines.”
https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/elon-musk-tesla-environment-1263cd60
“Financial Crisis Looms Over UK Social Care Sector.
“Rising costs and budget cuts threaten the survival of care providers as demand skyrockets. The UK’s social care sector is on the brink of collapse as financial pressures converge…”
https://evrimagaci.org/tpg/financial-crisis-looms-over-uk-social-care-sector-65643
“Insolvency experts drafted in to fight university cash crunch [UK]…
“With a string of leading universities struggling financially, the Office for Students (OfS) has appointed turnaround specialists to monitor a watchlist of institutions across the UK.”
“Possible Europe-US trade war could push euro into parity with the dollar.
“The euro sank below $1.04 against the dollar, the weakest level since November 2022, last Friday after a survey of European purchasing managers showed eurozone private sector output has fallen this month.”
“The European Central Bank should lower interest rates next month, according to Governing Council member Martins Kazaks…
“The ECB has already reduced interest rates three times and is expected to do so again next month. Markets are betting that move could be a bigger half point cut cut after poor PMI data on Friday…”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ecb-must-cut-rates-next-062535900.html
“German bond investors bet on an end to Berlin’s ‘debt brake…
“The move ahead of federal elections in February signals investors’ belief that “a snap election means debt brake reform”, according to Tomasz Wieladek, chief European economist at asset manager T Rowe Price.”
https://www.ft.com/content/cbc6cbb8-a91c-48b5-922e-ca5246956b2b
“Germany’s Looming Existential Crisis.
“From energy reliance on Russia to trade dependency on China, Germany’s economic foundations are crumbling — and its identity along with them… It no longer knows who its partners are; it no longer knows who it is. Germany doesn’t know what it excels at anymore, and it has lost sight of its role in the world.”
https://www.luxuo.com/business/germany-existential-crisis.html
“Shock in Romania as hard-right Nato critic Calin Georgescu takes lead in presidential election.
“A little-known, far-right populist took the lead in Romania’s presidential election on Sunday, electoral data showed, and will probably face leftist prime minister Marcel Ciolacu in a runoff in two weeks, an outcome that has rocked the country’s political landscape.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/25/calin-georgescu-romania-election-hard-right-candidate
“There are no “red lines” when it comes to support for Ukraine, the French Foreign Minister has told the BBC.
“Jean-Noël Barrot said that Ukraine could fire French long-range missiles into Russia “in the logics of self defence”, but would not confirm if French weapons had already been used.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czd5myvyrjzo
“In Sweden, we’ve been told to prepare for war. But will 21st-century citizens still rally for the common good?
“[The new government booklet] tells the citizens of Sweden to prepare for hard times, effectively saying: don’t ask what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country… The challenge for the Swedish government is not that citizens might panic, but that many citizens have lost a sense of civic duty, in an increasingly atomised country.”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/25/sweden-prepare-war-citizens-booklet-crisis
“Fires, first aid and guns: meet the Finnish women training for war with Russia…
““I didn’t think it was a real threat that Russia would attack us,” says Sari, 42, who works in sales and lives in a nearby town. But then, she adds: “They attacked Ukraine. I saw that it is possible that we are next.””
“Threat of world war is ‘serious and real’ Poland says as Putin steps up threats against West…
“Mr Tusk made clear the danger in Ukraine, which shares a border with Poland: “The war in the east is entering a decisive phase; we feel that the unknown is approaching. The conflict is taking on dramatic proportions.””
“Ukraine war latest: Putin says Russia will begin mass production of ‘unstoppable’ ballistic missile.
“The Kremlin says that the firing of a hypersonic missile and an address by Vladimir Putin are clear messages to the West – describing the move to let Ukraine use their weapons to strike Russia as “reckless”.”
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-russia-war-latest-putin-live-updates-sky-news-blog-12541713
“Russia recruits Yemeni mercenaries to fight in Ukraine…
“The appearance of the rag tag group of — mainly involuntary — Yemeni mercenaries in Ukraine shows how the conflict is increasingly sucking in soldiers from abroad as casualties rise and the Kremlin tries to avoid a full mobilisation.”
https://www.ft.com/content/da966006-88e5-4c25-9075-7c07c4702e06
“North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un inspects his intercontinental ballistic missiles as he warns US that military drills could lead to war…
“Images showed Hwasong-19 and 18 intercontinental ballistic missiles, the Chollima-1 rocket used in a successful satellite launch in November 2023, and the Saetbyol-9 multi-purpose attack drone, which resembles the U.S. Reaper.”
“Chinese military disguised as fishing boats? Philippine defence chief raises concerns…
“The Philippines’ defence chief has accused Beijing of sending military vessels disguised as fishing boats to block access to areas in the South China Sea, with observers noting that the alleged tactic would add a “new dimension” to Chinese grey-zone activities…”
“In world’s largest refugee camps, Rohingya mobilise to fight in Myanmar…
“”We need to fight to take back our lands,” said Rafiq, a lean and bearded man in a Muslim prayer cap who spent weeks fighting in Myanmar before returning after he was shot in the leg. “There is no other way.””
“Pakistan police clash with Imran Khan supporters demanding his release.
“Tens of thousands of protesters are marching towards Pakistan’s capital Islamabad as part of nationwide protests calling for the release of former prime minister Imran Khan. The march is in response to a “final” protest call made by Khan to his supporters…”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c5yr75pr07xt
“Hezbollah fires barrage of rockets into Israel after strikes on Beirut.
“Heavy attack launched in wake of deadly strikes on Beirut, and comes as talks for a ceasefire and hostage release deal have stalled… Throughout the war, Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,700 people in Lebanon, according to the health ministry, while fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people…”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/25/hezbollah-israel-rocket-attack-beirut-retaliation
“With destruction at Lebanon border, Israel could seek buffer zone: experts…
“Hashem Haidar, head of Lebanon’s official Southern Council which is tasked with assessing the destruction, said 18 villages near the 120-kilometre (75-mile) long Israel-Lebanon border had each been “70 percent destroyed”, with an estimated 45,000 homes lost.”
“ICC Arrest warrants issued for Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas commander over alleged war crimes…
“The judges said there were “reasonable grounds” the three men bore “criminal responsibility” for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war between Israel and Hamas. Both Israel and Hamas have rejected the allegations.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly2exvx944o
“Palestinians face heavy rain in Gaza’s tent camps as winter arrives.
“Displaced Palestinians forced into makeshift tent camps by Israel’s war are facing cold weather, heavy rains and flooding as winter arrives in Gaza.”
“Sudan in danger of becoming a failed state, aid chief warns…
“As well as the two main warring parties in Sudan – the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces – there are many smaller “ethnic armies” looting and going “berserk” on civilians, Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), said.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgzv77qrnro
“Military juntas in Africa’s ‘coup belt’ fail to contain extremist violence…
“Fatalities across the three countries reached a record 7,620 deaths in the first half of this year, according to Acled, a non-profit tracking global conflict, up 190 per cent from the same time in 2021.”
https://www.ft.com/content/d0af5533-ecdd-4be0-bbb8-e5b3e4bb11b4
“Southern African Nations Hit by Worst Power Outage in Years…
“Zimbabwe and neighboring Zambia were plunged into darkness on Sunday because of a fault that Zimbabwe Power Co. said affected both southern African countries… The cause has yet to to be determined. Both nations are facing electricity shortages due to a severe drought…”
“Rich and poor countries concluded a trillion-dollar deal on the climate crisis in the early hours of Sunday morning, after marathon talks and days of bitter recriminations ended in what campaigners said was a “betrayal”…
“…only $300bn of that will come primarily in the form they are most in need of – grants and low-interest loans from the developed world.”
“Germany accuses Azerbaijan of backing oil and gas hijack of COP29…
“Several people involved in the talks told the Financial Times that countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia were attempting to block any references to advancing last year’s agreement to transition away from fossil fuels.”
https://www.ft.com/content/8c1031b6-2917-4e0f-904a-45f6cd20059e
“Plastics become growth driver for oil groups during energy transition…
“Petrochemicals are omnipresent in the modern world. They are used in clothes, packaging, toys, furniture, white goods, paint and coatings, pipes and wire insulation, windows, and more… This year, around one-fifth of the world’s oil will be used in the industrial and chemical sectors…”
https://www.ft.com/content/a15fb661-2ad5-4220-b7c2-74f1b3145182
“Thousands of Amazon workers are expected to protest or strike in more than 20 countries during Black Friday to press for better workers’ rights and climate action from the US retailer…
“Action is planned in big cities across the US, Germany, the UK, Turkey, Canada, India, Japan, Brazil and other countries.”
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/nov/25/amazon-protest-strike-black-friday
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You can read the previous “Economic” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with a “Climate” thread.
Is war or global economic collapse going to get me before I need the soon to be non existent UK care services?
George, I am hoping, perhaps naively, that the situation with Ukraine involves a lot of sabre-rattling and jockeying for position, as Russia and Ukraine prepare for negotiations under a Trump presidency. I suspect, though, that even a peace settlement over Ukraine, should we be fortunate enough to see one, will just be a brief, localised lull in an increasingly conflict-strewn world.
I’ve heard wars described as phase-transitions to new economic structures, but when the global economic superstructure is itself reaching limits, there is less and less potential for equilibrium (ie peace-settlements) to be reached.
Hmm, bit of a toss up. Traditionally capitalism has always been in crisis, many hedge fund types like that, gives them opportunities to make killings with their algorithms. Wonder if Pan can remember when it was muted we take trading back to the floor and off computers?
Died a death anyway.
Trump said he likes crisis, back in his old days, gave opportunities to drive bargains, like tax free developments.
War seems edgy, not quite sure why really.if we imagine the Trump likes Putin and that North Korean chap and the one in Hungary and any other odd person running a squeeze-the-poor government, it does not make sense for them to bomb each other.
China, on the other hand, do not appear to be in the grip of starve the poor. Chap keeps producing funds to keep the population fairly happy.
Oligarchs a bit thin on the ground in China, being as the government “own” the businesses and tend to limit wealth.
As ever, interesting times.
Mad Hatter, they are.
If you’d have told me four years ago that we would be on the verge of a second Trump presidency, that Ukraine and Russia would be over 1,000 days into a grinding war of attrition with global repercussions, and that Israel would be brutalising Gaza etc. and exchanging missile-strikes with Iran, I’d have been pretty astounded.
Hello Pan. There is a small problem with your page. It is impossible to open the links. The problem is only today. In your posts from last week, I can open the links without any problem
Thank you for pointing this out, Zip.
The link re Germany’s existential crisis was being a nuisance and insisting on generating pop up images but, in removing that hyperlink, I must somehow have removed them all. I’ve put all the others back in. If you want to read the article about Germany you’ll still need to copy and paste the link.
I like the article concerning plastics…Petrochemicals are omnipresent in the modern world….which in turn into micro plastics…
Microplastics We’re Adding with Every Brushstroke
https://www.archdaily.com/1023450/a-fresh-coat-with-a-hidden-cost-the-microplastics-were-adding-with-every-brushstroke
But beneath this layer of color, there’s an invisible coat that, silently, accumulates in our ecosystems and even in our bodies. Recent research from Switzerland identifies construction paint as one of the largest sources of microplastic pollution in oceans, rivers, and other environments. These microplastics, less than 5 mm in size, enter ecosystems through weathering, accumulating in marine and terrestrial animal bodies — and ultimately, in humans. Although the long-term effects on human health are still under study, evidence so far indicates that continuous exposure may contribute to various physical and metabolic health issues. Yet, sustainable alternatives are emerging, offering a way to create healthier spaces while minimizing environmental impact.
…Latex paint is composed of water and plastic polymers (such as acrylic and vinyl) that form a durable film on surfaces. Over time, this film wears down due to exposure to sunlight, rain, and abrasion, releasing small plastic particles into the environment. Traditional construction paint contains about 37% microplastics,
……BC Materials, a Brussels-based startup, offers a sustainable alternative: a mineral paint made from excavated soil, free of microplastics and VOCs (volatile organic compounds). BC Materials has been developing clay-based products under its Léém brand, including clay plaster, clay mortar, and, more recently, a clay paint.
Oh my, Latex paint is what I use exclusively…wonder where the clay base for the sustainable alternative will be mined?
Oh all the issues Justin has placed here today for us, the Latex micro plastic is perhaps a minor one, but there seems to be a connection to an uptick of illness that may be connected.
Vince, I didn’t know you had artistic leanings.
So, latex paints are (yet another) source of plastic pollution… Microplastics are so ubiquitous in the environment now that they are part of our anthropogenic fossil record.
This Guardian article suggests we are ten years away from being “unable to cope” with the volume of plastic we are producing, although it is not clear what “cope” means here. The situation is already dire and irreversible.
“This year, various researchers found microplastics in every sample of placenta they tested; in human arteries, where plastics are linked to heart attacks and strokes; in human testes and semen, adding to evidence of the ubiquity of plastics and concern over health risks.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/24/world-unable-cope-10-years-talks-un-global-treaty-to-end-plastic-waste
Thank you, Justin, seems it’s not such a minor problem and will only get worse. When I paint, seems I tend to get more on myself than the medium I’m applying it to…for years I was under the impression latex was non toxic alternative to oil based paints.
Now I’ve learned not to even wash it away on the ground soil, but take it to the collection site.
PS..I think micro plastics have been found in brain tissue too…
Suppose not much we have in modern society is non toxic.
Don’t open the links. It only substantiates the stupidity of the species. As for me, stupidity is entertaining. 😉
More destruction in the name of “progress”!
Demand for EVs Drives Destruction of Uncontacted People
https://dissidentvoice.org/2024/11/demand-for-evs-drives-destruction-of-uncontacted-people/
“In recent months, as the miners pushed ever-deeper into Hongana Manyawa territory, a series of videos went viral, showing uncontacted Hongana Manyawa people resisting bulldozers operating on their territory, or being forced out of the forest into mining camps.”
Thank you, Edward. Somehow ruthless resource-extraction feels worse when the people at the end of the supply-chain are patting themselves on the back for saving the planet. The article highlights a bitter irony:
“Survival International’s Director Caroline Pearce said today: “It’s obscene that a nickel rush to fuel supposedly sustainable consumption is in fact on the verge of wiping out the uncontacted Indigenous Hongana Manyawa, who truly live sustainably.”
Jeff Gibbs’ “planet of the humans” (https://robertlowrey.blogspot.com/2020/04/michael-moore-presents-planet-of-humans.html) ends with an orangutan stranded in a lone tree surrounded by the industrial wasteland yet another greenwashing corponation has left in its wake.
The bizarre fact is that had he used the much more dire (for us) example of the Manyawa people, it would have been far less effective… kinda strange, n’est-ce pas?
As we witness the choreographed destruction of civilization, we ignore the remnants of humanity still capable of foraging their existence in the wild, even as they are decimated right in front of our eyes.
We have created a corporatized Concentration Camp-style industrialized death machine, ie Kamikaze Kaputalism, for all of Nature, snug in the belief that we’re not part of it. Ain’t life grand?
“…kinda strange, n’est-ce pas?”
Rob, it is. Although, perhaps in a weird way it is heartening that sentimentality trumps self-interest in that equation.
I know I am myself very prone to sentimentality when it comes to the more obviously appealing wild animals like elephants and orangutans. I won’t post a link here, as it’s too bleak even for this site, but I read a story a few years ago about an orangutan in Kalimantan that was used for sex-work in a human brothel. It haunts me still.
Btw, Kaputalism… That is a terrific and horrifyingly accurate pun.
A recent example. They seem like ladies…
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-65951188
Wow, thanks. I’ll save it for tomorrow, so I can still get to sleep
Where you gonna go when the habitat is destroyed?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F2NeH_-f34
Much better than blooming Voltaire, thank you
Sorry this the link I meant:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gve7xqd7qo
🤢 😭