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“US and China teeter on edge of trade war as tariff deadline looms…
“Experts in Beijing said Trump’s shock tactics, aimed at forcing Xi to reach a deal quickly, might have backfired. The US president provided only two days between announcing and implementing the tariffs — a timeline that was probably unacceptable to Xi…
““This could be just the beginning of this phase of the trade war,” said Zhang Yanshen, an expert at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges. “This could become a very, very bad situation.””
https://www.ft.com/content/23ed9a9d-5902-4eac-b9af-ebc88dab9563
“Federal judge blocks Elon Musk’s access to US Treasury data…
“The order issued on Saturday morning dealt a fresh legal blow to the technology billionaire and his closest allies’ push to comb through federal payments in a bid to slash US government costs.”
https://www.ft.com/content/33fc209e-761a-42b5-99ac-b6ed131452c5
“Violent clashes after armed neo-Nazis drape swastika flags from Ohio overpass
“A group of neo-Nazis caused outrage in a historically Black Ohio community after they draped white supremacist signs from a busy overpass while armed with rifles and waving around swastika flags.
“Japan’s borrowing costs soar to 14-year high.
“Japan’s borrowing costs have soared to a 14-year high as rising interest rates, sustained inflation and a potential wave of wage increases this spring fuel a relentless sell-off in its government debt.”
https://www.ft.com/content/59249b1f-510e-42f2-ad7e-c7c994c529f5
“Bailey Wants to Cut UK Borrowing Costs But Markets Have Other Ideas.
“Bank of England interest-rate cuts are not feeding through to borrowing costs for households and the government, making it harder for Chancellor Rachel Reeves to deliver the economic growth she has promised and repair the public finances.”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bailey-wants-cut-borrowing-costs-070000139.html
“‘Nobody wins a trade war’: In Scotland, whisky makers brace for tariffs…
” whisky is one of Britain’s biggest exports to the US, which is by far the biggest export market for the industry, totalling £978 million in sales last year. By comparison, its second-biggest market is France at £474 million.”
“Looking at Trump, Europe’s far right vows to ‘reconquer’ the continent.
““Our friend Trump, the Trump tornado, has changed the world in just a couple of weeks,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán tells far-right rally in Madrid.”
https://www.politico.eu/article/looking-at-trump-europes-far-right-vows-to-reconquer-the-continent/
“Kosovo goes to the polls as the shadow of Trump looms large.
“Fears of partition that arose during Trump’s first administration have re-emerged as PM Albin Kurti navigates tense relations with both US and EU.”
“Bulgarians Join Balkan Protest Against Soaring Food Prices.
“Bulgaria has joined Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro in organizing protests against rising food prices. The protest, set for February 13, 2025, is led by the “System is Killing Us” Movement…”
https://m.novinite.com/articles/230732/Bulgarians+Join+Balkan+Protest+Against+Soaring+Food+Prices
“Russia’s Rostelecom Says Baltic Sea Cable Damaged, Tass Reports.
“A Russian underwater cable in the Baltic Sea has been damaged by an unspecified external impact, Tass reported on Saturday, citing the telecommunications provider PJSC Rostelecom.”
“Trump reveals he’s already talked with Putin about the war in Ukraine…
“Trump spoke with a New York Post reporter on Friday whilst onboard Air Force One, saying of Putin “he wants to see people stop dying.””
“Iranian commanders tell Ayatollah: Revoke fatwa against nuclear weapons…
“In an extraordinary intervention by leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was told that Iran must have nuclear weapons to face down “existential threats” from the West.”
“Trump’s Gaza proposal dashes shipping industry’s Red Sea hopes.
“Traffic had risen after the Houthis said they would stop targeting most vessels following the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.”
https://www.ft.com/content/dd3d3f55-0119-46fb-93b6-418e696ab893
“Electricity crisis sparks more protests in southern Yemen.
“As of Thursday, Aden’s power stations had been completely inoperative for more than 30 hours. Mass protests broke out again…”
https://m.jpost.com/middle-east/article-841270
“The entirety of Sri Lanka is facing a power outage– all because of one monkey.
“The primate intruded in a Sri Lankan electrical grid sub-station and ended up causing an island-wide blackout, from around 11:30 am (0600 GMT).”
Sudan army claims major advances in greater Khartoum
“Development marks one of army’s most significant advances since war broke out between army chief al-Burhan and RSF.”
“The catastrophic conflict looming in the heart of Africa [Congo]…
“Two things are fuelling this crisis, said Pierre Haski on France Inter (Paris): rare minerals, and the “ghosts” of the Rwandan genocide.”
https://theweek.com/world-news/the-catastrophic-conflict-looming-in-the-heart-of-africa
“‘I Need $30 Billion By Tonight’ – Jamie Dimon Recalls The ‘Breathless’ Moment He Pulled Off 6 Months Of Work In 2 Days During 2008 Crisis…
“I knew that if the sh*t had hit the fan early on, we would’ve had a real problem,” Dimon admitted on the How Leaders Lead podcast on Thursday.”
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You can read the previous “Economic” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with a “Climate” thread.
Damn monkeys!
Monkeying around
Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody said, “A monkey has come in contact with our grid transformer causing an imbalance in the system.” He informed that the intrusion had taken place in a suburb of south Colombo.
“Engineers are attending to it to try and restore the service as soon as possible,” the minister said.
While power was restored in some areas, it was not immediately clear how much longer the outage would last
That’s funny Doom Wizard…
Just like the joke about the guy with bad gas at a party
He gets the idea about staying close to the family dog
Thinking the obvious, but the family owner yells at the dog..stay away from him before he takes a dump on you
I think fart jokes are perfect for this era, since we are awaiting massive subsea methane deposits to blow anytime.
Damn the monkey mind species! Wait! They’ve damned themselves.
“He Pulled Off 6 Months Of Work In 2 Days” – Is he admitting that he doesn’t do anything for 180 days out of 182 possible days? Guess it shows why CEOs don’t appear to be doing anything….!
For weeks I’ve been watching the bitching & moaning in America about politics.
I’m surrounded by idiots that need to STFU & learn about the power of the purse. How long can a business stay open when their support of a political party offends their costumers that are free to boycott those businesses? It doesn’t take huge numbers of boycotters to affect business revenues.
I don’t purchase much from any business that votes/supports anyone or any political agenda that is against my interest. Others are free to vote as they choose. I’m free to spend my money where I please. Bankrupt you assholes!
I need to sit on my ass & just post more bitching & moaning & watch how it changes nothing. I’ve already seen what it accomplishes, which is nothing but which it’s really easy. Let’s add a selfie, that should help. I think there is only one gender because there are no cojones. 😉
How long before Canadian boycotts affect right wing voters?
“Tubi (stylized as tubi) is an American ad-supported streaming television service owned by Fox Corporation since 2020.” – wikipedia