Very many thanks to this month’s kind sponsor, John Bee, who wishes me to exhort, “Go Steelers!”
“Trump’s tariff threat sets stage for bitter global trade war.
“Trade experts hail ‘new era of protectionism’ with targeted countries retaliating with their own tariffs… The president-elect announced on Monday night that he intended to hit Canada, Mexico and China with tariffs on all their exports to the US – until they reduce migration and the flow of drugs into the country.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/26/trump-tariff-threat-worldwide-response
“Why I fear Trump’s threat of a global trade war could spark a new Great Depression…
“We are yet to realise how dangerous this is. Donald Trump’s tariff hikes risk plunging the world into a recession – at precisely the moment when wars and unrest are on the rise… We have been here before. In 1930, Congress passed an Act imposing levies on some 20,000 imported goods.”
“US scrambles to break reliance on Russian nuclear fuel…
“At a facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, last week engineers for Centrus Energy resumed manufacturing a classified centrifuge technology required to produce nuclear fuel as part of an expansion plan the company says is critical to breaking US reliance on Russian supplies.”
https://www.ft.com/content/7ead1252-70a5-4258-8d0c-b01a65bd61f1
“Russia expels Brit diplomat for ‘spying and sabotage’ as relations with Moscow plummet further…
“The FSB security service claimed the diplomat ‘intentionally provided false information when receiving permission to enter our country, thereby violating Russian legislation’.”
“The fatal crash of a DHL cargo plane as it approached Vilnius airport could have been the result of sabotage or an accident, Germany’s foreign minister has said…
“Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, raised the possibility that the crash had been caused on purpose…”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/25/dhl-cargo-plane-crashes-near-lithuania-airport
“Stockholm urges Chinese ship suspected of sabotage to return to Swedish waters…
“Sweden asked a Chinese vessel to return to its waters Tuesday while the Nordic country investigates the suspected sabotage of submarine internet cables in the Baltic Sea.”
“Russia ‘preparing response’ after Kyiv ‘fires several US-made missiles in two attacks’.
“Moscow claims Ukraine has fired multiple US long-range missiles in two separate attacks – and says it is “preparing a response”. On the ground in Ukraine, meanwhile, Putin’s forces are advancing at the fastest rate since the early months of the war, according to a US-based thinktank.”
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-russia-war-putin-zelenskyy-missiles-latest-live-sky-news-12541713
“North Korea expands plant making missile used by Russia in Ukraine, researchers say…
“Sam Lair, a research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), located at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, said the plant was the only one known to produce the Hwasong-11 class of solid-fuel ballistic missiles.”
“Russia condemns “irresponsible” talk of nuclear weapons for Ukraine.
“Discussion in the West about arming Ukraine with nuclear weapons is “absolutely irresponsible”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, in response to a report in the New York Times citing unidentified officials who suggested such a possibility.”
“Germany draws up list of bunkers amid Russia tensions…
“A digital directory of bunkers and emergency shelters will be drawn up so people can find them quickly using a planned phone app. People would also be encouraged to create protective shelters in their homes…”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/25/germany-draws-up-list-of-bunkers-amid-russia-tensions
“VW, profits slump by 64%.
Audi, profits slump by 91%.
BMW, profits slump by 84%.
Mercedes-Benz, profits slump by 54%.
“Germany’s core industry is staring into the abyss.”
https://x.com/Fongern_FX/status/1861027003375206890
“High Energy Costs Continue to Plague European Industry…
“As Europe is bracing for the winter, wholesale electricity prices have jumped in November to the highest level in 20 months, additionally burdening the key industries in major economies that had just started to recover from the 2022 energy crisis.”
“German Ifo index drops in November and does little to curb winter recession fears…
“Germany’s most prominent leading indicator, the Ifo index, just took another nosedive. After the first rebound in almost half a year in October, the Ifo index dropped to 85.7 in November from 86.5.”
https://think.ing.com/snaps/german-ifo-nov24/
“France is playing with fire: an IMF bailout is no longer unthinkable…
“There is a high likelihood that the Barnier government will collapse over the next month without passing a budget, unable to rein in runaway fiscal deficits that subvert the cohesion of monetary union.”
“France’s far right propped up the weak government. But could now bring it crashing down.
“National Rally’s figurehead Marine Le Pen suggested Monday that talks with Barnier, aimed at extracting concessions on a tax-hiking 2025 French budget bill, had failed to produce changes that would allow her party to approve the government’s plans.”
“Financial markets do not trust the Bank of England to deliver low inflation…
“But all noises from the BoE suggest it is minded to withdraw restrictiveness gradually… That financial markets (unlike households) do not trust policymakers is not raised in most polite conversations.”
https://www.ft.com/content/a2c3ee28-8d6a-43fe-9610-1e9c4dfd87de
“Fight breaks out in Serbian parliament between government and opposition MPs.
“A brawl broke out between government and opposition MPs in Serbia after a train roof collapsed and killed 15 people. Opposition MPs held signs accusing the government of not taking responsibility for the incident.”
“Albania police fire tear gas, water cannon at anti-government protesters…
“Protesters said they were engaged in a campaign of civil disobedience against Socialist Party Prime Minister Edi Rama. The opposition in Albania have been protesting almost every week demanding a caretaker government step in until parliamentary elections in 2025.”
“Brazil’s democracy faces moment of reckoning…
“The scheme, according to investigators, sought to abolish the democracy and keep Mr. Bolsonaro in power — a chilling throwback to Brazil’s 21-year military dictatorship. Investigators say Mr. Bolsonaro was not only “fully aware” of the plans but “actively participated” in them.”
https://brazilian.report/opinion/2024/11/26/coup-plot-brazil-democracy-reckoning/
“Venezuela Braces for Gas Shortages as Regime Blames ‘Terrorists’…
“Venezuelans are bracing for severe cooking-gas shortages after a blast knocked out a plant serving almost half the country. Propane production has plunged 97% since the Nov. 11 explosion at the Muscar gas complex…”
“Thousands march against Angola govt, hunger…
“Several thousand Angolan opposition supporters in the capital Luanda protested against the government on Saturday in the first large demonstration since 2022’s disputed vote.”
https://www.france24.com/en/video/20241126-thousands-march-against-angola-govt-hunger
“Mozambique echoes a year of youth-led protests across Africa…
“From Nigeria to Kenya, voters have demonstrated en masse in a youth-led repudiation of politics as usual, accusing the old men at the top of cronyism, bankrupt economics and poll fraud. The latest demos hit Maputo, capital of Mozambique…”
“General Assembly President urges collective action on Sudan as crisis deepens…
“Mr. Yang drew attention to the deteriorating situation in Sudan, where 19 months of conflict has left almost 80 per cent of health centres in affected areas nonfunctional, and the humanitarian toll has been compounded by mounting reports of human rights violations, including sexual violence.”
https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/11/1157516
“Israel has agreed to a truce in Lebanon. Here’s what that means…
““The emerging arrangement will have to meet only one test – guaranteeing full security for all residents of the north,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on X… Israel has vowed to resume military operations in case of a breach of the agreement.”
“Prospect of Lebanon ceasefire leaves Gazans feeling abandoned…
“An Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire without a deal for Gaza would be a blow to Hamas, whose leaders had hoped the expansion of the war into Lebanon would pressure Israel to reach a comprehensive ceasefire.”
“Iran’s businesses bear brunt of daily power blackouts…
“During one of the scheduled power cuts, a queue formed outside a supermarket in Tehran. “Since it is dark inside and our CCTVs are offline, we allow just one customer at a time so we can better handle them,” said Sina, a 24-year-old employee…”
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20241126-iran-s-businesses-bear-brunt-of-daily-power-blackouts
“A capital on lockdown, internet blackouts and protesters clashing with police. What’s going on in Pakistan?
“…Defying warnings, protesters marched to the edge of the city’s high-security red zone and clashed with security forces, amid volleys of tear gas and reports of mass arrests. Several people reportedly died in the unrest, mostly from the security services.”
“Fear grips Indian city after deadly weekend clashes…
“Two days after deadly violence in Sambhal left four people dead and many others injured, the city in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh remains gripped by tension.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr7ndg52y3zo
“Luxury yacht builder fined for using blood teak imported from Myanmar…
“International demand for Myanmar teak, prized for its water-resistant properties, has been a key revenue source for the country’s military junta, which seized power in February 2021.”
“Global Conflicts Push Crisis-Level Acute Food Insecurity to All-Time High…
““As conflict rages around the world, starvation has become a lethal weapon wielded by warring parties against international laws, causing an alarming rise in human deaths and suffering,” said Emily Farr, Oxfam’s food and economic security lead. “
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You can read the previous “Economic” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with a “Climate” thread.
Damn the world is nuts.
Doom Wizard, it is. Your phrase makes for some intriguing anagrams, btw:
Ah downturns mildest
Almonds nudist threw
Delhi stuntman sword
Endmost lunar widths…
And when storms build.
The world minds a stun.
Hold in smart new dust.
Warmest in bold shunt.
Throw lands unmitdes.
DHL plane. Now that’s an interesting development. Hmm russian “terrorism” perhaps. Much cheaper and less obvious than a cruise missile.
Venezuela smells like yet another CIA op.
Looks like a good time to buy that BMW. Could be some Black Friday deals on the horizon
Dale, re all of this alleged sabotage, it is the extent to which trust has broken down and the pervasive sense of paranoia that unnerve me more than the acts themselves.
My entirely amateur speculation is that, although Russia almost certainly has form when it comes to bringing down planes (see Prigozhin), this was most likely an accident. The black boxes are intact and on their way to Germany for decryption, so hopefully that should bring some clarity.
Hello Pan, that is a very funny format indeed
here are my comments of the day, thanks for summing up all the increasing misery
Strange and wild the age,
‘Neath stars we wander, unbound,
The earth bears our grief.
We spend and consume,
blind to our Money Masters
killing our Mother.
Haikus! Very cool. I won’t try my hand, as I am a mediocre poet at best, but here’s a fitting quote (allegedly) from Plato:
“Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history.”
Making a good connection between Kaputalism and climate derangement:
‘The heat wave “was so extreme, it’s tempting to apply the label of a ‘black swan’ event, one that can’t be predicted,””
Or maybe a blackbird in the coal mine?
https://climateandcapitalism.com/2024/11/27/extreme-heatwaves-exceed-forecasts-kill-thousands/
As vital as cheap electricity is to automobile robofactories, (Ve double-cross You … BMW: Better make Wagons … Mercedes hasBenz … Audi-tease?) predictable weather is to big ag: neither can continue with business as usual in even the current environment, let alone that of the remainder of the decade.
Alphabet’s Oops: Here in San Francisco, the robo-taxi company is finding that it’s waymo’ expensive to pay robots than humans, as the “workforce” can’t be burdened with the externalities the way beaten-down humans can: all the maintenance, all the costs to get the vehicle to the customers’ door can not be foisted onto the “driver”, they must be paid for upfront by the corpoconglomerate. There is no corporate business model in existence that doesn’t require its labor force to pay the burdensome costs of its own transportation to and from the workplace; the use of robots in robofactories may be a wash, but once that technology moves off the robofacturing floor, the costs in maintenance and fuel … all-electric, and rising in every single market they are used in … becomes more onerous than a college grad’s student debt. Uber works precisely because the labor force is saddled with the costs of getting both the vehicle and its driver to the customer’s door; Waymo has to pay all those costs itself.
Rob, from your article:
“…a striking new phenomenon is emerging: distinct regions are seeing repeated heat waves that are so extreme, they fall far beyond what any model of global warming can predict or explain. A new study… provides the first worldwide map of such regions, which show up on every continent except Antarctica like giant, angry skin blotches.”
That is a metaphor that hits home.
Re self-drive taxis, this is an issue that hadn’t occurred to me. 😂
“One night when I called a Waymo, the car rolled up with a large phallus doodled across its doors. Oops – it is easy to graffiti a car that nobody is driving.”
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2453802-how-a-ride-in-a-friendly-waymo-saw-me-fall-for-robotaxis/
True, but vandalizing a vehicle that has mor cameras than a Japanese tour group doesn’t sound especially bright.