finance – Page 2

World Bank Warns Of ‘Lost Economic Decade’ As Turmoil Spreads

The world is in a precarious situation, with the potential for nuclear conflict. Central banks are taking aggressive measures to address decades-high inflation by raising interest rates, which in turn is causing a banking crisis in the Western world. As recession risks surge worldwide and international trade fractures, the future of the global economy appears…

Hyperinflationary Hell: Lebanese Central Bank Devalues ‘Lira’ By 90%

Cash is now king in Lebanon, where a three-year economic meltdown has led the country’s once-lauded financial sector to atrophy and turned the country into a Venezuelan-esque hyperinflationary hell. The country has been hit hard by events over the past few years, starting with COVID. In August 2020, the city of Beiruit was practically destroyed by…

The “Price Shock” is Just Starting: German Industry To Pay 40% More For Energy Than Pre-Crisis

Back in August 2022, repo plumbing guru Zoltan Pozsar published a fascinating chart showing how “$2 Trillion Of German Value Depends On $20 Billion Of Russian Gas” or specifically, how Germany had applied some 100x leverage – much more than Lehman – on cheap commodities, and mostly Russian gas, to cheaply run its export-driven economic miracle for decades.…

Tesla To Announce New $3.5 Billion Production Facility For Semis In Nevada

If there’s a demand problem, Tesla certainly isn’t acting like it. Just days after the company slashed prices on its models in both the U.S. and China, it is now being reported that Tesla is seeking to open yet another production facility – this one slated to be in northern Nevada. The planned $3.5 billion plant is going…

Norway Replaces Russia As Germany’s Top Gas Supplier

Norway became Germany’s single-largest natural gas supplier in 2022, overtaking Russia, as total German gas imports dropped by 12.3% compared to 2021, the German Federal Network Agency, Bundesnetzagentur, said on Friday. Norway provided 33% of the gas Germany imported last year, followed by Russia, whose share fell to 22% for last year, compared to a 52% share in…

NASA Considers SpaceX For Emergency Return Mission For Potentially Stranded Astronauts

Three weeks ago, the Russian Soyuz spacecraft sprang a coolant leak while docked at the International Space Station, leaving the craft’s spaceworthiness in question. NASA and Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, have been investigating what caused a punctured coolant line. The Soyuz is supposed to return two cosmonauts and one US astronaut to Earth this month. Reuters said…

Europe’s Big And Expensive Energy Mistake

Europe failed to prioritize energy security and has now found itself overly reliant on Russian energy and paying sky-high prices for power France is dealing with this issue by renationalizing its largest utility in order to ensure the survival of nuclear power. Germany, which is arguably the country that has suffered most from energy security…

Here’s How The Energy Crisis Turns Into Hunger And Then… War?

We have previously warned about a whopping food crisis and supply problems in the fertilizer market. Well, now is worse because that was BEFORE we had the natural gas crisis. Why is that important? Natural gas is THE critical input into making fertilizer. Urea is essentially ammonia in solid state, the process of which entails…

The Commodity-Currency Revolution Begins…

We will look back at current events and realise that they marked the change from a dollar-based global economy underwritten by financial assets to commodity-backed currencies. We face a change from collateral being purely financial in nature to becoming commodity based. It is collateral that underwrites the whole financial system. The ending of the financially based…

Blame the Bitcoin Bond? El Salvador’s Dollar-Denominated Debt Slides

El Salvador’s bitcoin bond is a contributing factor to a slide in its dollar-denominated debt, but not the sole reason. El Salvador’s dollar-denominated debt has taken a beating in recent weeks, with observers blaming President Bukele’s plan to issue bitcoin bonds for the sell-off. But there’s more to the decline than meets the eye. “Salvador’s…