The COVID Wuhan lab origin has gone from dangerous disinformation to a unanimous U.S. Senate vote to release all classified information regarding the matter.
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TURKEY’S CENTRAL BANK CUTS KEY INTEREST RATE—YES, AGAIN
Turkey’s central bank cut its policy interest rate from 9 percent to 8.5 percent last week, partly in response to this month’s earthquake that devastated swaths of Syria and Turkey and killed tens of thousands of people.
CANADIAN EMPLOYEES FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT TO WORK FROM HOME
Eighty-five percent of Canada’s white-collar workers want to work from home at least some of the time, a survey by recruiting firm Robert Half has found.
LITHIUM PRICE DROPS 30 PERCENT FROM NOVEMBER RECORD
In China, the price of lithium carbonate—essential in electric vehicle (EV) batteries—has fallen more than 29 percent to $61,795 per ton last week from its November record price above $87,000, analysis firm Fastmarkets reported.
DEFENSE STOCKS SOAR ON UKRAINE WAR
The MSCI global index of defense stocks has rocketed up 30 percent since October, doubling gains made by broader equity markets worldwide.
TOP TREND, DRAGFLATION: GERMAN ECONOMY SHRINKS IN FOURTH QUARTER, STOKING RECESSION FEARS
Germany’s economy contracted 0.4 percent in last year’s final quarter as high inflation shrank consumer spending and business investment.
EMERGING NATIONS FALL DEEPER INTO DEBT
The total debt—corporate, financial-sector, government, and household borrowings—among 30 large modest- and middle-income countries had reached $98 trillion at the end of 2022, according to a report by the International Institute of Finance (IIF).
EUROPEAN BUSINESS ACTIVITY ALIVE AND WELL?
After slumping in January, France and Germany both are showing economic growth this month, Bloomberg reported, posting growth rates not seen since last May.
WHEN THE ECONOMY FALLS JOBS GO WITH IT
This is week 30 of our reporting the long trend-line of layoffs that signal a further economic downturn in a country near you. Rising inflation and rising interest rate hikes are causing companies in many sectors to lay off employees.
SPOTLIGHT, TOP TREND 2023: OFFICE BUILDING BUST
The transition to remote and hybrid work will drive U.S. office vacancies 55 percent above pre-COVID levels and leave 1.1 billion square feet of office space unused by 2030, according to a new study by real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.