Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled natural gas company, says it is unable to guarantee gas deliveries to Europe because of “extraordinary”’ circumstances, Reuters reported. Russia closed the pipeline earlier this month for 10 days of “routine maintenance.” Deliveries are scheduled to resume this week on Thursday. Now, in a 14 July letter to several European gas customers,...
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TOP 2022 TREND, DRAGFLATION: IMF AGAIN CUTS GLOBAL GROWTH FORECAST
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is trimming its global growth projections for this year and next as inflation continues unchecked and the war in Ukraine shows no signs of ending, the Financial Times reported. “Recent indicators imply a weak second quarter and we will be projecting a further downgrade to global growth for 2022 and...
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GENERATION Z REALLY WANTS TO GO BACK TO THE OFFICE
Less than 25 percent of workers aged 20-something want to work remotely full-time, even if they can, according to a new survey by WFH Research, a collaborative project by several universities. The share of workers preferring to stay remote all day every day is 29 percent among 30-somethings, 33 percent of employees in their 40s,...
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FREIGHT RATES SLIP ON SLOWING DEMAND
As consumers spend less (see “Credit Card Spending Falters” in this issue), the cost of moving goods to stores and warehouses also is falling, The Wall Street Journal reported. Companies are renegotiating the high-price freight contracts they signed when stores were unable to get merchandise fast enough to meet demand. Now one major U.S. importer...
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PRODUCER PRICES RISE ON HIGHER ENERGY COSTS
The prices manufacturers and suppliers charge businesses for their products jumped 11.3 percent in June, year on year, because of rocketing energy costs, the U.S. labor department reported. June marked the seventh consecutive month of double-digit increases in the U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) and notched a slight rise from May’s 10.9 percent gain. On...
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TOP TREND 2022, DRAGFLATION: CREDIT CARD SPENDING FALTERS
U.S. credit card holders charged 0.4 percent less to their credit cards in June compared to July, the second consecutive month of decline, according to internal data reported by Barclays. Barclays’ records indicate that credit-card use at gas stations spiked, while consumers cut back on buying cars, general merchandise, and spending on health care. ...
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CONSUMERS SPENT MORE IN JUNE AND BOUGHT LESS
Consumer spending rose 1.0 percent in June compared to May, the U.S. commerce department reported, while inflation ran to 9.1 percent. Shoppers increased the dollar value of their purchases of furniture, gasoline, and groceries. Spending at restaurants also went up. The figures are not adjusted for inflation. Therefore, consumers actually bought a smaller volume of...
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DIVIDEND PAYOUTS SET RECORD IN SECOND QUARTER
Companies listed in the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index paid out a record $140.6 billion in dividends to shareholders in this year’s second quarter, Dow Jones S&P Indices (DJSPI) reported. The first quarter’s payout was $137.6 billion; companies doled out $123.4 billion in 2021’s second quarter. Dividends also should set records for this quarter...
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U.S. INFLATION TOPS 9 PERCENT IN JUNE
Inflation in the U.S. sped up to 9.1 percent in June, the fastest pace since November 1981, the labor department reported. Gasoline prices fueled the rise, up 11.2 percent since May and 60 percent higher than a year earlier, due to high crude prices and scant oil refining capacity. Residential prices for natural gas were...
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MONEY DRIES UP FOR CORPORATE BOND ISSUES
Dozens of corporate bond issues have been shelved now that the U.S. Federal Reserve is no longer greasing the bond market with rock-bottom interest rates, the Financial Times reported. For example, Europcar, a French car-renting firm, sought €150 million in bonded debt to refresh and expand its vehicle fleet. However, the company’s board pulled the...