Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), once again rejected calls for the bank to raise its base interest rate from its current -0.50 percent, where it has remained since 2014. (See “ECB: More Monetary Methadone,” 27 Apr 2021 and “ECB Pledges to Keep Rates Lower Longer,” 27 Jul 2021, among other articles.)...
Tag: jan 25 2022
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IMF HEAD GLOOMY ON GLOBAL ECONOMY
The world’s economy will continue to grow this year but faces an “obstacle course” of “renewal of COVID infections, much more persistent than anticipated inflation, and record high debt levels,” Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, told the World Economic Forum on 21 January. “The pressure on prices comes from food prices...
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ECONOMIC SHOCK WAVE TO HIT WORLD’S POOR COUNTRIES
Seventy-four low-income nations have $35 billion in sovereign debt payments coming due this year, an amount 45 percent more than in 2020, according to World Bank figures. El Salvador, Ghana, and Tunisia are of particular concern; S&P Global has warned that Sri Lanka is facing default, the Financial Times reported. Lenders had suspended debt payments...
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OFFICE LANDLORDS’ FAKE RENT HIKES
Since the COVID War began two years ago, office occupancy rates, as we have continually detailed in the Trends Journal, have plummeted across America. But with occupancy rates still down and remote work a 21st century reality, building owners are doing what they can to keep office tenants and find new ones. In the summer...
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INTEL FOLLOWS ONE OF OUR TOP 10 TRENDS: SELF SUFFICIENCY
Semiconductor giant Intel will invest more than $20 billion to build two new chip-making plants near Columbus, Ohio, the company has announced, with the possible investment growing to $100 billion and eight plants over the next ten years. Separately, the company will spend as much as $100 million with educational institutions in the Columbus area...
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U.K. REGULATORS TO TIGHTEN RULES ON CRYPTO
Soon to have the authority to oversee cryptocurrency advertising and promotion, the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) plans to tighten rules on how crypto exchanges and promoters can present their products and services to the public, the Financial Times reported. The country’s treasury department will add the authority to the FCA’s portfolio, the department said...
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CRYPTOS ERASE $1 TRILLION IN VALUE IN THREE MONTHS
After peaking just below $67,600 on 8 November, Bitcoin has lost more than half its value and dipping below $33,570 on 24 January, wiping out more than $600 billion in value, according to Bloomberg. In the past three months crypto’s erased more than $1 trillion in digital wealth. The reason being sold on The Street...
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EU REGULATOR CALLS FOR BAN ON MAIN CRYPTO MINING METHOD
Cryptocurrency mining is taking such a large amount of renewable energy that it threatens to keep the European Union (EU) from meeting its Paris climate goals, Erik Thedeen, vice-chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority, said in a 20 January Financial Times interview. The EU should ban the most common form of mining, Thedeen...
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FED RELEASES DIGITAL DOLLAR REPORT: GOING CRYPTO?
On 20 January, the U.S. Federal Reserve issued its long-awaited study on the prospect of creating a digital dollar. The 40-page report took no position on creating a dollar stablecoin but called its report “the first step in a public discussion between the Federal Reserve and stakeholders about central bank digital currencies.” The paper noted...
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HOW PERISHABLE ARE MARTIAL ARTS SKILLS?
By Bradley J. Steiner, American Combato Once you learn something and acquire the ability to do it well you normally will never lose your ability entirely. Learn a foreign language and discontinue practicing it for a couple of years and you’re sure to be less able to communicate effectively than you were. However, you will...