BRITAIN’S INFLATION SPRINTS ITS FASTEST IN 10 YEARS Inflation in the U.K. edged up to 4.2 percent in October, year over year, accelerating from September’s 3.1-percent pace. The rate at which October’s prices rose was the fastest since December 2011 and more than double the Bank of England’s 2-percent target rate. The U.K.’s core inflation...
Tag: nov 23 2021
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SPOTLIGHT: BIGS GETTING STILL BIGGER
KKR BID TO BUY TELECOM ITALIA SPARKS BATTLE FOR CONTROL The board of Telecom Italia (TI), Italy’s largest telecommunications provider, met Sunday to mull a takeover bid from U.S. private equity firm KKR. KKR already owns 37.5 percent of TI’s “last mile” business that connects individual homes and businesses to the larger network; now KKR...
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TURKEY: THE FAMOUS LIRA DIVE
Once again, Turkey’s central bank has cut interest rates, sending its currency to a new low against the dollar and heightening fears that inflation will worsen and crash the country’s economy. The bank cut its one-week repo rate by 1 percentage point to 15 percent, the third cut since economist Sahap Kavcioglu became the bank’s...
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JAPAN PLANS NEW STIMULUS AS OTHER COUNTRIES END ECONOMIC SUPPORTS
Japan’s government will send a check for ¥100,000, about $872, to every household in the country with children under 18 years of age and give the equivalent of $22,000 to every small business that can show it has been adversely affected by the COVID era’s economic chaos. Households without children will receive no payment. The...
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EURO HITS 16-MONTH LOW AGAINST THE DOLLAR. HOW LOW CAN IT GO?
The euro plunged to a 16-month low against the dollar as traders “priced in” the European Central Bank’s (ECB) pledge to not raise interest rates until at least 2023. Investors are betting the ECB will boost rates by 0.1 percent in early 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported, after bank president Christine Lagarde told the...
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WILL AUTO ALLIANCES PROTECT CHIP SUPPLY?
Ford Motor Co. and General Motors (GM) have formed partnerships with major semiconductor manufacturers to speed the end of the current chip shortage now hobbling vehicle production and ensure supplies during future disruptions. GM has made deals with Infineon Technologies, NXP Semiconductors, ON Semiconductor Corp., Qualcomm Inc., Renasas Electronics Corp., STMicroelectronics, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing...
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IN EUROPE, COAL MAKES A COMEBACK
A funny thing is happening in Europe. Coal power, thought to have been rendered moribund by the push for “greener” energy, is enjoying a resurgence, and a most profitable one at that. All actions have consequences, and Europe’s shift from coal to natural gas for power-generating and heating has made it vulnerable to shortfalls in...
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SIX COUNTRIES AGREE TO COORDINATED RELEASE OF OIL FROM STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVES
The U.S. will release 50 million barrels of crude oil from its strategic petroleum reserve as part of a joint six-country agreement to bring more oil to market to reduce prices of gasoline and other petroleum products. The nations involved are China, India, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and the U.S. U.S. gas prices at...
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WALL ST. CRIME GANG
Insider trading, even by those who are supposed to be regulating the financial industry, has been the topic of a number of Trends Journal articles; see, for example, “FED TIGHTENS TRADING RULES AFTER SCANDAL FORCES RESIGNATIONS” (26 Oct 2021), “BANKSTER BANDITS: CRIME SYNDICATE COVER UP” (16 Nov 2021) and “FED ETHICS? FU!” (21 Sep 2021)....
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CONTAINER CLOG EASES AT LONG BEACH, LOS ANGELES PORTS
The number of containers at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles has fallen 25 percent to 71,000 during the first three weeks of this month, as the ports threatened a $100 daily fine for each container left sitting in storage yards for nine days or more. The number of containers eligible for the...