I spend 30 hours away from the internet, and an eastern European doctor told me, it’s a decline until it isn’t.
China Hybrid Warfare strategy, basically a complete manipulation of an entire complex system, is quite literally paying off dividends. Even if you want to take into account that a decent portion of their economy is fake, they are the ones getting ahead. These huge bonuses serve as a multifaceted strategy. Well played.
The vaccine narrative, in decline for 72 hours, goes into collapse, crumbling fasters than some governments can respond (bureaucracy is a very slow beast), but some countries are already responded to the real data and lifting their tyrannical measures, and as I previously mentioned, preparing for something much worse and a way to hide the actual damage that is about to come.
I see an interesting trend with some outlets, in regards to everything, but especially to energy. It seems there is a realignment among the elites, and Bloomberg is positioning itself on the common sense side, where all others are mere mouthpieces to the elites.
As per quite a number of my posts, governments find themselves between hard choices, with no easy way out both short to medium term. Green energy can’t take the place of “dirty energy” and without cheap fossil fuels, nations will collapse in 10 to 15 years (perhaps faster if things go wrong….). Placate the elites misguided vision, or help your population and try to avoid the Coming Anarchy (you should google this and read the Atlantic article).
You should start paying a lot of attention to grain yields, crop numbers, and who is buying and selling. This has been a tipping point for months, and it will only intensify as time goes by, more on that later.
Grain is the most basic form of food security and it is what feeds most of the world in a dozen different ways. Wars and popular revolts were fought because of it, genocides started because of it.
For a few months, I also wondered how would the dairy/milk market would fare out, given all the cascades. As a I feared, not well… things just got real for me.
The best for last, and something I hinted at (what I will often refer to as breadcrumbs) before. Government finding excuses to hold, horde, or extort better conditions for its resources. Resource nationalism is here, and it will be the norm everywhere, as things slowly, but surely, break down.
The Indonesia story itself is important because it’s a tipping point as I previously outlined, but China will fakely complain, but gladly accept and explore, using it as a HW to hurt the West. Hybrid War is nasty, confusing, complex business.
As a personal note, seems the WEF folk got access to my written notes and my leather notebook…
China’s COSCO Pays Huge Bonuses 30 Times Worker’s Salary Amid Container Shipping Boom
Asian shipping lines have seen revenues soar on record freight rates, as the pandemic created major disruptions to the global supply chain. Surging demand for consumer goods coupled with lockdowns and border closures have created a worldwide shortage of shipping capacity and port delays.
Cosco’s earnings jumped 1,651% to 67.6 billion yuan ($10.7 billion) in the first three quarters of 2021, according to a company filing. The spot rate for a 40-foot container to the U.S. from Asia topped $20,000 last year, including surcharges and premiums, up from less than $2,000 a few years ago. 1
Prior Covid-19 Infection Offered Better Protection Than Vaccination During Delta Wave
Early Omicron Breakthroughs Show mRNA Vaccines’ Weakness
Global energy transition to cause short-term economic pain -report
The transition to clean energy required to prevent temperatures from rising swiftly could shave 2% off global GDP by 2050 but is likely recoverable before the end of the century, a report by natural resources consultancy Wood Mackenzie said on Thursday. 2
Say Goodbye to Clean Energy’s Era of Constantly Falling Prices
Inflation hits as energy markets grapple with green transition.
The era of ever-cheaper clean power is over, giving a fresh jolt of uncertainty to global energy markets battered by one supply crisis after another.
Relentless price declines over the past decade made renewables the cheapest sources of electricity in much of the world. In the past year, though, prices for solar panels have surged more than 50%. Wind turbines are up 13%, and battery prices are rising for the first time ever. 3
Hungry, Cold Cows in Canada Fuel Rare Buying-Spree of U.S. Corn
Northern nation buys the most U.S. grain in decades, tightening reserves
Canada is now one of the top buyers of U.S. corn as cattle ranchers scour for grain to feed their animals.
Dry conditions zapped as much as 40% of western Canada’s grain output last year, sending prices for barley and other crops to all-time highs and leaving a dearth of feed for the nation’s cattle industry. The squeeze has prompted Canada to make a rare commitment to bring in about 3.2 million metric of tons of corn from its southern neighbor, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
That’s the most in roughly two decades and compares to only 457,000 tons a year ago. Canada’s now one of the biggest purchasers alongside China, Mexico and Japan, and its buying binge is reducing already tight stockpiles of feed grains.
“If you can’t get a car tire, that’s an inconvenience. If a cow can’t get something to eat, that’s a major problem,’’ said Bob Lowe, president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.4
Why Indonesia Is Jolting Markets by Curbing Commodity Exports
Indonesia is the top exporter of coal for power stations and the biggest palm oil producer in the world. It also holds a quarter of all nickel reserves. So policy shifts in the Southeast Asian archipelago -- such as new restrictions on coal shipments or a proposed nickel export tax -- often reverberate across global commodities markets, roiling trading and pushing up prices for other countries that need the supplies. President Joko Widodo is nevertheless forging ahead with what’s known as resource nationalism, policies designed to get more benefit from the country’s natural riches for its 273 million people by restricting exports and encouraging more value-added processing at home. The going has been slow but there are signs the strategy is having an effect.
Coal and nickel. 5
Trucking and Heating Costs to Rise as Diesel Fuel Hits a Seven-Year High
Diesel surge pressures Biden’s effort to temper inflation
Stockpiles of the fuel are at an eight-year seasonal low
Trucking goods across the U.S. is getting more costly as retail diesel prices rise to a seven-year high.
Retail diesel prices rose to $3.653 per gallon Thursday, the highest since October 2014, according to auto club AAA. The latest surge can be tied to arctic weather in the Northeast that boosted use of diesel for heating at a time when demand is already high for the road fuel. 6
Shrinking U.S. Milk Output Poised to Drop More, Dairy Group Says
Dwindling U.S. milk output isn’t going to recover any time soon, according to an industry group, signaling dairy inflation may be here to stay.
There have been pullbacks recently in the number of cows in U.S. herds, and consequently in milk production. The reductions have been “dramatic,” and futures markets are indicating that the trend will last “well into 2022,” the Arlington, Virginia-based National Milk Producers Federation said in a Jan. 20 report.
The pandemic is behind the dropping figures. It’s getting too pricey to feed cows due to expensive grain, so farmers are shrinking their herds and sending animals to slaughter. For the cows that remain, they’re getting fed less, which means they’ll produce less milk. Rising labor and energy costs are also making it tougher for dairies to net profits.
To top it off, there are also reports of “severe” impacts on dairy plants relating to the omicron-virus surge, including anecdotes of some facilities “limping by” or even temporarily shutting down, Matt Gould, editor of The Dairy Market Analyst, said in a note.
All of that’s sent prices for dairy products like butter and cheese soaring. Butter futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange are trading at the highest since 2017, while cheese and milk are the priciest in a year. Retail prices can often follow wholesale price trends, filtering down to consumers. Milk at grocery stores is already seeing the highest average prices since 2015, according to U.S. government data.7
EU Ministers to Talk Energy Prices and Climate Neutrality
EU energy and environment ministers meeting today in the city where President Emmanuel Macron was born will discuss how to ensure record-high energy prices don’t slow the transition to a climate neutral economy and penalize society’s poorest. And that’s not going to be the only thing on their minds during lunch in Amiens.8
Fruit and Veggie Outages in Canada Get Worse With Trucker Shortages
Canada’s turning away unvaccinated U.S. truckers at the border, and it’s causing chaos in fresh produce markets9
https://gcaptain.com/chinas-cosco-pays-huge-bonuses-30-times-workers-salary-amid-container-shipping-boom/
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/global-energy-transition-cause-short-term-economic-pain-report-2022-01-20/?taid=61e98a8508a5450001d322df&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-20/say-goodbye-to-clean-energy-s-era-of-constantly-falling-prices?utm_content=business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=twitter&cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_medium=social
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-19/u-s-corn-saves-hungry-canadian-cows-after-drought-scorches-feed?utm_medium=social&cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=business
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-19/why-indonesia-curbs-commodity-exports-jolts-markets-quicktake?cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_content=business
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-21/trucking-heating-costs-to-rise-as-diesel-hits-a-seven-year-high?utm_content=energy&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_medium=social&cmpid%3D=socialflow-twitter-energy
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/shrinking-u-s-milk-output-poised-to-drop-more-dairy-group-says-1.1711200
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2022-01-21/eu-ministers-to-talk-energy-prices-and-climate-neutrality?utm_content=energy&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&cmpid%3D=socialflow-twitter-energy
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-19/fruit-and-veggie-outages-in-canada-get-worse-with-trucker-shortages
I have never thought how our normal life completely fell apart in March of 2020. At least most of my youth I have lived freely.
Unable to locate The Atlantic article you recommended. What is the phrase I’m supposed to google to find it?