Atlanta Journal Constitution (October 14)
“Millions of retirees on Social Security will get a 5.9% boost in benefits for 2022. The biggest cost-of-living adjustment in 39 years follows a burst in inflation as the economy struggles to shake off the drag of the coronavirus pandemic.”
Tags: Benefits, Burst, COLA, Coronavirus, Drag, Economy, Inflation, Pandemic, Retirees, Social security, Struggles
LA Times (October 14)
President Biden is doing what he can to get the supply chain rolling as he pressures ports to open 24/7. “One of the biggest economic threats is that supply chain bottlenecks and various shortages are sparking higher inflation.” The consumer price index showed year-0n-year inflation jumped 5.4%, “the highest rate in more than a decade.”
Tags: 24/7, Biden, Bottlenecks, CPI, Economic threats, Highest, Inflation, Ports, Shortages, Supply chain
Bloomberg (October 13)
“The vital question for many investors has been whether the problems for speculative real estate will cause broader contagion, either through cascading losses in the financial system or through economic weakness.” The former remains unlikely, but “the second — an economic slowdown of which Evergrande is both a cause and a symptom — grows more likely with time.”
Tags: Cascading, Contagion, Economic weakness, Evergrande, Financial system, Investors, Losses, Real estate, Slowdown, Speculative, Vital
Santa Monica Daily Press (October 12)
The most populous state in the U.S. now has “the lowest per capita rate of new coronavirus cases.” Still, California just topped 70,000 cumulative COVID deaths. This is “the most in the nation, surpassing Texas by about 3,000 and Florida by about 13,000, although California’s per capita fatality rate of 177 per 100,000 people ranks in the bottom third for the U.S.”
Tags: California, Cases, Coronavirus, Covid, Deaths, Fatality rate, Florida, Populous, Texas, U.S.
New York Times (October 11)
What “will become of all the species the planet stands to lose… if human beings cannot halt the rate at which our climate is heating and our habitats are fragmenting and our whole planet is being poisoned?” While it is “entirely possible that we will lose them all…. It’s also not unthinkable that we will yet find a way to work together to prevent the worst calamities from unfolding.”
Tags: Calamities, Climate, Habitats, Human beings, pecies, Planet, Poisoned, Prevent, Unthinkable, Work together
The Guardian (October 10)
“The latest revelations mark the beginning of the end for the House of Zuckerberg. The Observer’s investigations into Facebook in 2018 exposed a toxic culture. But still the business thrived.” This may seem like déjà vu, but the outcome looks set to drastically differ from the last slap on the wrist, especially if a new legal suit succeeds in proving Facebook “lied to investors.”
Tags: Déjà vu, Exposed, Facebook, Investigations, Investors, Legal suit, Lied, Outcome, Revelations, Toxic culture, Zuckerberg
The Economist (October 9)
“Spending has come roaring back, as governments have stimulated the economy and consumers let rip. The surge in demand is so powerful that supply is struggling to keep up. Lorry drivers are getting signing bonuses, an armada of container ships is anchored off California waiting for ports to clear and energy prices are spiralling upwards. As rising inflation spooks investors, the gluts of the 2010s have given way to a shortage economy.”
Tags: Consumers, Container ships, Demand, Economy, Energy, Gluts, Governments, Inflation, Investors, Ports, Powerful, Roaring, Signing bonuses, Spending, Supply, Surge
Financial Times (October 8)
“High levels of inflation could last longer than expected, senior central bankers in Europe have warned, signalling that persistent supply-chain bottlenecks and soaring energy costs could advance a tightening of monetary policy.”
Tags: Bottlenecks, Central bankers, Energy costs, Europe, Expected, Inflation, Persistent, Supply chain, Tightening, Warned
Wall Street Journal (October 7)
“Natural gas stocks are alarmingly low around the world, and prices in most places have never been higher after surging to new records…. Demand has jumped as economies have bounced back from pandemic shutdowns, and the squeeze has caught traders, shipowners and energy executives off guard.” Nations that “have wound down coal-fired plants and become more dependent on gas” are particularly vulnerable and, in some cases, restarting mothballed power plants despite higher GHG emissions.
Tags: Coal, Demand, Economies, Energy, GHG emissions, Natural gas, Pandemic, Prices, Records, Shipowners, Shutdowns, Squeeze, Stocks, Surging, Traders, Vulnerable
Globe and Mail (October 6)
In Canada, air and rail passengers will soon need to be vaccinated, as will workers at the nation’s largest employer, the federal Government. “Vaccinations will also be required for the hundreds of thousands of people who work in Canada’s public service, as well as those who work in federally regulated industries, such as banking.” The rules come into effect in October.
Tags: Air, Banking, Canada, Employer, Government, Passengers, Public service, Rail, Regulated industries, Vaccinations, Workers
