Market Watch (April 9)
“The U.S. government recently retired the penny after two centuries because it had become too expensive to mint. Some bitcoin miners are facing a similar existential threat. For many miners, it has cost more in recent months to produce a bitcoin than the coin can be sold for, leading them to stop operating some machines and to sell more bitcoin holdings to raise cash.”
Tags: Bitcoin miners, Cash, Existential threat, Expensive, Government, Holdings, MINT, Penny, Retired, Sell, U.S.
Investments and Pensions Europe (April 1)
“Dutch pension funds were net sellers of US assets last year, reallocating capital towards Europe, according to figures from regulator DNB. On balance, funds sold €30bn of US equities and bonds, while purchasing €23bn of European securities.”
Tags: €30bn, Assets, Bonds, Capital, Dutch, Equities, Europe, Net sellers, Pension funds, Reallocating, Regulator, Securities, U.S.
Fortune (March 23)
“The great toilet paper panic is back as Japan starts stockpiling. As the U.S.-Israeli-Iran conflict rattles oil markets, Japanese consumers are stockpiling toilet paper—a product with no connection to the disruptions whatsoever, but that has caused enough problems for the country that the Japanese government has urged citizens to stop buying ahead of time.”
Tags: Citizens, Conflict, Consumers, Disruptions, Government, Iran, Israeli, Japan, Oil markets, Panic, Problems, Rattles, Stockpiling, Toilet paper, U.S.
The Guardian (March 19)
“The US president wanted an easy win, but the conflict is spiralling following Israel’s attack on a gas field and Iranian retaliation across the region.” It is self evident “that the president was not paying heed when people described the likely consequences.” As “Trump breaks things,” the unknown is “who will pick up the pieces?”
Tags: Attack, Breaks, Conflict, Consequences, Easy win, Gas field, Iran, Israel, Pieces, President, Region, Retaliation, Spiralling, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (March 19)
“Escalating attacks on Persian Gulf oil-and-gas infrastructure are sending the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran into a dangerous new phase that threatens to worsen the crisis over global energy supplies…. Israel and Iran had already hit energy facilities throughout the nearly three-week-old war, but Wednesday’s attacks struck some of the world’s most important hubs and raised the prospect of tit-for-tat volleys against oil-and-gas facilities.”
Tags: Attacks, Crisis, Dangerous, Escalating, Facilities, Gas, Global energy, Hubs, Infrastructure, Iran, Israeli, New phase, Oil, Persian Gulf, Threatens, Tit-for-tat, U.S., War, Worsen
Bloomberg (March 16)
“Global oil markets face another week of turmoil after a US attack on Iran’s main export hub heightened risks to supply across the Middle East, and deepened concerns over a conflict that’s already upended energy flows.”
Tags: Attack, Concerns, Conflict, Deepened, Export hub, Global, Iran, Markets, Middle East, Oil, Risks, Supply, Turmoil, U.S., Upended
MarketWatch (March 13)
“America’s “goldilocks” economy is over. The next seven days of the Iran conflict will set the stage for stagflation or global recession.” The U.S. was nearing perfection with unemployment at 4.4% and inflation down to 2.4%. Instead of basking in economic triumph, the U.S. now frets over a potential “doubling of the oil price,” which historically “coincides with a global recession. In today’s terms, that is $120-$140 a barrel. Brent crude brushed the bottom of that range earlier this week.”
Tags: $120-$140 bbl, Brent crude, Conflict, Doubling, Economy, Global recession, Goldilocks, Inflation, Iran, Oil price, Stagflation, U.S., Unemployment
Wall Street Journal (March 12)
“Escalating Iranian attacks and the U.S. government’s decision to hold off on military escorts for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz are raising the prospect of a prolonged closure that would choke off exports through the world’s most important energy-transport route.”
Tags: Attacks, Choke, Decision, Energy, Escalating, Exports, Government, Iranian, Military escorts, Oil tankers, Prolonged closure, Route, Strait of Hormuz, Transport, U.S.
Time (March 9 Issue)
“Not much unites Americans these days. But a growing cross section of the public—from MAGA loyalists to Democratic socialists, pastors to policymakers, nurses to filmmakers—agree on at least one thing: AI is moving too fast. While most Americans use the tools, the U.S. is one of the most AI-pessimistic countries in the world.”
Tags: Agree, AI. Tools, Cross section, Democratic socialists, Filmmakers, Loyalists, Maga, Nurses, Pastors, Pessimistic, Policymakers, Public, U.S., Unites
Washington Post (March 8)
The war in Iran “is hitting the economies of Europe and Asia harder and faster than it is striking the United States.” The conflict’s impact extends far beyond oil and natural gas prices. For example, “the closure of several international airports in the conflict zone, including the world’s busiest in Dubai, idled nearly one-fifth of global airfreight capacity, interrupting shipments of consumer electronics, pharmaceuticals and precious metals.” At present, “the cost of shipping goods by air from Asia to Europe is up 45 percent since the war began,” double the increase “for sending items from Asia to the United States.”
Tags: Airfreight, Airports, Asia, Conflict, Dubai, Economies, Electronics, Europe, Impact, Interrupting, Iran, Natural gas, Oil, Pharmaceuticals, Shipments, U.S., War
