Financial Times (March 27)
“The price of cocoa surged past $10,000 a tonne for the first time on Tuesday, as a dizzying rise in prices caused by poor harvests in Africa accelerates. Cocoa futures traded as high as $10,080 in New York, more than double their price only two months ago, as traders warned a global shortage of cocoa beans would herald higher price tags for chocolate bars.”
Tags: Africa, Chocolate bars, Cocoa, Dizzying, Double, Futures, Higher, New York, Poor harvests, Price, Shortage, Surged, Traders
BBC (June 13)
“UK wages have risen at their fastest rate in 20 years, excluding the pandemic, raising expectations that UK interest rates will have to rise. Regular pay excluding bonuses increased by 7.2% in the three months to April, although it still lags behind inflation.” The Bank of England has raised “interest rates 12 times since 2021 to try to slow price rises” and warned that surging pay is contributing to inflation.
Tags: 7.2%, BOE, Bonuses, Expectations, Inflation, Interest rates, Pandemic, Pay, Price, Surging pay, UK, Wages
Forbes (March 5)
“The bitcoin price had rocketed by 50% since the beginning of 2023 but stalled out and crashed back, wiping away $100 billion… and reviving fears other crypto companies could follow FTX into bankruptcy.” Silvergate appears likely to be the next to tumble. The crypto bank “is teetering on the verge of collapse—with one short-seller predicting the bank will implode this week.”
Tags: $100 billion, 2023, Bank, Bankruptcy, Bitcoin, Collapse, Crashed, Crypto, Fears, FTX, Price, Short-seller, Silvergate, Stalled, Teetering, Tumble
Bloomberg (March 5)
China’s reopening “means Chinese oil consumption is poised to hit a record this year. Daily demand will reach an all-time high of 16 million barrels a day,” and looks increasingly likely to tip the price back above $100 a barrel amid tight supply.
Tags: 100, 16 mmb/d, China, Consumption, Demand, Oil, Poised, Price, Record, Reopening, Tight supply, Tip
Sydney Morning Herald (July 6)
“Property prices could fall by more than initially feared as the Reserve Bank ratchets up official interest rates to fight surging inflation…. Property watchers were already forecasting price falls of between 15 and 20 per cent in Sydney and Melbourne.” It now looks increasingly likely the price declines will be even steeper.
Tags: 15–20%, Falls, Forecasting, Interest rates, Melbourne, Price, Property prices, Ratchets up, Reserve Bank, Steeper, Surging inflation, Sydney
Forbes (May 19)
“As bitcoin and crypto traders come to terms with the huge price crash that’s wiped $1 trillion from the combined crypto market since April, fears are mounting that more pain could be on the way if stock market contagion spreads.”
Tags: $1 trillion, Bitcoin, Contagion, Crash, Crypto market, Fears, Pain, Price, Stock market, Traders
Newsweek (August 2)
“The price of bacon could soar by up to 60 percent in California when an animal welfare proposition kicks in at the start of next year.” Proposition 12 takes effect January 1. It “mandates space requirements for confining certain animals and prohibits the sale of meat and eggs from animals that are kept in places that do not meet this standard.”
Tags: Animal welfare, Bacon, California, Confining, Eggs, Meat, Price, Prohibits, Proposition 12, Sale, Space requirements
Washington Post (April 21)
“When the price of oil seemingly stepped through the looking glass Monday and tumbled into negative value, it summoned up an image of the world of petroleum turned wrong-side-round.” This shocker “was fleeting, and symbolic, more than anything, and it won’t have much effect on the price of gasoline at the pump. But it showed just how much the coronavirus pandemic has crushed the world’s energy markets — and how the global effort to stabilize them was failing.”
Tags: Coronavirus, Energy markets, Failing, Fleeting, Gasoline, Negative value, Oil, Pandemic, Petroleum, Price, Symbolic
Washington Post (December 1)
“Experts have known for years what the United States must do: place a strong and steadily rising price on carbon dioxide emissions, invest heavily in clean-energy research and development, and make climate a top priority in international diplomacy. President Trump is instead denying the problem.”
Tags: Clean energy, Climate, CO2, Denying, Diplomacy, Emissions, Experts, Invest, Price, Priority, Trump, U.S.
The Straits Times (October 24)
“It will almost certainly turn out that Britain was more powerful—with more sovereignty—when it was part of a large organisation with international clout.” Following Brexit, the UK will likely be isolated, “with far fewer allies. British consumers, workers and entrepreneurs will pay the price.” But the UK’s fall should provide the rest of the world with a valuable lesson. “The sight of Britain’s sudden banishment to a world where you are better off dealing with cousins will be a useful tonic for everybody else.”
Tags: Allies, Banishment, Brexit, Clout, Consumers, Entrepreneurs, Lesson, Powerful, Price, Sovereignty, UK, Useful, Workers
