Economy
Evergrande misses second offshore bond payment – Reuters
China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) missed paying bond interest due on Wednesday, two bondholders said, its second unpaid offshore debt obligation in a week, although the cash-strapped company on Thursday made a partial payment to some of its onshore investors.
China is combating crypto with a push for the digital yuan – Quartz
After almost eight years in development, the digital yuan arrived in the wallets of ordinary users in government-led trials last year. The digital currency is distributed to consumers by the central bank via six major commercial banks, usually through a wallet app. Users can make payments by scanning QR codes or using wearable devices, including physical wallets that are embedded with digital yuan chips developed by Postal Savings Bank of China, one of the six banks. By June, around 20 million digital yuan wallets existed, and transaction volume had reached 34.5 billion yuan ($5.3 billion), according to the government.
Will China’s ‘digital yuan’ reinvent money as we know it? – The Spectator
What’s behind China’s latest crackdown on crypto? For some time, Beijing has banned bitcoin and other cryptocurrency exchanges from operating within its borders. Last week, the Chinese Communist party extended the ban to criminalise anyone dealing in crypto. ‘Virtual currency-related business activities are illegal,’ declared the People’s Bank of China. The CCP would ‘resolutely clamp down on virtual currency speculation… to safeguard people’s properties and maintain economic, financial and social order’.
What happens if Congress doesn’t raise the US debt limit? – Quartz
It used to be unthinkable that the US would default on its debt. Now the question comes up every few years.
The US has a legal limit on the amount of federal debt it can issue, which Congress has to raise or suspend every so often to continue paying its bills. (This borrowing, mind you, is for spending that Congress has already approved.)
International shipping workers warn of ‘global transport systems collapse’ unless pandemic restrictions on trade and movement are quickly lifted – Daily Mail
A coalition of unions that represent shipping workers around the world has warned of an imminent ‘global transport systems collapse’ due to lingering impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an open letter on Wednesday, the workers groups warned that fragmented and inconsistent pandemic restrictions around the world have thrown global shipping into chaos.
The warning comes as supply-chain backlogs leave scores of cargo ships idling outside US ports, exacerbating shortages caused by a national truck driver shortage that threatens to derail the Christmas shopping season.
Environment
Renewables tipped to overtake fossil fuels by 2030 – Sydney Morning Herald
Australia’s clean energy transition is tipped to accelerate to the point that most homes will have solar panels paired with batteries by 2030 and the nation could have the highest penetration of renewable energy per-capita of anywhere in the world.
Business/Robbery, etc. – Spectator Australia
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has belled the cat. It is the Western world’s international financiers, not Australia’s best interests, that have dictated that Australia must embrace zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 preceded by tougher reductions by 2030. Otherwise, says Frydenberg, our sources of international funds will dry up, our exports will be threatened and our economy put at risk. Bad luck about our carbon-intensive exports that Australia’s economic strength relies on, or our cheap reliable fossil-fuelled energy. But now that we have to have zero, let it be our way, not the economically suicidal method the European/US climate catastrophists will seek to impose on Australia (and the rest of our Indo-Pacific region) at November’s climate summit in Glasgow.
Health
YouTube will now ban content with vaccine misinformation – TechCrunch
YouTube expanded its medical misinformation policies today to include new guidelines that ban vaccine misinformation. The Google-owned video platform had previously banned over 1 million videos spreading dangerous COVID-19 misinformation. Now, YouTube says it will also remove content that spreads misinformation about vaccine safety, the efficacy of vaccines and ingredients in vaccines. The platform previously banned misinformation specific to coronavirus vaccines, but now, its policies are being updated to also block misinformation about routine immunizations, like those for measles and Hepatitis B, as well as general false statements about vaccines that are confirmed safe by local health authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO).
This change in policy comes as COVID-19 vaccination rates slow — in the U.S., about 55% of people are fully vaccinated, but these percentages are larger in countries like Canada and the United Kingdom, which have vaccinated 71% and 67% of people against COVID-19, respectively. But President Biden has pointed to social media platforms as a place where vaccine misinformation spreads. The White House has even enlisted the help of rising superstars like Olivia Rodrigo to encourage Americans to get vaccinated.
Expert asked about vitamin C, zinc during court challenge to COVID-19 vaccine mandate – Sydney Morning Herald
A vaccination and infectious disease expert has been asked if vitamin C and zinc are effective at treating COVID-19, during a court challenge to NSW public health orders which require workers in certain industries to get vaccinated.
Healthcare staff including doctors, nurses and paramedics must have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination by Thursday to attend work, or provide a medical certificate detailing why they cannot receive the vaccine.
United Airlines to Fire Workers Who Refused to Get a Vaccination – NY Times
About 600 people out of the company’s 67,000-person U.S. work force are set to lose their jobs. The airline said it would work with employees who decide to get vaccinated after the company deadline.
The post Daily Digest 9/30 — Evergrande Misses Second Offshore Bond Payment; China Combatting Crypto with a Push for the Digital Yuan… appeared first on Peak Prosperity.
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