Economy
European Gas Surges 60% in Two Days as EU Sounds Alarm – Bloomberg
European gas prices surged again, bringing their gains over just two days to 60%, as the impact of soaring energy costs rippled through equity and bond markets and the European Union sounded the alarm.
Dutch and U.K. gas futures continue to hit fresh records along with rising power prices. Rocketing energy costs are stoking inflationary pressures and fueling concern that economic growth will slow, prompting a slump in European stocks.
Futures, Stocks Fall With Bonds on Inflation Worry – Bloomberg
U.S. futures fell with stocks as surging energy prices stoked inflationary pressures ahead of a key employment report. Treasury yields extended an advance.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 contracts declined, with tech giants such as Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc. down in premarket trading. European equities headed for a two-month low, with the region’s natural gas prices soaring even as the European Union pledged swift action to ensure the spiking costs don’t stifle the economy. MSCI Inc.’s Asia-Pacific index also dropped.
Gas Prices In Europe Are Now The Equivalent Of $205 Oil – OilPrice.com
The benchmark European gas prices continue their rally this week, surging to new record highs on Tuesday to an equivalent of $205 a barrel oil, amid a wider energy commodity rally driven by supply concerns ahead of the winter.
The gas price at the Dutch TTF hub, the benchmark gas price for Europe, soared on Tuesday to above 100 euro per MWh for the first time ever, as gas and coal prices rally in Europe and Asia and as nuclear power generation in France fell due to a strike.
The energy crisis continues to worsen, and there is no immediate relief in sight, analysts say.
Powell said the Fed has no plans to ban crypto. Here is what experts say may lie ahead for crypto regulation as authorities tighten their grip – Markets Insider
When Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he has no intentions of banning cryptocurrency during a Congress testimony just days after China intensified its crackdown by banning all related transactions, many in the digital asset space were pleased but not surprised.
“It’s hard for me to believe that US regulators would decide that was the best course of action given the role that cryptocurrencies are playing in so many citizens’ lives,” Bobby Zagotta, US CEO of crypto exchange Bitstamp, told Insider. “I think doing that would be incredibly disruptive and it would really put the US and the economy in a compromised situation.”
Hong Kong property agencies suing Evergrande to recover commissions – Reuters
Two Hong Kong property agencies are suing heavily indebted China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) over unpaid commissions, according to a court filing and media reports, piling pressure on the developer as it scrambles to raise funds and avert a collapse.
Centaline filed a suit against Evergrande in September to recover HK$3.1 million ($398,196) in overdue commissions, a court filing showed, while the South China Morning Post newspaper reported Midland Holdings (1200.HK) is claiming unpaid commission of HK$43.45 million for two developments in Hong Kong.
‘Grown men in tears’: Hundreds of pigs culled with farms overcrowded amid butcher shortage – Sky
Hundreds of healthy pigs have been culled after a nationwide shortage of abattoir workers left farms overcrowded with animals that could not be sent for slaughter.
The National Pig Association (NPA) said at least 600 swine had been killed – and fears that the bottleneck in the meat processing industry could see as many as 150,000 affected. NPA chief executive Zoe Davies told Sky News she had spoken to “grown men in tears” at the thought of having to carry out the cull – which she has been warning about for weeks.
The supply chain crisis has hit the Bay Area – partly because of epic cargo backlogs in Southern California – SF Chronicle
Nathan Rundel ordered a new refrigerator for his Orinda home remodel in April. It won’t arrive until January, and he doesn’t even have a delivery date for his new dishwasher.
That aggravation is exponentially higher at his job as president of Build Group, a huge San Francisco contractor. Rebar, drywall, metal studs, appliances, cabinets and HVAC systems “are all severely back-ordered,” he said. “It’s both shortages and delays.”
Mac Harman, CEO of Redwood City’s Balsam Hill, is paying 270% more to import artificial Christmas trees and decorations from overseas factories. “Ocean freight rates have gone up like crazy,” he said.
Offshore havens and hidden riches of world leaders and billionaires exposed in unprecedented leak – ICIJ
Millions of leaked documents and the biggest journalism partnership in history have uncovered financial secrets of 35 current and former world leaders, more than 330 politicians and public officials in 91 countries and territories, and a global lineup of fugitives, con artists and murderers.
The secret documents expose offshore dealings of the King of Jordan, the presidents of Ukraine, Kenya and Ecuador, the prime minister of the Czech Republic and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The files also detail financial activities of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “unofficial minister of propaganda” and more than 130 billionaires from Russia, the United States, Turkey and other nations.
Environment
Climate change killed 14% of the world’s coral reefs in a decade, study finds – Seattle Times
Climate change is wiping out coral reefs and will kill more if oceans keep getting warmer, researchers warned Tuesday in a new study that spanned much of the globe.
The world already lost 14% of its coral between 2009 and 2018 — or what amounts to more than all the coral now living in Australia’s reefs — scientists with the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network found.
They blamed rising sea surface temperatures: While local factors like too much fishing, pollution and construction on the coast play a role, coral bleaching has done the most harm.
Russia considering more ambitious climate targets – Reuters
Russia is considering more ambitious climate targets that would significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 but fall short of carbon neutrality, a draft government document seen by Reuters showed on Wednesday.
One of the world’s biggest producers of oil and gas, Russia is under pressure to step up its pledges ahead of the UN’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow which starts at the end of the month.
Health
UK Surveillance Data – A First Look – Substack
After writing Lies, Damned Lies, and Vaccine Statistics I found myself receiving a little heat. The criticism I received came in two varieties: Those who didn’t understand the distinction between the efficacy numbers and infection/case fatality rates, and those who understood but were upset that I had reported on and focused on numbers that didn’t seem to praise the vaccines.
The main focus on that article involved the public-facing health experts, misinterpreting a large study, making claims that the vaccines reduced the probability of death after infection near 100x. My article demonstrated that those calculations had not been performed in that large study, and when you performed those calculations, except for the oldest age group, the results were too ambiguous to make after-infection claims.
Some of what I will be analyzing today might require some familiarity with that initial article, so if you have not read that article please consider doing so. I will reexplain some important concepts here when necessary, but they will be far less thorough.
The post Daily Digest 10/6 — European Gas Surges 60% in Two Days as EU Sounds Alarm; Futures, Stocks Fall With Bonds on Inflation Worry… appeared first on Peak Prosperity.
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