Wednesday 15 January 2020

Global headlines - 15 Jauary, 2020

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
Bond data back to the Black Death shows lower and even negative rates could be here to stay
Data going back to the Black Death of the 14th century shows low rates have been the norm for ages.
China’s Consumers Slam Automakers, Sales Drop Hard, 2nd Year. GM Sales Plunge. Ford Sales Collapse. But Luxury is Hot
“Challenging environment with weakened consumer demand”: This nosedive in a vast industry, affecting consumers and manufacturing, is happening even as GDP officially booms at 6%?
12 Signs That The Economy Is Seriously Slowing Down As 2020 Begins
Former RBI governor says India needs ‘significant reforms’ to keep young job seekers employed
No matter what the government does, net energy decline will drag India down with everyone else. -- RF
The sheer number of humans on the planet is overwhelming available resources. -- RF
It's a dire predicament, and my heart goes out to the Iraqis. At the same time, we need to remember that the whole world financial system is teetering on the brink. Sooner or later, collapse is coming for us all. -- RF
Instability Rising: Why 2020 Will Be Different
In 2020, increasing monetary and fiscal stimulus will be the equivalent of spraying gasoline on a fire to extinguish it.

## Cut, baby, cut! ##
Nokia slashes 180 jobs in Finland but invests in 5G

## Airline death spiral ##

## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
"This is another grim milestone for Mohammed Bin Salman's Saudi Arabia," Reprieve director Maya Foa said. "The Kingdom's rulers clearly believe they have total impunity to flout international law when it suits them."
Saudi energy minister on Trump’s actions in the Middle East: ‘He can do whatever he wishes’
Building Post-INF Missiles Would Be a Waste, or Worse
New U.S. intermediate-range ground-launched missiles would deliver more undesirable effects than tactical utility.
The United States wants to reduce the number of its troops deployed across Africa over the next few years to focus more on responding to the threats posed by Russia and China.
A key bit of underlying context is that the Navy’s two major new surface warfare programs at the turn of the twenty-first century, the Zumwalt-class stealth destroyers and the littoral combat ship, have been expensive disasters.

• Iran/Iraq
Iran’s Smart Strategy
The Iranians chose neither to fold nor to fight. It is not clear at this point who was more deterred by whom.
Trudeau cites US ratcheting up tensions with Iran in plane's downing
Victims of an Iran-downed jetliner would still be alive if not for a recent escalation of tensions partly triggered by the United States, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday.

## Migrants/refugees ##
Police bust ring smuggling Moroccans to Spain via Gibraltar

## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
French prime minister makes concession to pension protest
Edouard Philippe said he is ready to withdraw a proposal to raise the retirement age to 64 in a compromise with striking trade unions.
It's only a temporary reprieve. In every country, the retirement age must go up — or be scrapped entirely. -- RF
Net energy decline leads to the collapse of education! -- RF
Shale Pioneer Mark Papa: Expect M&A Wave In Shale

## Got food? ##
'Soylent yellow': Is artificial protein really a solution to food production?
There is one other problem that the author doesn't mention: What happens when food factory power supplies are interrupted? Everything comes to an end sooner or later, and that includes electricity. -- RF
Price of wheat leaps during solar minimums (graph)

## Environment/health ##
‘Last mile’ delivery push will worsen commutes, hurt the environment, World Economic Forum says
Emissions from delivery traffic will increase by nearly a third and congestion will rise by over 21%, according to the World Economic Forum.

## Propaganda/censorship/fake news/alternative facts ##
Under US pressure, social media companies censor critical content and suspend Venezuelan, Iranian, and Syrian accounts
As the US escalates its hybrid wars, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are suspending accounts and censoring content that conflicts with Washington’s pro-war narrative.
Ex-US intel officer: Pompeo ‘lying through his teeth’ on Iran
Scott Ritter, a former Marine Corps intelligence officer, analyzes the increased White House coercion efforts and collapsing intelligence claims.
The British government secretly funded Reuters in the 1960s and 1970s at the direction of an anti-Soviet propaganda organization with links to MI-6, according to unclassified documents unveiled Monday.

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
Global Births & Population of Potential Mothers...Down, Down, Down (Econimica)
These grim charts certainly put the kibosh on the growth scenario. But it's going to be even worse as failure of the global financial system, increasing military conflict, social unrest, collapse of economies, climate change, disease, food shortages, and other factors chop away at the world population. -- RF
Cities around the world are shrinking. China is no exception. Net energy decline is inexorably downsizing industrial societies and will continue to do so. -- RF
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