Friday, 17 January 2020

Global headlines - 17 January, 2020



## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
Germany Reports Its Slowest Economic Growth in Six Years
US Freight Shipments Plunge at Fastest Rate since 2009, Hit 2011 Level: This is Getting Surprisingly Ugly
Debt from all sectors — ranging from household to government to corporate bonds — has surged
Chinese giants thrive as European firms battle belt and road entry barriers, report says
European companies struggle to be more than niche players in grand infrastructure plan, according to leading business group
Nutty Bond Wonderland in Europe Just Reached New Heights of Madness
Not even the “bankruptcy” word hanging over super-troubled Italian infrastructure giants Atlantia and Autostrade, whose bridge collapsed last year, can get their bonds to reflect any  kind of serious risk.


## War on cash/cashless society/cryptocurrencies ##
China Pilot Testing its Digital Currency: Will the Digital Renminbi Challenge the US Dollar in the Currency Wars ?

## Airline death spiral ##
Delta jet dumps fuel over Southern California, sickening dozens of schoolkids and adults
A Delta plane returning to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) after pilots declared an engine emergency dumped thousands of gallons of fuel over land Tuesday afternoon.

## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##

• Iran/Iraq
U.S. threatened Europe with auto tariffs over Iran nuclear program - Washington Post
The Trump administration has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on European automobile imports if Britain, France and Germany do not formally accuse Iran of breaking the 2015 nuclear deal, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed European officials.
After repeated threats from President Trump to sanction Iraq, to seize its primary bank account, and cut all military aid, Iraqi PM Adel Abdul-Mahdi has backed away from calls to expel US troops from Iraq.
17 years of war and we’re back to square one.

## Migrants/refugees ##
Feds: Smugglers ferry Chinese migrants to Florida in yachts

## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
Lebanon in 'week of wrath' protests over political, economic crisis

## Energy/resources ##
[T]he growing of pot is so power-intensive that its ecological footprint is quickly becoming an environmental nightmare.
Number Of DUC Wells Plunges In Latest Sign Of Shale Distress
Is Iraq Too Risky For Oil Majors?
Million solar roofs might not be enough: Austrian environmentalists

## Got food? ##
Putin’s movements since U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the airstrike on Soleimani have underscored one of the most consequential trends driving events in the Middle East: Russia’s star is rising as U.S. standing in the region is falling.
Criminals are using ‘Frankenstein identities’ to steal from banks and credit unions
So-called synthetic identity fraud is the fastest-growing financial crime, according to the Federal Reserve, driven in part by lending moving online. It’s also one of the hardest to detect.

## Propaganda/censorship/fake news/alternative facts ##
#CNNIsTrash Trends As Pushback Grows Against Oligarchic Election Meddling
Meet the Money Behind The Climate Denial Movement
Nearly a billion dollars a year is flowing into the organized climate change counter-movement

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##

## US ##
Year-over-year, the Cass shipping index turned in its worst performance since the Great Recession.
Cities in the Crosshairs Are Pushing Back Against Nuclear Weapons
These are certainly not the type of Christians who beat their swords into plowshares. -- RF
What a surprise. -- RF

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