Wednesday 19 February 2020

Global Headlines - 19 February, 2020

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
It Starts: Apple Throws Revenue Guidance Out the Window, on Supply Chain Woes & Sales Collapse in China
This will become an often-played tune over the next few months, delineating how dependent Corporate America has become on China.
The World Is Awash in Oil, False Assurances, Magical Thinking and Complacency as Global Demand Careens Toward a Cliff
This collapse of price will manifest in all sorts of markets that are based on debt-funded purchases of desires rather than a warily prudent priority on needs.
• Carmageddon

## Cut, baby, cut! ##

## War on cash/cashless society/cryptocurrencies ##
UK digital bank Monzo plans to hire 500 and relaunch paid accounts

The report did not indicate whether weapons intended for vetted groups may have found their ways into the wrong hands.

India in talks with Russia for long-term import of crude oil
Petrobras Keeps Contingency Plan As Oil Strike Set To Enter Third Week
Here's another person who thinks he could become an instant farmer because, supposedly, growing food is so easy that any idiot can do it. We can hope that, post-SHTF, Bloomberg will be thrust into a situation where he has to grow his own. Then he'll find out how easy it is to farm. -- RF
Locust swarms: South Sudan latest to be hit by invasion

## Solutions ##
Breakdown or breakthrough? Degrowth and the Great Transition
We have already surpassed the known limits to growth, so degrowth is our only option.
Degrowth: Coming right up! -- RF
What survivalists say you’ll need in case of a coronavirus outbreak

## Environment/health ##
Climate change could make premiums unaffordable: QBE Insurance
Australia’s QBE Insurance Group (QBE.AX) said on Monday climate change could make some premiums unaffordable, especially for customers exposed to extreme weather events, and was a “material risk” for its operations across the globe.
“In many people’s eyes, animals are living for man, not sharing the earth with man,” said Wang Song, a retired researcher of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Before jumping on the criticize-China bandwagon, it's useful to recall that there is an analog in the belief, held by many Christians in the West, that humans have "dominion" over other creatures. Few modern humans believe they are "sharing" the planet with non-humans. -- RF
Smog veils Central Asia cities as smoky stoves choke locals
Half-a-million mussels cooked to death in waters off New Zealand
The climate crisis has given us another casualty. Nearly 500,000 dead green-lipped mussels washed up on a beach in New Zealand after being cooked alive by rising ocean temperatures.
Bee-killing pesticides could be banned in Minnesota under new bill
Julian Assange Must Be Freed, Not Betrayed
When Julian Assange steps into Woolwich Crown Court on Feb. 24, true journalism will be the only crime on trial
What A Shame: Legacy Newspapers Want To Take Away Free Speech On The Internet

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
The Return of the Black Death? Can the Coronavirus Cause a Population Crash?
Indeed, the world population is already stressed by heavy pollution, low-intensity wars, net energy decline, and a rapidly failing global economy. At the least, the virus is aggravating these existing problems, which will likely lead to many secondary deaths. -- RF
Would We Still Have Power and Water If We Had a Massive Coronavirus Quarantine in the US?

## Japan ##
Japan’s economy shrinks at fastest pace in 6 years, virus clouds outlook
Fukushima staff could use raincoats as virus threatens gear production
Workers at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant may need to wear plastic raincoats as the coronavirus outbreak threatens production of protective suits in China, the operator warned on Tuesday.

## China ##

## US ##
The Cass Freight Shipping Index is down 9.4% year-over-year, the largest decline since 2009. And this is for January, before the Coronavirus disruption.
Illinoisans Are Overwhelmed By "Shadow Mortgage" Of Pension Debts
Since 2010, 121 rural hospitals have closed. The National Rural Health Association says more than one-third of all rural U.S. hospitals are at serious risk of shutting down.
Real Earnings Have Gone Nowhere For a Full Year
Real hourly wages have risen but average hours worked fell. The combination leaves the average worker no better off.

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