New Zealand economy at
Great Depression Levels:
GP's laid off
Retired GPs and nurses could be called back to work in a possible coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Health says.
This comes after 54 hospital staff in New Zealand were asked to go into self-isolation after treating a 'probable' case of Covid-19.
Ministry of Health director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield Bloomfield said they had looked at bringing back recent retirees from hospitals to raise staffing numbers if the situation gets worse.
You are much less likely to see the following stories plastered across the NZ media.
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Now you hear it Now you don't
Some of the most important news comes through on NZ radio in the wee hours and then disappears. This is from a 4 am bulletin.
Information is there IF YOU LOOK FOR IT and is often hard to find again
New Zealand would see an initial drop of almost 30 per cent in activity, the OECD said, compared to about 15 per cent in Ireland, 22 per cent in Australia and 25 per cent in the United States
New Zealand's economy is likely to suffer a bigger coronavirus blow than most in the OECD, new research says.
The OECD has put out a new report evaluating the impact of Covid-19 on economic activity. It does not take into account Government stimulus in those countries.
It said the initial direct effect of shutdowns could be a decline of between one fifth and one quarter in most economies as spending dropped by about a third.
"Changes of this magnitude would far outweigh anything experienced during the global financial crisis in 2008-09. This broad estimate only covers the initial direct impact in the sectors involved and does not take into account any additional indirect impacts that may arise."
New Zealand would see an initial drop of almost 30 per cent in activity, the OECD said, compared to about 15 per cent in Ireland, 22 per cent in Australia and 25 per cent in the United States.
And this is how things look in America
Millions of Americans already have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus crisis and the worst of the damage is yet to come, according to a Federal Reserve estimate.
Economists at the Fed’s St. Louis district project total employment reductions of 47 million, which would translate to a 32.1% unemployment rate, according to a recent analysis of how bad things could get.
The projections are even worse than St. Louis Fed President James Bullard’s much-publicized estimate of 30%. They reflect the high nature of at-risk jobs that ultimately could be lost to a government-induced economic freeze aimed at halting the coronavirus spread.
I was delighted to have this exchange with Stacy Herbert of the Max Keiser Show.
The same is true here. You cannot buy flour for love or money in this country. Of course it is being put down to enthusiastic home bakers - EXCESS DEMAND again!
First it was toilet paper, then bread, and now flour is the hottest commodity on supermarket shelves.
Home baking is making a comeback during the lockdown and the key ingredient is flour - if you can find any.
"I've heard from family all over the country that they've been looking for flour and that it's totally not available in any of the supermarkets," Lou Bentley says.
The shortage is countrywide - everyone, it seems, is making homemade bread.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/lifestyle/2020/04/nationwide-flour-shortage-as-home-baking-makes-a-comeback.html
But might there just be another explanation such as this?
Price of bread likely to rise after Australian wheat shortage
Bakers find little delight in rising costs of flour and butter
I made a video about this late last year.
Intelligently joining the dots is the very LAST thing the authorities want!
Of course, unlike toilet paper, where they just need to manufacture more, I suspect the situation is more complicated. How long before we see shortages of bread?
TOILET PAPER IS BACK
More locally, my partner managed to buy one of FOUR bags of flour that came into her small store due to an earlier act of kindness towards the owner during a recent electricity outage.
Meanwhile, toilet paper is back!
And finally, for the Bigger Picture
Thank you Robin
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