Wednesday 22 April 2020

Global headlines - 21 April, 2020

News Links, April 22, 2020


## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
Nippon Steel to halt another blast furnace due to falling demand
Branson on the brink: plea to save Virgin Atlantic
Airline founder writes open letter to UK government pleading for government loan to stave off airline's collapse
There will be no quick rebound from the pandemic situation, according to the International Air Transport Association, or IATA, global airline revenues are now forecast to drop by more than half — US$314 billion — in 2020, and it warned that the industry's "outlook grows darker by the day."

## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
Trump's Beijing Problem: Starting a New Cold War
COVID-19: Trump Weaponizing Virus by Intensifying Sanctions on Iran & Venezuela

## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
Some Amazon workers plan to not show up for the job this week as part of labor actions
As US Shale Oil Plunges, Trump Admin Takes Aim at Venezuela
A confluence of factors suggests that such a Panama-style invasion of Venezuela is not only a possibility, but increasingly likely.
Most Solar Panel Warranties Last 25 Years. Europe's Plant Owners Are Counting on Much More
Keeping plants running for 35 years or longer reduces the levelized cost of energy, but doubts remain about long-run performance.
The head of the U.N. food agency warned Tuesday that, as the world is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, it is also "on the brink of a hunger pandemic" that could lead to "multiple famines of biblical proportions" within a few months if immediate action isn't taken.

## Solutions ##
The Future Must Be Decentralized and Localized
• Coronavirus

## Propaganda/censorship/fake news/alternative facts ##
MSM China Hysteria Gets Way Crazier And Dumber
Yellow peril! The main demonization target seems to have switched from Russia to China. -- RF

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
The Coronavirus Pandemic and Our Civilizational Crisis
Britain's government made a firm decision to allow China's Huawei to have a role in building the country's 5G phone network and as far as the foreign ministry's top official understands it is not being reopened, he said on Tuesday.
140,000 UK companies apply for coronavirus job furlough scheme
• Coronavirus




News Links, April 21, 2020

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
The looming derivative crisis
McKinsey predicts near doubling of unemployment in Europe
OPEC's No.3 Scrambles For Lifeline As Oil Income Tanks

## Airline death spiral ##

## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
About 2,500 protesters converge at Washington state capitol against stay-at-home order

## Energy/resources ##
Proponents spin this to make it look good by citing, for example, the expected huge energy-storage market that will create umpteen million jobs. But the need for storage adds a huge layer of cost which fossil fuels and dispatchable power production didn't need. The bottom line is that renewable energy cannot deliver the large energy surplus that FFs did, and that bodes ill for industrial civilization. -- RF

Coronavirus attacks lining of blood vessels all over the body, Swiss study finds

## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##
Facebook removes anti-quarantine protest events in some U.S. states

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
The corona virus: What will it do to us? - Part I
In summary, the COVID-19 epidemic is acting as a catalyst that speeds up the inevitable future.

## Japan ##
Japan's temp staff faces 'May shock' bigger than financial crisis
Hundreds of thousands of Japan's temporary workers could be terminated at the end of May as businesses hit by the pandemic move to slash costs, causing an unemployment crisis far bigger than the one after the 2008 Lehman shock.

## US ##
What the COVID19 outbreak has shown is how frail the economic situation was for many Americans and how disconnected Wall Street was from the lives of millions of Americans.
• Coronavirus

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