Seemorerocks: Global headlines, 2 May, 2020

News Links, May 2, 2020

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
US billionaires boost collective wealth by $406 billion as markets rebound in the coronavirus pandemic, report finds

Global smartphone shipments suffer worst annual decline ever in the first quarter, IDC says
U.S. manufacturing activity plunges to 11-year low as orders sink

Poor stay poor, rich get richer? Virus aid weighs on EU market competition

Deutsche Bank Capitulates: Starts Charging Negative Rate On All New Deposit Accounts Over €100,000

Iran is hauling gold bars out of Venezuela's almost-empty vaults

## Cut, baby, cut! ##
Marathon Oil Lays Off 200 Employees

## Airline death spiral ##
United, American Airlines Report Large Losses On COVID-19 Hit

Struggling Thai Airways Gets $1.8 Billion Government Bailout With Strings Attached

Norwegian Air bondholders reject debt plan in setback for survival hopes

## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
Trump Threatens to Punish China Over Coronavirus

It' all about deflecting attention from his own failings. Trump symbolizes the American ethos: Take credit when something fortunate happens, but blame someone else when something goes sideways. The Russians and Chinese are America's prime scapegoats/bogeymen. Blame the Chinese, blame the Russians, blame the other political party, blame your predecessor, blame your neighbor, blame the weather, blame the space aliens... -- RF

Blaming China Will Not Restore U.S. Standing

EU chief backs investigation into coronavirus origin and says China should be involved

Russia Opposes US Bid to Extend Iran Arms Embargo

US Drawdown in Afghanistan Is Ahead of Schedule

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau orders ban on 1,500 assault-style weapons

## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
Stay-home orders draw demonstrations in Ohio, D.C., N.Y.

'Companies are failing workers,' Target employee says on day of planned protest

## Energy/resources ##
The Wave Of Shale Well Closures Has Finally Begun

The Oil Wells That Will Never Recover

Chevron Slashes Capex Again To Protect Dividend In Oil Price Rout

Trump signs order to protect the U.S. electricity system: Energy Department

Exxon, Chevron slam brakes on shale as oil demand tumbles

Movie review of Michael Moore's "Planet of the Humans"

## Got food? ##
Help The Hungry: UK food crisis 'escalating' due to economic impact of lockdown, experts warn

## Environment/health ##
Blood pressure, heart rate may spike in young adults who vape
Window to another world: Life is bubbling up to seafloor with petroleum from deep below
Rising cases of kids with Kawasaki disease possibly linked to virus

• Coronavirus

How a llama could hold key to beating coronavirus

An antibody engineered from the animal's immune system was found to neutralise the virus that causes Covid-19

The Oxford lab leading the race for a coronavirus vaccine says it hopes to get an idea of whether it works on humans in mid-June

WHO: Without vaccine, drugs, COVID-19 still a global emergency

Coronavirus may last 2 years, study warns. And its second wave could be worse.

India extends lockdown for two weeks

## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##
Mystery of North Korea's Kim Jong Un deepens with new rumors of death

U.S. deploys bombers, spy planes as Kim Jong Un remains missing

Kim Jong Un 'makes first appearance in weeks'

Photos from the ceremony were not immediately released.

## Propaganda/censorship/fake news/alternative facts ##

With Apparently Fabricated Nuclear Documents, Netanyahu Pushed the US Towards War With Iran
An investigation of supposed Iranian nuclear documents presented in a dramatically staged Netanyahu press conference indicates they were an Israeli fabrication designed to trigger US military conflict with Iran.
Trump suspects coronavirus outbreak came from China lab, doesn't cite evidence

'Maximum pressure' on China is no solution to a pandemic (Defense News)

That's a good point, but this opinion piece still pins all the blame on China, while saying nothing about the consequences of the Trump administration's shocking incompetency and inaction, or the president's egregious ignorance and life-threatening remarks such as those about injecting people with disinfectants. The writer also dutifully uses the word "regime" for unapproved governments. -- RF

Trump's tendency to deny his past statements has become more glaring during coronavirus

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
Maryland called in National Guard troops to defend coronavirus tests from South Korea against seizure
Our Inevitable Collapse: We Can't Save a Fragile Economy With Bailouts That Increase Fragility
By bailing out the sources of systemic fragility with trillions of dollars, the Fed has shifted the risk to the entire financial system and the nation's currency.
The Pandemic Shows What Cars Have Done to Cities
Along streets suddenly devoid of traffic, pedestrians get a fresh look at all the space that motor vehicles have commandeered.

## Japan ##
Gov't panel says state of emergency needs to be maintained 'for the time being'

Tokyo reports 165 coronavirus cases, the most since April 18

22 new COVID-19 deaths across nation raise the total to 457

20% of Japan's postsecondary students mull dropout amid virus crisis

Deflation fears creep back in Japan as pandemic hits prices

## China ##
More than 120 Chinese listed companies apply for regulatory approval to delay publishing their annual reports

China's coronavirus blues clouds hopes for Labour Day holiday spending spree

Diary of a 'Fangcang' Shelter Hospital Medic

## UK ##
UK factory output at risk of more than halving - Make UK

How Britain's Labour Govt Facilitated Massacre of Biafrans in Nigeria – To Protect its Oil Interests

British Airways to cut Gatwick operation and lay off 1130 pilots

UK food banks face record demand in coronavirus crisis