Seemorerocks: Global headlines

News Links, May 23, 2020

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##

The Global Forest Fire Is Here

$Quadrillions will go up in smoke.

Argentina Braces for Ninth Default
Australia's Wesfarmers to shut or rebrand over 100 Target stores in virus slump

Renault could disappear and needs to be able to adapt: Le Maire

Digital Currencies Could Threaten US Geopolitical Power, Warns JPMorgan

Will private gold ownership be banned if inflation runs out of control?

Global Investors Demand Gold As Protection Against Financial Repression

## Cut, baby, cut! ##
Nissan considering 20,000 job cuts, mainly in Europe, developing nations: Kyodo
IBM cuts jobs in 5 states including California, New York

## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
'Major Milestone' As Allies Join SPACECOM's War Plan

European states vow to stay in Open Skies Treaty despite US exit

U.S. strikes at a Huawei prize: chip juggernaut HiSilicon

Envoy: US Will Spend Russia and China Into Oblivion in Nuclear Arms Race

And the US is spending itself into oblivion. Lizard brains run the world, so don't expect any sane, sensible course of action from any government. -- RF

Pompeo Lays Out the Case For Cold War II With China

US Warship Fries Drone With Powerful New Laser

China announces $178.2 billion military budget

China's Move In Hong Kong Illustrates The End Of U.S. Superiority

Is the US-Saudi Alliance Headed Off a Cliff?

How To Understand All This China Stuff

## Energy/resources ##
U.S. Rig Count Collapse Continues Despite Soaring Oil Prices

## Environment/health ##
Earth's magnetic field weakens, impacting satellites and spacecraft: report

By "eminent pole reversal" the Fox News writer presumably meant "imminent pole reversal." No editors at Fox News? -- RF

• Coronavirus

China gets 'promising' early results from COVID-19 vaccine trial

South America a new COVID epicentre, Africa reaches 100,000 cases: WHO

Coronavirus is a stress test many world leaders are failing

## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##
Report: Mike Pompeo hosted taxpayer-funded 'Madison Dinners' with Republicans, Fox hosts
How South Korea turned an urban planning system into a virus tracking database
When a man in Seoul tested positive for the new coronavirus in May, South Korean authorities were able to confirm his wide-ranging movements in and outside the city in minutes, including five bars and clubs he visited on a recent night out.

North Korea's Kim keeps low public profile in May: analysts

Africa virus cases surpass 100,000; lockdowns slowed growth

## Propaganda/censorship/fake news/alternative facts ##
Gaslighting of the American Public on Pensacola Terrorist Attack Continues

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
Opting Out, American Style
Opting out will increasingly be the best (or only) choice for tens of millions of people globally. Opting out means leaving the complicated, costly and now unaffordable / unbearable life you've been living for a new way of life that is radically less complex, less costly and less deranging.

Questions about the coronavirus: the epidemic seen in a historical perspective

## Japan ##
Japan's elderly workers, once key to Abenomics, suffer as pandemic closes businesses

Bach's Olympic cancellation remark stuns Tokyo organizers

BOJ expands loan program for small firms by ¥30 trillion

3 new coronavirus cases reported in Tokyo, lowest under emergency

## China ##
China says 2020 defence spending to rise 6.6%

China law requires Hong Kong to enact national security rules as soon as possible

China drops mention of GDP goal as parliament opens, virus slams economy

Wuhan Residents Can Now Check Their COVID-19 Test Results Online

UK expects China to respect Hong Kong's autonomy, PM's spokesman says

That's pretty rich coming from the UK, which refuses to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. -- RF

Hong Kong's hotels are down on their knees as two in three rooms sat empty in Asian hospitality industry's first-quarter slump

## UK ##
Britain in deepest downturn for centuries, scant chance of negative rates - Reuters poll

The UK just sold its first ever negative-yielding government bond

UK borrows 62 billion pounds in April alone as it fights COVID crisis

Renewable energy may be switched off as demand plummets
National Grid may ask suppliers to stop generating electricity due to record low consumption

More than 30,000 pubs and restaurants 'may not reopen after lockdown'

British theatre 'on brink of total collapse', says top producer
Coronavirus: People with no symptoms 'could be forced to isolate for a fortnight' once track and trace measures begin

Coronavirus: Retail sales crash in April as lockdown hits shops

UK to roll out antibody testing, planning 'antibody certificates'

UK coronavirus death toll rises 351 to 36,393

Factbox: The details of Britain's impending quarantine scheme

UK eyes cuts to Huawei's 5G network involvement in wake of COVID-19: report

What Horrified Fund Managers, Banks & UK's Pension Minister Said About the Bank of England's Sudden "We Don't Rule Out" Negative Interest Rates

## US ##

Week 9 of the Collapse of the U.S. Labor Market: Still Getting Worse at a Gut-Wrenching Pace
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) for gig workers doubles initial claims under state programs. Here are the "Insured Unemployment Rates" for each of the 50 states & DC.
The coronavirus is crushing bankrupt retailers' hopes for a rebound – and threatening even more jobs

Shelter-in-place will have a 'lasting impact on consumer behavior,' Jim Cramer says
In Last Bailout, the Fed Outsourced Management to the Banks Being Bailed Out – then Paid them Huge Fees for their Work

U.S. adding 33 Chinese companies, institutions to economic blacklist

All 50 U.S. states shed jobs in April: Labor Department