Global headlines - 7 July, 2020

News Links, July 8, 2020

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
EU sees deeper recession, less steep rebound for euro zone
Cuts to basic services loom as coronavirus ravages local economies and sends states into fiscal crisis (US)

World's Largest Pension Fund Loses $165 Billion in Worst Quarter

Gold miners glitter as spot price nears 9-year high

'Beyond worst nightmares': Argentina's child poverty rate soars amid pandemic

'Falling off a cliff': Lebanon's poor borrow to buy bread

## Cut, baby, cut! ##
Dunkin' will close hundreds of convenience store locations by end of 2020
Levi's sales fall 62% in second quarter, to cut 15% of corporate workforce

## War on cash/cashless society/cryptocurrencies ##
How COVID-19 is accelerating the shift to a cashless society

## Airline death spiral ##
United warns about COVID-19 surge as U.S. airlines move toward federal loans

14 Hawaiian Airlines flight attendants test positive for COVID-19
The Planes are Safe, It's the People Who Aren't

## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
Germany spent over $1B to cover costs linked to US troops

Three reasons India can't quickly distance itself from China despite the border clash

France-Turkey tensions mount after NATO naval incident

China Withdrawing In Ladakh, Tents Gone, Troops Reduced

## Energy/resources ##

The Collapse Of The U.S. Oil Drilling Rig Count Spells Big Trouble Ahead
Air Conditioners Contribute to 'Energy Poverty,' New Study Finds

Huge Debt Payments Come At Worst Time Possible For Canadian Drillers

Lebanon's Hezbollah talks to government about Iran fuel idea

Venezuela's Oil Riches Are Quietly Falling Under Russian Control
Bill Gates Backed Miner Looks For Cobalt In Canada

## Got food? ##
COVID-19 outbreaks at meat processing plants are hitting minorities hard

## Environment/health ##
Microplastic pollution harms lobster larvae, study finds

Scientists move to create single, comprehensive list of Earth's living species

Pink Snow in the Italian Alps Means Trouble, Scientists Say
• Coronavirus

Dr. Fauci says coronavirus immunity may be 'finite,' duration remains uncertain

As China tightens its grip on Hong Kong, it's also paving the way for money to flow into the city

Donald Trump claims 99% of coronavirus cases are 'totally harmless.' The 'long haulers' with lingering symptoms say he's wrong.

Hospitalizations jump 50% in California as coronavirus infections soar

WHO acknowledges 'evidence emerging' of airborne spread of COVID-19

Brazil's Bolsonaro catches coronavirus, shrugs off health risks

WHO officials worried about rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreaks in the Americas

Sweden's Covid Experiment is Now a Certified Failure

## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##

Assange's lawyer named French minister

The 55-year-old is known for a his record number of acquittals and led a push by European lawyers for French President Emmanuel Macron to grant asylum to Assange in February.
TikTok to leave Hong Kong as security law raises worries
U.S. is 'looking at' banning TikTok and Chinese social media apps, Pompeo says

Deutsche Telekom intensifies partnership with Huawei: Handelsblatt

Upcoming book from Mary Trump paints scathing portrait of her uncle turned president

The Merging of US and Israeli National Security States is Accelerating Amid COVID-19

## Propaganda/censorship/fake news/alternative facts ##
The Latest 'Russiagate' BOMBSHELL Took Just One Week To Be Exposed As Dud. Who Was Its Source?

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
What Will Be the Most Desirable Status Symbols in the Greater Depression?
Virtue-signaling texts from your $100 million yacht no longer impress, they enrage.

## Japan ##
Japan's household spending slumps by record as curbs hit travel, dining out
Race against time to rescue stranded flood victims; 52 dead

Tokyo reports 102 coronavirus cases, topping 100 for fifth straight day

## China ##

China slams U.S. as it joins global arms trade treaty at U.N.
China tweaks graduate employment rate to include students who find 'work' as gamers, bloggers

Cities Along Yangtze River Inundated by Severe Floods

## UK ##
Pret a Manger to close 30 stores and could cut more than 1,000 jobs

Huawei: 5G decision to be made 'within weeks', says culture secretary
UK to resume arms sales to Saudi Arabia despite 'possible' war crimes in Yemen, government says

## US ##

Fed policymakers see economy plateauing, risks ahead
Target shopper wearing '$40,000 Rolex' destroys face mask display, while Costco shopper protests mask policy

Auto dealers, restaurants with ties to lawmakers were among the firms that got PPP loans: Treasury report

U.S. withdrawal from WHO to take effect July 2021: U.N.
U.S. faces bleak summer as coronavirus infections surge

Texas says new coronavirus cases jumped by more than 10,000 for the first time

Televangelists, Dallas megachurch that hosted Pence approved for millions in pandemic aid

Major retailers to states: Mandate face masks now

3.9 Unemployed Workers For Every Job Opening Despite Record Hiring Surge: JOLTS

The New Boomerang Kids Could Change American Views of Living at Home 

News Links, July 7, 2020

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
One fifth of German firms fear for their survival amid pandemic: Ifo

Oil Price Crash Causes Major Recession In Russia

Trump's New Nafta is a Proven Failure Already

Silver and Platinum Bar Deliveries Surge As Banks Take Delivery

Only bold state intervention will save us from a future owned by corporate giants

## Airline death spiral ##
Vistara in talks with planemakers, lessors to delay taking delivery of some aircraft

Air NZ puts on hold international flights into New Zealand on government's request

## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
Two U.S. aircraft carriers are operating in the South China Sea; Air Force B-52 joins them

U.S. Navy carriers conduct South China Sea drills as Chinese ships watch

US approves $7.5 billion in foreign weapons sales in one day

India accelerates weapons purchases in wake of border clash with China

## Migrants/refugees ##
Italy to take in 180 migrants rescued in Mediterranean

## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
Frederick Douglass statue vandalized in Rochester park

Oregon protesters clash with police, throw fireworks
Authorities say 21 people were arrested or detained early Sunday after throwing fireworks and mortars as they clashed with police during the latest rally decrying police brutality

No to Ospreys (Japan)

## Energy/resources ##
Dominion, Duke abandon plans to build $8B Atlantic Coast Pipeline, citing 'increasing legal uncertainty'
Judge orders Dakota Access pipeline shut down pending review

## Got food? ##
Climate change impacts on agriculture

## Environment/health ##

Fish more vulnerable to warming water than first thought

Global warming looks like it will be a bigger problem for the world's fish species than scientists first thought: A new study shows that when fish are spawning or are embryos they are more vulnerable to hotter water.
Modern consumption harms environment, health and animal life

Climate change 'fuelling deadly India lightning strikes'

Russia cracks down on marmot hunting after bubonic plague alert

Coconut oil may be worse than palm oil for the environment

Study: World's pile of electronic waste grows ever higher

• Coronavirus

With nearly 700,000 coronavirus cases, India is third worst-hit country

Coronavirus pandemic may not have started in China, experts say

WHO reviewing report urging new guidance over airborne spread of coronavirus

U.S. coronavirus response still crippled by lack of testing, Dr. Scott Gottlieb says

Immunity to the coronavirus is 'fragile' and 'short-lived,' immunologist warns

12 States Hit New Record Highs in Covid Cases

## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##
Memo Raises Fresh Doubts on Russian Bounty Intel

France Won't Ban But Will Discourage Use of Huawei 5G Equipment, Official Says

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
What Makes You Think the Stock Market Will Even Exist in 2024?

## Japan ##
Fujitsu to halve office space in three years citing 'new normal'

Virus proving persistent in Japan

Southwestern Japan hit by more heavy rain as death toll rises to 49

## China ##
US chip ban doesn't mean the end of Huawei

Hong Kong details new powers under controversial China law

China Imposes Checks on Large Transactions After Bank Runs
China New Car Sales Crash 37% In 4th Week Of June

## UK ##
UK to phase out Huawei gear from 5G networks in a major policy U-turn after U.S. sanctions, reports say

UK decision on Huawei not set in stone, minister says

More than 220,000 renters at risk of eviction after falling into rent arrears during pandemic, charity warns

Coronavirus: 13 UK universities 'could go bust without bailout'

## US ##

U.S. pandemic aid program saved 51.1 million jobs, but wealthy and connected also benefited
Situation 'really not good' as new COVID-19 cases break records: Fauci

6-year-old boy fatally shot in San Francisco neighborhood

Mary Trump tell-all book will be released two weeks early amid court fight

Shoppers across the country are retreating again as coronavirus cases surge

Americans leave large cities for suburban areas and rural towns

If they're smart, they'll dig up their backyards and learn how to grow food. -- RF

California Enters Deadly Wildfire Season With Over Half Of Inmate Firefighters Under COVID Lockdown

Choices (America's one-party system) 

News Links, July 6, 2020

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
Crew Crisis To Trigger Ship Detentions And Diversions

Cruise operator Carnival's credit rating cut to junk

"Panic-Driven Hoarding Of Bank Notes": People Aren't Abandoning Cash During The Pandemic, They're Socking It Away

## Airline death spiral ##
Canada PM disappointed by Air Canada move to suspend domestic flights

Kenya Airways Begins Job Cuts Amid Nationalization, Virus Losses

Ryanair pilots agree to 20% pay cut in attempt to limit job losses
There is No Recovery in the Aerospace Industry

## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##

India Approves Purchase of 33 Russian Fighter Jets
Fire at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility caused significant damage: spokesman

Iran says it has built underground missile cities along Gulf coastline

Pirates Kidnap Nine on Norwegian Oil Ship off Nigeria

Iraqi forces thwart attack aiming for Camp Taji, but child injured by rocket fired toward US Embassy

Iran insists potential deal with China 'not secret'
Iran's foreign minister told parliament that they are 'negotiating a 25-year strategic accord with China'

## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
Predominantly Black armed protesters march through Confederate memorial park in Georgia

Columbus statue toppled by Baltimore protesters

## Got food? ##
Tepco unit launches giant vertical farm in Shizuoka powered by artificial lighting (Japan)

## Environment/health ##
Mongolia Quarantines Russian Border Region Over Bubonic Plague Suspicion

Heatwave trends accelerate worldwide
Mexico City buried its rivers to prevent disease and unwittingly created a dry, polluted city where COVID-19 now thrives

• Coronavirus

Catalonia curbs movement of 200,000 people after new coronavirus outbreaks

Hundreds of scientists say coronavirus is airborne, ask WHO to revise recommendations

Coronavirus on track to overwhelm Houston hospitals in two weeks, mayor says

COVID-19 deaths surging in Latin America as Mexico rises to 5th place

## Japan ##
Japan's Passenger Jet Project in Trouble After $4.9 Billion Loss

34 confirmed dead or missing after heavy rain in southwestern Japan

Road rage driver threatens commuter with a sickle as incidents increase across Japan

Tokyo reports 111 coronavirus cases, topping 100 for fourth straight day

JR Central gives up on 2027 maglev launch after Shizuoka backs farmers

Very sensibly, food takes precedence over technological gewgaws. -- RF

## China ##
Time for China to decouple the yuan from US dollar, former diplomat urges

Operation Bashi Channel: the next flashpoint in the China-US military rivalry

## UK ##
As the Biggest Restaurant Chains in the UK Fall into Bankruptcy, Attention Turns to KKR & Other PE Firms that Own Them

British Food Retailer SSP Group May Cut 5,000 Jobs As Rail, Air Travel Vanishes

UK to double work coaches as lockdown hammers jobs market

## US ##
Pay cuts for millions of U.S. workers worsen the pain of pandemic

A Scandal': Contracts Show Trump Giving Big Pharma Free Rein to Price Gouge Taxpayer-Funded Coronavirus Drugs

Government contracts obtained by consumer advocacy group Knowledge Ecology International show that the Trump administration is giving pharmaceutical companies a green light to charge exorbitant prices for potential coronavirus treatments developed with taxpayer money by refusing to exercise federal authority to constrain costs.

FDA commissioner refuses to comment on Trump's claim that 99 percent of coronavirus cases are 'harmless'

Mall and Hotel Loans Are Blowing up Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities

Slumping fleet sales weigh on U.S. auto market