FedEx has seen a sharp drop off in the number of package deliveries and has warned of troubles ahead for the economy. Esther Fung and Will Feuer report in The Wall Street Journal: FedEx Corp.’s warning of a sharp drop in package deliveries set off fresh worries among investors about the outlook for the global economy, sparking another down day in stock markets on Friday. The delivery giant’s shares lost 21% Friday—its biggest one-day percentage drop ever—after the company said a macroeconomic slowdown had led to lower volumes of goods moving around the world in recent weeks. All three … [Read more...]
American Shale Can’t Save Europe from Winter
European gas customers are facing a winter of uncertainty with the war between Ukraine and Russia putting supplies of natural gas in doubt. Joe Biden has promised America will help supply Europe with gas, but American shale drillers are signaling that they can't ramp up production in time to have a meaningful effect on the gas market. Justin Jacobs, Derek Brower, and Myles McCormick report for the Financial Times, writing: The US shale industry has warned it cannot rescue Europe with increased oil and gas supplies this winter amid fears that a plunge in Russian exports will send crude prices … [Read more...]
The World Doesn’t Have Enough LNG Export Capacity to Keep Europe Warm
Europe may be freezing in winters until 2027 according to the head of Citigroup commodities research, Ed Morse, in an interview with Bloomberg TV. The problem facing Europe is that there isn't enough LNG export capacity to keep the continent supplied. Bloomberg reports: While European politicians are focusing on the region’s survival this winter, next year could be worse. The loss of Russian natural-gas supplies will cause reserves to be depleted faster when temperatures drop in the coming months and make the process of preparing for following heating seasons even more difficult. With no … [Read more...]
What Happens if the Chinese Blockade Taiwan?
Despite its small size, Taiwan was America's ninth largest trading partner in 2020, with total U.S./Taiwan trade reaching $105.9 billion that year. The little country's heavy reliance on trade has made it the world's fifth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves at $483 billion, and the thirteenth largest holder of gold reserves with 423.6 metric tons. So what happens if such an important part of the world's trade is blockaded by aggressive neighbors? The Wall Street Journal's Chun Han Wong and Yang Jie try to answer that question, writing: Beijing considers Taiwan, a democratically … [Read more...]
Europeans Closing Businesses Early to Save on Energy
In the face of high prices and low supply, European businesses and homeowners are cutting their use of electricity. Some businesses are opting to close early in order to save power. Richa Naidu reports in Reuters: As energy bills mount and the threat of rationing increases, some European retailers are turning off lights and considering shorter opening hours this winter. Energy bosses and government officials have urged people and businesses to reduce power use and put in place contingency plans so they are less reliant on gas imports if there are shortages linked to the war in … [Read more...]
Federal Reserve Governor Signals MORE Big Rate Hikes
Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle Bowman signaled that she supports continued .75 percentage point rate hikes until inflation is reduced. CNBC's Jeff Cox reports: Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said Saturday she supports the central bank’s recent big interest rate increases and thinks they are likely to continue until inflation is subdued. The Fed, at its last two policy meetings, raised benchmark borrowing rates by 0.75 percentage point, the largest increase since 1994. Those moves were aimed at subduing inflation running at its highest level in more than 40 years. In … [Read more...]
BIDEN UNCONVINCING: Saudis Holding Fire on Spare Capacity
Despite a meeting with Joe Biden, the Saudis and the UAE have decided to limit their production of crude oil to save capacity for potential shortages in the winter months. The statement referred to "the severely limited availability" of spare capacity, saying that meant it needed to kept it in reserve for "severe supply disruptions". At first glance, that reads as an acknowledgement that OPEC’s leader Saudi Arabia has almost no room to raise output, as mentioned by French President Emmanuel Macron in a conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden last month. Three sources, speaking on … [Read more...]
Just 21 Countries Account for 80% of World Energy Consumption
The United States and China together account for 42% of global energy consumption, followed by Russia and India which together account for another 11%. Along with the next seventeen smaller energy users, those 21 countries consume 80% of global energy. John Kemp reports on analyzing this energy consumption for Reuters, writing: Just 21 countries accounted for 80% of the world’s total primary energy consumption in 2021 (“Statistical review of world energy”, BP, 2022). China and the United States are true energy giants, together accounting for more than 42% of world consumption. India … [Read more...]
American Manufacturers ALARMED by Schumer-Manchin Tax Hike Plan
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is sounding the alarm over the recently unveiled Schumer-Manchin tax plan that would disproportionately burden their operations. NAM reports: The proposed “book tax” in the Senate’s reconciliation bill “would overwhelmingly hit U.S. manufacturers,” according to a new analysis by the Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress’s non-partisan tax scorekeeper. What’s going on: The reconciliation bill, the outline of which was released Wednesday by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WVA), proposes a 15% minimum … [Read more...]
Is a Housing Market Crash Next?
With the Fed raising rates fast, homeowners are watching as demand for their homes begins to dry up. Pending home sales fell by 8.6% in June. That was much further than forecast, reports Aarthi Swaminathan at MarketWatch: U.S. pending-home sales fell in June by 8.6%, according to the monthly index released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors. Analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast the pending home sales index to drop by 1%. The drop in pending home sales is the biggest since the depths of the pandemic in April and March 2020. It also follows gloomy data on … [Read more...]
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