Friday, 24 April 2020

USA - 26.4 Million Unemployed In 5 Weeks! Food Supply Problems.


Baltic Dry Index. 672 -22  Brent Crude 22.25
Spot Gold 1725

Coronavirus Cases 24/4/20 World 2,715,748
Deaths 190,886

“We’ve got a few businesses, small ones, we won’t reopen when this is over.”

Charlie Munger, Vice Chairman Berkshire Hathaway


Soaring unemployment, cratering G-7 economies, global food supply chain disruption, and yet again another drug failure in the fight against Sars-Cov-2 and the illness it causes CoviD-19.  It’s about as bad as it gets just don’t let on to Wall Street or any of the other casinos.

Well not entirely. Why Gilead’s antiviral drug remdesivier “failed” I suspect has largely to do with how early it was administered, the dosage, and the severity of the patients it was given to. Antivirals are at their most effective when given early. 


It’s why we give the annual flu shot early in the season to our most vulnerable likely candidates to get that season’s flu. We don’t wait for people to get flu and then try to treat them with antivirals. But at present, lacking a vaccine,  we have no choice
 
Remdesivier, hydroxychloroquine, and chloroquine, probably haven’t “failed” but are just being given too late and to the wrong set of seriously compromised patients. 

Be patient and wait for the results of the true clinical, properly controlled, random trials still underway. We might yet have an effective drug therapy by the end of the summer.

But that won’t do anything to prop up our collapsing economies. While not all 26.4 million US unemployment applicants will be accepted into unemployment benefits, the vast majority will be, with many more applicants still likely trapped in the overwhelmed system of applying.

There is little or no reason yet to think our G-7 economies have hit bottom. On the other hand though, if the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 is vulnerable to sunlight (UV light?) and heat, the northern hemisphere just might be about to get a summer break. Time to reopen our outdoor summer markets and garden centres?

Below the latest developments in a dark week, but not a black week.

US govt study suggests heat, sunlight, and humidity weaken Covid-19: federal official


Issued on:
The coronavirus appears to weaken more quickly when exposed to sunlight, heat and humidity, a U.S. official said on Thursday in a potential sign that the pandemic could become less contagious in summer months. 

U.S. government researchers have determined that the virus survives best indoors and in dry conditions, and loses potency when temperatures and humidity rise - and especially when it is exposed to sunlight, said William Bryan, acting head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate.

"The virus dies quickest in the presence of direct sunlight," he told a White House news briefing.

The findings could bolster hopes that the coronavirus will mimic the behavior of other respiratory diseases like influenza, which typically are less contagious in warm weather.

But the coronavirus has also proven lethal in warm-weather places like Singapore, raising broader questions about the impact of environmental factors.
More
https://www.france24.com/en/20200424-usa-coronavirus-covid-19-sunlight-disinfectant-pandemic-research-virus-respiratory-disease

Asian shares fall on coronavirus drug, economic damage concerns

April 24, 2020 / 1:07 AM
TOKYO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Asian shares and U.S. stock futures fell on Friday, spurred by doubts about progress in the development of drugs to treat COVID-19 and new evidence of U.S. economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was down 0.4%. U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis ESc1, were down 0.72%. 

Shares in China, where the coronavirus first emerged late last year, fell 0.25%.

The S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq .IXIC turned negative at the close on Thursday after a report that Gilead Sciences Inc's (GILD.O) antiviral drug remdesivier had failed to help severely ill COVID-19 patients in its first clinical trial.

Gilead said the findings were inconclusive because the study conducted in China was terminated early.

The markets’ sensitivity to news related to the medical treatment of COVID-19 reflected investors’ desperation for a sign of when the global economy might start returning to normal, Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at New York-based wealth management firm Inverness Counsel.

“Any piece of bad news is likely to rattle the market,” Ghriskey said. “Investors are keen for a semblance of hope that they can soon crawl out of their homes and get on with some form of normal life, even if with trepidation and fear.”

U.S. business activity plumbed record lows in April, mirroring dire figures from Europe and Asia as strict stay-at-home orders crushed production, supply chains and consumer spending, a survey showed.
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Global economic contraction to be steepest on record, recovery U-shaped - Reuters poll

April 24, 2020 / 1:13 AM
BENGALURU (Reuters) - Pummeled into recession by the coronavirus pandemic, the global economy will suffer its steepest contraction on record this year, with a longer, U-shaped recovery more likely, according to Reuters polls of economists from around the world.

Many countries are under lockdowns to curb the spread of an outbreak in which more than 2.6 million people worldwide have been infected and over 180,000 have died tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7, bringing global economic activity to a halt, particularly in the services industry. 

Reuters polls of more than 500 economists who were surveyed over the past few weeks showed most major economies were in the midst of a severe economic downturn and their recoveries were predicted to be U-shaped.

More than 55% or 87 of 155 economists said the global economic recovery would be U-shaped. Thirty-one analysts said it would be V-shaped and 24 said it be more like a check mark. A few respondents expected a W- or L- shape.

The global economy was forecast to shrink 2.0% this year, compared to a 1.2% contraction predicted just three weeks ago and growth of 1.6% forecast before that in the March 20 poll, underscoring how fast the outlook has deteriorated.
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Capitalism as we know it will likely be changed forever’ and 9 other lasting implications of coronavirus, according to billionaire Leon Cooperman

Published: April 23, 2020 at 9:59 a.m. ET
Billionaire Leon Cooperman says that the U.S. economy and markets may be facing lasting implications from the COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged global economies.

Speaking during a Thursday morning interview on CNBC, the wealthy investor said the impact of the virus has changed things in 10 specific ways, in his view:
  1. Capitalism is altered due to the impacts on economies from the viral outbreak
  2. Cooperman said politics in the U.S. are moving more to the left: “Taxes will have to go up.”
  3. Low interest rates may be lasting and are indicative of ‘a troubled economy.’
  4. Consumer demand will come back slowly unless there is a vaccine for the coronavirus
  5. Businesses will face compliance costs related to the virus
  6. Lots of equity issuance will be required to “replace lost capital.”
  7. Stock buybacks, one of the markets biggest drivers, will fade away
  8. Profit margins at corporations will revert to the mean
  9. Credit is cheaper than equities
  10. A quiet Warren Buffett, a white knight in the last crisis, is a bad sign for the long term/
The prominent, veteran investor, who boasts a net worth of $3.2 billion, according to Forbes, said he thinks that the market is currently fairly valued at its current level but could head to as low as 2,200 on the S&P 500 index due to the coming recession.

“I believe that the market doesn’t hold any great excitement for me at the current time,” he said.
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Coronavirus brings UK economy to its knees in April - PMI

April 23, 2020 / 9:38 AM
LONDON (Reuters) - Coronavirus hit Britain’s economy in April with more force than even the most pessimistic forecasters had feared as businesses reported a historic collapse in demand during a nationwide lockdown, a survey showed on Thursday.

The IHS Markit/CIPS Flash UK Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to a new record low of 12.9 from 36.0 in March - not even close to the weakest forecast in a Reuters poll of economists that had pointed to a reading of 31.4. 

It was a similar picture in France and Germany. [EUR/PMIS]

The scale of the collapse in Britain’s PMI all but guarantees a huge contraction in the world’s fifth-largest economy and will add to doubts about whether financial help from the government has reached businesses quickly enough.

“Like those across Europe, these are shocking figures,” said ING economist James Smith, who predicts it will 2022 at the earlier until Britain’s economy recovers its pre-outbreak size.

IHS Markit said the dire readings will inevitably raise questions about the cost of the lockdown and how long it will last.

The figures on the face of it pointed to a 7% quarter-on-quarter contraction in the economy, although IHS Markit cautioned that this was likely to be an understatement as its survey does not cover retailers or most self-employed people.

A Reuters poll of economists on Thursday pointed to a roughly 13% contraction in economic output in the current quarter, which would be the largest since records began after the World War Two. [ECILT/GB]

---- Employment in British companies fell at the fastest pace since PMI records started in the 1990s, although in some cases this reflected use of the government’s furlough scheme, data company IHS Markit said.

Government budget forecasters last week said unemployment could rise as high as 10% with an extra 2 million people losing their jobs if a three-month lockdown was only slowly lifted over the next three months.

Companies slashed prices at a record pace to prop up demand, the survey showed.
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Euro zone economy set for deepest recession on record: Reuters poll

April 22, 2020 / 1:51 PM
BENGALURU (Reuters) - The euro zone economy is already in its deepest recession on record, according to a Reuters poll of economists, who have stuck to a bleak outlook and worry the downturn might be even worse as coronavirus lockdowns across the bloc take their toll.

That comes despite the European Central Bank pledging to buy more than 1 trillion euros in assets this year to cushion the blow and governments outlining hundreds of billions in spending plans to bridge businesses and support workers. 

The latest Reuters poll, taken April 14-22, showed the bloc’s economy contracting by 3.1% in the first quarter and 9.6% in the current quarter. That compares with 3.3% and 9.3% contractions, respectively, predicted in a poll published on April 3.

Those forecasts for the quarter-on-quarter downturn have not changed much over the past few weeks, unlike the outlook for the United States. But if realised, this quarter would mark the sharpest decline on record.

The euro zone economy was then expected to grow 5.2% in the third quarter and 2.9% in the final quarter of this year, compared with 6.0% and 2.0% forecast in the poll a few weeks ago.

But 95% of economists said the risk to their forecasts for the second half of this year were skewed more to the downside.

“The deeper the recession goes and the longer it lasts, it increases the risk that we have more damage to the supply potential of the economy since the likelihood of workers becoming unemployed and companies going bust is high,” said Spyros Andreopoulos, senior European economist at BNP Paribas.

“The policy response has so far been less decisive. That’s why we don’t expect to go back to the previous baseline forecasts for growth soon.”

For 2020 as a whole, GDP was forecast to contract 5.4%, the worst year since the common currency was introduced in 1999. That is still better than the International Monetary Fund’s latest forecast for a decline of 7.5%.
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Finally, more on the new US employment reality. With corporate worker job bailout funding only good though September, expect another round of layoffs then ahead of Christmas.

Jobless claims jump another 4.4 million — 26 million Americans have lost their jobs to the coronavirus

Published: April 23, 2020 at 8:50 a.m. ET
The numbers: The record surge of Americans applying for unemployment benefits is starting to recede, but another 4.4 million people filed new jobless claims last week to push the total above 26 million since the coronavirus pandemic laid siege to the U.S. economy a month and a half ago.

The unfathomable spike in unemployment has likely pushed the jobless rate to between 15% and 20%, economists estimate. The only other time in American history when unemployment was that high was in the early stages of the Great Depression almost a century ago.

In less than two months, the pandemic has eliminated all the 23 million jobs created after the 2007-2009 Great Recession.

While the rate of job losses is slowing, layoffs are expected to tally in the millions for at least a few more weeks.

What happened:The sharp and sudden flood in unemployment is the worst since the 1930s. Just a month and a half ago, new jobless claims were in the low 200,000s and stood near a 50-year low. 
Only about 1.7 million Americans were collecting benefits.

Last week, the states of California, Florida, Texas, Georgia and New York reported the biggest increases in new claims, according to the Labor Department.

Altogether, the states reported that 16 million people were receiving benefits through the second week of April, according to delayed government data on continuing claims. They are reported with a one-week lag.

Many states are still behind in processing the torrent of new applications for unemployment benefits. They are also struggling to adjust to loosened eligibility requirements orchestrated by Congress that now allow millions of people who previously would not have qualified to be able to receive benefits.

It’s important to note that the government’s figures for jobless claims are adjusted for seasonal variations. The actual number of new claims filed since the pandemic began is somewhat smaller at about 24 million.

The big picture: The U.S. is experiencing an unprecedented shock to the economy from which it will probably take several years to recover. The unemployment rate likely won’t return to its precrisis level of 3.5% — a 50-year low — as the country grapples with far-reaching changes in the age of the coronavirus.
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America’s Middle Class Gets Hit With Office Jobs Disappearing

Reade PickertApril 22, 2020, 5:00 AM EDT
Layoffs spread to U.S. offices after hospitality saw first hit

---- A marketing specialist with a sales-training company, Simon lost his job along with several colleagues on April 7 -– less than two weeks into a state-wide lockdown to counter the pandemic. He says many who survived the firm’s layoffs saw their pay cut by 10%.

That’s happening all over the country.


A tsunami of job losses, which began among workers in restaurants, hotels and factories, is now reaching the offices of white-collar America --- where analysts and engineers find themselves among the rapidly swelling ranks of the unemployed.

Within a month, some 22 million people filed for jobless benefits, in what’s shaping up to be the worst rout for U.S. labor since the Great Depression. Data due Thursday is forecast to show another 4.5 million joined the line last week.

A detailed breakdown by profession won’t be available for a couple more weeks. But it’s already clear that the layoffs span industries and income groups –- and they’re hitting many Americans who have never had to apply for such assistance before.

“What we’re going to be seeing is cutting deeper to the bone,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton LLP. “There is this sort of sense of nowhere to hide, and more and more collateral damage.”

White-collar employees largely escaped the initial wave of coronavirus layoffs, often because the nature of their jobs meant it was easier to do them from home.

But even companies that managed to stay afloat have seen a big squeeze on revenue and profits, as large areas of the economy are shuttered. That’s triggering a second round of job cuts or furloughs, with office workers taking a bigger hit this time.

And managers are taking other steps too. In addition to reducing hours, a common measure in recessions, they’re also slashing pay levels –- which is much more unusual, and may be an ominous sign for the post-virus economy.

Salary cuts billed as temporary could easily end up as a more permanent feature of payrolls, with employees finding they’re expected to work for 10% or 20% less than before, according to Gregory Daco at Oxford Economics.


“That, sadly, is a reality of the recession that may potentially last longer,” he said.

Lower incomes would hold back a rebound in consumer demand to support the economy once the virus is controlled. For now, workers who lost their jobs are forced back onto savings or government aid.

---- With millions of newly unemployed Americans in the market for whatever jobs are out there, workers are likely to see their bargaining power sharply reduced – and it wasn’t great to start with.

Even during the record-long U.S. expansion that just ended, economists were debating why wages weren’t rising faster despite a historically low unemployment rate.


“When we get on the other side of the pandemic, it’s going to be a buyers’ market again for labor,” said Elise Gould at the Economic Policy Institute. “People will just be scrambling to get a job, any job.”
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When more and more people are thrown out of work, unemployment results.

Calvin Coolidge, (A Bushism before G. W. Bush.)

Covid-19 Corner

Though hopefully, we are passing the peak of new cases, at least of the first SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, this section will continue until it becomes unneeded.

PPE and food shortages loom.

WTO report says 80 countries limiting exports of face masks, other goods

April 23, 2020 / 9:47 PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eighty countries and customs territories have banned or limited the export of face masks, protective gear, gloves and other goods to mitigate shortages since the coronavirus outbreak began, the World Trade Organization reported on Thursday. 

It said the bans were imposed by 72 WTO members and eight non-WTO member countries, but only 13 WTO members had notified the global trade body as required by its regulations.

Lack of transparency about restrictions and failure to cooperate internationally could undermine efforts to slow the spread of the COVID-19 disease, which has infected 2.64 million people around the world and killed 184,910, the WTO said.

“While the introduction of export-restrictive measures is understandable, the lack of international cooperation in these areas risks cutting off import-reliant countries from desperately needed medical products and triggering a supply shock,” the WTO report said. “And by interfering with established medical supply chains, such measures also risk hampering the urgently required supply response.”

Export bans and restrictions are generally prohibited in the WTO, although there are exceptions which allow temporary measures to “prevent or relieve critical shortages of foodstuffs or other products essential to the exporting contracting party.”
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Corporate America seeks legal protection for when coronavirus lockdowns lift


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major U.S. business lobbying groups are asking Congress to pass measures that would protect companies large and small from coronavirus-related lawsuits when states start to lift pandemic restrictions and businesses begin to reopen.

Their concerns have the ears of congressional Republicans, though it is far from clear if the idea has the Democratic support it would need to pass in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) are seeking temporary, legal and regulatory safe harbor legislation to curb liabilities for employers who follow official health and safety guidelines. The Business Roundtable, which represents corporate chief executives, is also exploring ways to limit coronavirus liabilities.

Businesses want to make sure that they are not held liable for policy decisions by government officials, should employees or customers contract COVID-19 once operations resume. They also want protection from litigation that could result from coronavirus-related disruptions to issues like wages and hours, leave and travel.

“These are practical things to reassure businesses that they can confidently move to implement a reopening,” Neil Bradley, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce chief policy officer, said in an interview.

The debate over when to ease restrictions intended to slow the spread of the COVID-19 respiratory disease, which has killed more than 40,000 Americans, has recently entered a more politically charged phase with Republican President Donald Trump voicing support for scattered street protests aimed at ending the restrictions.

Public health officials warn that doing so prematurely risks sending infection rates soaring and further taxing an overwhelmed healthcare system.

The idea of protecting businesses from being sued by workers or customers has already found support in some quarters on Capitol Hill.
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Farmers start to kill pigs they can't sell to slaughterhouses due to closures

April 23, 2020 / 3:00 AM
EVANSVILLE, Ind., April 23 (UPI) -- With coronavirus outbreaks closing slaughterhouses across the country, the American hog industry is running out of space to physically keep a backup of live pigs.
Hog farms are so overcrowded that producers are starting to euthanize their animals.

"I really, really don't want to kill my pigs," said Howard AV Roth, president of the National Pork Producers Council, who raises and weans pigs in Wisconsin.

"But it is getting close here. I know there are farmers who have had to kill their pigs, farmers are aborting sows. It's really awful," Roth said.

The issue stems from the more than a dozen meat packing plants that have closed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The most recent occurred Wednesday when Tyson Foods announced it would shut its largest pork producing plant, which is in Waterloo, Iowa.

On Monday, JBS, an international meat processing company, closed its third processing plant, in Worthington, Minn. Smithfield Foods closed its pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, S.D., last week, while Cargill closed a plant in Hazleton, Pa. Other plants have closed, too, while far fewer have reopened.

The closures have significantly reduced the nation's slaughter capacity.

In a normal week, the American pork industry kills 2.5 million pigs. This week, it will kill only 2 million, Roth said.

"We're looking at a backup of a half a million pigs a week, starting this week," he said. "And we were already backed up by about a half million. This is bad."

The problem also is sending pork prices plummeting. Lean hog futures were trading at about 44 cents per pound Wednesday, down from around 84 cents at the start of the year, according to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

"This is not milk you can spill or crops you can till into the ground," said Jim Monroe, a spokesman for the National Pork Producers Council, based in Washington, D.C. "These are live animals that need care."

Farms across the country have started to go out of business as a result of the pandemic. Two of the producers to whom Roth normally sells weaned pigs have gone under, he said. Others with whom he works are close to failing, and the future of his farm depends on how long the slaughterhouse closures continue, he said.

"This is our biggest crisis ever in pork production," said Joseph Kerns, the president of Iowa-based Kerns & Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in livestock. "And, I don't say that lightly."

It is too soon to predict how many farms will go under, Kerns said. But it could be a huge number.

"This could have a huge, long-term impact on the hog industry," Kerns said.

Tyson Foods closes Iowa plant, will test workers for COVID-19

April 22, 2020 / 2:36 PM
April 22 (UPI) -- Tyson Foods announced Wednesday it's suspending operations at its Waterloo, Iowa, plant after almost 200 workers tested positive for the coronavirus disease.

The Springdale, Ark.-based company said the pork plant closure will be indefinite, depending on the health of its workforce. 

Tyson said operations have been running at reduced levels in recent weeks as workers missed work due to ill health. Local officials told The Courier in Waterloo more than 180 employees tested positive for COVID-19 and one died.

The company said it plans to invite the Waterloo workers, which number 2,800, back to the plant later this week for testing.

"Despite our continued efforts to keep our people safe while fulfilling our critical role of feeding American families, the combination of worker absenteeism, COVID-19 cases and community concerns has resulted in our decision to stop production," said Steve Stouffer, group president of Tyson Fresh Meats.

"The closure has significant ramifications beyond our company, since the plant is part of a larger supply chain that includes hundreds of independent farmers, truckers, distributors and customers, including grocers," he added. "It means the loss of a vital market outlet for farmers and further contributes to the disruption of the nation's pork supply."
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Nation's onion farmers struggle with loss of customers due to pandemic

April 23, 2020
ORLANDO, Fla., April 23 (UPI) -- Onion farmers around the United States destroyed crops or struggled to complete harvests in the past two weeks after many regular customers closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Growers in Oregon destroyed millions of pounds of onions, while those in Texas said they were close to harvest time with half their normal buyers, and had to leave crops in the field.

In Georgia, Vidalia onion growers said they still had retail customers, but workers were slowed by isolation restrictions. They continued to harvest, but with much higher costs.

And onion growers everywhere anxiously awaited more details about how to apply for government aid.

"I wake up every day thinking, what do I do?" said Steve Cargil, owner of Cargil Farms Produce, which is about 90 miles west of San Antonio, Texas. "There's always a little anxiety when you approach harvest, but I'm not sure if it's even worth opening up the harvest this year.

"I will have no choice but to leave much of it in the field if something doesn't change soon," Cargil said.

Cargil said he grows onions on 350 acres, with almost half his crop sold to food service buyers, hotels and restaurants which were ordered to close in March

Onion grower Shay Myers in western Oregon said he dug trenches and buried 4 million pounds that were nearing the end of their storage time in the last two weeks.

"This region, the Snake River Valley, is hit hard because we grow primarily for food service, and that market dried up when everything closed," said Myers, the CEO of Owyhee Produce.

"We've tried to find other buyers. We sent some for cattle feed and some to food banks, but there are no other options," Myers said.
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Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 2,337 to 150,383 - RKI

April 24, 2020 / 5:45 AM
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s confirmed coronavirus cases increased by 2,337 to 150,383, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Friday - a slight deceleration after three straight days of new infections accelerating.

On Thursday confirmed coronavirus cases had increased by 2,352.

The reported death toll rose by 227 to 5,321, the tally showed on Friday.

Spain's death toll from coronavirus rises to 22,157

April 23, 2020 / 10:17 AM
MADRID (Reuters) - The Spanish health ministry said on Thursday that 440 people died from the coronavirus in the previous 24 hours, which brought total fatalities to 22,157.

That was slightly higher than the previous day when 435 people died. The number of diagnosed cases rose to 213,024 from 208,389 the day before.


Technology Update.
With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section. Updates as they get reported. Is converting sunlight to usable cheap AC or DC energy mankind’s future from the 21st century onwards.

New hybrid material improves the performance of silicon in Li-ion batteries

Date: April 21, 2020

Source: University of Eastern Finland

Summary: Researchers have developed a new hybrid material of mesoporous silicon microparticles and carbon nanotubes that can improve the performance of silicon in Li-ion batteries.

Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland have developed a new hybrid material of mesoporous silicon microparticles and carbon nanotubes that can improve the performance of silicon in Li-ion batteries. Advances in battery technology are essential for sustainable development and for achieving climate neutrality.

States and companies worldwide are eagerly looking for new and sustainable technologies to achieve climate neutrality in every sector of society, ranging from transportation and production of consumables to energy production. Once green energy is produced, it needs to be stored before it can be used in portable applications. In this step, battery technology plays an essential role in making the consumption of green energy a viable alternative.

In the future, silicon will gradually replace carbon as the anode material in Li-ion batteries (LIBs). This development is driven by the fact that the capacity of silicon is ten times higher than the capacity of graphite, which is nowadays used as the anode material in LIBs. Using silicon in the anode makes it possible to even double the capacity of the total battery cell. However, silicon is facing severe challenges in battery technology due to its unstable material properties. Moreover, there is no technology available so far to produce feasible anodes solely from silicon.

To minimise the reducing effect of high charging rates on the capacity of silicon anodes, researchers from the University of Eastern Finland have developed a hybrid material of mesoporous silicon (PSi) microparticles and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). According to the researchers, the hybrid material needs to be realised through chemical conjugation of PSi and CNTs with the right polarity so as to not hinder the diffusion of lithium ions into silicon. With the right type of conjugation, also the electrical conductivity and mechanical durability of the material was improved. Further, the PSi microparticles used in the hybrid material were produced from barley husk ash to minimise the carbon footprint of the anode material and to support its sustainability. Silicon was produced through a simple magnesiothermic reduction process applied to the phytoliths that are amorphous porous silica structures found in abundance in husk ash. The findings were published in Scientific Reports and Materials Chemistry and Physics.
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Another weekend and hopefully a warm sunny one to help kill off all of our coronaviruses. Besides, we need a sunny summer to boost our vitamin D levels. Have a great weekend everyone, Remember to keep at least 6 miles away from anyone coughing or sneezing.

The best social program is a good job.

President Clinton.

The Monthly Coppock Indicators finished March

DJIA: 21,917 +45 Down. NASDAQ: 7,700 +149 Down. SP500: 2,585 +38 Down.

The NASDAQ and S&P have joined the DJIA in down. All three monthly slow indexes have collapsed.

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