Baltic Dry Index. 5526 -124 Brent Crude 82.59
Spot Gold 1756
Coronavirus Cases 02/04/20 World 1,000,000
Deaths 53,100
Coronavirus Cases 12/10/21 World 239,0338,730
Deaths 4,872,880
Government’s first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.
Ronald Reagan.
In the stock casinos, more smoke and mirrors and hope and denial. Even part of China Evergrande came back to life even as the parent company missed another creditor payment.
Look away from the oil price, food prices, real estate prices, rising rents and wages now. There’ll be a greater fool stock buyer along in a few minutes, just you wait and see.
Still, to this old dinosaur market trader since 1968, if I didn’t know better, of course, the stock casinos are giving the greatest impression of rolling over.
Better pass President Biden's trillion dollar stocks subsidy bills fast.
Major indexes in China and Korea fall at least 1% as oil’s recent rally pauses
SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific tumbled on Tuesday, with major indexes from China to South Korea falling at least 1%.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dropped 1.02% by Tuesday afternoon.
Shares of China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle, on the other hand, surged nearly 6% after the firm vowed on Monday to start producing electric vehicles next year. The company is linked to debt-laden developer Evergrande, which has already missed multiple coupon payments for its bonds in recent weeks.
Mainland Chinese stocks also declined, with the Shanghai composite down 1.04% while the Shenzhen component shed 0.984%.
South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.53%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 1.02% while the Topix index shed 0.77%.
Australian stocks also fell into negative territory, erasing earlier gains, as the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.37%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.02%.
Oil rally pauses
Oil prices were lower in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, taking a pause following a recent surge above $80. International benchmark Brent crude futures dipped fractionally to $83.61 per barrel while U.S. crude futures shed 0.15% to $80.40 per barrel.
“The rise in energy prices is fuelling concerns that the transitory lift in inflation seen in the wake of the pandemic may prove to be longer lasting,” Tapas Strickland, an economist at National Australia Bank, wrote in a Tuesday note.
The recent jump in oil prices comes as a rebound in global demand contributed to power shortages in major economies such as China. Last week, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies — a group collectively referred to as OPEC+ — also opted against a supply boost, further fueling the oil price rally.
Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 250.19 points to 34,496.06 while the S&P 500 slipped 0.69% to 4,361.19. The Nasdaq Composite shed 0.64% to 14,486.20.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/12/asia-markets-currencies-oil.html
European markets are set to open sharply lower as global sentiment worsens
European stocks are expected to open in negative territory on Tuesday amid gloomy sentiment in global markets.
The U.K.’s FTSE index is seen opening 43 points lower at 7,094, Germany’s DAX 99 points lower at 15,085, France’s CAC 40 down 51 points at 6,514 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 203 points lower at 25,426, according to IG data.
The negative open expected for Europe on Tuesday comes after a choppy period for global markets.
On Monday, European stocks were muted during the trading session, searching for direction after a volatile week. Meanwhile, U.S. stocks fell on Monday as investors looked at surging oil prices, economic worries and major earnings results ahead.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 250.19 points, or 0.7%, to close at 34,496.06. The S&P 500 ticked lower by 0.7% to 4,361.19. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.6% to 14,486.20.
U.S. stock futures declined in overnight trading on Monday.
Investors are bracing for a slew of U.S. earnings, with major banks revealing third-quarter results this week; JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Citigroup are all due to report, starting Wednesday.
More
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/12/european-markets-trade-data-stocks-as-global-sentiment-sours.html
S.Korea c.bank holds rates, flags a hike in November
SEOUL, Oct 12 (Reuters) - South Korea's central bank kept interest rates steady on Tuesday, taking a breather after its first rate hike in nearly three years in August, but flagged further tightening could come as soon as November to curb rising inflation and household debt.
The Bank of Korea held benchmark interest rates (KROCRT=ECI) steady at 0.75%, as widely expected in a Reuters poll, but increased its inflation forecast to the "mid-2% level" from 2.1% in August. The central bank has an inflation target of 2%. read more
In a rare remark on inflation, President Moon Jae-in also said during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that the government should make every effort to stabilise consumer prices.
"The bank can consider raising interest rates further at the next meeting should the economic recovery proceed as expected, while monitoring how changes in internal and external conditions affect the domestic economy and inflation," said Governor Lee Ju-yeol during a news conference, retaining a hawkish tone adopted since May.
South Korea's three-year treasury bond futuresfell more than 0.40 points following Lee's comments.
Asia's fourth-largest economy grew a revised 6.0% in the second quarter from a COVID-induced slump a year ago, the fastest annual expansion in a decade thanks to robust exports of chips and petrochemical products. read more
More
Finally,
how much is a fictional currency worth? Nothing is the answer at JP Morgan,
though they’re still going to provide a means for their suckers clients to
buy it. After all there’s money to be made.
And let’s not get started on Tether!
If it looks like a scam, feels like a scam and sounds like a scam, and can’t provide proof of where it supposedly holding 69 billion of Uncle Scam’s dodgy fiat dollars, it probably is a scam.
Jamie Dimon says bitcoin is ‘worthless’
Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO, isn’t a fan of bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value.
“I personally think that bitcoin is worthless,” Dimon said during an Institute of International Finance event on Monday, CNBC Pro reported.
But, “I don’t want to be a spokesperson — I don’t care. It makes no difference to me,” he said. “Our clients are adults. They disagree. That’s what makes markets. So, if they want to have access to buy yourself bitcoin, we can’t custody it but we can give them legitimate, as clean as possible, access.”
He’s held true to that statement: In February 2019, JPMorgan said it would roll out a digital currency called JPM Coin, and in October 2020, the firm created a new unit for blockchain projects. In August, it started giving its wealth management clients access to crypto funds, CNBC reported.
For his part, however, Dimon has held firm in his anti-crypto outlook.
Recently, he told Axios CEO Jim VandeHei that bitcoin has “no intrinsic value.” And although he thinks bitcoin will be around long term, “I’ve always believed it’ll be made illegal someplace, like China made it illegal, so I think it’s a little bit of fool’s gold.”
Dimon also told VandeHei that he thinks “regulators are going to regulate the hell out of it.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/11/jpmorgan-chase-ceo-jamie-dimon-says-bitcoin-is-worthless.html
Never give a sucker an even break.
Jamie Dimon
W. C Fields.
Global Inflation Watch.
Given our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians, inflation now needs an entire section of its own.
Japan wholesale inflation hits 13-year high, squeezing corporate profits
October 12, 2021 3:29 AM BST
TOKYO, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Japan's wholesale inflation hit a 13-year high in September as rising global commodity prices and a weak yen pushed up import costs, putting pressure on corporate margins and raising the risk of unwanted consumer price hikes.
Rising input costs are adding strain for manufacturers already hit by supply constraints and clouding the outlook for the world's third-largest economy, which relies on exports to cushion the blow from soft consumption, analysts say.
The corporate goods price index (CGPI), which measures the price companies charge each other for their goods and services, surged 6.3% in September from a year earlier, Bank of Japan data showed on Tuesday, exceeding market forecasts for a 5.9% gain.
The increase accelerated from a revised 5.8% rise in August to its fastest pace since September 2008, the data showed.
"If rises in raw material costs accelerate, companies selling final goods prices will see profits squeezed. As Japan is a net importer of fuel, such cost-push inflation could hurt the economy," said Toru Suehiro, senior economist at Daiwa Securities.
Rising oil prices pushed up petroleum and coal costs by 32.4% in September, while prices of wood products spiked 48.3%.
An index gauging yen-based wholesale import prices surged a record 31.3% in September from a year earlier, suggesting a weak yen - usually a boon to the economy by lifting exports - could hurt growth by squeezing the bottom line for corporations.
More
Kraft Heinz says people must get used to higher food prices
By Jonathan Josephs Business reporter, BBC News 10 October 2021
People will have to get used to higher food prices, the boss of Kraft Heinz has told the BBC.
Miguel Patricio said the international food giant, which makes tomato sauce and baked beans, was putting up prices in several countries.
Unlike in previous years, he said, inflation was "across the board".
The cost of ingredients such as cereals and oils has pushed global food prices to a 10-year high, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Kraft Heinz has increased prices on more than half its products in the US, its home market, and Mr Patricio admitted that is happening elsewhere too.
"We are raising prices, where necessary, around the world," he said.
During the pandemic, many countries saw production of raw materials, ranging from crops to vegetable oils, fall. Measures to control the virus, as well as illness, limited output and delivery.
As economies have restarted the supply of these products hasn't been able to keep up with returning demand, leading to higher prices. Higher wages and energy prices have also added to the burden for manufacturers.
- Prices in major economies 'to continue to rise'
- Toy giant warns of higher prices as costs rise
- What is inflation and why does it matter?
Mr Patricio says this broad range of factors is contributing to the rising cost of food.
"Specifically in the UK, with the lack of truck drivers. In [the] US logistic costs also increased substantially, and there's a shortage of labour in certain areas of the economy."
Mr Patricio says that consumers will need to get used to higher food prices given that the world's population is rising whilst the amount of land on which to grow food is not.
In the longer term "there's a lot to come in technology to improve the effectiveness of farmers" that will help.
Not all cost increases should be passed on to consumers, Mr Patricio said. Firms would have to absorb some of the rise in costs.
"I think it's up to us, and to the industry, and to the other companies to try to minimise these price increases," he said.
But big food producers like Kraft Heinz, Nestle and PepsiCo "will most likely have to pass that cost on to consumers" according to Kona Haque, head of research at the agricultural commodities firm ED&F Man.
"Whether it's corn, sugar, coffee, soybeans, palm oil, you name it, all of these basic food commodities have been rising," she said.
"Poor harvests in Brazil, which is one of the world's biggest agricultural exporters, drought in Russia, reduced planting in the US and stockpiling in China have combined with more expensive fertiliser, energy and shipping costs to push prices up."
But she said food producers would all be affected and would therefore all be raising prices in similar ways: "because it's so widespread that everyone will do it, meaning they probably won't lose customers".
This week PespsiCo warned it was also facing rising costs on everything from transport to raw ingredients, and said that further prices rises were likely at the start of next year.
More
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58847275
Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.
Ronald Reagan.
Covid-19 Corner
This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.
A BBC disinformation hatchet job for Merck, taken down by Dr. John Campbell.
21st century adage: Is that true, or did you hear it on the BBC?
Ivermectin: How false science created a Covid 'miracle' drug
By Rachel Schraer & Jack
Goodman
BBC Reality Check
Ivermectin has been called a Covid "miracle" drug, championed by vaccine opponents, and recommended by health authorities in some countries. But the BBC can reveal there are serious errors in a number of key studies that the drug's promoters rely on.
For some years ivermectin has been a vital anti-parasitic medicine used to treat humans and animals.
But during the pandemic there has been a clamour from some proponents for using the drug for something else - to fight Covid and prevent deaths.
The health authorities in the US, UK and EU have found there is insufficient evidence for using the drug against Covid, but thousands of supporters, many of them anti-vaccine activists, have continued to vigorously campaign for its use.
----Campaigners for the drug point to a number of scientific studies and often claim this evidence is being ignored or covered up. But a review by a group of independent scientists has cast serious doubt on that body of research.
The BBC can reveal that more than a third of 26 major trials of the drug for use on Covid have serious errors or signs of potential fraud. None of the rest show convincing evidence of ivermectin's effectiveness.
Dr Kyle Sheldrick, one of the group investigating the studies, said they had not found "a single clinical trial" claiming to show that ivermectin prevented Covid deaths that did not contain "either obvious signs of fabrication or errors so critical they invalidate the study".
More
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-58170809
BBC debunks ivermectin
296,051 views 9 Oct 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy7c_FHiEac
Approx. 27 minutes. A complete take down of the BBC fake news.
Next, some vaccine links kindly sent along from a LIR reader in Canada. The links come from a most informative update from Stanford Hospital in California.
World Health Organization - Landscape of COVID-19 candidate vaccines. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/draft-landscape-of-covid-19-candidate-vaccines
NY Times Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html
Regulatory Focus COVID-19 vaccine tracker. https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/3/covid-19-vaccine-tracker
Some other useful Covid links.
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus resource centre
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
Rt Covid-19
Centers for Disease Control Coronavirus
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
The Spectator Covid-19 data tracker (UK)
https://data.spectator.co.uk/city/national
Technology Update.
With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section. Updates as they get reported.
Flash-heating efficiently recycles precious metals from e-waste
Michael Irving October 05, 2021
Electronic waste (or e-waste) is not only a major pollutant in landfill, but huge amounts of useful resources are being thrown away. Engineers at Rice University have now shown that precious metals and rare earth minerals can be recovered by flash-heating ground-up electronics with a zap of electricity.
The annual pursuit of newer, shinier phones makes e-waste the world’s fastest-growing waste stream, with 59 million tons generated in 2019 alone. If cleaning up the environment isn’t motivating enough, then perhaps the financial incentive will be – it’s estimated that all those discarded laptops, Zunes and iPhone 12s contain tens of billions of dollars’ worth of precious metals like gold, silver, copper and platinum. Unfortunately, less than 20 percent of the world’s e-waste is recycled, so the Rice team set out to make this process easier and less expensive.
In previous work the researchers demonstrated a technique called flash joule heating, involving millisecond-long jolts of electricity that heated materials to high temperatures. Originally the team used this to create graphene out of waste products, and later converted carbon from almost any source into either graphene or diamond by alternating the length of the flash.
For the new study, the team turned their attention to the e-waste problem. They started by grinding up old discarded circuit boards into powder, then zapped the mix to heat it to 3,127 °C (5,660 °F). This vaporizes the metals, and the vapors are then piped into a cold trap where they recondense into solid metals. From there, common refining methods can separate the specific metals for use.
The team says that this process can recover over 60 percent of gold in a sample, and over 80 percent of silver, palladium and rhodium. It also removes toxic heavy metals like chromium, arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead, which can leach into the environment from e-waste in landfill.
Importantly, the researchers say that the process is energy efficient and scalable. It consumes about 939 kWh per ton of material processed, which is one 80th the amount consumed by commercial smelting and one 500th that of furnaces.
“Here, the largest growing source of waste becomes a treasure,” says James Tour, lead researcher on the study. “This will curtail the need to go all over the world to mine from ores in remote and dangerous places, stripping the Earth’s surface and using gobs of water resources. The treasure is in our dumpsters.”
The study was published in the journal Nature Communications. The team describes the process in the video below.
On This Day: Teddy Roosevelt becomes first president to ride in plane
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