Friday 23 December 2022

A Bad Ending To A Bad Year.

 Baltic Dry Index. 1650 -73       Brent Crude 81.71

Spot Gold 1819            US 2 Year Yield 4.24 +0.03

Coronavirus Cases 02/04/20 World 1,000,000

Deaths 53,103

Coronavirus Cases 23/12/22 World 660,386,036

Deaths 6,681,110

"I'm doing 'God's Work.'

Lloyd Blankfein, former CEO,Goldman Sachs, aka Mr. Goldman Sacks, 2009. 

After a 40 year break, inflation is back in Japan. Will Japan now join in the global interest rate hike race to the 2023 top?

The overpriced stock casinos seem to think so and money managers are busy dumping losing stocks from their year-end books.

Too little to late. From Tesla to Bitcoin, from Tokyo to New York, 2022 will be remembered as a year of what not to do.

The central banks stoked up inflation thinking it would only be “transitory.” Well at least that’s what they pretended.

A new war broke out in Europe adding to food and energy inflation. By year-end the second largest crypto-exchange blew up in a massive fraud. Who’s next is the great fear in cryptoland.

Below, a bad start to the Christmas holiday week.

Asia markets fall as Japan’s core inflation marks highest in over 40 years

UPDATED FRI, DEC 23 2022 12:02 AM EST

Asia-Pacific shares traded lower, taking the lead from losses on Wall Street ahead of the release of some economic data in the region.

Core consumer prices in Japan rose 3.7% in November on an annualized basis, marking the fastest pace since December 1981. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.92% while the Topix shed 0.52%. The Japanese yen stood at 132.62 against the U.S. dollar, around the strongest levels it’s seen in four months.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.5% as investors digested the growing number of Covid cases in China. The Shanghai Composite was flat and the Shenzhen Component gained marginally.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.81% and South Korea’s Kospi also fell 1.49%.

Singapore and Malaysia will also be releasing their inflation data for November.

Asia markets fall as Japan's core inflation marks highest in over 40 years (cnbc.com)

Japan's consumer inflation hits fresh 40-year high, eyes on BOJ policy

TOKYO, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Japan's core consumer inflation hit a fresh four-decade high as companies continued to pass on rising costs to households, data showed, a sign price hikes were broadening and could keep the central bank under pressure to whittle down massive stimulus.

Months before Tuesday's surprise tweak to its yield control policy, Bank of Japan (BOJ) policymakers had discussed the potential market impact of a future exit from ultra-low interest rates, minutes of their October meeting showed on Friday.

While many retailers plan further hikes for food products next year, the outlook for inflation and the timing of any further BOJ policy tweaks are muddled by the risk of global recession and uncertainty over the pace of wage hikes, analysts say.

"The hurdle for policy normalisation isn't low. The global economy may worsen in the first half of next year, making it hard for the BOJ to take steps that can be interpreted as monetary tightening," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.

Japan's core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food but includes energy costs, rose 3.7% in November from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, matching market forecasts and perking up from a 3.6% gain in October.

It was the biggest rise since a 4.0% jump seen in December 1981, when inflation was still high from the impact of the 1979 oil shock and a booming economy.

More

Japan's consumer inflation hits fresh 40-year high, eyes on BOJ policy | Reuters

In cryptoland, alleged massive fraudster gets massive bail.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to be released on $250 million bail, will live with his parents

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was released on $250 million bond while awaiting trial for fraud and other criminal charges, a New York federal judge ruled Thursday.

Bankman-Fried stepped out of U.S. District Court in Manhattan, flanked by his parents, his legal team, and court security at 2:19 local time.

The terms of his personal recognizance bond were agreed to by prosecutors and Bankman-Fried’s lawyers. The 30-year-old will face his next hearing, presided over by Judge Ronnie Abrams, in New York City on Jan. 3., where he’ll enter his plea and be arraigned.

A recognizance bond is a written commitment from the accused to appear in court when ordered. In return, Bankman-Fried’s camp would not be required to meet the full collateral requirements on the bail.

The bond was secured by equity in his family home, and by the signatures of his parents and two other individuals with “considerable” assets.

In addition to the $250 million package, which prosecutors called “the largest-ever pretrial bond,” the former crypto billionaire would also be required to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, submit to mental health counseling and restrict himself travel within and between the Northern District of California and the Southern & Eastern Districts of New York.

Judge Gabriel Gorenstein said Bankman-Fried would require “strict” supervision following his release to his parents’ home in California.

His parents, both Stanford Law professors, were present in the courtroom. Bankman-Fried was flanked by two U.S. marshals, dressed in a blue suit and brown shoes. Bankman-Fried entered in ankle shackles as well, but traded them for his ankle monitor while in the courtroom.

---- Bankman-Fried stands accused of perpetrating a multibillion-dollar fraud on his investors, using customer funds to purchase properties, fund political donations and backstop trades at his hedge fund Alameda Research.

Federal regulators allege over $8 billion in customer funds is missing. FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware on Nov. 11. Bankman-Fried’s successor, CEO John Ray, said he’d never seen such a “complete failure of corporate control.”

Two of his top lieutenants, Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, pleaded guilty to related fraud charges and are cooperating with law enforcement. Wang’s and Ellison’s plea deals were revealed Wednesday.

More

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to be released on $250 million bail, will live with his parents (cnbc.com)

FTX collapse shows crypto is 'too dangerous' not to regulate - Bank of England

December 22 2022

Cryptocurrency trading is "too dangerous" to remain outside mainstream financial regulation and could pose "a systemic problem" without action, the deputy governor of the Bank of England has warned.

Speaking for the first time since the founder of the crypto trading platform FTX was arrested and charged with massive fraud, Sir Jon Cunliffe told Sky News the Bank is considering regulation to protect retail investors in the "casino" of crypto trading, as well as the wider financial system from potential crypto shocks.

---- The collapse of FTX left more than one million customers unable to withdraw assets worth an estimated $8bn.

Prosecutors allege he used FTX's customers' money to cover losses in his private crypto hedge fund Alameda Capital in what the company's new chief executive told Congress was "old-fashioned embezzlement".

An estimated 80,000 of FTX's customers are based in the UK, with individual liabilities as high as £5m in life savings according to a lawyer acting for dozens of victims.

Louise Abbott, a crypto-fraud specialist, told Sky News: "These individual investors have invested anything from a couple of thousand pounds up to about £5m, so massive amounts of money, all completely frozen, I'm going to use the word frozen rather than lost, because hopefully there is going to be something given back to them at some point. But this is huge money, huge money lost or stuck, or frozen in time."

Crypto credibility

The episode is a huge blow to the credibility of cryptocurrencies, digital assets that draw their value not from state backing, but from relative scarcity and the willingness of other investors to trade in them.

Mr Bankman-Fried had cultivated links in Washington and on Wall Street, making millions of dollars in political donations and attracting high-profile investors to his platform.

His fall has emphasised the volatility of crypto investment and the lack of regulation in an industry that, despite widespread scepticism, is attracting growing attention from the financial mainstream.

More

FTX collapse shows crypto is 'too dangerous' not to regulate - Bank of England (msn.com)

 

Global Inflation/Stagflation/Recession Watch.

Given our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians, inflation now needs an entire section of its own.

UK economy contracts by more than first thought in third quarter as it heads for recession

THURSDAY 22 DECEMBER 2022 7:19 AM

The UK economy contracted by more than first thought in the third quarter, with gross domestic product (GDP) dropping by a higher revised amount. 

GDP fell by a revised 0.3 per cent, compared to an initial estimation of a 0.2 per cent decline, fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed on Thursday.

It comes as the country is headed for a recession, with a protracted downturn forecast for the second half of this year by the Bank of England.

The services sector grew its output by 0.1 per cent while the production sector dropped by 2.5 per cent, during the July to September period.

Statisticians now believe the level of real GDP in the third quarter is 0.8 per cent below its pre-coronavirus level in the fourth quarter of 2019, lower than a previous estimate of 0.4 per cent below.

It is also now thought that the economy grew less than initially estimated throughout the first half of the year.

Revisions from the ONS have revealed the UK’s growth to be 0.6 per cent in the first quarter, compared to an initial estimation of 0.7 per cent. 

Growth was put down as 0.1 per cent in the second quarter, versus an earlier estimation of 0.2 per cent.

Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: “Our revised figures show the economy performed slightly less well over the last year than we previously estimated, with manufacturing and electricity generation notably weaker.

“Household incomes continued to fall in real terms, albeit at a slower rate than in the previous two quarters, while – taking account of inflation – household spending fell for the first time since the final Covid-19 lockdown in the spring of 2021.”

UK economy contracts by more than first thought in third quarter as it heads for recession (cityam.com)

Turkey hikes minimum wage by 55% as inflation and living cost crisis bite

Turkey announced a hike of its minimum wage by 55% Thursday, amid a cost of living crisis that has plunged millions into financial hardship, hammered small businesses and rendered many unable to afford basic goods.

The move is aimed at easing the impact of surging living costs, but economists worry it will further increase inflation. The country’s official rate of inflation is currently at a 24-year high of 84.4%.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a televised speech from Ankara Thursday, said that the monthly minimum salary would be brought to 8,500 lira ($455) starting in 2023. More than 30% of Turkey’s workforce is on the minimum wage, according to Turkish officials.

There is also a political angle, country analysts say: Turkey’s general election is due to be held in June 2023.

Timothy Ash, an emerging markets strategist at BlueBay Asset Management, told CNBC in an email: “Motive = win the election. Impact = higher inflation.”

The country’s rate of inflation slowed for the first time in more than 18 months in November, up 84.4% annually, a slight decrease from 85.5% the month prior.

More

Turkey hikes minimum wage by 55% as inflation and living cost crisis bite (cnbc.com)

 

Below, why a “green energy” economy may not be possible, and if it is, it won’t be quick and it will be very inflationary, setting off a new long-term commodity Supercycle. Probably the largest seen so far.

The “New Energy Economy”: An Exercise in Magical Thinking

https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/sites/default/files/R-0319-MM.pdf

Mines, Minerals, and "Green" Energy: A Reality Check

https://www.manhattan-institute.org/mines-minerals-and-green-energy-reality-check

"An Environmental Disaster": An EV Battery Metals Crunch Is On The Horizon As The Industry Races To Recycle

by Tyler Durden Monday, Aug 02, 2021 - 08:40 PM

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/environmental-disaster-ev-battery-metals-crunch-horizon-industry-races-recycle


Covid-19 Corner

This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.

With Covid-19 starting to become only endemic, this section is close to coming to its end.

WHO calls on China to share COVID-19 data

DEC. 21, 2022 / 3:40 PM

Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Leaders from the World Health Organization expressed concern over the recent COVID-19 outbreak in China, calling on the country to share its data and studies.

WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that the organization is "very concerned over the evolving situation in China, with increasing reports of severe disease."

"We continue to call on China to share the data and conduct the studies we have requested, and which we continue to request." Ghebreyesus said during a media briefing. "In order to make a comprehensive risk assessment of the situation on the ground, WHO needs more detailed information on disease severity, hospital admissions and requirements for ICU support."

China loosened its stringent COVID-19 controls for the first time in three years after widespread protests against the draconian policies broke out across the country and escalated into calls for greater freedom.

More

WHO calls on China to share COVID-19 data - UPI.com

Unvaccinated Blood Is Now in Very High Demand

Dec 20 2022

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

·         A growing number of people in need of blood transfusions are requesting blood that comes from people who haven’t received COVID-19 shots

·         Pathologist Dr. Ryan Cole compared the current unknowns regarding “vaccinated blood” with HIV-tainted blood that was used for transfusions in the 1980s

·         Directed donations and autologous donations, or self-donation, are options for receiving blood free of mRNA, but in both cases you’ll need your doctor to submit a Red Cross Special Collections Order form

·         A “Safe Blood” donation campaign has also been formed to match blood donors and recipients who have not had COVID-19 shots

 

It’s unknown whether blood donated by people who’ve received mRNA COVID-19 shots poses a risk to those who receive it. A growing number of people aren’t willing to take any chances, however, and are requesting blood that comes from unvaccinated patients. One high-profile case involves a 4-month-old baby, Will Savage-Reeves, in New Zealand, who needs surgery for a heart valve disorder.

 

His parents, Samantha and Cole, requested the infant receive blood only from donors who have not received COVID-19 shots. While unvaccinated blood is available, the doctors and hospital refused to grant the request. The case was heard before a New Zealand court, which sided with the doctors and took guardianship of the child to proceed with the surgery using vaccinated blood.1,2

 

Hospital Refuses Family’s Request for Unvaccinated Blood

The outcome of baby Will’s case may serve as a harbinger of things to come. The hospital argued that the surgery should proceed using unvaccinated blood because of the importance of finding a quality match. A large pool of donor blood raises the possibility of finding the highest quality match.

 

In addition, according to Steve Kirsch, executive director of the Vaccine Safety Research Foundation, another of their arguments is, “If there were a safety signal from using vaccinated blood for transfusions, it would have surfaced by now.” They also want to keep up appearances, and allowing one patient to use unvaccinated blood may open the floodgates to others requesting the same. Kirsch noted:3

 

“If they agree to use unvaccinated blood, it could be interpreted as an admission that vaccinated blood is not safe and could lead to everyone requesting unvaccinated blood which would then create severe blood shortages for a dubious benefit.”

Further, the New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS) manages blood donations and collections in New Zealand. Only a specialist doctor can request directed donation for the baby to received unvaccinated blood.

More

Unvaccinated Blood Is Now in Very High Demand (theepochtimes.com)

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

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, among other things, I’ve added this section. Updates as they get reported.

DECEMBER 21, 2022

Team develops graphene-based nanoelectronics platform

---- Walter de Heer, Regents' Professor in the School of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, has taken a critical step forward in making the case for a successor to silicon. De Heer and his collaborators have developed a new nanoelectronics platform based on graphene—a single sheet of carbon atoms. The technology is compatible with conventional microelectronics manufacturing, a necessity for any viable alternative to silicon.

In the course of their research, published in Nature Communications, the team may have also discovered a new quasiparticle. Their discovery could lead to manufacturing smaller, faster, more efficient and more sustainable computer chips, and has potential implications for quantum and high-performance computing.

"Graphene's power lies in its flat, two-dimensional structure that is held together by the strongest chemical bonds known," de Heer said. "It was clear from the beginning that graphene can be miniaturized to a far greater extent than silicon—enabling much smaller devices, while operating at higher speeds and producing much less heat. This means that in principle, more devices can be packed on a single chip of graphene than with silicon."

---- To create the new nanoelectronics platform, the researchers created a modified form of epigraphene on a silicon carbide crystal substrate. In collaboration with researchers at the Tianjin International Center for Nanoparticles and Nanosystems at the University of Tianjin, China, they produced unique silicon carbide chips from electronics-grade silicon carbide crystals. The graphene itself was grown at de Heer's laboratory at Georgia Tech using patented furnaces.

The researchers used electron beam lithography, a method commonly used in microelectronics, to carve the graphene nanostructures and weld their edges to the silicon carbide chips. This process mechanically stabilizes and seals the graphene's edges, which would otherwise react with oxygen and other gases that might interfere with the motion of the charges along the edge.

More

Team develops graphene-based nanoelectronics platform (phys.org)

“We’re very important,” Blankfein is quoted as saying in The Times of London. “We help companies to grow by helping them to raise capital. Companies that grow create wealth. This, in turn, allows people to have jobs that create more growth and more wealth. It’s a virtuous cycle.”

He goes on to admit to being the focus of public outrage--"I know I could slit my wrists and people would cheer"--but then blows the attempt to reconciliation by saying he is "doing God's work."

http://www.businessinsider.com/lloyd-blankfein-says-he-is-doing-gods-work-2009-11?IR=T

 

 

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