Baltic Dry Index. 1504 +72 Brent Crude 80.72
Spot Gold 1978 US 2 Year Yield 4.17 +0.03
Coronavirus
Cases 01/04/20 World 1,000,000
Deaths 53,103
Coronavirus Cases 24/04/23 World 686,514,238
Deaths 6,859,837
The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.
H. L. Mencken.
In the Asian stock casinos, a mixed outlook. Recession fears, more rising interest rate fears, more strikes, civil wars. More countries headed towards debt defaults this summer.
Sell in May, go away has never looked more apt, although this year it’s looking more like sell in April before the Grim Reaper arrives this summer if planet Earth doesn’t somehow stop rampant food price inflation, which now needs a northern hemisphere weather miracle.
Next month, Golden Week in China, a coronation
in the UK, plus three bank holidays, more interest rate hikes in the USA, UK
and EU.
Asia-Pacific
markets open mixed after Wall Street posts weekly loss
UPDATED SUN, APR 23 2023 11:16 PM
EDT
Asia-Pacific markets are trading mixed on
Monday, ahead of a busy week of key economic releases in the region.
Most major markets were down
except Japanese which was higher: the Nikkei 225 up
by 0.29% and the Topix 0.37% higher.
Investors will be closely
watching the Bank of Japan monetary policy meeting later this week, the first
to be led by new BOJ chief Kazuo Ueda.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped
0.08%, while South Korea’s Kospi fell
0.76% and the Kosdaq was down 1.6%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell
0.64%, paring earlier gains, while the Hang Seng Tech climbed 0.15%. Mainland
Chinese markets were also lower, with the Shenzhen Component shedding
0.5% and the Shanghai
Composite down 0.47%.
Some Southeast Asian markets are
closed today for a holiday, including Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Singapore will release its inflation figures for March on Monday.
Last week, all three major U.S. indices posted
gains on Friday, but ended
the week lower overall. On a weekly basis, the tech-heavy
Nasdaq saw the biggest decline, falling 0.42%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell
0.23% to snap a four-week win streak, and the S&P 500 slipped
0.1%.
Asia-Pacific
markets open mixed after Wall Street posts weekly loss (cnbc.com)
In other news, more signs of rising stagflation. Cost push inflation to come from severe wage increase demands backed by extremist strikes. Rising bankruptcies and an arriving US Corporate Mortgage Backed Securities bust later this summer.
Berlin airport
cancels all departures on Monday due to strike
Germany’s Verdi union
called for a one-day strike of air security staff at Berlin airport on Monday
as part of an ongoing wage dispute, prompting the airport to cancel all
passenger departures that day.
The walkout is due to
start at 3:30 a.m. local time (0130 GMT) on Monday and will end at midnight
(2200 GMT), the union said.
Germany, Europe’s
biggest economy, has experienced some of its most disruptive strikes in decades
this year as unions press for higher pay to offset the surging cost of living.
The planned action
follows walkouts at four other German airports — Duesseldorf,
Hamburg, Cologne-Bonn and Stuttgart on Thursday and Friday when more than 700
departures were cancelled.
“Due to the warning
strikes by security staff, no departures of passenger flights will be possible
on Monday April 24,” Berlin Brandenburg airport said in a statement, adding
arrivals might also be affected.
The union has been
negotiating with the BDLS aviation security association to push for pay
increases for night, weekend and public holiday shifts.
Berlin
airport cancels all departures on Monday due to strike (cnbc.com)
Canada's striking workers closer to resolving wage,
remote work issues
April
24, 2023 4:37 AM GMT+1
TORONTO, April 23
(Reuters) - A strike by about 155,000 Canadian federal government workers is
closer to a resolution, with progress made on remote work and wage increases
for Treasury Board employees, the union said on Sunday.
The
strike is scheduled to continue for now amid ongoing talks about a deal for
revenue agency workers, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) said in a
statement. The union has said it will "escalate" its actions on
Monday.
A wide range of
public services from tax returns to passport renewals have been hit since last
Wednesday, when 120,000 Treasury Board workers and 35,000 revenue agency staff
represented by the PSAC went on strike.
"At
Treasury Board we made some headway on remote work language, and both sides
have moved in order to get closer to a resolution on wage increases," said
Chris Aylward, National President of PSAC.
The
talks with the government about wage increases for revenue agency workers, who
oversee tax returns, have not made progress, he added.
The revenue
agency workers wanted a pay hike of 22.5% over three years, while the Treasury
Board workers who oversee federal government administration were seeking a
13.5% pay rise over three years. The government offered both groups a 9%
increase over three years.
Canada's
annual inflation rate peaked at 8.1% last year but has since come down to about half of that.
In
addition to higher wages, the union is also demanding flexibility to work from
home.
A
government spokesperson told Reuters on Sunday that it had received an offer
from the union the previous evening and presented a counter-offer in response,
without providing further details.
Canada's
striking workers closer to resolving wage, remote work issues | Reuters
Oil prices slide on uncertainty over global economic
outlook, rate hikes
April
24, 2023 5:18 AM GMT+1
SINGAPORE, April
24 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Monday as concerns about rising interest
rates, the global economy and the outlook for fuel demand outweighed support
from the prospect of tighter supplies on OPEC+ supply cuts.
Brent
crude slipped 75 cents, or 0.92%, to $80.91 a barrel by 0409 GMT, while U.S.
West Texas Intermediate crude was at $77.13 a barrel, down 74 cents, 0.95%
lower.
Both
contracts fell more than 5% last week, their first weekly drop in five, as U.S. implied gasoline demand fell from a year
ago, fuelling worries of a recession at the world's top oil consumer.
Weak U.S.
economic data and disappointing corporate earnings from the tech sector sparked
growth concerns and risk aversion among investors, CMC Markets analyst Tina
Teng said. The stabilising U.S. dollar and climbing bond yields are also
pressurising commodity markets, she added.
Central
banks from the United States to Britain and Europe are all expected to raise
interest rates when they meet in the first week of May, seeking to tackle
stubbornly high inflation.
China's
bumpy economic recovery post COVID-19 also clouded its oil demand outlook,
although Chinese customs data showed on Friday that the world's top crude
importer brought in record volumes in March. China's imports from top suppliers
Russia and Saudi Arabia topped 2 million barrels per day (bpd) each.
"I would
cite recent mixed economic data and continued central bank intervention as the
primary drivers behind the recent price correction," said John Driscoll,
director of JTD Energy Services. However, many may view this as a dip-buying
opportunity, he said.
Still,
refining margins in Asia have weakened on record production from top refiners
China and India, curbing the region's appetite for
Middle East supplies loading in June.
Nevertheless,
analysts and traders remained bullish about China's fuel demand recovery
towards the second half of 2023 and as additional supply cuts planned by OPEC+
- the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied producers
including Russia - from May could tighten markets.
China's oil demand recovery
is expected to more than offset the slowdown in OECD demand in the near term,
while sanctions and supply constraints add upside risk to prices, analysts at
the National Australia Bank said, adding that Brent could rise to $92 a barrel
by the end of the second quarter.
More
Oil
prices slide on uncertainty over global economic outlook, rate hikes | Reuters
Bed Bath & Beyond files for bankruptcy
protection after failed turnaround efforts
PUBLISHED SUN, APR 23 2023 6:36 AM EDTU
Bed
Bath & Beyond on Sunday filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after it failed in several last-ditch efforts
to raise enough money to keep the company alive.
The beleaguered home goods retailer has been warning of a potential bankruptcy since early January, when it issued a “going concern” notice that it may not have the cash to cover expenses after
a dismal holiday season. Shares
of the company closed at 29 cents Friday, giving it a market value of $136.9
million. The stock is down about 88% this year. Last April, it was trading
around $20 a share.
The company’s 360 namesake stores and 120 Buybuy Baby locations will remain open for the time being as it begins to close the business and liquidate assets. But it has filed motions in New Jersey bankruptcy court asking permission to auction the two brands, the company said in a release. It has already committed to closing all of its Harmon FaceValue stores.
More
Bed Bath & Beyond files for bankruptcy protection
(cnbc.com)
CMBS Realized Losses Dip in
March as Loan Workouts Continue
APRIL 17, 2023 10:54 AM
CMBS transactions incurred approximately $36.7 million in
realized losses during March via the workout of distressed assets.
CRED iQ identified 10 workouts classified
as dispositions, liquidations or discounted payoffs in March. Of these, only
one was resolved without a loss. The nine workouts resulting in losses involved
severities ranging from 2 percent to 95 percent, based on outstanding balances
at disposition.
Aggregate realized losses in March were
approximately 72 percent lower than February due to the lower quantity of
distressed workouts. The aggregate realized loss total of $36.7 million was the
lowest level of realized losses for any month over the past year. On a monthly
basis, realized losses for CMBS transactions averaged approximately $124
million during the trailing 12 months.
By property type, workouts were concentrated in
lodging, which comprised half of the distressed resolutions in March. Distressed
workouts for lodging properties had the highest total of aggregate realized
losses ($25.6 million), which accounted for 70 percent of the total for the
month.
The largest distressed workout featuring a lodging
property was the real estate owned (REO) liquidation of the Crowne Plaza
Houston Katy Freeway, a 207- key full-service hotel in Houston. The
hotel transferred to special servicing in May 2020 due to COVID-related
distress and became REO in June 2021. The property had outstanding debt of
$28.3 million, and the liquidation resulted in a loss of $24.2 million, equal
to a severity of 86 percent. The liquidation was also the largest workout in
March by outstanding debt balance.
More
CMBS
Realized Losses Dip in March as Loan Workouts Continue – Commercial Observer
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.
BOE’s
Ramsden sees risk of more persistent inflation
Ramsden
indicated he’s still more concerned about soaring prices than the economy
Published: April 22, 2023 13:35
London: Bank of
England Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden sees a risk that inflation will persist in
the UK and said officials must not get “knocked off course” in their effort to
keep a lid on prices.
The comments in an interview
with the Times newspaper add to speculation the central bank will raise
interest rates again at its next meeting on May 11.
Ramsden is
the most senior BOE official to comment since consumer price data surprised by
remaining in double digits for a seventh month. He said he’s concerned about
the strength of food prices, which soared at the strongest pace in more than
four decades.
“When I look at
where inflation is and where it needs to get to, I’m more focused on making
sure that (we) stay the course in terms of the monetary policy decisions needed
to get inflation back to target,” Ramsden said, according to the Times. High
inflation, he said, “is a bigger risk than over-tightening.”
Those comments
appear to answer remarks fellow policy maker Silvana Tenreyro made Thursday
night, when she said rates are already too high for the UK economy to
withstand. Tenreyro has been voting for no change in rates since late last
year, while Ramsden and the rest of the panel voted for hikes.
Investors quickly raised
bets on the BOE hiking again in May from the current base rate of 4.25 per
cent. They’re now almost fully pricing in 5 per cent by September.
Ramsden indicated
he’s still more concerned about soaring prices than the health of the economy.
“For seven months
now, inflation has been in double digits,” he said in the interview. “We need
to make sure that an inflationary mentality doesn’t develop in the economy as
we’ve seen in previous periods. That kind of instability isn’t good and doesn’t
give you the certainty that is the foundation for investment and growth.”
He said that “my
approach will be all about staying the course to get inflation back down from
its very high levels.”
BOE’s Ramsden sees risk of more persistent inflation |
Banking – Gulf News
Covid-19 Corner
This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.
RNA-Based Vaccine Technology:
The Trojan Horse Did Not Contain mRNA
It
Contains modRNA That Genetically Manipulates Healthy Cells
April
21, 2023
A few years ago, the term “mRNA” was primarily confined to scientific circles and research papers. Then, the use of messenger RNA seemed promising: It would teach cells to create a protein that would initiate an immune response against a specific pathogen.
Today, many more of us have heard of mRNA, as both the Pfizer-BioNTech
and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines use messenger ribonucleic acid, or mRNA, as the
active ingredient. At least, that’s what we’ve been told.
In fact, RNA-based vaccine technology utilizes modified RNA (“modRNA”), not mRNA. This applies to the COVID-19 vaccines and all vaccines currently in the research and development stages. Because mRNA is so fragile that the human immune system will destroy it within a few minutes, mRNA cannot be effective on its own. Therefore, the current technology was made possible only after stabilizing mRNA; the result is modified RNA.
Furthermore, modified RNA-based
“vaccines” are not vaccines but gene-based injections that force healthy cells
to produce a viral protein. In this article, we will look at the uses and dangers
of modRNA.
Natural Infection and Conventional Vaccination
When you are infected naturally by
a virus or have received a conventional vaccine, your immune system identifies
virus-specific antigens from active or inactivated virus particles, respectively.
The two main types of immune cells, T and B cells, behave differently. T cells identify infected cells and initiate apoptosis (the cell-killing process), while B cells produce antibodies that bind to the virus and thus prevent infection of other cells.
There are various
“proteins”—called antigens—on the surface of each virus. Your immune system
can memorize more than one of them. When the virus mutates
and some proteins change, your immune system can still recognize and kill
them. This is referred to as cross-immunity.
Particularly in the case of
respiratory disease, most pathogens are already prevented by the first natural
barrier, the mucous membrane. This barrier, however, is bypassed when an
intramuscular injection (such as the COVID-19 shot) is administered.
To protect against destruction by
the immune system, modified RNA (modRNA) is packaged in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), which, due to their small
size and synthetic optimization, can easily overcome biological barriers and
even reach vital cells in the heart and
brain.
According to the concept of
RNA-based injections, the antigen (here, the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2) is
synthesized by our cells and presented at the cell surfaces, where it serves as
a target for the generation of neutralizing antibodies.
However, this mechanism is highly
problematic.
On the one hand, in addition to
the desired neutralizing antibodies, non-neutralizing antibodies may be
generated, resulting in antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE). This process
allows endocytosis of virus-antibody-complexes into the host’s immune cells
(i.e., macrophages), causing a weakening of the immune system. Put simply,
non-neutralizing antibodies represent devils in disguise, making a person’s
body more susceptible to illness related to follow-up and booster injections.
More
RNA-Based Vaccine Technology: The Trojan Horse Did Not
Contain mRNA (theepochtimes.com)
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.
First Graphene consortium to start
graphene-enhanced cement trial at Breedon Cement in June 2023
21 April 2023
UK: A consortium led by Australia-based First
Graphene including Breedon Cement, Morgan Sindall Construction
and the University of Manchester plans to start a trial producing
graphene-enhanced cement in June 2023.
The project will aim to produce around 2000t of the cement in the first
instance. Its performance as a binder in mortar and concrete systems will be
analysed to assess the performance improvement, prior to use in real-world
demonstrations by Morgan Sindall Construction. Data from Breedon and First Graphene
production sites has already been analysed by the University of Manchester and
found graphene enhanced cement to both offset CO2 and
demonstrate potential mechanical benefits, even at graphene loading levels less
than 0.06%.The project is supported by a Euro215m grant from the Innovate UK
scheme.
Michael Bell, the managing director and chief executive officer of First
Graphene, said “Our research and development in collaboration with some of the
world’s most innovative materials technology organisations, coupled with buy-in
from industry partners to trial our graphene products, sets the foundation for
a strong commercialisation pathway.” He added, “Greening of the concrete and
cement sector provides our company with a great opportunity to strengthen both
our revenue and ultimately profitability as market demand for decarbonisation
technologies and materials increases.”
It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when
you know that you would lie if you were in his place.
H. L. Mencken.
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