Baltic Dry Index. 1919 +105 Brent Crude 77.23
Spot
Gold 2494 US 2 Year Yield 3.91 Fri.
It is
terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged.
G. K.
Chesterton.
Eighty five yeas ago today, Great Britain and France declared war on Hitler’s Germany for invading Poland two days earlier.
As the US stock casinos return from their Labor Day rest, Asian markets are modestly higher with the same expected in European stock casinos.
With the US presidential election now just two months away, US stock gamblers will now increasingly focus on how best to protect and preserve their wealth should either of the two presidential candidates win and go on to try to enact their bizarre economic policies.
But for this week, in the US casinos at least,
it is all about Friday’s new employment number from the Bureau of Lying
Labor Statistics.
There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Attributed to many.
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rise after South
Korea’s inflation rate hits 42-month low
Published Mon, Sep 2 2024 8:02 PM EDT
Asia-Pacific markets mostly climbed on
Tuesday as investors assess South Korea’s August inflation numbers, which eased to its
lowest level on a year-on-year basis since March 2021.
The country’s consumer price index
recorded a 2% rise year on year, coming down from July’s 2.6% and in line with
expectations from a Reuters poll of economists.
On a month-on-month basis, the CPI rose
0.4%, slightly higher than the 0.3% expected from the Reuters poll.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was 0.24% up in
early trade, while the Topix was 0.6% higher.
South Korea’s Kospi was 0.11% higher, and
the small cap Kosdaq inched up 0.01%.
In contrast, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down
0.11%.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 also fell
marginally, extending losses from a seven-month low on Monday.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index slipped
0.12%.
Markets in the U.S. were closed on Monday
due to the Labor Day holiday. Futures tied to the three major indexes were down
ahead of Tuesday’s session. The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped
57 points, or 0.14%. S&P
500 futures fell 0.12%, and Nasdaq-100 futures fell
0.26%,
Asia stock markets: South Korea inflation hits 42-month low (cnbc.com)
European markets head for positive open after
lackluster start to September trading
Published Tue, Sep 3 2024 12:29 AM EDT
LONDON — European stocks are expected to
open in positive territory Tuesday, bouncing back from a lackluster start to
September trading at the beginning of the week.
The U.K.’s FTSE index is expected to
open 16 points higher at 8,372, Germany’s DAX up 28 points at 18,949,
France’s CAC 40 up 7
points at 7,649 and Italy’s FTSE
MIB 20 points higher at 34,395, according to data from IG.
Regional markets fell on Monday as the
first trading day in September got underway and investors considered the
outlook for interest rates and markets.
Expectations have risen that the U.S.
Federal Reserve will begin interest rate cuts in September with the central
bank’s next meeting set for Sept. 17-18.
U.S. markets were closed Monday for the
Labor Day holiday, but stock futures were little changed Monday night as
traders braced themselves for a potentially tough month ahead after a strong
but volatile August. Investors will get their first major economic report of
the month on Friday, when the U.S. government releases the August jobs report.
Asia-Pacific markets mostly
climbed overnight as investors assess South Korea’s August inflation numbers, which eased to its
lowest level on a year-on-year basis since March 2021.
Data releases in Europe Tuesday include
the latest Spanish unemployment figures and U.K. retail sales data.
European markets: stock moves, data and earnings (cnbc.com)
In other news.
JPMorgan economist says China’s housing market
crash is still not over
Published Mon, Sep 2 2024 8:43 PM EDT
China’s troubled housing market will
continue to see softness as a slew of government stimulus and support measures
have not been “satisfactory” in propping up the sector, according to a JPMorgan
economist.
The “housing market crash is still not
over yet,” Haibin Zhu, chief China economist at JPMorgan told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” Monday,
adding home prices would not stabilize until 2025 at the earliest.
The average
price for new home sales across 100 Chinese cities rose by a modest
0.11% from July, a further slowdown from June’s 0.13% growth, according to data
released by China Index Academy Saturday. Resale home prices
declined 0.71% from the previous month, according to the report.
Both new and resale houses saw average
prices drop 1.76% and 6.89% from a year ago, respectively, as the country’s
housing market remains deeply mired in crisis.
Bloomberg reported Saturday that China is
weighing a plan to lower homeowner borrowing costs by allowing
refinancing on as much as $5.4 trillion in mortgages.
But analysts are skeptical the proposed
measure would be effective in stimulating homebuyer sentiment and overall
consumption.
“Some people think it will free up
consumption — that’s only one side of the story,” according to Winnie Wu, chief
China equity strategist at BofA Securities. Lower mortgage rates would cause
banks to cut deposit rates to protect their margins and ensure stability in the
financial system, she said, noting that reduced deposit rates would eventually
cut into interest income on household savings.
The mortgage refinancing measure would
also do little to boost new home demand, according to JPMorgan’s Zhu.
“Even if the mortgage refinancing policy
materializes, it’s not a policy to revive the housing market,” he said, adding
that the policy “has nothing to do with the new home demand, mainly benefiting
the existing homeowners.”
“Rate cut is not the best policy,
squeezing banks’ margin is not going to go very far,” BofA Securities’ Wu said,
adding the government needs to “create a positive feedback loop rather than
this downward spiral.”
JPMorgan economist says China's housing market crash is still not over (cnbc.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.
US
headed for a 'pretty severe' recession, investor says
Sun,
1 Sept 2024, 4:30 pm BST
As
the Federal Reserve gears up for its first interest rate cut in September, some
investors feel the US is already down the path of recession. RSE Ventures CEO
and co-founder and a recurring "Shark Tank" shark, Matt Higgins,
joins Wealth! to discuss the likelihood of a recession in the US and what it
may look like this time around.
Higgins
believes the US economy is on track for a recession, believing it will be
"pretty severe and very sharp." He explains that Americans have
record amounts of debt, and that the Sahm Rule has been triggered with July's
unemployment data. Thus, under these conditions, the US will likely experience
a recession.
"I
think it's going to be intense. It's going to lead to higher unemployment than
people are forecasting, but it's going to be short and intense. And then we get
to resolve it. And AI will be the technology that will deliver us to the other
side," he adds.
US headed for a 'pretty severe' recession, investor says (yahoo.com)
Oil
and gas windfall tax increase may cost economy £13bn, trade body warns
Monday
02 September 2024 6:00 am
The
government’s changes to the windfall tax will have a £13bn hit to the economy
and generate lower tax revenues, an analysis from the body responsible for
promoting North Sea energy firms’ interests has warned.
The
data from Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), which compares the previous
administration’s Energy Profits Levy (EPL) with the new government’s more
stringent proposals, predicts capital investment to nosedive from £14.1bn to
just £2.3bn over the government’s five-year term.
The
new windfall tax will also put 35,000 jobs at risk, the body claimed, because
projects that might have gone ahead under the previous regime will no longer be
financially viable.
The
government has claimed that the hikes will help fund the establishment of its
new, state-owned energy company GB Energy. But the OEUK analysis claims the hit
to economic activity in the sector will be so big that tax receipts from the
levy will fall despite the rate of tax going up and allowances being closed
under the new plans.
It
was originally levied at 60 per cent but was then raised to 75 per cent.
Labour
plans to raise it again – to 78 per cent – and also remove the previous
policy’s provision that any money spent on investment and exploration would not
be taxed under the EPL.
David
Whitehouse, chief executive of OEUK, said: “The Prime Minister has said that
the Budget will be painful. This industry recognises that difficult decisions
will need to be made.
“This
is a government that has made economic growth its main priority and yet our
analysis shows that its policy will ultimately reduce this sector’s
contribution to the UK economy. ”
The
warning comes just weeks after more
than 40 companies with operations in the North Sea voiced their “grave concern”
with the Starmer administration’s proposals in an open letter.
Signatories
included the area’s energy firms, but also the likes of Wood Group and Sodexo, which were concerned that
contracts they had with the sector would dry up, causing job losses.
A
Treasury spokesman said: “We are committed to maintaining a constructive
dialogue with the oil and gas sector to finalise changes to strengthen the
windfall tax, ensuring a phased and responsible transition for the North Sea.
Oil and gas windfall tax increase may cost economy £13bn, trade body warns (cityam.com)
Covid-19 Corner
This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.
What
does it mean to have COVID-19 in 2024? What to know amid increase in cases
Jordan Green, Nashville Tennessean Fri, August 30, 2024 at 9:23 PM GMT+1
What
does it mean to have COVID-19 in 2024? What to know amid increase in cases
COVID-19
is once again making its rounds through the United States, but what does it
mean to have COVID in 2024?
According
to the Centers for Disease Control, COVID is still something to be cautious of
since the disease has numerous symptoms that can be mistaken for other
illnesses. It's important to test and be watchful at the sign of any symptoms.
With
the increase in cases
in Tennessee and across the country, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the
emergency use of the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines.
Here is what to know about COVID-19 in 2024.
What
are the current COVID symptoms?
According to the
CDC,
there are many symptoms that can come from COVID-19. The organization also says
that new variants and vaccination status can affect symptoms.
These
are some of the symptoms recorded by the CDC:
·
Fever
or chills
·
Cough
·
Shortness
of breath or difficulty breathing
·
Sore
throat
·
Congestion
or runny nose
·
New
loss of taste or smell
·
Fatigue
·
Muscle
or body aches
·
Headache
·
Nausea
or vomiting
· Diarrhea
Do
I quarantine for COVID in 2024? For how long?
It's
still recommended to stay home when sick with COVID, but there is no official
timeline for how long. The CDC recommends using caution up to five days after
you begin feeling better. It is suggested to wait up to 24 hours after symptoms
subsided and a fever is gone before resuming normal activities.
Even
if there are no more symptoms, it's still possible for the virus to spread.
Health officials recommend wearing a mask for up to five days after feeling
better.
more
What does it mean to have COVID-19 in 2024? What to know amid increase in cases (yahoo.com)
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.
Jersey to trial graphene underfloor heating
2 September 2024
An underfloor heating system using graphene-based inks
is to be trialled in the Channel Islands.
Graphene technology
specialist Haydale has signed a contract with Jersey Energy Technologies (JET)
to begin a pilot trial deploying Haydale's innovative underfloor heaters within
social housing in Jersey.
Haydale's underfloor heating
system uses the company's proprietary HDPlasTM functionalisation technology to
exploit the thermal conductivity properties of graphene. Data gathered from
Haydale's in-house prototype systems have shown up to 30% lower operating cost
for its graphene ink underfloor heating compared to standard wired systems
running off mains power.
The first real-world
installation of Haydale's product is planned to take place with JET later this
year. The pilot trial will gather information over winter to support the
efficacy and efficiency data already generated from Haydale's in-house testing,
with results expected in the new year.
Under the agreement, JET has
agreed to pay for exclusive access to distribute the underfloor heating product
within the Channel Islands on a commercial basis. If the trial is successful,
it is envisaged that this underfloor heating system will be rolled out in
phases to selected homes and buildings.
Haydale Ltd is the operating
arm of Haydale Graphene Industries Plc is based in Ammanford, in south Wales.
Established in 2003, it has patents for its technologies in Europe, USA,
Australia, Japan and China and operates from five sites in the UK, USA and the
Far East.
Haydale chief executive Keith
Broadbent said: "We are thrilled to collaborate with JET on this project
which demonstrates our ability to use our plasma functionalisation technology
platform to develop our own IP protected products for commercialisation, and
this collaboration is a testament to our commitment to innovation and
sustainability.
"Our underfloor heating
system not only provides superior comfort but also represents a potentially
significant step forward in reducing environmental impact and energy costs.
This innovative solution leverages advanced technology to provide consistent,
comfortable warmth, looking to ensure that each home remains cozy throughout
the year without the excessive energy consumption typically associated with
traditional heating systems."
JET founder George Eves said: "The adoption of
Haydale's advanced underfloor heating technology aligns perfectly with our
mission to provide high-quality, sustainable living solutions to the residents
of the Channel Islands. We are excited to offer this cutting-edge heating
solution and over time - we will look to roll the products out in the new build
and retrofit projects underway with our development partner, improving the
quality of life for our residents and setting a new standard for social housing."
Jersey to trial graphene underfloor heating (theconstructionindex.co.uk)
Next, the
world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.
World Debt
Clocks (usdebtclock.org)
We do not need a censorship of the press. We have a censorship by the press... It is not we who silence the press. It is the press who silences us.
G. K. Chesterton.
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