Baltic Dry Index. 1919 +17 Brent Crude 72.77
Spot Gold 2519 US 2 Year Yield 3.75 -0.01
There is no way of keeping profits up but by keeping wages down.
David Ricardo.
Later today in Washington, District of
Crooks, the US Bureao of Lying Labor Statistics will release their
latest employment/unemployment numbers for August, details below.
As goes that update so goes the US stock casinos, though the real action/reaction will mostly follow next week.
If the new numbers miss the Street’s guesses and disappoint, lookout below. If the new number beat the Street’s guesses it’s off to the races for the run up towards the US presidential election. But pay attention to the revisions to earlier months, if any.
As goes the US stock casinos, likely goes the rest of the global stock casinos, although Europe’s stock casinos have very little reason to rally rather than sell off.
All in all, a good time to be sitting out of stocks and in cash and Treasuries along with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
In other news, most of Africa is visiting and aligning with Beijing.
Asia-Pacific markets mostly fall as Japan spending
misses expectations; Hong Kong closes due to typhoon
Published Thu, Sep 5 2024 7:53 PM ED
Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell on Friday
as investors brace for a crucial jobs report from the U.S. and digested
household spending data from Japan.
Japan’s
household spending data for July rose 0.1% in real terms from the
previous year, compared to a 1.2% rise expected from economists polled by
Reuters, and a reversal compared to a 1.4% fall in June.
Data from the country’s statistics bureau
said the average household monthly expenditure for July 2024 was 290,931 yen
($2,031.35), up 3.3% in nominal terms from the previous year.
Average household monthly income came in
at 694,483 yen in July, 8.9% higher in nominal terms and up 5.5% in real terms
from the previous year.
The weak spending report could constrain
the Bank of Japan’s options to raise rates, although this may be offset by the
strong wage growth numbers from Thursday.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.6%, and
the broad based Topix was 0.97% lower after the data release.
7-Eleven’s parent company Seven & i
Holdings fell 1.73%, after it rejected
a takeover offer from Canadian convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard.
South Korea’s Kospi was 0.87% lower, and
the small cap Kosdaq tumbled 2.31%.
In contrast, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed
0.46%.
In Hong Kong, the city’s markets will be
shut today after the Hong Kong observatory issued a typhoon signal due to Super
Typhoon Yagi.
The observatory expects to downgrade the
storm signal at 12.40 p.m. Hong Kong time, meaning the markets are expected to
be closed for the day. According to the Hong Kong Exchange, there will be no trading for the
day should the Number 8 signal be downgraded after noon.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 traded 0.27%
below the flatline.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major
indexes fell as investors dumped risk assets and concerns mounted over the
outlook for the U.S. economy.
The S&P 500 dipped 0.3% for a
third straight day of losses, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost
0.54%. The Nasdaq Composite gained
0.25% after rising as much as 1.2% earlier in the session.
Asia stock markets: Hong Kong typhoon; Japan household spending (cnbc.com)
Friday’s jobs report for August is going to be
huge. Here’s what to expect
Published Thu, Sep 5 2024 1:08 PM EDT
Wall Street is gearing up for one of the
most important economic releases of the year Friday, when the Labor Department
puts out a jobs report expected to go a long way in determining the future of
Federal Reserve policy.
The Wall Street consensus is for nonfarm
payrolls growth of 161,000 for August and a slight decline in the unemployment
rate to 4.2%, according to Dow Jones.
However, recent data, including a massive
downward revision to previous counts, has pointed to a sharp slowdown
in hiring and has put some downside risk to that forecast.
In turn, markets are certain the Fed will
start lowering interest rates in a couple weeks, with the possibility of a
jumbo cut depending on what Friday’s report shows.
“The labor market has cooled faster than
we originally had been told, so that’s what’s calling [Friday’s report] into
question,” said Giacomo Santangelo, economist at job search site Monster. “What
the Fed is going to do in response, how are they going to adjust rates, that’s
why we are having this conversation.”
While job growth has been tailing off
through much of 2024, the deceleration hit home for the market with a July
report that showed payroll
growth of just 114,000. That wasn’t even the lowest number of the year, but
it followed a Fed
meeting that stirred up sentiment the central bank was being too
complacent about a weakening economy and might hold interest rates high for too
long.
What has followed has been a series of
reports indicating that while the economy is still on its feet, hiring
is decelerating, the manufacturing sector is fading further into
contraction, and it’s time for the Fed to start cutting before it risks
overdoing its inflation fight and dragging the economy into recession.
The latest bad news came Thursday when
payrolls processing firm ADP put August
private job growth at just 99,000, the smallest gain since January 2021.
More
Friday's jobs report for August is going to be huge. Here's what to expect (cnbc.com)
Comparing the 2000-01 dot.com crash with today's
situation
5 September 2024
Investing.com -- Nomura analysts revisited
the dot-com crash in a Wednesday report, noting it serves as a reminder of the
feedback loops between markets and the economy – dynamics that could become important
if the current market selloff worsens.
During the dot-com crash, both the S&P
500 and Nasdaq indexes saw significant declines, dropping by 24% and 56%,
respectively, from their August 2000 peaks to their March 2001 lows. Similarly,
the ISM manufacturing index fell below 50 during this period, signaling
contraction, while non-farm payrolls showed volatility, and the unemployment
rate began to rise.
The Federal Reserve responded by cutting
interest rates by 300 basis points in eight months, though it took several
months for these cuts to begin, with the first rate reduction of 50 basis
points in January 2001—four months into the market correction.
Fast forward to 2024, and despite some
recent market turbulence, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes have not
experienced such sharp corrections. However, the unemployment rate has
increased more quickly, rising from 3.7% in January to 4.3% in July.
In contrast to the dot-com era, core
inflation remains above the Fed's 2% target, while consumer confidence is
weaker. The ISM manufacturing index has also fallen below 50, but not to the
same degree as during the early 2000s.
Nomura points out that in both cases,
loose financial conditions played a role in asset price growth. Today, U.S.
financial conditions remain relatively loose despite the Fed's tightening
cycle, which has supported rising asset prices. However, this creates the risk
of a sharp correction if conditions tighten unexpectedly.
The report emphasizes two key takeaways.
First, during the dot-com crash, the Fed "did not quickly come to the
rescue of the equity market; rather, it responded quickly once the labor market
was clearly weakening,” Nomura notes.
Secondly, when a negative feedback loop
develops between declining asset prices and a weakening economy—through
diminished wealth, confidence, and loan collateral— the Fed tends to act
"more rapidly and forcefully."
In this context, the analysts caution that
the market could be at a pivotal moment. Should the upcoming jobs report show
further weakness, and the equity market downturn worsens, they warn that the
economy "may not be far from triggering this vicious feedback loop."
Comparing the 2000-01 dot.com crash with today's situation (msn.com)
In other news.
China is hosting African leaders in a lavish
display of its global ambition
Tom Porter
Wed 4 September 2024 at 3:15 pm BST
China's leader Xi Jinping playing the
lavish host to leaders from Africa this week — burnishing its credentials as a
world power.
The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation,
held in Beijing, is the biggest diplomatic summit in China in recent years,
with 53 African heads of state in town.
China declared the theme of the summit,
the first since 2018, as "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build
a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future."
As they arrived, leaders were greeted by
dancers, lines of Chinese troops, and cheering flag-waving children.
Xi himself hosted the delegations at an
opening banquet and ceremony on Wednesday, before discussions begin in earnest.
Analysts say the event is about cementing
Chinese influence on the continent, and chipping away at the US.
In recent decades China has struck trade,
infrastructure, and security deals worth billions as part of its global Belt and Road Initiative.
But China's investment in Africa has
dropped sharply in recent years amid domestic economic woes, while the US seeks
to catch up amid in an intensifying race for global dominance.
"This summit occurs amid intensifying
strategic frictions between China and the West, especially the United
States," Ali Wye of the US think tank Crisis Group told Business Insider.
More
China is hosting African leaders in a lavish display of its global ambition (yahoo.com)
Oil prices sink to nine-month low amid global
economic uncertainty
5 September 2024
Crude oil prices fell for the second
consecutive trading day amid weak economic data from both China and the US this
week.
The WTI futures price dropped below $70
per barrel for the first time since December 2023, while Brent futures slumped
to under $74 per barrel, a level not seen in nine months.
Both benchmark oil futures have plunged by
more than 10% since their recent highs on 27 August.
Risk-aversion sentiment has also
contributed to the downward pressure on the oil market, as the Nvidia-led tech
selloff caused global markets to tumble on Tuesday.
Investors fled risky assets amid rising
recession fears, with the CBOE Volatility Index, known as the market's fear
gauge, spiking above 20 - the highest level in a month.
In late August, oil prices surged due to
escalating military conflict between Iran and Israel, alongside production
disruptions in Libya, which also fuelled the upsurge.
However, concerns of a wider regional war
have eased as recession fears overshadowed geopolitical tensions, and a
potential resolution to Libya's dispute is expected to restore its oil output.
Rising fears of a recession
Several disappointing data releases from
the US have sparked concerns about deteriorating economic conditions and a
weakening oil demand outlook.
The world's largest economy reported a
weaker-than-expected Manufacturing Purchasing Manager Index (PMI), indicating
that factory activity contracted for the fourth consecutive month in August.
On Wednesday, the JOLTS job openings data
also revealed that the number of available jobs fell to its lowest level since
January 2021.
The worsening economic data has
significantly increased the likelihood of a deeper rate cut by the Federal
Reserve next month, causing the yield on 2-year and 10-year US government bonds
to briefly reverse their inversion for the second time since 2022.
Shorter-term government bond yields are
more sensitive to imminent interest rate movements.
Historically, an economic recession tends
to occur when the spread between the two benchmark US government bond yields
returns to positive territory after an inversion.
Furthermore, China, the world's largest
oil importer, reported softer-than-expected Manufacturing PMI over the weekend,
indicating that factory production remained in contraction for the third
straight month in August.
China's Caixin Services PMI, released on
Wednesday, also came in lower than expected, suggesting the country's economic
recovery continues to falter.
OPEC+ to delay output increase
OPEC+ may delay its plan to increase
production in October amid plunging oil prices, according to a report by
Reuters.
The organisation had previously agreed to
raise production by 180,000 barrels per day as part of its plan to gradually
unwind output cuts.
Ongoing production cuts could provide some
support to the weakened crude market, although the news has not immediately
lifted prices because of the prevailing risk-averse sentiment.
In June, OPEC and its allies agreed to
extend production cuts of 3.66 million barrels per day until the end of 2025,
with additional voluntary cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day continuing until
September this year.
The organisation, which supplies over 37%
of the world's total oil, has been reducing output since 2022, leading to a
total cut of 5.86 million barrels per day, representing 5.7% of global demand.
Oil prices sink to nine-month low amid global economic uncertainty (msn.com)
London landlords sell up properties at record
rates ahead of anticipated tax hikes
Published Thu, Sep 5 2024 3:27 AM EDT
LONDON — London landlords are selling up
their buy-to-let properties at record rates as anticipated tax hikes from the
U.K. Labour government add further pressure to the once lucrative investment
sector.
Almost one-third (29%) of homes currently
for sale in the capital were previously rented out, data published on Thursday
by property portal Rightmove showed.
The spike mirrors a wider uptick in rental
property sales across the U.K., where 18% of all nationwide listings were
previously tenanted, according to Rightmove.
Rightmove said it was not yet clear that
the figures pointed to a “mass exodus” by landlords, but rather to a gradual
decline in the appeal of the buy-to-let sector. The previous five-year average
of former rental listings for sale was 14%, while the proportion of ex-rental
properties on the market in 2010 was 8%, Rightmove said.
It highlighted that it expected tax hikes
in Finance Minister Rachel Reeve’s forthcoming Oct. 30 Autumn Statement —
including a possible increase in Capital Gains Tax (CGT) — to become a
“potential driver” of the increased sales.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has already
warned that the October budget would be “painful” after the
government said it discovered a £22 billion ($29 billion) hole in the
public finances, when it took office in July.
Reeves has refused to be pressed on the
contents of her spending plan, telling CNBC in July that
such matters are “rightly for the budget.”
Speculation has mounted around tax hikes,
including an equalizing of CGT, which would bring it in line with the tiered
rates at which income tax is levied. Currently, buy-to-let landlords have to
pay a flat rate — 18% for basic-rate taxpayers and 28% for higher-rate
taxpayers — on the sale of their property.
Marc von Grundherr, director of
London-based real estate agency Benham and Reeves, said that the potential
equalizing of CGT was “of course” a concern for many landlords.
“If the Labour government was to follow
through with it, it could make for a significant increase in the tax paid by
the average landlord when the time did come for them to exit the sector,” he
said.
More
London landlords sell up properties ahead of anticipated Labour clampdown (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.
The demand for money is regulated entirely by its value, and its
value by its quantity.
David Ricardo.
Layoffs
jump in August while hiring in 2024 is at a historic low, Challenger report
shows
Published
Thu, Sep 5 2024 7:30 AM EDT
Layoffs
soared in August, hitting their highest total for the month in 15 years, while
year-to-date hiring reached a historic low, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray
& Christmas reported Thursday.
Announced
job cuts totaled 75,891 for the month, lurching 193% higher than July. Though
the total was just 1% higher than the same month in 2023, it was the highest
number for August going back to 2009, as the economy was still escaping the
worst of the global financial crisis.
On
the hiring front, companies said they were adding just 6,101 new workers, up by
nearly 2,500 since July, but down more than 21% from August 2023. The
year-to-date hiring announcements of nearly 80,000 is the lowest total in
history going back to 2005.
“August’s
surge in job cuts reflects growing economic uncertainty and shifting market
dynamics,” said Andrew Challenger, the firm’s senior vice president. “Companies
are facing a variety of pressures, from rising operational costs to concerns
about a potential economic slowdown, leading them to make tough decisions about
workforce management.”
The
report comes with concerns rising that the labor market is weakening even
though the U.S. economy has seen growth of 1.4 million in nonfarm payrolls this
year. Payrolls processing firm ADP reported
Wednesday that
private companies added just 99,000 workers in August, the smallest gain since
January 2021.
Markets
expect a softening jobs picture to prod the Federal Reserve into lowering
interest rates later this month even with inflation running higher than the
central bank’s 2% target.
To
be sure, the Challenger layoffs data is somewhat out of sync with government
reports, which show that initial claims for unemployment benefits have been
slightly elevated in recent weeks but not reflective of a major escalation. For
the week ended Aug. 31, jobless claims totaled 227,000, a slight decrease from
the previous period.
Thursday’s
report showed the biggest growth in planned layoffs came in the technology
field, with companies announcing 41,829 cuts, the most in 20 months.
“The
labor market overall is softening,” Challenger said.
Companies
announcing job cuts most often cited cost-cutting and economic conditions as
the reasons, though artificial intelligence also was listed for the first time
since April.
Don’t
miss these insights from CNBC PRO
Layoffs jump in
August while hiring in 2024 is at a historic low, Challenger report shows
(cnbc.com)
Risk
sentiment shaken by JOLTS report
09/04/2024
22:25:54 GMT
The
S&P 500 notched back-to-back losses as Wall Street navigates a bumpy start
to September. It’s starting to feel like clockwork—another early-month stock
plunge following closely on the heels of August’s brief but sharp correction.
Given
that September historically claims the title of the worst month for stock
returns—with August a close runner-up—this seasonal swoon could just be par for
the course. And yet, there’s always that lingering worry that the sharp
pullback from near-record highs might signal something deeper. Enter this
week’s critical U.S. employment report, coupled with Job Openings and Labor
Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data, which threw another wrench into the mix. The
report showed job openings across the U.S. economy at their lowest since
January 2021, turning up the heat on the Fed.
The
7.673 million headline JOLTS print missed the mark by a mile, falling well
short of economists' 8.1 million forecast. The prior
month’s downward revision made the drop even more dramatic, adding to growing
evidence that the U.S. labour market is finally cooling. While that’s a
positive in terms of easing wage pressures and keeping inflation in check, it
also raises questions about the economy’s underlying strength.
As
for the September rate cut calculus, we pointed out yesterday that with just
33% odds priced in for a 50 bp cut, any hint of weaker data would send markets
rushing to bet on higher probabilities—and that’s precisely what happened. The
odds of a rate cut are now 40%, and the USD/JPY is dipped
below 144.
Indeed,
those odds might still be on the conservative side, with inflation on the
downtrend, giving the Fed plenty of room to go bigger. In some stock market
circles, a jumbo cut could be the lifeline needed to support those sky-high
valuations.
More
Risk sentiment shaken by JOLTS report (fxstreet.com)
COVID-19 government disaster loans saved businesses, but saddled
survivors with debt
September 4, 2024
In 2020 and 2021,
COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans were a lifeline for small businesses.
But now some small
businesses are having trouble paying them off. And a Small Business Credit
Survey report from the 12 Federal Reserve banks shows that
small businesses that haven't paid off COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans
are in worse shape than other small businesses.
Dwayne Thomas, owner of
events lighting company Greenlight Creative in Portland, Oregon, got a roughly $500,000
EIDL loan in 2020, when all events shut down, crippling his businesses.
EIDL loans were designed
to help small businesses stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of
these loans have a 30-year term with a 3.5% interest rate. With lower interest
rates than typical loans, the loans were provided for working capital and other
normal operating expenses.
Thomas says his business
would not have survived without the loan. But, at 64, his plan to sell his
business in a few years and retire has been scuttled, since the 30-year loan
has left his business saddled with debt, even though otherwise it's a healthy
business that turns a profit.
“We’re as successful as
we’ve ever been," Thomas said. “It’s just that we have this huge thing
hanging over us at all times. It is not going away on its own.”
The SBA awarded about 4 million
loans worth $380 billion through the program. More than $300 billion was
outstanding as of late 2023. Unlike some other pandemic aid, these loans are
not forgivable and must be repaid.
The survey by the Federal
Reserve Banks found firms with outstanding EIDL loans had higher debt levels,
were more likely to report challenges making payments on debt and were less
likely to be profitable as of fall 2023, when the survey was conducted.
Firms with outstanding
EIDL debt are also more likely to be denied when applying for additional
credit. Half said they were denied for having too much debt.
Still, the survey stopped
short of saying the disaster loans were a negative for companies. Some
companies said they would have gone out of business altogether if it weren't
from the loans. And it's impossible to measure whether the companies that
haven't paid off these loans weren't in worse shape from the start.
Colby Janisch, a brewer
at 902 Brewing Company in Jersey City, New Jersey, received a loan from
the EIDL program of about $400,000. But unlike a loan for an asset that you can
pay off, the loan just went to rent and other overhead costs. And Janisch said
the outstanding debt stops them from taking on other loans for assets that
could help the business.
“It's hindered us because
we don’t want to take out any loans to invest in the company now because we
have such outstanding (debt),” he said. “So it’s definitely like a weighing on
us, of like what we do going forward.”
COVID-19 government disaster loans saved businesses, but saddled
survivors with debt (msn.com)
Covid-19 Corner
This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.
Study
aims to find new ways of alleviating the long-term effects of COVID-19
5
September 2024
An
innovative study for the treatment of post-COVID syndrome (PCS) is starting
under the direction of Frankfurt University Hospital’s Department of Infectious
Diseases. The research project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of
Education and Research (BMBF), will investigate new ways of alleviating the
long-term effects of COVID-19, including fatigue and cognitive impairment. The
first patient has been enrolled in the study this week.
“There
is still an urgent need for the treatment of post-COVID and associated
symptoms,” says Prof. Dr. Maria Vehreschild, who heads the study and oversees
Frankfurt University Hospital’s Infectious Diseases Department. “That is why we
are pleased to conduct RAPID_REVIVE, the first adaptive clinical study within
the Network of University Medicine.” The German Network of University Medicine
(NUM) was set up in 2020 as part of the country’s COVID-19 pandemic crisis
management to coordinate clinical COVID-19 research at German university
hospitals.
RAPID_REVIVE
(Randomized Adaptive Assessment of Post COVID Syndrome Treatments_Reducing
Inflammatory Activity in Patients with Post COVID Syndrome) is a phase 2,
adaptive, randomized, placebo-controlled, and double-blind clinical trial
sponsored by Goethe University Frankfurt and funded by the Federal Ministry of
Education and Research (BMBF) as part of NUM. The structural conditions
required to commence the study were created as part of the NUM project “NAPKON
Therapeutic Intervention Platform” (NAPKON-TIP). A total of 376 patients at
eleven different NAPKON locations will be included in the study.
The
World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that most people who have had
COVID-19 recover fully. However, after overcoming the infection, a subset of
those affected suffer long-term effects, known as post-COVID syndrome (PCS).
PCS is defined by symptoms that remain even three months after the onset of
COVID-19, that continue for at least two months thereafter and that cannot be
explained by another diagnosis. While the symptoms are diverse, those affected
by PCS often suffer from pronounced fatigue, shortness of breath as well as
cognitive impairments.
The
RAPID_REVIVE study examines changes in the physical functions of participants,
which are recorded at different points in time using questionnaires and tests.
Beyond that, the study also looks at general mental and physical health,
fatigue, cognitive functions, the severity of mental health impairments,
shortness of breath and physical resilience. The study also seeks to identify
prognostic biomarkers that provide information about the individual progression
of PCS, which should pave the way for the selection of a treatment strategy
tailored to the individual patient.
Vidofludimus
calcium: Testing a promising drug candidate
Study
participants will receive either the drug vidofludimus calcium (IMU-838) or a
placebo. The decision as to who receives which preparation is randomly made
(blinded 1:1 randomization). Once 150 patients have been included in the study,
the allocation will be adjusted in accordance with the study’s interim
evaluations. Vidofludimus calcium is a novel drug candidate that activates the
neuroprotective transcription factor Nurr1, a novel target for
neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, the drug inhibits the enzyme DHODH,
thereby blocking the production of pyrimidines, which cells rely on primarily
for RNA synthesis. It is particularly effective in highly activated immune
cells as well as virus-infected cells, which have a high demand for
pyrimidines. Administering vidofludimus calcium could also help in treating
chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, since the drug reduces excessive
inflammation and prevents viral infection and reactivation.
Vidofludimus
calcium showed promising results in an earlier clinical trial involving
COVID-19 patients: Those who received the drug recovered faster and suffered
less long-term fatigue compared to those who received a placebo. The treatment
was well tolerated with few side effects. Vidofludimus calcium could thus not
only help with the acute treatment of COVID-19, but also alleviate long-term
symptoms.
More
Study aims to find new ways of alleviating the long-term effects of COVID-19 (msn.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.
World's
largest floating solar power plant sets precedent at 2024 Paris Games: 'This is
the first time ... we have sailed'
Jon
Turi Wed, September 4, 2024 at 11:30 AM
GMT+1
France
has gone all out this year with a commitment to reducing pollution and leaning
on renewable
energy for the international event. One of its more interesting
power sources has been provided by EDF ENR, a solar-focused subsidiary of the
energy company EDF.
"This
is the first time in the world that we have sailed a photovoltaic power plant.
Even if it was only 900 meters, the distance between the place where the
installation is unloaded and where it is assembled," as Franck Chauveau,
EDF's director of major project development for Île-de-France, said in a statement to
PV Magazine France.
According
to that
report, the solar array covers over 450 square meters on a floating
barge and provides a peak of 78 kilowatts, enough to power over 94 apartments.
Its assembly process appears to be quick and straightforward, taking less than
24 hours to fully install.
It's
located near the Olympic and Paralympic Square in the athletes' village section
of the event, providing clean electricity for things like small shops,
journalists, and screens broadcasting the live events.
This
temporary floating solar plant works on a self-consumption model, delivering
just enough power to meet consumption needs and adjusting it in real time.
Located just on the edge of the Seine, it also saves valuable real estate for
event operations.
To
avoid the use of diesel generators, which produce pollution through
burning dirty
fuels, the event has
teamed with electricity distributor Enedis to supply other locations.
The company installed pop-up electrical terminals below the road surfaces that
can be patched into venues and facilities nearby and will continue to be used
for future events, per the Paris 2024 website.
Lighting
in all the stadiums and temporary facilities has also been switched
to LEDs, which should deliver an 80% reduction
in energy use compared to standard lighting.
Not
only that but the permanent Aquatics Center has been designed with efficiency
in mind. It's topped with photovoltaic panels that should supply 20% of
the building's electricity needs, while the concave roof design reduces the air
volume that needs warming by 30%, thus limiting energy spent on temperature
control.
France
is leading by example at the Olympic Games this year, showing that small yet
important actions can have a large impact on our energy use and a positive
impact on the environment. The air will be cleaner, too, without dirty diesel
motors chugging away, and — aside from the cheers of the crowd —much quieter.
The
floating solar array, while not the first, is the largest
in the world and under a global spotlight that highlights the benefits
and flexibility of delivering clean, sustainable energy at scale in nearly any
location. Other European residents are already surfing the green-energy wave,
using affordable, portable panels to power their own devices and supply the
grid for cash.
Next, the
world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.
World Debt
Clocks (usdebtclock.org)
Another
weekend and a weekend of data mining today’s US jobs report. A most interesting
trading week lies ahead. In tomorrow’s
LIR, “inside Buckingham Palace,” YouTube. Have a great weekend everyone.
The
farmer and manufacturer can no more live without profit than the labourer
without wages.
David
Ricardo.
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