Baltic
Dry Index. 990 +14 Brent Crude 73.27
Spot Gold 2628 US 2 Year Yield 4.30 -0.02
With all this consumer debt, business debt, government debt, smaller movements in interest rates have a magnified effect. a small movement can tip the boat.
Bill Gross.
It is almost Christmas in the holiday shortened trading week in the stock casinos.
Time to dress up stocks for the all important (for professional money manager bonuses,) year end next week.
In the real world economy, a terrorist atrocity in Germany, a manufacturing recession in China and Germany. A political crisis in France. A government created looming recession in GB. Trump 2.0 v the Rest of the World.
Japan stocks rise amid broader gains in Asia as
Nissan, Honda reportedly aim to finalize merger next year
Published Sun, Dec 22 2024 6:54 PM EST
Asia-Pacific markets started the
holiday-shortened Christmas week on a positive note, with investors awaiting
the official announcement related to the merger of Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan.
The companies, which aim to reach a “final
agreement” in June 2025, are considering setting up a new holding company by summer of 2026 with a Honda executive
leading it, NHK said.
The presidents of Honda, Nissan and
Mitsubishi have informed Japan’s industry ministry about entering into merger
talks, Kyodo News reported Monday. They are expected to hold
a press conference Monday afternoon, according to a Google translation of the
report in Japanese.
Honda and Nissan are expected to hold
board meetings Monday “to discuss entering into full-scale discussions toward a
business integration, and then to sign a memorandum of understanding,” according to public broadcaster NHK.
Shares of Honda were 2.11% up, while
Nissan shares slipped 0.74%.
Nissan shares saw
a record surge last Wednesday, following a media
report that the struggling Japanese automaker was looking to merge
with Honda.
Cooler-than-expected U.S. inflation data
on Friday helped boost the broader Asia market.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.06%,
while the Topix was 0.79% higher.
South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.25%, and the
small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.51%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced
1.03%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.72%,
while mainland China’s CSI 300 was flat.
On Friday in the U.S., all three major
indexes climbed. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average gained 1.18%, while the S&P 500 added 1.09% and
the tech-heavy Nasdaq
Composite advanced 1.03%.
The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s
preferred inflation gauge, accelerated to 2.4% in November from 2.3% the
previous month, but was still lower than the 2.5% estimate from Dow Jones.
Excluding food and energy, core PCE rose
2.8% from a year ago, slightly below expectations of 2.9%.
Asia
markets live: Nissan Honda merger, Singapore CPI in focus
Stock futures inch higher as the market heads into
holiday-shortened week: Live updates
Updated Sun, Dec 22 2024 6:13 PM EST
Stock futures edged up in overnight
trading Sunday as the market gears up for a holiday-shortened trading week.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial
Average gained about 100 points. S&P 500 futures rose 0.3% and Nasdaq 100
futures climbed 0.4%.
Trading is expected to be relatively muted
during the week. The New York Stock Exchange closes early Tuesday for Christmas
Eve at 1 p.m. ET, and the market is shut on Christmas Day.
Investors are hopeful that a so-called
Santa Claus rally may help the market end 2024 on a high note, especially
following a tumultuous week. Dating back to 1969, the S&P 500, on average,
added 1.3% in the last five trading days of the year and the first two in
January, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac.
The second half of December is also
typically the second-strongest period of the year for U.S. equities, and the
S&P 500 has been up 83% of the time in December of presidential election
years, according to Bank of America.
“With the market’s primary uptrends still
intact, we are not giving up on the potential for a Santa Claus to
come to Broad & Wall this year,” Craig Johnson, chief market technician at
Piper Sandler, said in a note.
The market is coming off a rollercoaster
ride that saw the blue-chip Dow suffer a 10-day losing streak, its longest
since 1974. The Dow tumbled 1,100
points last Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signaled fewer rate
cuts for 2025 than previously projected. A cooler-than-expected inflation
reading helped stocks recoup some of the losses.
Month-to-date, the 30-stock Dow is down
4.6% in December, while the S&P 500 is off 1.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq
Composite bucked the downtrend, rising 1.8% this month.
On the politics front, President Joe
Biden signed
a government funding bill on Saturday that averted a government
shutdown. The bill funds federal agencies at current levels for the next three
months.
Stock futures inch higher as the market heads into holiday-shortened week: Live updates
In other news, after a failed attempt to buy
Greenland in Trump 1.0, in Trump 2.0 DJT wants to reclaim the Panama
canal. Britain and France to reclaim the
Suez canal next?
Trump threatens to retake control of the Panama
Canal unless a deal is reached
Published Sun, Dec 22 2024 4:09 AM EST Updated
Sun, Dec 22 2024 1:42 PM EST
President-elect Donald Trump threatened to
reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal, accusing Panama of charging
excessive rates to use the Central American passage, which allows ships to
cross between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters in
Arizona on Sunday, Trump also said he would not let the canal fall into the
“wrong hands,” warning of potential Chinese influence on the passage.
China does not control or administer the
canal, but a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings has long
managed two ports located on the Caribbean and Pacific entrances to the canal.
Trump’s comments came hours after he
leveled a similar threat against Panama in a post on Truth Social on Saturday
night.
“Has anyone ever heard of the Panama
Canal?” Trump said on Sunday at AmericaFest, an annual event organized by
Turning Point, an allied conservative group. “Because we’re being ripped off at
the Panama Canal like we’re being ripped off everywhere else.”
Trump’s comments were an exceedingly rare
example of a U.S. leader saying he could push a sovereign country to hand over
territory. It also underlines an expected shift in U.S. diplomacy under Trump,
who has not historically shied away from threatening allies and using bellicose
rhetoric when dealing with counterparts.
“The fees being charged by Panama are
ridiculous, highly unfair,” Trump said.
“It was given to Panama and the people of
Panama, but it has provisions. You get to treat us fairly, and they haven’t
treated us fairly. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous
gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal
be returned to us, in full, quickly and without question,” he said.
The Panamanian embassy in Washington did
not respond to a request for comment.
Several Panamanian politicians, however,
took to social media to criticize Trump’s statements and ask the government to
defend the canal.
“The government has the duty to defend our
autonomy as an independent country,” Grace Hernandez, a deputy from the
opposition MOCA party, said on X following Trump’s Truth Social post.
“Diplomacy demands steadfastness in the face of regrettable statements.”
The United States largely built the canal
and administered territory surrounding the passage for decades. But the United
States and Panama signed a pair of accords in 1977 that paved the way for the
canal’s return to full Panamanian control. The United States handed over
control of the canal in 1999 after a period of joint administration.
The waterway, which allows up to 14,000
ships to cross per year, accounts for 2.5% of global seaborne trade and is
critical to U.S. imports of autos and commercial goods by container ships from
Asia, and for U.S. exports of commodities, including liquefied natural gas.
It is not clear how Trump would seek to
regain control over the canal, and he would have no recourse under
international law if he decided to make a play for the passage.
This is not the first time Trump has
openly considered territorial expansion.
In recent weeks, he has repeatedly mused
about turning Canada into a U.S. state, though it is unclear how serious he is
about the matter. During his 2017-2021 term, Trump expressed interest in buying
Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. He was publicly rebuffed by
Danish authorities before any conversations could take place.
Trump
threatens to retake control of the Panama Canal unless a deal is reached
Panama president slams back at Trump’s takeover
threat: Canal belongs to Panama, ‘not negotiable’
23 December 2024
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino
fired back Sunday after President-elect Donald Trump twice threatened to take
control of the Panama Canal.
“As president, I want to express clearly
that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent zone belongs to
Panama, and will continue to do so,” Mulino said in a strident video
statement. “The sovereignty and independence of our country are not
negotiable.”
He added: “The canal is not under direct
or indirect control, neither by China, nor by the European community, nor by
the United States, nor by any other power. As a Panamanian, I strongly reject
any manifestation that distorts this reality.”
Panama “respects other nations and demands
respect,” he insisted.
---- Trump first raised the threat
about the Panama Canal in two long Truth Social postst Saturday, calling the canal a
“vital” American “asset.”
He added: “Our Navy and Commerce have been
treated in a very unfair and injudicious way. The fees being charged by Panama
are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been
bestowed to Panama by the U.S.”
More
Panama president slams back at Trump’s takeover threat: Canal belongs to Panama, ‘not negotiable’
To be an enemy of America can be dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal.
Henry A. Kissinger.
Finally, more red flags from the Journal that 2025 and Trump 2.0 might be rocky.
Wall Street Journal flames Trump and Musk over
‘budget fiasco’ and what it threatens for future
December 22, 2024
The Wall Street
Journal’s
editorial board has eviscerated Donald Trump and Elon Musk over this
week’s “budget fiasco” and warned it spells “bad omens” for 2025.
The
president-elect and tech billionaire ally Musk threw Congress into chaos when they
toppled Speaker Mike Johnson’s bipartisan deal to avert a government shutdown.
A second Trump-backed version, which
included a suspension of the debt limit, failed spectacularly on Thursday,
giving Musk
his first taste of political failure.
In
a scathing op-ed the Journal, whose parent company Dow
Jones is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, said that Trump “on the advice of
Elon Musk blew up the end-of-session budget bill without a plan for getting
another one passed.”
“There are bad omens here for 2025 and the
ability of Republicans to govern,” the board said. “The immediate result has
been a fiasco by any measure.”
A greater concern, the board said, is how
Trump and his inner circle will govern when he takes office in January. “These
are the days of MAGA euphoria and chest-beating. Sue the press. Banish Mike
Pompeo because Tucker Carlson says so,” the board said.
The Journal also laid
into Musk for failing to recognize that the Senate and White House are both
currently controlled by the Democrats.
“Democrats aren’t likely to raise the debt
limit to make life easier for Mr. Trump, and if they do, they will want
something for it,” the board said.
“This is how Congress works, and for all
Mr. Musk’s brilliance, he hasn’t figured that out. He’s also supposed to be a
math whiz, so he can probably count to 218, the votes needed for a House
majority when everyone is present. Memorize it.”
In the early hours of Saturday
morning, the
Senate passed the stop-gap bill by an 85-11 vote to continue
government funding 38 minutes after it expired at midnight on Friday.
The final version stripped out some
provisions championed by the Democrats, who accused the Republicans of caving in
to pressure from an unelected billionaire with no experience in government.
The
debacle has prompted criticism from both parties. Former
Republican Rep. Charlie Dent pointed out that Republicans will still need
bipartisanship in the House in the next Congress.
“We all know this. That’s why there have
to be conversations with the Democrats,” he told CNN. “Because they need the
Democrats to vote for these things and therefore they’re going to expect things
in these bills.”
Dent added that Trump and Musk are on a
“collision course.”
“It was Elon Musk who really tanked the
bipartisan compromise,” he said.
Democrats have mocked the tech
billionaire’s heavy-handed
influence over the incoming administration.
“The leader of the GOP is Elon Musk,”
Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania added. “He’s now calling the
shots.”
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanderswrote on X: “Democrats and
Republicans spent months negotiating a bipartisan agreement to fund our
government. The richest man on Earth, President Elon Musk, doesn’t like it.”
Wall Street Journal flames Trump and Musk over ‘budget fiasco’ and what it threatens for future
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.
Spain
set for sunny outlook within eurozone economy in 2025
22
December 2024
S&P
Global Ratings recently released its eurozone economic outlook for the first
quarter of next year, estimating that gross domestic product (GDP) growth in
the eurozone this year will be 0.8%, while increasing to 1.2% next year.
Spain's
economic performance is expected to be resilient, while Germany is likely to
experience dampened economic growth.
Next
year, inflation is likely to be slightly lower at 2.4%, down from a previously
anticipated 2.5%, mainly because of a more marked fall in energy prices.
However
economic and geopolitical risks still remain for next year, especially as new
government leaders in the EU, US and Germany may make significant changes to
defence spending and tariffs in 2025.
Germany
likely to continue underperforming in first quarter of 2025
S&P
Global expects German GDP growth to be approximately 0.4% year-on-year in the
first quarter of next year, significantly less than the eurozone's expected GDP
growth rate, at 1.2%. Similarly, Italy is also expected to lag, at 0.7%.
Regarding
the reasons behind Germany's expected underperformance early next year, Sylvain
Broyer, chief EMEA economist at S&P Global Ratings, said in an email note:
"This reflects a crisis of confidence, driven by the late recognition that
Germany’s economic model is no longer viable.
"The
model - relying on exporting medium-innovation products to the US and China,
powered by cheap energy and labour - is now a thing of the past. This shift
comes amid a rapidly aging workforce and political stagnation."
Robust
industrial production and strong employment boosting Spanish growth
Coming
to what is driving Spain's economic rebound, Broyer said: "Spain's
outperformance is multifaceted. The post-pandemic normalisation of tourism is
not the only reason for this. Industrial production is continuously expanding
in Spain. Last year, consumer spending was the main driver of growth, adding
one percentage point of a 2.5 percentage-point increase in Spain's GDP.
"Second-round
effects on core inflation have also been more muted in Spain than in many other
countries. Stronger employment growth, stimulated by labour market reforms
aimed at replacing limited-term employment contracts with open-ended ones, is
another explanation.
"The
dynamism in employment does not hinder productivity growth, in contrast to the
other three major economies of the eurozone – Germany, France, and Italy.
What's more, Spanish households have deleveraged and are now no more indebted
than their German counterparts, with a debt-to-income ratio of 85% versus 128%
in 2012."
More
Spain set for sunny outlook within
eurozone economy in 2025
Keir
Starmer issued recession warning as Labour budget backfires on growth
21
December 2024
Andrew
Neil has
warned Sir
Keir Starmer's
party that it is far from meeting its pledge Britain will become the fastest
growing economy in the G7.
The
columnist and broadcaster warned that instead of boosting Britain's gross
domestic product (GDP), Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's party now faces
having to steer the economy clear of recession.
His
criticism comes after Threadneedle Street said policymakers are now expecting
zero GDP between October and December, even weaker than the 0.3% growth it had
forecast in November.
Mr
Neil said: "Bank of England refuses to cut interest rates because
inflation rising again. Downgrades growth outlook for the last three months of
this year to zero, from previous prediction of 0.3%.
"Cost
of ten-year borrowing for the Government at just over 4.5%, over double what it
costs Germany to raise money in global debt markets and far higher than France
- even though both are in political crisis.
"Far
from meeting its pledge for UK to become fastest growing economy in G7,
Labour's current main challenge is to avoid recession."
In
its election manifesto, Labour detailed its ambition for Britain to have the
highest growth in the G7 over consecutive years by the end of the current
parliament.
Since
coming to power, the
party has been accused of minimising the UK economy and
announcing proposals that have pressured businesses, including a planned
increase in employer National Insurance contributions.
Accelerated
wage growth and inflation at 2.6%, above the Bank of England's 2% target, have
also added to uncertainty.
The
Bank's rate-setting policymakers reported on Thursday that the planned increase
in the rate of employer national insurance and the national living wage could
affect future inflation.
This
is because businesses have indicated they might respond to higher taxes by
raising prices or by laying off existing workers.
Government
borrowing costs have risen to 4.58%, up from 4.47% a week ago. This compares to
France's 3.12% and Germany's 2.3%, coming after former French PM Michel
Barnier's short-lived government collapsed and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
torpedoed his fractious coalition government and lost a vote of no confidence.
More
Keir Starmer
issued recession warning as Labour budget backfires on growth
German
Business Mood Hits Postpandemic Low, Stoking Recession Jitters
December
19, 2024
Business
confidence in Germany darkened this month as the government of Chancellor Olaf
Scholz fell apart and the country’s manufacturers struggle to get back on their
feet, raising fears of recession in Europe’s most important economy.
The
Ifo Institute’s business-climate index, released Tuesday, slipped to 84.7 in
December from 85.6 in November, marking a sixth fall in seven months and the
lowest point since May 2020, when Europe was in the throes of the global
Covid-19 pandemic and widespread lockdowns. Economists had been expecting a
lesser fall, to 85.5, according to a poll compiled by The Wall Street Journal.
In contrast, a sentiment indicator released by ZEW showed an improvement in the
economic outlook as financial markets look forward to a new government in
Berlin and further cuts to eurozone interest rates, ZEW said Tuesday.
Earlier
this week, however, closely watched purchasing managers’ surveys pointed to
another month of slowdown in the German private sector.
“The
weakness of the German economy has become chronic,” Ifo President Clemens Fuest
said.
As
well as the fracturing of the country’s politics, with premier Scholz losing a
confidence vote in the German parliament this week, Europe’s industrial
powerhouse remains dogged by an enduring slump in its manufacturing base. A
number of major German companies have signaled layoffs amid a downsizing of
operations, including auto giant Volkswagen and suppliers Bosch and Schaeffler,
who have warned they may have to shed workers in the near future. Lower
interest rates may not be enough to rescue the factory sector from its deep
structural crisis, said Joerg Kraemer, chief economist at Germany’s
Commerzbank.
“In
manufacturing, the index fell markedly [in December,]” the Ifo Institute said,
pointing to weakening orders and production cutbacks that are damping
expectations for the new year. The services sector also booked gloomier
sentiment, Ifo said.
Germany
has booked only anemic growth in the past few years as the reverberations from
the Russia-Ukraine crisis continue to hamper any rebound. It has so far avoided
a sustained downturn in output though, despite high borrowing costs designed to
tame recent years’ inflation crisis. The European Central Bank cut interest
rates for a fourth time this year last week, with inflation now easing and the
eurozone economy ailing, and fresh headwinds including threatened U.S. tariffs
looming in the new year.
Indeed
the country’s risk of recession is growing, said Melanie Debono, an economist
with consultants Pantheon Macroeconomics. Still, the more likely outcome for
the year’s final quarter is stagnation rather than contraction, she told
investors in a note.
German Business
Mood Hits Postpandemic Low, Stoking Recession Jitters
America’s
Farm Recession Is Here. One Early Response Is Sending Billions to Farmers.
December 21, 2024
In
northeastern North Dakota, Greg Amundson’s 3,000-acre farm this year produced
corn, soybeans, canola and rye. It also produced thousands of dollars in
losses.
A
bag of corn seed cost Amundson roughly $150 a few years ago. Now he has a hard
time finding one for less than $230. Earlier this year it took three weeks to
fix a mechanical problem on his combine that broke down during harvest,
resulting in a four-figure repair bill.
“Everything
is so expensive,” Amundson said. “It’s killing us.”
Some
farmers anticipate a boost from a multibillion-dollar bailout attached
to a federal spending bill this week. Disputes over identifying offsetting
cuts for new spending temporarily imperiled the aid and threatened a government
shutdown, but the House and Senate approved
the measure and
it now goes to President Biden’s desk for his signature.
America
has long provided subsidies to its farmers, dating back to the 1930s as a way
to tackle rural poverty when a quarter of the population lived on farms. Today,
subsidies largely come in the form of insurance that enables farmers to secure
loans needed to grow crops. Direct cash payments, while at times controversial,
have been used to bolster farmers during agricultural downturns.
The
U.S. farm sector finds itself in another rough patch. Net farm income declined
4% this year to $141 billion after falling about 20% last year, according to
the Agriculture Department. Weaker prices for commodities such as soybeans and
wheat have weighed on farmers’ earnings after growers in the U.S. and elsewhere
reared big crops, swelling supplies. Their costs for essentials such as
fertilizer and equipment
are also higher.
“The
ag industry is continuing to get weaker,” Damon Audia, chief financial officer
for farm-equipment maker Agco, said at a December investor meeting.
Those
challenges are expected to continue next year. Some of the world’s largest
grain shippers and pesticide suppliers are girding for a shrinking farm economy
by cutting costs or laying off workers. Per-acre losses for corn growers are
expected to be steeper in 2025 than the prior two years, according to the
National Corn Growers Association, a trade group.
President-elect
Donald Trump has also pledged
tariffs on Mexico and China, key importers of U.S. crops, and Canada, a major
fertilizer producer. Government policies that subsidize biofuel production,
which can boost crop prices for farmers, could also be in flux under the new
administration, analysts and company executives said.
Agriculture
trade groups are circulating lists of requests to lawmakers extending beyond
direct payments that could buffet against the current market slump.
More
America’s Farm Recession Is Here. One Early Response Is Sending Billions to Farmers.
Covid-19 Corner
This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.
Deaths caused by drinking alcohol skyrockets by 42% since Covid-19
lockdowns
Alcohol Health Alliance calls on Health Secretary
Wes Streeting to look into how to reverse the worrying trend which saw 8,274
deaths directly caused by alcohol
23:59, 18 Dec 2024
Deaths caused by alcohol have increased by a staggering 42% and medics
have written to Wes Streeting to demand action to tackle problem boozing.
The Alcohol Health
Alliance (AHA) has asked the Health Secretary to urgently look into how to
reverse the worrying trend which saw 8,274 deaths directly caused by alcohol in
2023. It insists the deaths, such as those involving liver disease, are just
the "tip of the iceberg" as there will have been many more deaths
where alcohol was a contributing factor.
The AHA, which is calling
for a minimum pricing policy on cheap supermarket booze, writes: "Deaths
caused solely by alcohol have increased by a catastrophic 42% since 2019. After
decades of inaction, we urge you to make it your New Year's resolution to
redress this alarming trend and stop needless suffering of countless
individuals, their children, families and communities across the country.”
Deaths directly
attributed to alcohol occur when conditions such as alcohol poisoning or liver
disease occur. Lord Darzi's hard-hitting review into the NHS in England highlights how alcohol is "becoming
more affordable over time, and deaths are rising at an alarming rate".
Post-pandemic increases in drinking to excess at home are thought to be in part
to blame.
----Alcohol-related
harm does not occur in isolation. It ripples through families, often leaving
children to bear the brunt of grief and trauma. The devastating rise in alcohol
deaths should serve as an alarm for the new government to act with
urgency."
He added: "We have
the evidence, and we know the solutions. Now is the moment to show that we
value human lives over profit. Without bold, decisive action, these preventable
deaths will continue to climb. Addressing alcohol harm must be a top public
health priority in 2025, and it requires a cross-government effort to turn the
tide on this public health crisis."
The letter highlights
that there are almost 950,000 alcohol-related hospital admissions in England
each year. It comes after Scotland introduced new minimum alcohol pricing. The
letter continues: "In 2023, 8,274 people lost their lives to alcohol: the
sharp end of a spectrum of harm that ripples through society and is putting
growing pressures on our economy and health services. This number can be seen
as the tip of the iceberg as it reflects deaths wholly attributable to alcohol
and not those where alcohol was a contributing factor, a figure likely to be
three times higher."
More
Deaths caused by drinking alcohol skyrockets by 42% since Covid-19
lockdowns - Mirror Online
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.
Lithium
Battery Incidents on US Flights Occur Weekly on Average, FAA Data Show
Federal
legislation that seeks to tackle the fire risk posed by lithium batteries is
being considered.
12/20/2024
Updated: 12/20/2024
Incidents
triggered by lithium-ion batteries are now, on average, a weekly occurrence on
U.S. flights, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), with
cabin crews expressing concern over the risk.
This
year, 69 lithium battery incidents involving smoke, fire, or extreme heat have
occurred on U.S. flights as of Dec. 16, FAA data show.
This
equates to more than 1.3 incidents per week. Since 2015, the number of such
events has increased by more than 330 percent.
Between
March 3, 2006, and Nov. 5, 2024, a total of 579 lithium battery incidents were
recorded, with the majority of cases coming from passenger carriers.
Battery
packs and batteries accounted for the bulk of these incidents, with 229 events,
followed by e-cigarettes/vape devices with 122, cell phones with 81, laptops
with 70, and the rest involving other electronic and medical devices.
On
Nov. 5, a smoke detector alarm from
the lavatory of a United Airlines flight coming from San Francisco went off.
“Flight
attendants found a passenger in the lavatory who stated their laptop began to
overheat. A flight attendant placed the laptop in a thermal containment bag,
and the aircraft continued to its destination without further incident,” the
FAA said.
Earlier
on Oct. 5, a passenger carry-on bag caught fire during the boarding process in
Buffalo, New York, with lithium batteries being the culprit. Passengers were
removed from the aircraft, while the fire was extinguished and batteries were
taken out of the plane.
A
survey report
released by the nonprofit UL Standards & Engagement said cabin crew
concerns about these risks of lithium batteries are “pronounced, with 87%
expressing that they are very or somewhat concerned about lithium-ion battery
incidents occurring on an aircraft.”
While
almost all cabin crew members, 97 percent, reported they were aware of such
risks, in contrast, “only 65% of airline passengers from ULSE’s
consumer-focused surveys say they are aware” of them.
“Although
very unlikely, thermal runaway incidents onboard happen around twice a week and
are at the highest point we’ve seen,” said David Wroth, director of the Thermal
Runaway Incident Program at UL Standards & Engagement. “Airlines are
playing an active role in working to mitigate the risk of these incidents. Most
importantly, airlines are equipping their crew with the knowledge needed to
handle a potential lithium-ion battery incident.”
Lithium
Fire Dangers, Legislation
Fires
triggered by lithium batteries are a major concern among experts. During testimony to
Congress earlier this year, Chief Fire Marshall of the New York City Fire
Department Daniel Flynn warned that lithium battery fires are “more intense and
more dangerous” than other sources.
“They
undergo a series of explosions, releasing highly toxic gasses and projecting
flaming cells that can travel great distances, increasing the likelihood that
the fire will spread,” he said. “These fires instantly create severely
dangerous conditions, rendering escape for anyone nearby significantly
challenging. This is especially true if a fire occurs at night when an occupant
is sleeping.”
More
Lithium Battery
Incidents on US Flights Occur Weekly on Average, FAA Data Show | The Epoch
Times
Next, the
world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.
World Debt
Clocks (usdebtclock.org)
Like
the saying goes, don't believe everything you read.
Ray Dalio.
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