EU and UK's High-Stakes Gambit: Banking on Ukraine's Victory for Financial Salvation
The EU and UK have plunged deep into Ukraine's financial quagmire, doubling down on a risky strategy. Both are betting on a Ukrainian triumph over Russia (max stupidity), hoping potential war reparations could offset a looming financial crisis. The European Court of Auditors has sounded the alarm as EU aid to Ukraine surged to €33.7 billion in 2023. A new €33 billion loan facility through 2027 adds to the fiscal tightrope walk. As these Western powers push their chips to the center, the question looms: Are they setting themselves up for a windfall, or a catastrophic bust?
#UK #Ukraine #Russia #EU #Reparations #Geopolitics
Economic Pulse: Inflation Ticks Up, Job Market Shifts
Recent economic indicators show a slight uptick in inflation, surpassing analysts' projections. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2% month-over-month, while core CPI increased by 0.3%. Year-over-year figures paint a similar picture, with overall CPI at 2.4% and core at 3.3%.
Simultaneously, the job market displayed unexpected movement. Initial jobless claims jumped to 258,000, significantly above the forecasted 230,000 and previous week's 225,000.
These figures suggest potential economic headwinds, warranting close observation in the coming months.
For the Fed, this is like a split ass.
#EconomicIndicators #InflationWatch #JobMarket #EconomicTrends
BRICS Summit in Kazan: Reshaping Global Economics?
The upcoming BRICS summit in Kazan(Oct 22nd-24th), Russia, is set to host an unprecedented gathering of world leaders. With 9 out of 10 BRICS members represented by their top brass, this event signals a seismic shift in global power dynamics.
The expanded BRICS bloc now commands an impressive 45% of the world's population and 40% of global oil production (Kremlin spokes person). Projections indicate that by 2028, BRICS will outpace the G7 in GDP (PPP), claiming 37% compared to the G7's 27% or less.
As Western influence wanes, BRICS is rapidly becoming a magnet for nations seeking alternatives. With 34 membership applications on the table, the group's open-door policy to like-minded states is reshaping international alliances.
The summit's focus on national currency settlements further underscores BRICS' commitment to challenging the current global financial order. As tensions rise, reports suggest increased Western pressure on potential BRICS aspirants.
This Kazan summit marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing redistribution of global economic power. We'll keep an eye on the growth of this bloc that's gaining pricing power in the energy sector by the day.
#BRICSSummit #GlobalEconomics #PowerShift #Kazan2024 #DeGlobalization
German EV Market: Local Brands Outpace Chinese Competitors
German automakers are holding their ground against Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers, according to a recent study by EY. Despite initial concerns, Chinese brands have yet to dominate the German EV market, capturing only 8% market share in Q3 2023.
German brands have surged to 57% market share, up from 40% last year. Tesla maintains a steady 9% slice of the pie. However, the overall EV market has contracted significantly, with new registrations down 45% year-over-year.
EY experts attribute the limited success of Chinese brands to challenges in building trust, brand loyalty, and establishing nationwide sales networks. Meanwhile, German automakers have successfully launched competitive new models.
The market remains sluggish following the abrupt end of environmental subsidies, with no signs of an immediate recovery.
#EVmarket #Germany #Auto #ChineseEVs #AutoIndustry #MarketTrends
EU's Climate Crusade: Tilting at Windmills?
In a quixotic quest to single-handedly save the planet, the EU is doubling down on its emissions trading scheme. Brussels bureaucrats, apparently convinced they can control the weather, are expanding their carbon pricing fantasy to new heights.
Key delusions include:
- Squeezing existing industries even harder
- Forcing ships to join the climate cult (2024)
- Making buildings and cars pay climate penance (2027)
- Magically reducing emission certificates
- Introducing a CO2 border tax, because why not punish trade too?
This grand plan aims to create a "level playing field" - EU-speak for kneecapping their own industries while the rest of the world laughs. Meanwhile, regions with actual energy policies and nuclear power are probably ordering more popcorn to watch the show.
#EU #FantasyLand #ClimateTheater #EconomicHarakiri #GreenDelusions #Ampel
Isn't it impressive how the rampantly parasitic welfare bureaucracy creates its own demand by declaring growing sections of the population to be in need of help or to be in need of help? In the engine room of this diabolical mechanism are those who crush the purchasing power of the lower middle class and the poor: the central banks! They are the monetary fog, the disperser of entitlement, drawing tomorrow's purchasing power into the present at the expense of those who don't even know what hit them.
#socialism #ecb #fed #inflation #pauperization #statism #libertarian #bitcoin #usd
Germany, anno domini 2024...
The Raid By The Social Welfare Entrepreneur
Politicians often operate according to the motto: never let a good crisis pass in order to expand the power we have achieved together. We are experiencing the massive expansion of state bureaucracy and interventionism with state quotas beyond 50% and outrageous taxation of individuals that can only be described as a raid on our coffers.
Increasingly socialist interventionism in Western democracies and economies is breeding the so-called political entrepreneur, the subsidy recipient at a higher level, who develops his expertise in sucking public money, i.e. our purchasing power.
Without wanting to be moralistic, which is the strength of the Germans these days (and I am one, but without running the risk of falling into this trap): every entrepreneur who accepts a subsidy is a welfare recipient!
Flanked by infantile climate apocalyptic narratives, the pseudo-economics of Keynesianism, these vampires of the economy are up to their mischief. And with the large-scale program of the Green Deal, a pseudo growth of the GdP, this brigade of vampires is given sufficient room to operate.
The accelerated decline of our economy is not least also their work, as they misallocate scarce resources to their own advantage with extreme effort and surprising creativity that would otherwise be denied them in life. They tie the forces that are indispensable for growth and prosperity to their state-sponsored subsidy charging stations.
We need to find our way back to free economics, the private formation of capital, free contract design and push back the state in every conceivable way.
Any progress we enjoy today, be it quantitative or qualitative, its better production conditions, more social surroundings, cleaner environmental conditions, we owe exclusively to the disappearing ever-shrinking residue of the free economy that the political caste of central planners still allows us.
Mises Institute on the 'Green Deal': https://mises.org/mises-wire/study-estimates-green-new-deal-cost-93-trillion-thats-conservative-estimate?d7_alias_migrate=1
#germany #eu #usa #socialism #inflation #greendeal #ampel #wef #climatescam
#mises @misesinstitute
Bottoms Up and Wallets Down: Chinese Tipplers Feel the Squeeze!
Look out, Chinese drinkers - your favorite European spirits are about to go from top-shelf to top-dollar! With China slapping hefty tariffs on EU brandy, it's not just hangovers that'll have folks groaning in the morning. Seems like the trade war has found its way to the bottom of the bottle, and now Chinese imbibers are getting a taste of international politics with their nightcap. From baijiu to cognac, it's time to pour one out for affordable booze!
Beijing has announced hefty anti-dumping duties on European spirits. Set to take effect this Friday, the tariffs will range from 30.6% to 39.0%, marking a sharp reversal from China's previous stance.
This move comes hot on the heels of the EU's decision to impose tariffs of up to 45% on Chinese electric vehicles for the next five years. Initially, China had refrained from taxing EU spirits despite evidence of harm to local competitors. However, the landscape has shifted rapidly.
China's Ministry of Commerce didn't mince words, labeling the EU's actions as "unfair" and warning of further countermeasures to protect Chinese businesses. As the spirits flow, so too does the tension between these economic giants.
#TradeWar #China #EU #Tariffs #SpiritPrices #EconomicRetaliation
Mercedes Faces Electric Shock: Sales Slump and Strategy Shift
German luxury automaker Mercedes faces turbulent times as EV sales plummet and profit warnings loom. The company's bold all-electric strategy backfires, with a 25% drop in EV sales year-over-year. Chinese market stagnation compounds woes, forcing a reevaluation of the firm's global approach.
Regulatory pressures, high costs, and supply chain bottlenecks plague the industry. The automaker plans to slash its dealer network, potentially reducing main dealers from 114 to 70-80. This consolidation sparks interest from international buyers but raises concerns about employee morale.
Production cuts at key plants reflect a failed luxury-focused strategy, as high-end model demand continues to decline. The impact ripples through the Stuttgart region, signaling broader economic implications.
#AutoIndustry #Germany #Recession #GreemDeal #Eav #LuxuryCarWoes #GermanAutomaker #Industry
China's Economic Tightrope: Balancing Growth and Stability
As China's economy shows signs of slowing, analysts question the likelihood of consumer-focused stimulus measures. Meanwhile, Q3 growth projections paint a mixed picture for the world's second-largest economy.
In a climate of economic uncertainty, China's policymakers are walking a fine line between stimulating growth and maintaining stability. Recent analyses from major financial institutions suggest that the road ahead may be bumpy for the Asian giant.
Morgan Stanley economists, led by Robin Xing, cast doubt on the prospect of significant demand stimulus in China's near future, particularly measures aimed at consumers. Following a press conference where officials struck a moderate tone on direct demand stimulation, the Morgan Stanley team noted that the gradual support measures remain largely investment-oriented.
Meanwhile, Bank of America (BofA) economists predict a further slowdown in China's GDP growth for the third quarter. They anticipate real GDP growth to decelerate to 4.6% in Q3, down from 4.7% in Q2, potentially falling short of official targets. This projection comes amid a mixed economic landscape, with improvements in the service sector offset by a slowdown in industrial production.
Looking ahead to September's economic data, BofA expects a nuanced picture. Growth in fixed asset investment and retail sales is forecast to pick up, while consumer price inflation is likely to ease.
#China #Economy #InvestmentTrends #ConsumerSpending #PBoC #inflation
Germany's Green Farce Drills A Deeper Recessionary Hole
Germany's economy is teetering on the brink, with projections of a 0.2% contraction in 2024 masking a far grimmer reality. This forecast, artificially propped up by government-induced demand, is but a thin veil over an economic abyss.
The "Green New Deal," the EU's latest economic panacea, is nothing more than a repackaged Keynesian fever dream, presented with a pseudo-religious set of narratives and infantile symbolism to nuge (or kick) the herd into the direction tje central planners need them. It's a desperate attempt to fill the vacuum left by genuine growth - a void created by the cancerous expansion of state interventionism, bureaucracy, and taxation that now consumes over 50% of the EU's economic output.
In a tragicomic display of economic illiteracy, policymakers are doubling down on the very poison that's killing the patient. They're prescribing more state control, more regulations, and more artificial demand stimulation, expecting different results from the same failed formula.
The regulatory apocalypse continues unabated. Each new rule, each new "green" initiative, is another nail in the coffin of German industry. The once-mighty economic engine of Europe is being strangled by a web of red tape, all in the name of a climate crusade that seems more interested in control than actual environmental progress.
Meanwhile, the migration crisis rages on, unchecked and unmitigated, adding further strain to an already buckling system. Social costs are exploding, yet the solution seems to be more of the same - more spending, more debt, more delusion.
As Germany stumbles blindly down this path, the cynics among us can't help but wonder: Is this incompetence, or is there method to this madness? Are we witnessing the death throes of a system that's outlived its usefulness, desperately clinging to relevance through increasingly absurd interventions?
One thing's for certain - this economic Titanic is headed for an iceberg, and the band plays on. The question isn't if it will hit, but how spectacular the crash will be.
#Germany #Economy #GreenNewDeal #GreenDelusion #ClimateScam #ECB #EU
Toyota is the next major corporation to turn its back on the woke agenda of ESG and DEI. It's right, because politically driven ideologies to manipulate elections have no place in a neutral and open market economy. Let's leave the ideological trench warfare of the old 'divide et impera' to those who need to get excited about it to make sense of life!
#socialism #dei #esg #toyota
... and our decaying western culture is driving this price up even further.
#Nietzsche #philosophy #freedom
Everything has something good about it, including #inflation. People are just eating less! Thank you, #Fed!
#obesity #nutrition https://nostpic.com/media/863f2c555276e9ed738933b0efee6b021042f16e1529dd755704885b87fee183/4946d86dc8d8ec15c8f696defa2aa0e2884305e3dd42dc7c6054d310b5f11c29.webp
US Labor Market: A Short Reminder That We Live In Different 'Realities'
Just a reminder: this is what the US labor market would look like right now if the statistics weren't distorted by immense artificially created government jobs and the usual well-known statistical shenanigans. When it comes to creative statistical misdirection, politics is really impressively competent!
It has only been a few weeks since you had to correctly revise the labor market statistics downwards by over 800,000 jobs. So we have the recurring proof of the falsification of labor market statistics in favor of the current government. And yet it is not an issue, the internet forgets too quickly.
Not least thanks to the successful work of the mass media, which always distract the attention of the general public from the core of the important issues with foaming at the mouth, smoke and mirrors and provocations. It is astonishing, for example, that none of the political round tables ever address the issue of the central bank and the deliberate devaluation of our money. Where are the so-called representatives of the people?
#USA #labormarket #unemployment #socialism #fed #centralbank #inflation https://nostpic.com/media/863f2c555276e9ed738933b0efee6b021042f16e1529dd755704885b87fee183/83bd0ce0b6222f912c99208847e529024b4ad39d8f0c579a65181d74234bcded.webp
Along his career of public influence, Paul #Krugman is a disgrace like all government paid mouthpieces!
#statism