Category: Winter Watch

Reuters | Sept. 6, 2022

LONDON, Sept 6 (Reuters) – China’s drought has sent coal prices surging as traders anticipate the lack of hydroelectric generation will force it to burn more coal to meet electricity demand this winter.

China’s rising coal consumption threatens to worsen a worldwide shortage as power producers in Europe and the United States also turn back to solid fuel in the face of soaring gas prices.

It marks a significant turn around from the first half of the year when heavy rainfall and plentiful hydro generation enabled China to reduce coal use and rebuild depleted inventories.

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Remix News | Sept. 6, 2022

The European Union’s arms stocks are running low as member countries continue to send arms and ammunition to Ukraine, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell has warned.

During a debate attended by MEPs, Borrell urged member states to better coordinate their spending on military equipment.

“The military stockpiles of most member states were, I wouldn’t say depleted, but depleted to a large extent because we provided a lot of capabilities to the Ukrainians. They must be refilled. The best way to replenish is to do it together. It will be cheaper,” he announced, according to The Guardian.

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Jewish Forward | Sept. 5, 2022

This article originally appeared on Haaretz, and was reprinted here with permission. Sign up here to get Haaretz’s free Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox.

Few expected Liz Truss to be a leading candidate to become Britain’s next prime minister when she visited Israel in June 2021, on her first and only visit to the country.

Her arrival coincided with the visit of the Royal Navy frigate HMS Richmond to Haifa, and the British Embassy took the opportunity to hold its summer party on deck – with the then-Secretary of State for International Trade the guest of honor. Only one, not very senior, Israeli minister (briefly) attended.

Truss, who was in Israel to negotiate a post-Brexit trade agreement, made a short speech extolling Britain’s excellent exports, ignoring the massive trade deficit – in Israel’s favor – between the two countries, and was hardly the life and soul of the party.

Two months later, in a cabinet reshuffle, she was promoted to foreign secretary and, as then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s scandalous premiership began to wobble this summer, emerged as one of the leading candidates to replace him.

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Zero Hedge | Sept. 4, 2022

Last weekend, Credit Suisse repo guru published what may have been the most insightful snippet of the entire European energy crisis (to date) when he extended the infamous “Minsky Moment” framework to Europe, and specifically Germany, which he said “can’t cover its payments without Russian gas and the government is asking citizens to conserve energy to leave more for industry.” He then elaborated that “Minsky moments are triggered by excessive financial leverage, and in the context of supply chains, leverage means excessive operating leverage: in Germany, $2 trillion of value added depends on $20 billion of gas from Russia… …that’s 100-times leverage – much more than Lehman’s.” (Zoltan’s entire note is a must read for everyone with a passing interest in what comes next).

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Zero Hedge | Sept 6, 2022

New Prime Minister Liz Truss may have only weeks to deliver a confidence turnaround in the UK economy or face a surge in violent crime and breakdown in public order caused by a cost-of-living crisis.

The Times revealed police chiefs fear “economic turmoil and financial instability” has the “potential to drive increases in particular crime types,” such as shoplifting, burglary, vehicle theft, and online fraud and blackmail, as Brits face one of the worst collapses in living standards in a century amid energy hyperinflation.

“Prolonged and painful economic pressure” could spark “greater civil unrest,” similar to the 2011 London riots, the leaked national strategy paper read.

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Ft.com | Sept. 5, 2022

Russia’s gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will not resume in full until the “collective west” lifts sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has said. Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, blamed EU, UK and Canadian sanctions for Russia’s failure to deliver gas through the key pipeline, which delivers gas to Germany from St Petersburg via the Baltic sea.

“The problems pumping gas came about because of the sanctions western countries introduced against our country and several companies,” Peskov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. “There are no other reasons that could have caused this pumping problem.”

Peskov’s comments were the starkest demand yet by the Kremlin that the EU roll back its sanctions in exchange for Russia resuming gas deliveries to the continent.

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