Tuesday, March 27, 2018

 

News Links, March 28, 2018

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
Competing Eats the Profits of Big Shaky Banks in Euroland: So Consolidate
The plan: Take out mid-sized banks to create a "bipolar" industry of large and small banks, and a lot less competition.
Surviving and Thriving During an Economic Collapse
'PetroYuan' Futures Launch With A Bang, Volume Dominates Brent As Big Traders Step In
India starts $32bn bailout to help state banks clear bad debt
Could Africa Adopt A Single Digital Currency?
South Korea's 2019 budget to focus on tackling youth unemployment, low birthrate
This is typical of the contradictory policies adopted by clueless governments. Youth are unemployed because there are too many of them, not because there are too few job opportunities. Under a declining net energy regime, it will be increasingly difficult to create more jobs, and also to persuade people to make more babies. Governments should go with the flow by welcoming and accommodating lower birthrates. These policies are the opposite of what is needed. Attempts to arrest collapse are futile. I guarantee this will end in tears. -- RF
GM Threatens Bankruptcy for GM Korea
Government bailout and union concessions by April 20, or else… Government accuses GM of "opaque" management.

## War on cash/cashless society ##
Even the World's Most Cashless Nation Doesn't Want to Go Fully Cashless
There are small but growing signs that Europe's "War on Cash" is not going exactly according to plan.
Twitter to ban cryptocurrency ads from Tuesday as online crackdown widens

## Airline death spiral ##

## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
Neocons Are Back With a Big War Budget and Big War Plans (Ron Paul)
Make no mistake: the neocons are back and looking for another war. They've got the president's ear. Iran? North Korea? Russia? China? Who's next for the warmongers?
Why borrowers on China's Belt and Road will go from euphoria to depression
China is investing heavily in international infrastructure projects to advance its own interests, but when the bills come due the deals may wreak havoc on poorer nations with nowhere to turn
Online test: Chinese language proficiency (Nepal)
An online test of Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK)—Chinese Language Proficiency Test—was launched on Saturday to cater to the growing number of students opting for higher education in China every year.
More Colleges Now Ran Mandarin As An Elective Subject (various countries)
CPEC to produce 40,000 jobs of Chinese Language interpreters (Pakistan)
U.S., EU to expel more than 100 Russian diplomats over UK nerve attack

## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
Thousands in Russian city rally after shopping mall fire
U.S. oil production is already exceeding 10 million bpd – a level higher than Saudi Arabia's current output, and the United States is expected to soon topple Russia as the world's largest crude oil producer, possibly as early as later this year.
Don't get excited. Much is being made of the jump in US shale oil production, but while oil production in Saudi Arabia and Russia is still profitable, America's shale-oil industry has never been profitable. That's because shale oil is junk energy. And now costs are going to rise even more. -- RF
Remember: All oil is not created equal. Unlike the US, Iran still has plenty of conventional oil left. -- RF
Brazil senate considers lifting ban on sugarcane production in Amazon
Bill condemned by environmentalists for unraveling Amazon protections would allow ethanol production, driving more deforestation
Too many hospitalized kids receive preventive antibiotics
It's highly doubtful any of this will come to pass. And transport wouldn't actually be hydrogen-powered because the hydrogen just serves as a battery, with the energy originally coming from somewhere else. -- RF
American adults just keep getting fatter
Seen in the long term, a Chinese refusal to import American recyclables would be good for the US. -- RF

## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##
Facebook saves extensive call, text data made by Android users: Ars Technica
Worst. Putin Puppet. Ever. (Caitlin Johnstone on the expulsion of Russian diplomats)
Twitter Nukes American Attorney's Tweet About Unflattering Depiction Of Turkish President
For no imaginable reason, Twitter continues to allow Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to cleanse the internet of stuff he doesn't like.

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
The Seneca Effect: A Review


## China ##
China starts trading oil futures, but benchmark status some way off
China needs more water. So it's building a rain-making network three times the size of Spain
Vast network of chambers on Tibetan plateau could send enough particles into the atmosphere to allow extensive clouds to form

## US ##
Why Some Americans Are Risking It and Skipping Health Insurance
Prices and deductibles are rising. Networks are shrinking. And even some well-off Americans are questioning what they're paying for.
Cash-strapped Alaska eyes earnings from oil wealth fund
PE Firm Cerberus Capital's "Rollup" Collapses into Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy becomes an increasingly common "exit." And the pension obligations?


Permanent Link posted by Rice Farmer @ 5:57 PM


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