Dissecting the Global Crises
- Coronavirus
- Bloated Financial Markets
- Oil Price War
- Rising tensions in Iraq from US and Iranian influence
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Coronavirus
Capacity to treat severe cases across Europe
What should our response be?
What China got rightSouth Korea: Digital tracing of contacts...
What went so wrong in Italy?
The UK Government’s Novel Approach
The clearest explanation of Nudge Theory
Case studies of Public Skepticism
Hand Sanitiser Google searches across the USCan the U.S. cobble together an appropriate response?
The US response aligns very closely to that of the UK. However, any eventual lockdown will be problematic in the Midwest.
The Desperate Search for High Yields
This market was in trouble long before the virus hitUS treasuries market is not the safe haven it used to be:
The pandemic merely popped the financial bubble.
When the government bails-out companies, it should retain a stake
The FT article from which this was taken,
Oil Price War
Why does Saudi Arabia want to lower oil prices?The US has increased oil production to become independent of the Middle East oil production. They achieved this by growing their Shale industry. Every barrel of oil costs circa $50 to produce.
Most major oil producing nations are part of a cartel called OPEC. They decide on how much oil to produce – they want to keep the price within an acceptable range.
Following a disagreement with Russia and OPEC, Saudi Arabia have decided to flood the market with cheap oil. Saudi Arabia is seeking Geopolitical relevance. They have production costs below $10/barrel.
By keeping the price below the production cost of shale oil, they hope to knock-out the US oil industry.
The real problem for the US oil industry are the significant loans that need to be payed back or refinanced.
Lowering interest rates helps to keep the industry alive – in particular at a time where they will not be able to cover production costs, let alone any initial investments they made.
As a Strategic US priority, the industry is regarded as critical to national security. Expect a significant response.
Trump made a speech the following day, expressing the government’s intention to purchase oil for US strategic reserves at ‘very good’ prices. Watch the excerpt here.
China in the Public Sphere
After surpassing a peak in published daily cases, the Chinese government has turned it’s attention abroad. FT article
Economic ties and the perception of Europe
The European response...
A week after blocking medical supply exports, Germany has sent medical equipment.
The American response...
Companies compete for attention…
As the public interest in case numbers of the deadly virus that has circumvented the globe wanes, corporates are now locked in an unprecedented battle to engage consumers – and cater for the surge in specific services…
Delivery companies desperate for more hands on deck...With employees at Amazon warehouses around Europe protesting, delivery companies are desperate to satiate the spike in demand for their business,
Supermarket chains are also on a hiring spree in the UK (21 March).
