Marcello addresses Tesla’s intentions to significantly reduce Model Y production at its Shanghai facility by over 20% (relative to November) in today’s recap. In a contentious effort to encourage the use of digital payments, Nigeria has outlawed ATM transactions up to $45 per day; in North Carolina, two nights without electricity resulted in frigid temperatures when vandals shot up two electrical substations.
U.S. producer prices (PPI) rose +0.3% last month, which was more than expected in November. Data for October was revised higher to show the PPI gaining +0.3% instead of +0.2%, as previously reported. In the 12 months through November, the PPI increased +7.4% after advancing +8.1% in October. The underlying trend in inflation is slightly moderating, which may allow the Federal Reserve to slow its pace of interest rate hikes next week.
China confirmed what many analysts have long suspected was happening for most of this year, it is buying up gold again. Early Wednesday, the People’s Bank of China reported that it bought 32 tonnes of gold in November alone. According to reports, the central bank bought gold when prices were around $1,650 an ounce. China’s official gold reserves now stand at 1,980 tonnes, but the government likely owns far more, through various entities.
Peru now has a female president for the 1st time ever on Wednesday, after former president Pedro Castillo was impeached just hours after he tried to dissolve parliament. Dina Boluarte, the previous vice-president, was sworn in soon after. Earlier in the day, Castillo had said he was replacing Congress with an exceptional emergency government. However, lawmakers ignored this & in an emergency meeting impeached him. He was then detained & accused of rebellion. Boluarte says she will serve until 2026.
Exxon Mobil Corp. is providing their U.S. employees above-inflation pay increases, weeks after the Texas based oil giant posted its highest quarterly profit, underscoring how strong 2022 has been for the fossil-fuel industry, while other sectors like tech & finance cut jobs. Workers will receive an average salary rise of +9%, & those who got promoted will see a further +5% increase. The current US consumer price index is +7.7%.
A team of chemical engineers at MIT have manufactured a new material that they now claim to be sturdier than steel, but still as light as plastic. The 2-dimensional polymers can put themselves in order into sheets. It potentially gives objects like car parts or cell phones extraordinarily resistant skin. The team is even going as far as to say that it can be easily mass generated.
2-million-year-old DNA has been identified for the 1st time opening a new chapter in the history of evolution. Microscopic fragments of environmental DNA were found in Ice Age sediment in northern Greenland. Using cutting-edge technology, researchers discovered the fragments are 1 million years older than the previous record for DNA sampled from a Siberian mammoth bone.
Crude oil has posted the biggest weekly loss since April; U.S. state of New Mexico is set to overtake Mexico’s crude oil production in the current month.
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