In today’s Recap, Marcello talks about how suspicious it is that hundreds of food processing plants are closed due to unlikely situations, such as plane crashes; Mark Zuckerberg has said in an employee Q&A session that “this might be one of the worst downturns that we’ve seen in recent history.”
The Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank’s U.S. GDP measure, which tracks economic data in real time, but adjusts continuously, sees Quarter 2 output contracting by a full -1%. Coupled with Quarter 1’s decline of -1.6%, it fits the technical definition of an economic recession.
U.S. consumer spending fell for the 1st time this year, suggesting an economy on somewhat weaker footing than previously thought amid rapid inflation & Federal Reserve Bank hikes. Consumer spending, which accounts for over 2/3 of U.S. economic activity, gained just +0.2% in May, the smallest rise in 5 months. Inflation adjusted consumers spending dropped -0.4%.
The GfK German consumer confidence survey on Tuesday indicated that consumer sentiment in Europe’s largest economy slid to a record low in July, as consumers see the risk of the economy slipping to a recession. The index fell to -27.4 in July from revised -26.2 in June. The war in Ukraine & supply chain disruptions are driving food & energy prices ever higher.
Over 80,000 Bitcoin investors have had their millionaire status revoked, due to the recent crypto market downturn. Back in November, just days after Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $68,789.63, a total of 108,886 BTC addresses reported a balance over $1 million.
As of Thursday morning, U.S. time Bitcoin has dropped below $20K once again, down another -3.67% to $19,356.90. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday stated the Western military alliance of 30 nations is poised to increase the number of its high-readiness forces to well over 300K, as part of what he described as the biggest overhaul of collective defense & deterrence since the Cold War which ended in 1989. For many defense planners, Cold War II has now arrived.
Copper prices fell to a 17-month low this week; Russia has defaulted on foreign-currency sovereign debt for the 1st time since 1918.
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