In this week’s recap, Marcello tells us that Elon Musk is again the world’s richest man after the stocks from Tesla spike 70%; Crypto Companies Behind Tether/Bitfinex Used Falsified Docs & Shell Companies to Get Bank Accounts; The largest supermarkets in UK are now strictly rationing many fruits and vegetables, 22% British households skipped meals or even fasted for a whole day in January.
Russia’s grain exports are booming as buyers load up on its attractive bumper supplies. The country’s shipments of wheat, its main crop, almost doubled in January & February from a year earlier.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva promised to bring prosperity back in what his campaign called “barbecue & beer” for all. 2 months into his presidency, the economy he inherited is cutting his honeymoon short & has him rushing to stem the damage. Official data released Thursday showed Brazil’s GDP fell -0.2% in Q4 2022, snapping 5 straight quarters of growth. The economic downturn is widely expected to continue this year.
Colombia faces uncertainty after the 1st leftist president in its modern history Gustavo Petro embarked to end contracting for energy exploration. Industry tax hikes have already increased the level of fear & there are major concerns his plan will not only shock Colombia’s petroleum-dependent economy, but endanger its energy security & spark a crisis. The growing shortage of natural gas will likely trigger an energy crisis, w/declining domestic supply & rising demand already having forced Colombia to significantly increase liquified petroleum gas imports.
Last year, China approved the construction of another 106 gigawatts of coal-fired power capacity, the equivalent of 2 large coal power plants per week & its highest in 7 years. China had suffered a wave of blackouts in September 2021, as a result of coal supply shortages, cutting off 1000’s of homes & factories. Many of the newly approved projects are identified as supporting base load capacity designed to ensure the stability of the power grid and minimize blackout risks.
After 5 consecutive weeks of losses, the gold market posted its 1st weekly gain; Russia & the United States’ top diplomats spoke in person on Thursday, for the 1st time since the invasion of Ukraine, on the sidelines of a G20 meeting where ministers traded blame over the conflict; Elon Musk’s latest plan for Tesla Inc. fell flat as the electric-car maker shared few details about the next-generation models that will underpin its next phase of growth.
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