In this week’s recap, Marcello tells us about how the IMF has some ideas about also pursuing a digital SDR mechanism; Forbes reports that Zuckerberg lost more than half his fortune and dropped from #3 on The Forbes 400 list of the U.S.’ wealthiest people to No. 11; and Hurricane Ian has caused significant damage to Florida, North and South Carolina’s infrastructure.
Florida, North & South Carolina faced a massive clean-up on Saturday, from the destruction wrought by Cat 4 Hurricane Ian, after 1 of the most powerful storms ever to hit the U.S. mainland, caused 10’s of billions of dollars in what is being described as catastrophic damage & losses to infrastructure. Over +1.6M homes & businesses were still without power in the Carolinas, Florida & Virginia, although millions more have already seen their power restored. Insurers in Florida braced for a hit of between $28B & $47B, in what could be the costliest storm, since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
The European Commission’s economic sentiment indicator, which aggregates business & consumer confidence surveys, fell to 93.7 in September from 97.3 in August, its lowest point since November 2020. Confidence plummeted across economic sectors amid a broad increase in inflation expectations, despite the European Central Bank’s commitment to interest rate hikes in order to rein in soaring prices.
The Bank of England reversed course by seeking to quell a meltdown in U.K.’s bond markets on Wednesday, saying it will buy as much government debt as needed, to restore order after new Prime Minister Liz Truss’ tax cut plans triggered financial chaos. The new program was all funded by a huge increase in government borrowing, which quickly led to a freezing of mortgage markets, selling of gilts by pension funds & a leap in corporate borrowing costs. It also triggered alarm in foreign markets.
The rate of inflation in Germany soared to double-digit levels at 10.9%, for the 1st time in over 70 years, underlining the precarious state of Europe’s largest economy, which leading economists warned could shrink by up to -7.9% next year in a worst-case scenario, as institutes outline how natural gas shortages could hit growth in 2023.
The U.S. embassy in Russia is urging Americans in the country to leave & warning U.S. citizens to not travel to Russia after Russian President Putin ordered a call-up of 300K reservists to aid depleted forces in Ukraine. The embassy said in a security alert on Wednesday, that the Russian government may prevent U.S. citizens from leaving the country & could conscript dual nationals into military service.
Shares of U.S based Nike fell -12.81% on Friday; The Dow had its lowest closing since March 2020.
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