Thursday 1 January 2015

Headlines - 01/01/2015

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards ##
An estimated 55,000 businesses are expected to close down over the coming weeks and months, wiping out around 120,000 jobs in a country which already has a 24 percent unemployment rate, labor groups say.
If there were many businesses willing and able to pay the higher rent fees (and hire the resulting unemployed), this might make sense. But Spain's economy doesn't look that healthy. -- RF
“Gold is money. Everything else is credit.” ~J.P. Morgan in 1912

## Airline Death Spiral ##
There were six planes at different altitudes passing in the area at the time, which contributed to the delayed response, according to AirNav.

## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
A week after launching its first domestically-built missile warship, Taiwan has announced a project to build its own submarines. The move comes after decades of failed attempts to procure submarines from the United States and reflects tensions between mainland China and South China Sea countries over territorial disputes.

## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##

## Energy/resources ##
A desperate bid to shore up shale drilling by selling oil abroad for higher prices. -- RF
Low oil prices today may be setting the world up for an oil shortage as early as 2016. Today we have just 2% more crude oil supply than demand and the price of gasoline is under $2.00/gallon in Texas. If oil supply falls too far, we could see gasoline prices doubling within 18 months. For a commodity as critical to our standard of living as oil is, it only takes a small shortage to drive up the price.
It's been a tough week for Civeo, a company that rents dorm-style living quarters to oil field workers.
The fallout from underpriced oil is spreading far and wide. No doubt many unpleasant surprises are in the offing. -- RF

## Got food? ##

## Lifestyle Solutions ##

## Environment/health ##
Lending conditions contributed to under-prepared health systems in Ebola-hit countries, report states

## Intelligence/propaganda/security/internet/cyberwar ##
Perception management: Murdoch, Scaife and CIA Propaganda
The rapid expansion of America’s right-wing media began in the 1980s as the Reagan administration coordinated foreign policy initiatives with conservative media executives, including Rupert Murdoch, and then cleared away regulatory hurdles.

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
Sounds like a good idea, right? But here's just one of many examples of how, to deal with newly arising problems, we add new layers of complexity, in turn requiring greater energy throughput. -- RF
Reported software glitch is the latest problem to dog state of the art fighter which is costing American taxpayers nearly $400 billion
States, in the name of austerity, have stopped providing prisoners with essential items including shoes, extra blankets and even toilet paper, while starting to charge them for electricity and room and board. Most prisoners and the families that struggle to support them are chronically short of money.

## Japan ##
Household budgets will likely be squeezed this year with price hikes on a variety of products — from food to commodities — because manufacturers are set to boost prices to cope with the yen’s continuing depreciation and increasing prices for raw materials.

## China ##
The city's first post-Occupy New Year celebrations tomorrow are expected to be marked by a strong police deployment to observe and make "judgments" on distinguishing revellers from pro-democracy protesters.

## UK ##
Official figures show that the rural population will increase by 6 per cent over the next decade as people choose to leave cities and settle in the countryside
Britain's oil and gas industry is running out of cash as low prices and high levels of debt threaten the sector, warns Company Watch
Despite outward signs of stability, Britain's financial system is not on the pink of health and looks incapable of withstanding another global financial crisis. This concern about British banks was raised by former governor of Bank of England, Lord Mervyn King, who warned that the banks in U.K. were not yet "entirely safe".

## US ##
The majority of older Americans rely on Social Security as primary source of retirement income.
Public Works officials said the collapse was caused by a sewage pipe that gave way. That pipe could date back all the way to the 1800s.
Peek into the future of bank branches and you won't see many bankers. In the years ahead—sooner rather than later—banks will continue to shutter their satellites and turn to other means to perform the services once done at the branches.

And finally...

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