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www.bbc.com

Ukraine war: Can India feed the world?

India, one of the world's biggest wheat producers, has begun to export more food, but worries remain.
www.bbc.com

Yes, you can. But every reason can be found by Indians not to from potential production shortfall, freight/shipping, lack of fertiliser and your own children are starving.
 
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www.bbc.com

UK set for slowest growth in G7 as Ukraine war hits global economy

The Ukraine war will "severely set back" global growth with the UK hit harder than most, the IMF says.
www.bbc.com

"This means the UK will no longer be the fastest growing economy in the G7 group of leading Western nations, and will be the slowest in 2023, it says."

From lifting pandemic restrictions and economic recovery hero to zero.

"The 2023 UK figure is the slowest apart from heavily-sanctioned Russia in the wider G20 grouping, which includes nations such as China and India."

Beating Russia at economic growth is a low bar indeed.
 
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What Economics Gets Wrong (Almost Everything) - Ian Welsh

Economics as a discipline is nearly worthless. What it teaches mostly isn't true. Decreasing price does not always increase demand and increasing price sometimes increases demand (aka. the law of supply and demand isn't a law.) People do not optimize utility (by any definition that is not...
www.ianwelsh.net www.ianwelsh.net


What Economics Gets Wrong (Almost Everything)​



By Ian Welsh

On April 25, 2022

Comments




Economics as a discipline is nearly worthless. What it teaches mostly isn’t true.
  • Decreasing price does not always increase demand and increasing price sometimes increases demand (aka. the law of supply and demand isn’t a law.)
  • People do not optimize utility (by any definition that is not circular).
  • People are not rational.
  • The market is not rational.
  • The market does not discount the future well at all.
  • Competitive markets are created by government, and destroyed by private actors.
  • Markets do not and never have properly priced externalities and never will do so while humans remain human. The only way to price externalities properly is thru government or custom (government in drag.)
  • Profit or loss in any enterprise in a modern economy is a social choice, entirely based on government and social decisions and mostly unrelated to fundamentals like energy in and energy out.
  • Railroads are far more efficient, energy wise than roads, but govt. subsidizes roads.
  • The vast majority of profit is based on market position and sustained profit is almost always based on having an unfair advantage that makes the market less competitive and therefore not have the virtues of competitive markets.
  • Genuine competitive markets don’t exist, and no businessman wants them to because they drive profits to almost zero.
  • The best economies the world ever saw went out of their way to keep wages and prices high, not to reduce them.
  • Any concentration of market power that is not regulated or broken up will engage in practices intended to buy/undermine government and destroy wages.
  • Higher CEO pay is correlated with lower company performance.
  • You cannot have a good economy for long without keeping the rich poor, weak and under your thumb. It is impossible.
  • Monetary efficiency between countries is bad. It should be hard to move large amounts money in and out of another currency or country.
  • Financial market efficiency is generally bad, and effectiveness and shock pads should be optimized for rather than financial efficiency.
  • Countries should, if it is possible, make or grow everything important inside their own borders and not trade for it.
  • People perform better when happy, healthy and at least moderately autonomous. The literature on this is so abundant it is silly. Bosses are authoritarian assholes because they like being authoritarian assholes who micro-manage employees. It’s what Bezos gets out of being Bezos.
  • Private money creation concentrated in a few hands is destructive to the economy, democracy and freedom (authority: Thomas Jefferson). It is also anti-competitive market, since you can’t compete with people who create money out of thin air.
  • Moderate levels of inflation are good, not bad, if they include assets, because they take away the control of people who won the past so they don’t control the present and the future.
  • Taxes should be low on ordinary people and high on anyone rich, including wealth and estate taxes. No one should be rich because their parents were.
  • People who lend money should lose that money if the person who they loaned it to can’t afford to repay it. The function of lending is “I know how to pick people who will use the money well.” If you can’t do that you deserve to lose the money, and govt shouldn’t collect it for you
  • bankruptcy should be easy, fast and leave people whole. Economically crippled people are not in the interest of society as a whole.
  • A UBI’s main function is allowing people to do what they want to do, and forcing bosses to make jobs good, not shitty.
  • Pensions should simply be handled by government or a general UBI.
  • Comparative advantage is a terrible strategy for improving your economy.
  • Free trade is garbage for most countries.
  • Raising the minimum wage is not correlated with increased unemployment
  • The unemployment rate measures supply driven wage push inflation pressure, not how many peole can’t get a job.
  • Initial capital for capitalism was primarily acquired by theft, first of European commons, then of non-European land, people and resources.
Essentially everything Economics teaches is wrong. If and when their prescriptions for action are followed, disaster ensues. With almost no exceptions every country which ever developed did so by not doing what economists say to do.
Economics also has a morally corrosive affect on those who study it. People mostly don’t free ride or otherwise act according to the maxims of economics: but people who have studied economics do.
Because economics is wrong and harmful about almost everything, and because economists do not say “please don’t follow our advice”, Economics should probably be banned and all Economics faculties shut down.
 
Fwiffo

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www.bbc.com

Boeing: Plane-maker reveals losses from Trump Air Force One deal

The US plane-maker reveals costs from the deal former US President Donald Trump renegotiated.
www.bbc.com

"Dave Calhoun spoke as the firm said it expected to lose $1.1bn (£875m) on the two planes for the White House.

Mr Trump had forced the company to renegotiate its contract, calling the initial deal too expensive.

The new agreement made Boeing, not taxpayers, responsible for changes to costs.

'We took some risks not knowing that Covid would arrive and not knowing that inflation would take hold like it has - and both of those have impacted us fairly severely,' Mr Calhoun said on a conference call with investors on Wednesday."
 
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German energy firm Uniper ready to meet Russian pay demand

Uniper is preparing to buy Russian gas using a payment system that critics say will undermine EU sanctions.
www.bbc.com

"Uniper says it will pay in euros which will be converted into roubles, meeting a Kremlin demand for all transactions to be made in the Russian currency.

Other European energy firms are reportedly preparing to do the same amid concerns about supply cuts.

Uniper said it had no choice but said it was still abiding by EU sanctions."

So much for EU solidarity.
 
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Fwiffo said:
www.bbc.com

German energy firm Uniper ready to meet Russian pay demand

Uniper is preparing to buy Russian gas using a payment system that critics say will undermine EU sanctions.
www.bbc.com

"Uniper says it will pay in euros which will be converted into roubles, meeting a Kremlin demand for all transactions to be made in the Russian currency.

Other European energy firms are reportedly preparing to do the same amid concerns about supply cuts.

Uniper said it had no choice but said it was still abiding by EU sanctions."

So much for EU solidarity.
Click to expand...
No EU solidarity and zero integrity. This will only embolden Putin more.
 
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Pimpernel Smith said:
No EU solidarity and zero integrity. This will only embolden Putin more.
Click to expand...

That's not what was said yesterday.

"Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen labeled Gazprom's decision as 'yet another attempt by Russia to use gas as an instrument of blackmail' in a statement on Wednesday morning.

She added that it is 'unjustified and unacceptable' but sought to strike a reassuring note, stressing that the 27-country bloc is 'prepared for this scenario' and has 'put in place contingency plans for just such a scenario and we worked with them in coordination and solidarity.'"

www.euronews.com

EU blasts 'blackmail' as Russia cuts gas tap to Poland and Bulgaria

Ursula von der Leyen called Gazprom's decision "yet another attempt by Russia to use gas as an instrument of blackmail" while Charles Michel said it was an "aggressive unilateral move by Russia'. #EuropeNews
www.euronews.com www.euronews.com

Not quite sure the contingency plan was open an account at Gazprombank
 
Pimpernel Smith

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Fwiffo said:
Not quite sure the contingency plan was open an account at Gazprombank
Click to expand...
It seems it was a vehicle to set-up ruble payments that through sleight of hand does not breach sanctions.

But we need to be honest too: Nordstream II was a pact between Russia and Germany to do over Poland. EU solidarity? No. None at all.

VDL has never delivered on anything, she diminished the German army, whilst Merkel was busy loading the pistol to our heads for Putin.
 
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Pimpernel Smith said:
It seems it was a vehicle to set-up ruble payments that through sleight of hand does not breach sanctions.

But we need to be honest too: Nordstream II was a pact between Russia and Germany to do over Poland. EU solidarity? No. None at all.

VDL has never delivered on anything, she diminished the German army, whilst Merkel was busy loading the pistol to our heads for Putin.
Click to expand...

You don't trust women ?

The issue is Fukushima killed energy diversity outside of France. There are a lot of LNG exporters. But building a pipeline to another European nation (aka Russia) means a lot.
 
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Fwiffo said:
You don't trust women ?

The issue is Fukushima killed energy diversity outside of France. There are a lot of LNG exporters. But building a pipeline to another European nation (aka Russia) means a lot.
Click to expand...
I don't trust those two. One's incompetent, the other, well her reputation is suddenly very soiled indeed.
 
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energyandcleanair.org

Financing Putin’s war: Fossil fuel imports from Russia during the invasion of Ukraine – Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air

energyandcleanair.org energyandcleanair.org

"According to one analysis, the EU has spent more than €47bn (£39.4bn) on Russian fossil fuels since the invasion began. You can see the live tracker from the Helsink-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

Last month, the bloc's top diplomat pointed out that the €1bn (£840m) being sent every day to Russia in the form of energy payments was 35 times more than the sum the EU had actually donated to Ukraine to help it to defend itself.

The EU is worried its dependence on Russian fossil fuels is inadvertently helping the Kremlin to fund the invasion of Ukraine, because a significant proportion of the payments are taken by the Russian government in tax."

E.U. close to deal on Russian oil phaseout; Hungary, Slovakia object

Solidarity!
 
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Pimpernel Smith said:
Nordstream II was a pact between Russia and Germany to do over Poland.
Click to expand...
No to do over Ukraine. Which steals Russian gas in transit, Russia has to pay for it. Then uses the stolen gas to undercut Russian producer prices. While at will blocking transit to coerce more favorable terms from Russia, leading to shortages in eastern Europe. Etc
 
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www.bbc.com

Ukraine war: EU plans Russian oil ban and war crimes sanctions

The measures are some of the toughest yet but Hungary has rejected them as unacceptable.
www.bbc.com

"... phase out crude oil over six months and refined products by the end of 2022."

"Slovakia and Hungary, which currently rely on Russian oil, would be given an extra year to find alternative suppliers. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Budapest could not support the package in its current form, while Slovakia's economy minister said his country wanted a three-year transition period."
 
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Fwiffo said:
www.bbc.com

Ukraine war: EU plans Russian oil ban and war crimes sanctions

The measures are some of the toughest yet but Hungary has rejected them as unacceptable.
www.bbc.com

"... phase out crude oil over six months and refined products by the end of 2022."

"Slovakia and Hungary, which currently rely on Russian oil, would be given an extra year to find alternative suppliers. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Budapest could not support the package in its current form, while Slovakia's economy minister said his country wanted a three-year transition period."
Click to expand...
In three years time, they'll be licking the heels of Putin's Chechnan orcs if they're not strong enough.
 
Pimpernel Smith

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Fwiffo said:
Just read Hungary will veto this. EU solidarity showing its strength again.
Click to expand...
They're not going to get the 27 to agree to this. VDL already knew that when she gave us that speech the other day.

Putin is probably thinking of one dirty, stinking nuclear bomb well placed on civilian infrastructure somewhere in Europe to bring the EU into his total obedience and control.
 
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www.bbc.com

Wealthy Russians flee to Dubai to avoid sanctions

Property purchases by Russians in Dubai surged by 67% in the first quarter of 2022, a report says.
www.bbc.com

"The UAE was one of only three countries, along with China and India, to abstain in a United Nations Security Council vote in February to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It also abstained in a General Assembly vote on 7 April to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council."

...Because they want the money.
 
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Pimpernel Smith said:
They're not going to get the 27 to agree to this. VDL already knew that when she gave us that speech the other day.
Click to expand...

She announced it because she needed the good public press? Announcing something you can't achieve to grab headlines is what politicians when they're campaigning for votes and/or favourable polls.
 
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Grand Potentate said:
www.thestar.com

Critics accuse Loblaws of profiting from inflation as profits surge by 40%

Loblaw-owned drug stores account for most of profit increase, but food revenues up, despite higher prices. Supermarket giant disputes allegations, saying food prices are not outpacing inflation and margins remain tight.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com

canadian grift
Click to expand...

Loblaws is owned by the Weston family. They also own the Canadian equivalent of CVS and a bunch of other related consumer businesses. It started as a bakery in the 19th century from a family that came over from Ireland or Britain and until a recent sale they made nearly all the commercial bread (including for Wonder etc). They own Primark and Fortnum and Mason and were one time owners of Selfridges. Every university, hospital, theatre or museum here has some kind of wing or dedication to a Weston.

You have to make profits to continue being a modern day aristocratic family.
 
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Grand Potentate said:
www.mortgagenewsdaily.com

Builder Confidence Drops at Fastest Pace in 2 years

Homebuilder confidence may still be higher than almost any time before the pandemic, but it's now lower than any time since. The post-pandemic lows arrived abruptly with today's release of the Housing Market Index from Wells Fargo and the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB). The...
www.mortgagenewsdaily.com

doghouse doghouse
Click to expand...

Yeah I mean it's basically gone from the most insanely optimistic ever to just very good.
 
Grand Potentate

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www.cnbc.com

UK inflation jumps to 40-year high of 9% as food and energy prices spiral

U.K. inflation soared to a record high of 9% in April as food and energy prices spiraled, official figures revealed Wednesday, escalating the country's cost-of-living crisis.
www.cnbc.com www.cnbc.com

A quarter of Britons have resorted to skipping meals as inflationary pressures and a food crisis conflate in what Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey recently dubbed an “apocalyptic” outlook for consumers.
Click to expand...

formby002 formby002 i'm sure if they just ate only apples and bananas there would be no issues.
 
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Grand Potentate said:
www.cnbc.com

UK inflation jumps to 40-year high of 9% as food and energy prices spiral

U.K. inflation soared to a record high of 9% in April as food and energy prices spiraled, official figures revealed Wednesday, escalating the country's cost-of-living crisis.
www.cnbc.com www.cnbc.com



formby002 formby002 i'm sure if they just ate only apples and bananas there would be no issues.
Click to expand...
Again, doesn't change my point about fresh fruit and vegetables being cheaper than convenience foods/takeaways which are often expensive. Look at what people eat, then look at the cost, then look at the health repercussions.

There is absolutely nothing controversial about what I'm saying here. Both the US and the UK have a problem with their populaces eating shit food.
 
Grand Potentate

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formby002 said:
Again, doesn't change my point about fresh fruit and vegetables being cheaper than convenience foods/takeaways which are often expensive. Look at what people eat, then look at the cost, then look at the health repercussions.

There is absolutely nothing controversial about what I'm saying here. Both the US and the UK have a problem with their populaces eating shit food.
Click to expand...
and i am not disagreeing with you on that particular point. what i'm trying to do is get to the underlying aspect of WHY they're eating that shit food. it can't just be because everyone's a fat bastard.
 
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formby002 said:
Again, doesn't change my point about fresh fruit and vegetables being cheaper than convenience foods/takeaways which are often expensive. Look at what people eat, then look at the cost, then look at the health repercussions.

There is absolutely nothing controversial about what I'm saying here. Both the US and the UK have a problem with their populaces eating shit food.
Click to expand...

Grand Potentate said:
and i am not disagreeing with you on that particular point. what i'm trying to do is get to the underlying aspect of WHY they're eating that shit food. it can't just be because everyone's a fat bastard.
Click to expand...


Yeah I don't think anyone is arguing otherwise, I've beat that drum for years myself. But there's definitely myriad societal issues that causes broad parts of both our countries to spend lots of money on shit food. From food deserts in black neighborhoods to cultural miasma in the white trash segment.
 
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