RISING EGG PRICES IN FRANCE CAUSE A DROP IN PRODUCTION
05/10/2022
Rising egg prices in France, due to higher feed and energy costs and a lack of supplies following the worst bird flu crisis in history, have caused some food companies to reduce production or change their recipes, egg producers have said.
Both the European Union and the United States have suffered one of the worst avian influenza crises in their history this year, with tens of millions of poultry culled in each region.
In turn, global egg production, which reached 1.5 billion in 2021, is expected to fall for the first time ever this year, following a 4.6% decline in the US, a 3% drop in the EU and an 8% plunge in France, the bloc’s biggest egg producer, French industry group CNPO said.
Prices for industrial eggs on the French spot market, which are also linked to supply and demand, were trading on Wednesday at 2.2 euros per kilogramme, more than double their price at the beginning of the year and about 65% above their average price at this time of year.
GERMAN EXPORTS EXCEED EXPECTATIONS DESPITE GLOBAL ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN
05/10/2022
The statistics office reported on Wednesday that exports rose slightly more than expected in August, despite a cooling global economy, rising interest rates and material shortages.
Stronger demand from the United States and China helped exports reach 133.1 billion euros ($132.59 billion) in August, up 1.6 per cent from the previous month.
A Reuters poll had forecast a month-on-month increase in both exports and imports of 1.1%.
Analysts welcomed the August figures, but warned that amid a gloomy economic outlook, exports could become a drag on growth.
MEXICO’S ECONOMY MINISTER RESIGNS AMID ENERGY DISPUTE WITH U.S. AND CANADA
06/10/2022
Mexico’s Economy Minister, Tatiana Clouthier, has resigned from her post, depriving Mexico of one of its top trade negotiators. All this as the government struggles to avoid an energy dispute with the US and Canada.
The United States on 20 July requested negotiations to resolve the energy dispute with Mexico. Clouthier said she had first confessed her desire to resign to López Obrador on 26 July.
The US energy demand, joined by Canada, put Clouthier in a difficult position, forcing her to defend policies that are likely to breach a North American trade agreement by which López Obrador is also bound.
JAPAN’S SURPLUS SHRINKS TO LOWEST AMOUNT ON RECORD
10/10/2022
Japan’s current account surplus has narrowed to its smallest amount on record in August, according to data from the Ministry of Finance. This is because the rise in energy import prices outweighed the rise in export prices.
The surplus came in at 58.9 billion yen ($404.45 million), below economists’ median forecast of 121.8 billion yen in a Reuters poll.
The current account surplus has long been seen as a sign of export strength and a source of confidence in the yen, which was regarded as a safe haven, but recent years have seen the balance occasionally move into deficit each month.
While the cost of imports rises as the yen weakens, the boost to exports has not been as great as companies move production abroad.
Policymakers are increasingly concerned that the weaker yen will increase the import bill and the cost of living for households.
FRENCH GOVERNMENT INTERVENES IN LABOUR DISPUTES BETWEEN OIL COMPANIES AND CGT UNION
11/10/2022
The French government has tried to regain control of the situation created by labour disputes between the CGT union and oil companies TotalEnergies and Exxon Mobil.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced that the government was prepared to use force to order the return to work of staff at depots run by Exxon’s Esso France unit, and that similar measures could be taken at Total sites if wage negotiations fail to reach a solution.
The CGT union described the plans as “violent” and suspended all ongoing negotiations with the government and employers at national level and in all business sectors, and announced new strikes.
Strikes and unplanned maintenance at the refineries of oil majors TotalEnergies and Exxon Mobil have forced the shutdown of more than 60% of France’s refining capacity and blocked the distribution of fuel tanks.
31% of petrol stations across the country have experienced supply problems, leading to rationing in some regions.
EU REGULATORS OPPOSE TECH GIANTS PAYING FOR TELECOMS’ INFRASTRUCTURE
11/10/2022
The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) does not support large technology companies, such as Google and Netflix, paying for telecommunications infrastructure.
These conclusions come at a time when there is a debate on whether internet platforms should be obliged to finance digital infrastructures such as 5G telecommunications networks, given that they make intensive use of them.
However, digital rights groups fear that if big tech companies fund the infrastructure, they will also be able to strike deals with telcos to give preferential treatment to their own traffic, which would jeopardise the principle of net neutrality.
The ETNO (European Telecommunications Network Operators) group rejected BEREC’s findings as outdated and stated that it will submit new evidence to the Commission to support its position.
EU industry chief Thierry Breton has said that the European Union will review the issue in early 2023.
THE COST OF LIVING IS THE MAIN CONCERN OF ISRAELI VOTERS CAUGHT IN THE ELECTION WHEEL.
13/10/2022
Israelis are as fed up with rising prices as they are with the country’s seemingly endless elections.
Living costs outweigh even issues such as the conflict with the Palestinians, according to voter polls. However, in a turbulent political system, it is attitudes towards the polarising former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that influence voting patterns. Moreover, a seemingly eternal election cycle makes long-term economic reforms all but impossible.
Repeated votes in the country have seen only one state budget passed since 2019, hampering the kind of long-term planning needed to pass reforms to cut spending. This has heightened voters’ fears that a new election will do little to improve things, despite promises of change from Netanyahu’s right-wing religious bloc and his rival, centrist Prime Minister Yair Lapid.
FRANCE STARTS EXPORTING GAS TO GERMANY IN THE MIDST OF ENERGY CRISIS
13/10/2022
France has started shipping natural gas to Germany for the first time, French gas network operator GRTgaz said, as Berlin struggles to diversify its energy supply following the interruption of Russian gas deliveries.
GRTgaz said the pipeline connecting the two countries at the French border town of Obergailbach has begun supplying an initial daily capacity of 31 gigawatt-hours.
The amount is expected to increase to a daily maximum of 100 gigawatt-hours, which represents less than 2% of Germany’s total gas consumption, according to figures from the French Ministry of Energy Transition.
The head of Germany’s grid regulator Klaus Mueller thanked GRTGaz in French in a tweet, adding that “French gas deliveries via Saarland help Germany’s security of supply”.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced last month that France and Germany had agreed on an energy solidarity deal. France will help Germany with gas supplies, while Germany will generate more electricity to supply France at peak times.
CALVIÑO SAYS THE FALL IN INFLATION IS ACCELERATING
14/10/2022
Spain’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Calvino, announced that Spain’s inflation rate has fallen below 9%, and said she expected the trend to continue.
Economic activity in the eurozone has been affected by the financial consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, leading to higher gas and electricity prices, which, according to the central bank, will affect the domestic economy in the coming quarters.
Calviño said that inflation had begun to slow over the summer and that the latest data pointed to further declines, barring significant increases in global energy prices.
Spain recorded high inflation rates in 2022, peaking in July at 10.7%, but inflation has started to ease and is now expected to fall to around 3% next year.
The Bank of Spain this month halved its forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 1.4 per cent next year due to the impact of higher energy prices in Europe and lower consumer spending.
The central bank has projected annual EU-harmonised consumer inflation to reach 8.7 per cent in 2022, compared to the previously forecast price increase of 7.2 per cent. It forecasts a still high inflation rate of 5.6 per cent in 2023, before falling to 1.9 per cent in 2024.
JAPAN TO IMPOSE NEW SANCTIONS ON NORTH KOREA
17/10/2022
Japan will impose additional sanctions against North Korea by freezing the assets of groups involved in missile development, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a regular briefing on Tuesday.
“We cannot tolerate North Korea’s repeated actions that threaten Japan’s security and international peace and security,” Matsuno said.
EU LEADERS TO FURTHER DISCUSS GAS PRICE CAPPING
19/10/2022
European Union leaders concluded a new debate on the bloc’s response to the energy crisis without reaching an agreement on capping gas prices.
The EU is grappling with high energy prices, which have sent inflation soaring and raised the prospect of recession across the continent, a situation exacerbated by Russia’s reduction of gas flows following its invasion of Ukraine in February.
The 27 countries have already agreed to fill up gas tanks and recover revenues from energy companies to help consumers with their crippling bills.
But after weeks of negotiations between EU leaders, ministers and diplomats on the issue, the summit ended at around 2 a.m. in Brussels without a final decision on an EU gas price cap.
Leaders did not give a deadline for decisions on price caps. EU energy ministers will discuss the measures.
CUBA CALLS U.S. TRADE EMBARGO A “HURRICANE” THAT NEVER ENDS
19/10/2022
Cuba said Wednesday that the decades-long US trade embargo has caused unprecedented financial losses and untold human suffering in recent months, at a time when Cuba is also struggling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Ian.
Under the administration of former US President Donald Trump, tough new sanctions against Cuba were introduced, starting in 2017. President Joe Biden’s administration has since eased some policies around remittances, flights, tourism and, most recently, migration, saying it would reopen full consular services in Havana in 2023.
The broader embargo, however, has remained largely unchanged. The web of US laws and regulations complicates financial transactions and the procurement of goods and services by the Cuban government.
AUSTRALIA AND JAPAN AGREE TO EXPAND SECURITY COOPERATION
22/10/2022
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have met in Perth and said their countries have agreed to deepen and broaden their cooperation to respond to security challenges in their region.
Kishida also said he wanted to strengthen Japan’s defence capabilities within five years, and that he would examine all national defence options, including “counter-attack capabilities”.
The two countries announced a critical minerals partnership to build secure supply chains for materials needed in Japan’s advanced manufacturing industry.
BORIS JOHNSON RETURNS TO THE UK IN A BID FOR A QUICK POLITICAL COMEBACK
22/10/2022
Potential candidates to replace Prime Minister Liz Truss, who resigned on Thursday after six weeks in office, have been trying this weekend to secure enough nominations to enter the leadership contest before Monday’s (24 October) deadline.
Johnson, who was on holiday in the Caribbean when Truss resigned, has made no public comment about a run for his old post. He has received the support of dozens of conservative lawmakers, but needs 100 nominations to be considered.
Trade Minister James Duddridge said on Friday that Johnson told him he was “willing”. On Saturday he said Johnson had secured 100 nominations, although a Reuters count put him with just over 40 and Rishi Sunak, a former finance minister whose decision to resign helped bring down Johnson, with more than 110.
CHINESE EXPORTS WEAKEN IN SEPTEMBER AND IMPORTS INCREASE BY 0.3%.
23/10/2022
China’s export growth weakened in September as global consumer demand cooled, while imports recovered from a contraction following improved Chinese economic growth.
Forecasters expected Chinese exports to weaken in the second half of 2022 after the Federal Reserve and central banks in Europe and Asia curbed consumer demand by raising interest rates to cool inflation that is at multi-decade highs.
SAUDI ARABIA LAUNCHES BID TO ATTRACT $10 BILLION IN SUPPLY CHAIN INVESTMENTS
23/10/2022
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince on Sunday launched an initiative to attract investment in supply chains to and from the kingdom, with the aim of raising an initial 40 billion rials ($10.64 billion).
The Gulf state announced last year that it would invest more than 500 billion rials in infrastructure, including airports and seaports, by the end of the decade in a bid to become a transport and logistics hub as part of an economic diversification plan.
The latest supply chain initiative includes the creation of several special economic zones, according to an SPA statement, which also refers to ongoing “legislative and procedural” reforms.
Prince Mohammed’s Vision 2030 aims to modernise Saudi Arabia and decouple its economy from oil revenues.
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