Israel's expensive war, America's banking oligopoly, the illegal gold mining boom & India's Northeast
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Christine Safa, Coucher de soleil, 2021:
Franco-Lebanese artist Christine Safa is recognised for her poetic paintings that, at once personal and inviting, prompt reflections on the inseparable relationship between humanity and the land.
Source: Ocula
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War economics
With Israel’s war against Hamas costing the economy around $260 million every day, payouts to ultra-orthodox schools and other causes championed by right-wingers in the ruling coalition have set off a reckoning for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The cost to insure Israeli sovereign bonds against a default is more than double what it was before the war began. And the risk premium, or spread, investors demand to hold Israeli dollar notes over US Treasuries remains about 25 basis points higher.
Source: Bloomberg
Bank oligopoly
Earnings at JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup were up 23 per cent according to BankRegData, which collates quarterly reports from lenders to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Of Americas’s almost 4,400 banks, the big four made 45 per cent of the industry’s overall profits in the third quarter. That was up from 35 per cent a year ago, and well above the 10-year average of 39 per cent. By contrast profits at all other institutions dropped by an average 19 per cent in the quarter, their largest fall since the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.
Source: FT
Big oil and big states
Shell and BP have asked Washington and Brussels to intervene in a bitter dispute with Venture Global LNG, warning the company’s refusal to honour a multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas supply contracts threatens Europe’s energy security. In correspondence seen by the Financial Times, the oil majors accuse the US LNG provider of “misconduct” for withholding cargo agreed under long-term supply contracts and instead selling LNG on the spot market. Shell alleges Venture Global’s “opportunistic” action has enabled it to reap an $18bn windfall because of a spike in gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while denting its ability to meet critical energy supply needs in Europe….. Venture Global’s first LNG facility, Calcasieu Pass, located on the Gulf coast in Louisiana, commenced producing LNG in January 2022 and exported its first cargo two months later. But the company argues it has not yet started full commercial operations and is not obliged to supply foundation customers until the commissioning is completed. …. “This issue is no longer a private dispute between companies,” said Edison in a letter seen by the FT. “Rather it is exacerbating an energy crisis affecting the lives of everyday European citizens. It can no longer be overlooked.”
Source: FT
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Christine Safa, Source II, 2021
The illegal gold mining boom
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STIs in the USA
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Germany seeks elite universities, but there’s a catch
Troubled by German universities falling behind in international league tables, Science Minister Edelgard Bulmahn has a proposal: they should compete for €250million government grants awarded for excellence. But this piece (in German) suspects one key difference between America and Germany — the latter’s tight immigration rules for academics — may be holding back the country more than a lack of funds.
Christine Safa, Mountains, 2021