Here's our summary of key economic events over the weekend with news war has focused minds on the energy consequences.
The IEA is warning of "the biggest supply crisis in decades" as the Eastern European war consequences sweep over energy markets. But it also reports sudden important responses in regions hardest it, especially Europe. Measures implemented this year could bring down European gas imports from Russia by over one-third, with additional temporary options to deepen these cuts to well over half - while still lowering emissions. It seems war is bringing sudden innovations in some areas. It is a great shame it takes a war crisis to motivate these adaptions.
Some of the recommended IEA measures to tackle the energy crisis include: car-free days, limiting air travel, reducing speed limits, and WFH. They sound remarkably like some things that are already happening during the pandemic.
The Saudi's now say they are ramping up crude oil production. Australia is ramping up gas production.
Aluminium prices spiked on the invasion of Ukraine. Since, they have stayed high, but they have been volatile in the past six weeks, and again last week. But they ended the week high again.
Although global coal prices remain very high, they are easing off their early March peak.
High prices are one thing, but commodity markets are also suffering a liquidity crisis as intermediating traders disappear because the risks are too high and real buyers and real sellers have trouble agreeing terms directly. Aluminium isn't being spared in this crisis.
The Russian central bank reviewed their monetary policy settings on Friday, and they left things unchanged - at a 20% policy rate. There is little they can do after their government invaded its neighbour. Inflation is rampant, their currency is in the toilet. Monetary policy isn't able to do anything about either in the short term. But they know a huge decline is ahead of them, calling it a “large-scale structural transformation”.
We are expecting China to review its prime loan rates this afternoon. Although no change is expected, convoluted official references in China shows they are clearly concerned about their slowdown. A rate cut remains possible.
In Hong Kong, things are grimmer by the month. More than -71,000 people left the City than arrived in February and many fear it is a portent of worse to come. It is a building trend after years of mass protests, erosion of civil liberties, crackdowns on press freedoms, and, finally, two crushing years of the pandemic, with no immediate relief in sight. Banks are leaving - slowly still - and pan-Asian deals are being done elsewhere. Hong Kong will remain a gateway to China, but a lot depends now just on the Chinese opportunity.
It is not only Hong Kong that is feeling heat. London-based CVC Partners, a major private equity firm, has decided to list in Amsterdam in what is being seen as a reputation blow. This comes after the LME debacle. These may be 'small' events in the scale of London as a financial center, but they are being seen as watershed moments.
Meanwhile, American existing home sales faded in February continuing the see-sawing pattern of the past few months. High mortgage interest rates are one reason they were down a rather sharp -7.2% from January, and down -2.4% from a year ago. The other reason is the very unusually low houses being offered for sale at present, about seven weeks worth at the current rate. Those that are selling are at the top end of the market, so average prices seem like they are rising.
The very good Canadian data continues. Their retail sales rose more than expected in January, up +3.2% from the prior month, up +12% in a year. The virtuous trend continued for strong February jobs gains too. The ADP report showed a +475,000 gain in the month, more than making up for the under-result in January. It was also the strongest monthly rise ever recorded in this series.
Japan's consumer inflation rose by +0.9% in the year to February, and as low as that may seem to us it is the most since April 2019. It comes after a +0.5% January gain. The latest figure marked the 6th straight month of annual inflation, with food prices rising at the fastest pace in 4 years, up +2.8% pa. Japan's central bank likes the rise, but it was not enough for them to shift their policy direction.
The Bank of Japan reviewed its policy settings late on Friday, leaving them unchanged at +0.1%. The recent pickup in their economy is undermined by the recent Ukraine war impacts
In South Australia, there has been a sweeping election result that cleared out the governing Liberal Party, replaced by a resurgent Labor Party. It is a result that is said to signal a desire for change from incumbents. Nationally, Australia goes to the polls on or before May 21, the last possible day it can be called.
Meanwhile, a Parliamentary report on Australia's housing affordability problems has recommended that their States should ditch stamp duty and replace it over time with a broad-based land tax, review the taxes holding back development of the emerging build-to-rent sector and reform surging developer contributions that are not being used to fund crucial local infrastructure. These are just a few of their 16 recommendations to improve long term housing affordability there.
And you know it is election season in Australia when talk of tax cuts grows, even as their deficit rises.
And there is more evidence that the Hayne financial services review is being gutted. The Canberra government is going to let the obvious conflict of interest stand that mortgage brokers have by receiving commissions from banks. New Zealand regulators turn a blind eye to that as well. Few things in the financial world are more obvious than this, but no one wants to do any about it.
The UST 10yr yield opens today at 2.15% and up +1 bp from this time Saturday. A week ago though this yield had just risen to 2.00% so it has been a big mover up this past week. The UST 2-10 rate curve starts today steeper at +21 bps. Their 1-5 curve is little-changed at +92 bps (but much steeper over the week), ditto their 30 day-10yr curve, little-changed at +193 bps (but much steeper in a week). The Australian ten year bond is down -1 bp at 2.52%. The China Govt ten year bond is unchanged at 2.82%. And the New Zealand Govt ten year is also little-changed at just on 3.19%.
The price of gold starts today at US$1922/oz and down -US$7/oz from this time Saturday. A week ago it was at US$1990/oz but that was its recent high point.
And oil prices are unchanged from Saturday. In the US they are now just on US$103.50/bbl. The international price is just on US$106/bbl. The Saudi's now say they are ramping up production.
The Kiwi dollar will open today little-changed, now at just on 69 USc and still near a four month high. The Kiwi dollar has appreciated +1.6% last week. Against the Australian dollar we are little-changed at 93.2 AUc. Against the euro we are still at 62.5 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 74.2 and also a four month high.
The bitcoin price was down -0.4% from this time Saturday to US$41,414. That is a +7.5% weekly gain but really only taking it back to levels of two weeks ago. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at +/- 1.3%.
The easiest place to stay up with event risk today is by following our Economic Calendar here ».
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118 Comments
Apparently the MIQ requirement for unvaccinated Kiwis arriving in NZ has been silently removed as of Friday, with no corresponding announcement to let anyone know about it. Mature behaviour from the most transparent government ever, but to be expected, I suppose.
In any case, they're supposed to be deciding on changes to the vaccine pass and traffic light system today, to be announced on Wednesday, which will be interesting to watch. We had to catch up with the rest of the world eventually, but to be honest I thought it would take longer than this. We'll see.
It's always been "with COVID".
We use the same definition as the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which you can look up. Basically anyone who dies and has COVID-19, or is suspected of having COVID-19, goes down as a COVID-19 death unless the cause can unambiguously be attributed to something else (i.e. trauma).
Worth noting that this type of broad definition is atypical for classifying death from disease.
Something like this?
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/u-s-cdc-reports-fewer-covid-1…
How Covid mortality is counted.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-are-covid-19-deaths-count…
Top 10 causes of death 2019. I'd be interested to see what mandates governments can impose to battle these other causes.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-d…
NZ data only goes to 2015 https://www.who.int/data/mortality/country-profile
"The government quietly changed the rules on Friday but did not announce it." - RNZ, 20 March 2022
How is announcing the change on the MIQ website 'not annoucing it'? Does the government need to convene a press conference for every little change?
It's a significant change in policy, but not one that people who are scared of Covid would like. It's also possible that it's against advice from experts like Michael Baker. The fact that it was quietly uploaded on a Friday afternoon at the start of a Parliamentary recess says they didn't want attention drawn to it. Announcements they think will make them political hay are announced. Ones that don't, don't. Major changes to MIQ policy that aren't announced by the PM smacks of cowardice.
https://www.miq.govt.nz/about/news/border-changes-for-unvaccinated-new-…
Published: 18 March 2022. "This change takes effect from 11.59pm on Friday 18 March."
https://twitter.com/AdamCrigler/status/1505142774114529287?s=20&t=TE4FM…
I see the CDC has revised downwards the number of covid deaths by up to 25% due to a "coding logic error"
Oh yea, sure thing...
And I note over the weekend Russia has identified that it has employed a hypersonic missile in Ukraine. I note that US hypersonic missiles (which remain under development and are not available operationally) was one of the reasons Putin apologists used for justifying his invasion of Ukraine.
It is interesting though as the prime rationale for hypersonics is that they are very difficult if not impossible to intercept with current technology, and Ukraine would never stand any chance, as they are not able to intercept the current conventional missile barrage either.
Instead of a three way competition as to who has the biggest dick, Ukraine should have just said it would never join NATO and this war would never have happened. It really makes me sick to be honest the type of people that get into power and then tens of thousands have to die. The Ukraine is now going to get smashed to bits, should have just sided with Russia and they could have carried on life as normal. Zelenskyy playing boy soldier up on the big screen and the USA house all clapping made me want to puke. Ukraine now getting really desperate trying to get Israel involved, shame they sold the Russians a pile of drones that are currently flying over Ukraine picking targets.
However you look at it, it is surely certain that Russia is now immensely weaker that when they invaded. For a start stark inadequacies in their military have been exposed, in planning and operation. Regaining Ukraine will not regain their former image as a world power to be feared, anywhere like, as before. Economically they are in big strife. When Russians wake up & look around and realise how worse off they are, they cannot help but blame the Ukraine campaign. These are a volatile people, there are elements brutal and ruthless in society, widespread civil unrest is akin to a powder keg looking for a fuse.
Would have been normal too, it's one of the most corrupt places in the world, they have no chance of joining the EU and unless they gave up Crimea they had no chance of ever joining NATO. They are in a tight spot, that's for sure but instead of trying to make the best of it, they have made very poor choices.
Easy for you to say but Ukraine just went down a lose lose path. They are all just going to be smashed into submission in a war they can never win. I can not get past the possibility that the USA are so full of shit that Biden gave Zelenskyy the impression they were going to cover his arse otherwise he cannot be so stupid to think they could stop a Russian invasion on their own. When push came to shove the USA quickly pulled the pin.
Clever diplomacy could have avoided the war, no doubt about it. Instead Ukraine as the poorest country in Europe went about buying up weapons declaring war on parts of it's own country and acting hostile to Russia. They were dumb, they have no allies and their country will be destroyed. NATO just had their training base in Ukraine blown to bits and are too scared to do anything about it. If NATO is too scared to act, what chance do you think Ukraine has?
Only an idiot would think Ukraine can win this, the longer it drags on, the more they lose, factories will be the next targets for bombing now that 70% of the military hardware is destroyed. Ukraine could have capitulated earlier and retained some notion of statehood, but at this point it looks likely they will loose about a third of the landmass, all the coastal areas and have nothing to show for it but a bombed out landscape and most of the talented people fled as refugees.
You'd have to be a bit mental to think that continuing the fight is going to improve things in Ukraine.
Ukraine could have capitulated earlier and retained some notion of statehood.
A puppet state? Wild how people who suffered under the USSR didn't just want to be a proxy-state for Russia, who would have just steamrolled them if they'd done something different anyway.
Ukraine was never going to defeat Russia in an all out war and no one is seriously suggesting they could have, but the idea that you just rollover because an overly hostile neighbouring country threatens you under alternating and false pretenses is insane. Either self-determination matters or it doesn't. Has it occurred to you why the Ukrainians are putting up such a spirited fight?
It sounds crazy to me that you would prefer to live or die in a bombed out rubble, rather than try and get along with all your neighbors. Ukraine is being run by sociopaths who don't care how many people die and it sounds like you agree with them. Reduce the size of the military, stay a neutral country, ban nazi glorification, doesn't sound like too much to give up, at least not to me. Not in comparison to the alternative, in which you will be forced to do it anyway with the added cost of a ruined country and probably end up losing the parts that were Russia in 1921 - which is where most of the industrial areas are.
"rather than try and get along with all your neighbors" - Putin had this option too. It's amazing how there is zero obligation in your mind for Putin to not operate as a hostile nuclear power to neighbouring states, but no end to the limits on being able to assert your own sovereignty as a 'free country' that one should accept just for the privilege of not being shelled in your own home.
I'm just saying you have to be realistic about the situation and try for the best outcome, not the worst outcome.
I never saw this kind of hysteria during either of the Iraq wars, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya etc. Apparently the US is the only one who can invade other countries to protect it's national security and get the oil. I believe if it's ok for one person to do it, then it's ok for anyone to do it, it's a bit late for everyone to suddenly be anti war. It's ironic seeing the US President calling Putin a war criminal for invading Ukraine, I'm sure many countries are very interested to hear that.
Ukraine has been shelling people it claims are Ukrainian since 2014. 14,000 dead since then (both sides)
It's a shitty part of the world. I find it hard to take seriously the rush to the high moral groud for the Ukrainians that we have seen recently. Or for anybody actually.
The USA has a lot to answer for. It hase been fermenting much of the trouble.
They have been fighting Russians who think they own the place. There has been an ongoing pro-Russian assimilation of the area for decades. I suppose Ukraine should just redraw it's border to accommodate anyone who wants a piece of it. Just as Palestinians are expected to roll over for Jewish settlers. Interesting that the first person to visit Putin was Israeli Prime Minister. Must have been giving him tips on occupation, population oppression and annexing of land rights.
Yes why don't some of you just get out a map. Draw a line down from the top where Russia meets Ukraine and go straight down to Crimea. Pretty sure Russia would be happy to take only that at a push but more than likely they will just take the whole country. The longer this goes on the more of Ukraine will become part of Russia again.
This would be a credible argument had Russia not also tried to take Kyiv from the North at the same time as the territory it was supposedly mainly focusing on on in the East, as well as shelling as far West as Lviv.
Or, far more likely, steamrolling Ukraine in its entirely was always on the cards this whole time, and nothing Ukraine did would have or could have stopped it. The hypotheticals about Russia being happy with less than they've already tried to take doesn't hold much water.
What has Ukraine done for the US?
I struggle to believe some of the comments in this stream. People who believe a country has no real right to self determination, should just suck it up what comes their way and do as they are told. Try a similar analogy - how well do you speak Mandarin? Because what is happening to Ukraine could very easily happen to us. While we are not connected by land mass, China is very much expanding in to the Pacific, and are building a significant blue water navy. We have no defence force to speak of, so China could come ashore on our east coast with no opposition at all. Indignation will not make them duck their head in shame and go home.
The Ukraine just wanted independence and self determination. True they had an issue with corruption post the collapse of the USSR, but a lot of the Soviet states did. And Putin has fed of that corruption, and entrenched his power. So when the Ukrainians elected a national leader who was not a puppet of Russia, not corrupt in some way that he could be manipulated, and one with aspirations for his country to become as most countries in the west are, democratically free, and economically prosperous, he incurred the ire of Putin, and we just argue that he should roll over, suck it up and take it like a beaten dog? There are a bunch of people who contribute to these comment steams who i suggest should re-evaluate their morals and values.
KH how were thosetrying to break away going about that? By violent insurrection, rather than popular vote? It was pretty much a Russian sponsored insurrection, which I did not support. They complained about a Russian puppet being kicked out of office.
Also don't forget the history that a lot of people put aside. A Soviet strategy was to resettle ethnic Russians in its satellite states, essential to undermine any dreams and moves toward independence. What is the history of those in Donbas who want to be aligned with Russia now? Why couldn't they just move back to Russia themselves?
Murray. So your answer is it's OK for Ukraine to shell with artillery Donblas people it would like to remain in Ukraine. Got that.
And they have done it for years. Ukraine is not the noble cause recently bestowed on it.
Note. Not picking sides here, both sides are awful, and Donblas is a mafia ridden rustbelt hellhole.
They are all just going to be smashed into submission in a war they can never win
To be honest, this is a war that is looking like Russia can't win either. Afghanistan 2.0 for the Soviets where resistant will be funded by the CIA and drain the Russians in a stalemate.
However, I agree with some of your comments that Ukraine and the West contributed to Russia's actions. Ukraine should not have attempted to be part of NATO. It could have still been part of the EU and straddled a fine line between the West and Russia, having a bob each way, in a way not too dissimilar to how NZ has done with China in recent years. I do not condone Putin's actions and believe what he's done will lead to his downfall, but the Ukrainian elites have some culpability in the obliteration they have brought upon their people.
"Russia, having a bob each way, in a way not too dissimilar to how NZ has done with China in recent years". Well let's hope China doesn't decide they need more than just a bob each way as we'll be f*** - Carlos, WhiskeyJack etc.. will be fighting over themselves to hand over their balls on a platter.
The US benefits the most from this war, they are a huge agricultural exporter and energy producer, full of russophobes. Stupidly Ukraine allowed the US to peer pressure them into goading Russia, and never considered that the promise of support would be all lies. Meanwhile the US finally gets a market for it's LNG in the EU, something is has been pushing for, for a long time. Overall it's a huge win for US dominance, the rest of the world suffers from these sanctions and higher prices while the US reaps the profits.
This is something we should be mindful of whenever wars occur. Don't risk being a sacrificial pawn in someone else's game.
You could go over there and volunteer and suddenly they're cutting your passport up and pushing you into the frontline with an old rifle and five rounds. A little later they switch sides and suddenly everyone is pro Russian and always have been. Then you're in a pickle if you were lucky enough to survive.
Nothing wrong with being scared, it's how you respond which determines if you have courage. The Ukrainian people are showing true courage. You cannot understand this and are projecting your cowardice on to others to avoid your own inadequacy. You cannot extoll the virtues of cowardice and then pretend you are not one yourself.
Russian soldiers on my doorstep in Auckland would be a significant expansion of the conflict, although some here would still find a way for that to be my fault for, from what I can tell.
Likewise, the same argument goes for those just telling Ukraine to accept being a proxy state with no say in how their lives are run; you're not the one being expected to live under a regime you do not want to be part of, so it's very easy to say they should just accept it 'for the greater good'.
Here's an idea, why don't all of you who are so comfortable giving up Ukrainian's right to self-govern and think Ukrainians should just let Russia install their puppet regime head over to Russia and live there for a bit, sounds like it would be a blast. You can offer up your houses for some of the Ukrainian refugees?
Let's spread the love around - The Economist has finally found a war it doesn't like.
It seems the president of Ukraine has finally come to his senses. I notice now that there is quite a lot of revisionist history going on how Ukraine were never going to join NATO, it was never planned, never was going to be allowed, they never applied etc etc. Surprisingly NATO haven't taken down their own notes about Ukraine joining as being re-affirmed last year which is quite clear about them becoming a member if they can reform (see point 69): "We reiterate the decision made at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance...", then goes on to discuss the things that are required for membership and current actions. They also note on their site:
- In June 2017, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted legislation reinstating membership in NATO as a strategic foreign and security policy objective. In 2019, a corresponding amendment to Ukraine’s Constitution entered into force.
Hopefully a peace agreement will be sorted out now, likely with other concessions required now from Russia for "compensation". If one is not incoming quickly, then Putin is pushing his luck and needs to be given an even greater pushback. Turkey is reporting that they are getting close to agreement, with the two sides coming together on key issues (including the NATO issue). Let's hope this goes through to stop the madness.
University of Chicago professor John Meersheimer argues in The Economist that:
'The trouble over Ukraine actually started at NATO’s Bucharest summit in April 2008, when George W. Bush’s administration pushed the alliance to announce that Ukraine and Georgia “will become members”. Russian leaders responded immediately with outrage, characterising this decision as an existential threat to Russia and vowing to thwart it. According to a respected Russian journalist, Mr Putin “flew into a rage” and warned that “if Ukraine joins NATO, it will do so without Crimea and the eastern regions. It will simply fall apart.” America ignored Moscow’s red line, however, and pushed forward to make Ukraine a Western bulwark on Russia’s border. That strategy included two other elements: bringing Ukraine closer to the EU and making it a pro-American democracy. These efforts eventually sparked hostilities in February 2014, after an uprising (which was supported by America) caused Ukraine’s pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, to flee the country. In response, Russia took Crimea from Ukraine and helped fuel a civil war that broke out in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.'
America has for long been trying to encircle and weaken its rival capitalist empire Russia, with Ukrainians its pawns. We see the consequences.
How was NATO Membership the driver?
Ol' Puke's has said categorically it is due to the pro-Nazi Ukraine Government.
He wouldn't lie, and if he would, well that lie can just be trotted out later regardless of Ukraine/NATO relationship.
Face it, he was doing this regardless.
Absolutely right, this is just a brutal land grab using Nato expansion(no Nato country is ever likely to invade Russia) and "neonazis"(more in Russia, US, Germany etc) "genocide" as fake excuses for mass murder in Ukraine, as practised by Stalin, then Hitler, then Stalin again.No moral compass at all; the world seems oddly and possibly predictably inured to it.
No way he'll stop at Ukraine unless China and India start disapproving.
" should have just sided with Russia and they could have carried on life as normal."
As normal... same same but different
- Head of state replaced, and free-elections halted
- Russian secret police intimidating all opposition leaders
- Independent media outlawed via trumped up charges cancelling their license to operate
- Independent businesses taken over by the state or Putins allies
- LGBT discrimination laws rolled back
That's a big insight you have had. How to achieve everlasting world peace. The smaller country always gives way to the bigger one. So Taiwan merges with China, Yemen with Saudi Arabia, Bosnia with Serbia, etc. All those small countries that wasted their time trying to fight against Hitler when they should have just given him whatever he wanted.
Even if the Ukraine said that for all eternity it would never join NATO Putin would have found other problems such as the teaching of Russian and the breakaway provinces, etc - the only policy that might have stopped the war was the Ukraine accept Crimea as part of Russia and give sufficient land to allow a corridor from Crimea to Russia and a few Black sea ports.
“hypersonic” missiles are mostly propaganda weapons. Missiles are already very hard to shoot down. Russia is already bombarding cities with Missile volleys numbering in the hundreds at a time (usually a dozen missile launches launching 24-36 rockets from each launcher system).
And of course artillery shell bombardment is impossible to “shoot down”. Russia using the occasional hypersonic missile with its small payload is utterly meaningless except to gullible media looking for the next news bite.
Mortgage Brokers provide a value adding service and are an important part of getting any sort of competitiveness into the banking sector what-so-ever.
Clearly they are paid by the banks, quite why anyone sees this as a conflict of interest is amusing given they can choose who to do business with. Thinking that they will just go to the bank that offers the biggest retainer requires you to hold the lowest possible opinion on the intelligence of the mortgagee.
Guidance (more critical in these dark CCCFA days) on the application process, an inside understanding of the opaque weightings of lending and credit-risk factors as well as a mortgage discount in line with their book that the size of your mortgage makes their service highly valuable.
I would pay for it if the banks did not and I renew or take out a mortgage at least once a year.
Not sure how we are dragging depositors into this? It's a tenuous bow to draw when we are talking about the opportunity for the Mortgagee to get a better deal with a broker than alone.
I appreciate there are some bank-fans on this site but I am not one of them, getting a better deal on my mortgage than I could acquire myself (and please before anyone fires up with an "onion on my belt" story of getting a great deal just know that a)you almost certainly could have done better with a broker, and b) if you are a great deal maker you are in the minority) is what I am interested in.
I would come at this from a slightly different angle. Thinking that mortgage brokers do not respond to incentives from banks requires you to believe they are virtually superhuman. It is just like a doctor receiving kickbacks for prescribing certain branded drugs.
The one time I have used a mortgage broker in my life (overseas), they suggested the exact mortgage deal I had already spotted and decided was best. Anyone capable of looking at the mortgage table on this very website, with a vague idea of what they want, does not need a broker. Maybe they have a purpose for people with particularly complex portfolios who aren't quite across the regulations.
Well I am across the regulations (as a layman can be) and while I have some complexity the mortgage process itself is where the value is created. Not sure what the process is overseas but it does not seem valuable.
Brokers most certainly favour banks that offer larger incentives, but the ones I use present a set of options and give me full disclosure on their remittances.
Agreed. Partly. The one time I used a mortgage broker they gave some advice on structuring the loan which we hadn't considered, which had some real benefits. That could have been given by a financial advisor, as the interest rate offers we got didn't really beat the carded rates.
On a side note, Kiwibank doesn't work with brokers, which I find interesting.
Indeed, it's as well I never said that. I said that if you thought the Mortgagee was not aware of that then you thought very poorly of them.
OF COURSE they are influenced, that is how they are paid and make a living!! Surely this is obvious?
That is why they must present options from different banks, always do significantly better than the carded rate etc. Quite apart from offering irreplaceable advice on the application process and the banks risk ratings.
No wonder LME traders are spooked, their approach to inhibiting market making by retrospectively reversing trades and arbitrarily setting prices/limits has been farcical. They are going to need to reach a legal settlement here. Absolute Numberwang:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-19/nickel-squeeze-threa…
David's link above to mining.com had an interesting few thoughts on this as well:
https://www.mining.com/web/the-worlds-biggest-commodities-markets-are-s…
I wonder how Mr Orr will deal with "sharp change"?
He has always seemed like the type of man who likes things predictable, orderly, controlled. And he seems to have firmly fixed himself on a strong housing market.
I wonder if he is the kind of man that can quickly change direction when needed?
CHART OF THE DAY: Steel prices in Europe have surged to a fresh all-time high, with bechmark hot rolled coil trading above €1,400 per tonne. Alongside the surge in fertiliser prices, this is another corner of the commodity market few are paying enough attention, but will bite
https://twitter.com/JavierBlas/status/1505494530778353668?s=20&t=TE4FM2…
""NZ to send body armour, helmets, camouflage vests to Ukraine"" https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/03/21/nz-to-send-body-armour-helmets-camou…
This could be construed as military aid. NZ should leave that to other countries. We can give help to their hospitals with medical equipment. We are not neutral - there is one side who invaded and one side who was invaded and we can say so. We can say medical assistance is needed for Ukrainian civilians but Russian civilians do not need it. Russia is more likely to listen to us if we are not providing military equipment.
Yes apparently the Govt, after a practice run commandeering all the RAT tests, has also commandeered all the sprinkler and Barry Manilow CD's they can get.
Trevor Mallard has given Putin a deadline for unconditional surrender by 8 pm tonight, or face the consequences.
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