The Rarest Asset In A Fourth Turning: The Freedom To Act

Despite German State Stimulus: Machinery Industry Braces For A Catastrophic Year Submitted by Thomas Kolbe Friedrich Merz does not make it easy to interpret current economic data correctly. The debt king from Brilon is not only distorting the statistics with his “special (debt) assets”: More than 320 billion euros in direct and indirect state subsidies are flowing, according to Freiburg economist Lars Feld, through subsidy channels that are penetrating ever deeper into the German economy. Artificial economies are emerging there, economic homunculi that will remain permanently dependent on the taxpayer. What Is...

Global Crop Prices Log Biggest Quarterly Jump Since Ukraine Invasion As Sticky Inflation Hits Grocery Bills The Bloomberg Agriculture Spot Index (BCOMAGSP) posted its largest quarterly gain since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, as Black Sea disruptions, a crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, and mounting El Niño risks have formed what could be considered a perfect storm poised to drive food prices higher. BCOMAGSP, which tracks 10 major crops including corn, soybeans, wheat, coffee, sugar, cotton, cocoa, and others, jumped 13% in the third quarter. Among individual movers, corn...

Lavrov Warns That If NATO Attacked Russia, War Would Be "Very Short" Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has again responded to allegations of European officials that Moscow seeks to expand the war beyond Ukraine. We earlier detailed how recent drone spillover from the conflict, including explosive-laden drones coming out of Belarusian territory and threatening the Baltics, has resulted in Western officials increasingly alluding to NATO 'collective defense'. This is highly dangerous as it means the situation could rapidly escalate into full-blown Russia-NATO direct confrontation on the basis of a single aircraft shootdown. In...