Europe Races To Contain Energy Crisis With Patchwork Measures

California Retail Theft Blitz Leads To 97 Arrests And $1 Million In Stolen Merchandise A coordinated crackdown on organized retail crime across California ended with 97 arrests and the recovery of thousands of stolen products, according to KTLA. Over nine days in early August, California Highway Patrol investigators worked alongside more than 100 law enforcement agencies as part of the National Organized Retail Crime Blitz. The enforcement effort focused on suspected theft activity at retailers, shopping centers and other businesses throughout the state. The KTLA report says that authorities ultimately recovered more...

As Japanese Bond Yields Soar, Unrealized Losses At Life Insurers Hit $200 Billion With Japanese bonds in freefall every day, pushing yields on 10Y JGBs to a 3 decade high, just shy of 3%... ... the time to pay the piper is fast approaching as unrealized losses on domestic bonds at Japan's major life insurers have soared to 30.86 trillion yen ($194 billion) as of the end of June, up 60% year-on-year, and trillions more since then, revealing the downside of the rising interest rates that have lifted investment income. The total...

Global Inflation Scare: Chinese Exporters Hike Prices As Iran War Triggers Ethane Shortage, Plastics Crunch Chinese exporters are finally passing on the pain - right as they're experiencing a major shortage of a key industrial material. After years of cutting prices amid overcapacity and cutthroat competition, manufacturers are now raising prices on everything from swimsuits and ski suits to medical syringes and air conditioners. The culprit: the Iran war’s energy shock, which has sent oil-linked input costs skyrocketing and is now rippling straight through to global store shelves. Customs data compiled...