EU Kicks Off Biggest Push Yet on Climate, Braces for a Fight – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– The European Union rolled out an ambitious climate plan.
– Every industry will be forced to accelerate its shift away from fossil fuels in order to cut pollution by at least 55% from 1990 levels by 2030.
– The EU’s goals call for about 1.2 trillion euros of clean energy investment to 2030, according to Bloomberg NEF.
– Europe is set to become a global laboratory for deep decarbonization and the world will have an opportunity to learn how to achieve climate targets.
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Billionaire Space Race Between Bezos, Branson, and Musk Is Just the Beginning – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– Even if Bezos decides to back out before his flight on July 20, other people will keep going into space, possibly by the thousands, along with tens of thousands of machines designed to further commodify the heavens. What happens up above us will be one of the most important economic and technological stories of the next decade, whether or not Musk ever settles Mars.
– Here are just a few of the less remarked-on recent stories out of the private space industry. First was the stock market debut of a company called Astra Space, which, backed by venture capitalists, built a viable orbital rocket in just a few years. Its goal is to fly satellites into orbit every single day. Shortly after Astra went public at a value of $2.1 billion, satellite maker Planet Labs—which uses hundreds of eyes in the sky to photograph the Earth’s entire landmass daily—announced its plans to do the same, at a value of $2.8 billion. Firefly Aerospace has a rocket on a California pad awaiting clearance to launch. OneWeb and Musk’s SpaceX are both regularly launching satellites meant to blanket the planet in high-speed internet access. Rocket Lab, in the previously spacecraft-free country of New Zealand, is planning missions to the moon and Venus.
– Easier access to public markets has helped draw billions of dollars from excited investors to an industry once dependent on governments with vague military objectives or expansive views of public works.
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Saudi Arabia Chips Away at Islamic Establishment in Shift to Autocracy – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is chipping away at the power of the doctrine known as Wahhabism that has underpinned his family’s rule in the birthplace of Islam. The shift from theocracy to autocracy is dividing Saudis like Alghamdi from those who complain it could undermine the kingdom’s status in the Muslim world.
– Wahhabism, a stringently conservative strain of Sunni Islam, defined the kingdom for decades. But it runs counter to Prince Mohammed’s now five-year-old plan to diversify the economy away from oil by 2030.
– The crown prince wants to draw foreign investment and build the kingdom’s entertainment and tourism sectors, which face stiff competition from Saudi Arabia’s more permissive neighbours such as the United Arab Emirates.
– The crown prince is introducing the changes that touch on religion “piecemeal,” in contrast to Vision 2030’s public goals and deadlines, according to Kamran Bokhari, director of analytical development at the Newslines Institute for Strategy and Policy in Washington. “He’s almost trying to see what he can get away with, and there’s no discernible pattern for this,” he says.
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OPEC+ Set to Meet as Cartel Edges Toward End of Standoff – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– The UAE has been arguing that the way its quota is calculated is unfair. To make its point, the country blocked a deal that the rest of the cartel had agreed to, which would have added 400,000 barrels a day each month.
– “Over the past year it has become increasingly clear that a necessary if not sufficient condition for OPEC+ cohesion is alignment between not only Russia and Saudi Arabia, but also the UAE,” said Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy and a former White House official, predicting a deal would be done.
– The UAE’s dispute with OPEC+ centers around its demand for a higher production limit next year, in return for backing an extension of the cartel’s current agreement from April 2022 until December 2022.
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EXPERIENCE LIVING IN PIXEL
Pixel is the first mixed-use residential community at Makers District. Pixel offers its residents & visitors a unique space to enrich, collaborate & engage.
Designed as human-scale, the 7 mixed-use residential towers surrounded by quiet pocket gardens have been strategically arranged around a vibrant pedestrianized plaza.
Learn more.
“Arab Spring Redux?” – Bloomberg Finally Connects The Dots, Higher Food Inflation Leads To Social Unrest | ZeroHedge — www.zerohedge.com
Highlights:
– Rapid food inflation played a considerable role in sparking unrest and ensuing revolutions in many Arab countries a decade ago.
– Already, this month, unrest has broken out in Haiti, Cuba, and South Africa.
– In South Africa, about 20% of the population suffers from severe food insecurity.
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Dr. Atie J. El Mouallem – Letter Requesting Donation for School — atiejelmouallem.com
Our school “Lady of the Tower School for the Sisters of the Holy Family” is located in Bekaa- Lebanon in the district of Deir El Ahmar. It is on the main road between Btedhi and Chlifa. Its ultimate goal is our children’s spiritual and educational lives.
From 1932 till now, our school still taking care of poor children, but due to the economic circumstances in Lebanon in general, and in our school in particular, we require your generous attention in the form of donations. Your donation and help can bring a smile to thousands of faces by helping them to achieve a good life and to continue their learning in our school.
Learn more.
Bitcoin Miners Building Rigs Must Navigate World of Crypto Power-Hunting – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– The Chinese miners forced to leave behind the country’s cheap electricity from abundant coal and roaring rivers have found themselves thrust into a wild and extreme world of crypto power-hunting.
– Around 65 percent of the world’s Bitcoin mining took place in China as of April last year, according to the latest data from the University of Cambridge.
– Cheaper power is the reason China’s neighbour, Kazakhstan, has become a top destination for fleeing miners. The former Soviet nation has over 22 gigawatts of electric power capacity, mostly from coal and gas-fired stations. It also borders the region of Xinjiang, which once held nearly 36% of the world’s bitcoin mining.
– The region is an industrial hub fueled by one of the largest coal-fired power stations in the world outside of China.
– Overall, mining machines globally consume about as much power as all of Bangladesh, a country of more than 160 million people.
– While some of that power is green, the majority of the world’s electricity still comes from burning fossil fuels.
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Global Boom in House Prices Becomes a Dilemma for Central Banks – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– How to keep a grip on soaring house prices is a dilemma in the forefront of deliberations as recovering growth sees some central banks discuss slowing asset purchases and even raising interest rates.
– Federal Reserve officials who favour tapering their bond-buying program have cited rising house prices as one reason to do so.
– New Zealand, Canada and Sweden rank as the world’s frothiest housing markets, based on the key indicators used in the Bloomberg Economics dashboard focused on member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The U.K. and the U.S. are also near the top of the risk rankings.
– The best approach would be to stop the further expansion of central bank balance sheets,” according to Gunther Schnabl of Leipzig University, who is an expert on international monetary systems. “As a second step, interest rates could be increased in a very slow and diligent manner over a long time period.”
– Real estate prices, as with other asset prices, will continue to balloon as long as global liquidity remains so ample,” she said. “But the implications are much more severe than other asset prices as they affect households much more widely.”
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