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  • Chicago, the nation’s third-biggest city and a foodie capital, is set to eliminate the subminimum wage for tipped employees like servers and bartenders, with uncertain consequences for not just workers but diners and restaurants.
  • Advocates say it will end exploitation of women and Blacks; opponents say it will slash worker pay and restaurant profits.
  • Social justice advocates are pressing for legislation and ballot initiatives across U.S. states.
 
Nothing to see. You can listen in one tab, play around in the forum on a different tab.

Nobody Understands This About Oil, Gold, Uranium, and Timber, says Tom Luongo​

Sep 7, 2023
1:36:25

This is an interview with Tom Luongo, geopolitical expert, market enthusiast, newsletter writer, anarcho-capitalist, and so much more.

For a different view, listen to David Rosenberg, who thinks the recession will happen in Q4, 2023: • All Commodities Will Crash (Besides T...
In this interview, we talked about Communism, the FED put, WW3, China, USD, UST, oil, copper, gold, silver, timber, aluminum, and just so much more.

We discuss the role of China in the global economy, the future of the US dollar, and the importance of precious metals like gold and silver in times of uncertainty. Plus, we'll touch on the significance of commodities like timber and aluminum in the ever-changing global market.

Tom and I also talked about the truth behind treasury yields, interest rates, and the potential consequences for the US dollar. De-dollarization is not Tom's base case, but a recession in 2024 is.

Mr. Luongo also thinks that the FED will hike interest rates to 6% this year, as the US central bank is fighting a currency war.
 
How a burnt out, abandoned ship reveals the secrets of a shadow tanker network

Early in the afternoon of 1 May, Oleksandr Lepyoshkin entered his cabin to find it filled with smoke. Seconds later the glass exploded from his windows as the ship was rocked by several blasts and a huge fire began to overrun the vessel. He alerted the ship’s chief engineer who started the onboard fire pump. While he waited for word on whether they would need to abandon the ship, Lepyoshkin counted his crew members.

The explosion on board the oil tanker, known as the Pablo, had immediately attracted the attention of other vessels anchored at the busy entrypoint to the Malacca Straits. Sat upon the horizon several tankers and cargo ships began to issue reports of a ship on fire, as plumes of black smoke filled the sky around the stricken vessel.

At over 230 metres long and with the fire still raging, the Pablo was difficult to search, and when it became clear the blaze could not be controlled, life rafts were thrown from the top deck. With fears that a second explosion was building there was no time to lower the ladders, so the crew hurled themselves from the top of the deck into the water.

More:

How a burnt out, abandoned ship reveals the secrets of a shadow tanker network

The number of vessels transporting sanctioned oil is booming and the consequences can be felt across the world – from Iran, to China, to Ukraine
www.theguardian.com
 

The Empire Strikes Back

The masses are revolting against the 1%. Will you believe the narrative of the 1% who own the major news publishers, or the stories of the 99% who are fighting back?
goldseek.com
 

What Does Russian Diesel Export Ban Mean for Shipping?​

Sep 24, 2023
15:18

In this episode, Sal Mercogliano - maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner - discusses the decision by Russia to halt the export of diesel fuel and what does this mean for global shipping, consumers, and the economy?

- How will Russian ban on diesel exports impact global energy trade?https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how...
- Russia’s Diesel Exports Ban Is Risky For Moscow And World Alikehttps://gcaptain.com/russias-diesel-e...
- This Week in Petroleum https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/weekly/...
 

Mikael Skov | Hafnia, Product Tankers, Shipping, Investing, Markets, Volatility, Culture | Vonheim​

Sep 25, 2023

48:19

Mikael Skov is the co-founder and CEO of Hafnia. Mikael has more than 33 years of experience in the shipping industry. Prior to establishing Hafnia Tankers, Mikael held various positions over his 25-year career at Torm, of which the last two years he served as CEO. Mikael is a board member of Clipper Group Ltd. and was an industry representative of the Danish Maritime Strategy Team established by the Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs.

*Nothing to see, can listen in one tab, play around the forum in a different tab.
 

Ukraine grain shipping insurance facility debuts - Splash247

Insurance broker Miller has unveiled a marine insurance facility for Ukrainian grain exports, backed by the government in Kyiv. Ukraine has been using a new corridor heading south which hugs close to its shoreline from three Black Sea ports to shift its grain exports in the wake of Russia...
splash247.com
 

Lloyds Bank partners with BlackRock to launch ETF investment Quicklist​

Lloyds Bank is attempting to lure customers to the DIY investment space with the launch of its ETF Quicklist.

The bank has partnered with BlackRock to put together a list of 16 iShares ETFs for investors.

It follows Monzo launching its DIY service, Monzo Investments, also in partnership with BlackRock, in a sign banks are looking to build business in this area.

More:

 

Was bribery rampant in 20th century maritime shipping?

In an article published in 1981 in American Shipper magazine, a Bethlehem Shipyard case focuses attention on a maritime problem as old as the “master’s gratuity,” according to a former company official who was charged with bribery at the time.
www.freightwaves.com
 

Mississippi River Extreme Low Conditions Waiting Traffic 9/28/23​

Sep 28, 2023

5:27

Low conditions not good for commodities.
 

Gold Price RECAP September 25-29

Gold prices appear healthy in Friday morning trading. However, the moderate rally we’re seeing comes at the tail of a decidedly brutal week for the yellow metal.
goldprice.org
 

Still Moving Goods On Near Record Low Mississippi River 9/29/23​

Sep 29, 2023

7:42
 

Hogs, Pigs report change in breeding inventory varied | Weekly Livestock Market Update for 9/29/23​

Sep 29, 2023

20:20

Brownfield Anchor/Reporter Meghan Grebner and University of Missouri Market Analyst Scott Brown give a weekly recap of the markets and discuss how it can impact farmers’ bottom lines
 
Water as an investment............maybe something worth looking into?

Products and Services — Aquathor

www.aquathor.com

🇬🇱 🇨🇦 Businessmen float idea of shipping Greelandic water to Iqaluit - ArcticToday

Two Toronto entrepreneurs say they have a solution to Iqaluit’s water supply needs: They’ll ship it in from Greenland. Fred Grootarz and Mark Albert want to use tankers to transport the water to Iqaluit’s port, where it would be stored year-round in electrically heated tanks. Albert calls the...
www.arctictoday.com
 
Opinion piece.................

The IRA and the US Battery Supply Chain: One Year On​

It has now been just over a year since the US Congress signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Already, the IRA has been followed by more than US $110 billion in clean energy investments,https://www.energypolicy.columbia.e...he-us-battery-supply-chain-one-year-on/#_edn1 with just over $70 billion earmarked for the US battery supply chain,[ii] particularly downstream cell projects (so-called gigafactories).

The first part of this series examined the key drivers behind the adoption of the IRA, concluding that the bill attempts to de-risk investment in battery supply chains while reducing reliance on China, and that implementation will need to balance these objectives to be successful in increasing investment and electric vehicle (EV) deployment simultaneously. This second installment focuses on the workings of the IRA one year on. Specifically, it describes the key supply and demand incentives offered by the bill, assesses the impact of IRA supply-side policies on US battery economics to date, and examines the demand-side provisions of the IRA, which include notable eligibility constraints on the origins of battery components and critical minerals.

The IRA and the US Battery Supply Chain: One Year On - Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA | CGEP

It has now been just over a year since the US signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act and already, it has been followed by more than US $110 billion in clean energy investments.
www.energypolicy.columbia.edu
 
Shipping is in transition with emerging regulations, the drive for decarbonization and geopolitical issues all increasing the pressure on both ship registries and classification societies. The pandemic impacted the business by driving up cargo volumes and demand for containerships. More recently, the war in Ukraine and implementation of sanctions impacted dry bulk, tanker and gas carrier usage.

All of this comes as shipowners and operators had to deal with increasing financial pressures and a growing shortage of qualified merchant sailors.

Responding to these issues, ship registries (flag states) are rethinking their role and how they work with owners. While finding themselves challenged as more shadowy operators seek to skirt regulations, flags – like class societies – are becoming more like advisors to the industry. They’ve also had to incorporate new technologies to address trends such as digitalization as they change the way they do business.

Leading the Way: Flag Registries Up Their Game

Shipping is in transition with emerging regulations, the drive for decarbonization and geopolitical issues all increasing the pressure on both ship re...
maritime-executive.com
 

Mississippi River Near Historic Lows Putting Grain Exports at Risk​

Oct 2, 2023
16:58

Several sinks to articles below the vid on youtube.
 

A new rush arrives on the Seward Peninsula: for graphite, not gold​

SEWARD PENINSULA, ALASKA — Ducks and swans flew overhead as Sylvester Ayek, 82, and his daughter Kimberly, 35, hauled rocks to anchor their small salmon net on the bank of a deep, tidal channel — 25 miles inland from the open Bering Sea coast.

Nearby on that July day, Mary Jane Litchard, Ayek’s partner, picked wild celery and set out a lunch of past subsistence harvests: a blue-shelled seabird egg, dried beluga whale meat and red salmon dipped in seal oil.

Then, as they waited for fish to fill the net, the family motored Ayek’s skiff up the channel, known as the Tuksuk, spotting birds and seals and passing family fish camps where drying salmon hung on racks. Soon, the steep channel walls gave way to a huge, saltwater lake: the Imuruk Basin, flanked by the snow-dotted peaks of the Kigluaik Mountains.

Ayek describes the basin as a “traditional hunting and gathering place” for the local Iñupiat, who have long sustained themselves on the area’s bounty of fish, berries and wildlife.

Read the rest:

A new rush arrives on the Seward Peninsula: for graphite, not gold - ArcticToday

SEWARD PENINSULA, ALASKA — Ducks and swans flew overhead as Sylvester Ayek, 82, and his daughter Kimberly, 35, hauled rocks to anchor their small salmon net on the bank of a deep, tidal channel — 25 miles inland from the open Bering Sea coast. Nearby on that July day, Mary Jane Litchard, Ayek’s...
www.arctictoday.com
 
Mack Trucks reached a tentative five-year labor agreement with the United Auto Workers, the vehicle manufacturer said Oct. 2.

Greensboro, N.C.-based Mack’s previous labor deal with the UAW for five facilities in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida expired Oct. 1.

“The terms of this tentative agreement would deliver significantly increased wages and continue first-class benefits for Mack employees and their families,” Mack President Stephen Roy said in a statement.

Mack Trucks Reaches Tentative Agreement With UAW | Transport Topics

Mack Trucks and the United Auto Workers Union have announced they’ve come to a tentative agreement, which now avoids any potential strike among thousands of workers at the Lower Macungie, Pa., plant.
www.ttnews.com
 
Diesel prices as measured by the weekly Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration average retail diesel price might suggest there isn’t much going on in the market.

The price released Monday moved up by 0.7 cents a gallon, to $4.593 a gallon. In the past 13 weeks, there have been 11 increases, one unchanged price and last week’s decrease of 4.7 cents.

Small move in diesel benchmark masks more volatile underlying market

The benchmark price for most fuel surcharges moved by only a small amount, but futures markets are going through some big swings.
www.freightwaves.com
 
LAUNCESTON, Australia, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The heat is coming out of global commodity prices and the risks to the outlook are "evenly balanced".

That's the relatively downbeat assessment of the Australian government in its latest Resource and Energy Quarterly publication, released on Tuesday.

What the government forecaster in one of the world's biggest exporters of resources is effectively saying is that while commodity volumes are holding up well, and expected to increase in coming years, the amount of money generated will slip.

'Evenly balanced' risks means lower commodity prices, but robust volumes

The heat is coming out of global commodity prices and the risks to the outlook are "evenly balanced".
www.reuters.com
 
More than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers across hospitals and medical office buildings in California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington, DC, went on strike on Wednesday morning after the healthcare company failed to reach a contract agreement with the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions.

The three-day labor action will be the largest-ever healthcare strike in the US, involving 75,000 workers or about 40% of Kaiser's staff. Workers at Kaiser hospitals and medical offices in DC and Virginia headed to the picket line around 0600 ET. Other strikes are planned for emergency department technicians, radiology technicians, X-ray technicians, medical assistants, pharmacists, and many other positions across facilities in California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington state.

75,000 Kaiser Permanente Workers Go On Strike In Largest Health Care Labor Action In US History | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero
www.zerohedge.com
 
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