Food shortages and famine in the world's poorest countries might result from a worldwide fertilizer deficit, Svein Tore Holsether, executive director of Yara International, a Norwegian fertilizer firm, told the BBC. According to him, the global fertilizer industry is now in deficit. Ammonia, which is used in many fertilizers, is made from gas, whose price has risen dramatically, raising the...

At the end of the year, the US economy is showing numerous signs of acceleration. Consumers are increasing spending, companies are picking up the pace of capital investment and jobless claims are falling to historic lows. Consumer spending rose 1.3% in October compared to September, while incomes rose 0.5%, according to data released by the US Department of Commerce on Wednesday. The...

China is on the threshold of a housing catastrophe that the country has never been seen before. According to Business Insider, it will affect multiple generations of Chinese people at the same time. The Chinese government's strategy has resulted in the growth of intra-family financing. Experts now expect that whole families will go bankrupt. The nation is attempting to avoid the imminent...

International rating agency Fitch Ratings has raised its outlook on the value of metals over the coming years, according to a new report from the agency. Fitch forecasts the spot price of nickel on the London Metal Exchange (LME) at the end of the current year at $18.25 thousand per tonne instead of $16.5 thousand. The forecast for next year has been raised to $16,000 from $15,000 per tonne,...

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, speaking at a trilateral meeting with US and Canadian leaders, suggested that President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau jointly plan for production on the continent to ensure import substitution and thereby limit China's dominance of the global market. In particular, he noted that Canada, the US and Mexico account for 13% of the global...

Biden called on the antitrust regulator to check whether US oil and gas companies are taking illegal actions to maintain high petrol prices. Biden intervened amid mounting pressure over inflation and falling ratings. US President Joe Biden has asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the role of oil and gas companies in rising gasoline prices, states The Wall Street Journal. Biden said...

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has barely changed its forecasts for global oil demand in 2021-2022: it still expects it to grow by 5.5 million bpd this year and has raised its 2022 forecast by 0.1 million bpd to 3.4 million bpd, according to a November report from the agency. "Global oil demand is rising due to strong gasoline consumption and increased international travel as more...

Shares in Dubai's stock exchange operator have more than doubled in a fortnight. So far, the bourse is losing competition to the Abu Dhabi-based exchange, but the new management is actively working to gain investors' attention, Bloomberg noted. The market value of Dubai Financial Market, the operator of the Dubai Stock Exchange, has doubled since the beginning of November, in just two weeks,...

The US Federal Reserve has published another edition of its biannual Financial Stability Report. In the report, the Fed reports on current and potential risks to the global and US economy and financial system. The latest issue, the Fed, touches on problems in the Chinese real estate market, "which could complicate the Chinese financial system with possible implications for the US". At issue...