“The risk of over-tightening by the European Central Bank is nothing less than catastrophic” says Prof Kenneth Rogoff .
At Davos he also said: “Italy is extremely vulnerable. But this could pop anywhere. Global debt has gone up massively since the pandemic: public debt, corporate debt, everything.”
Rogoff believes that it is a miracle that the world averted a financial crisis in 2022, but the odds of a major accident are shortening as the delayed effects of past tightening feed through.
As Rogoff said: “We were very fortunate that we didn’t have a global systemic event in 2022, and we can count our blessings for that, but rates are still going higher and the risk keeps rising.”
But lurking in the murkiness is also the global financial assets/liabilities which is almost $500 trillion including the shadow banking system at 46% of the total. The shadow banking sector includes pension funds, hedge funds and other financial institutions which are largely unregulated.....More Below
https://goldswitzerland.com/as-west-debt-stocks-implode-east-gold-oil-will-explode/
The prices of some life-saving medicines have soared to levels that are unaffordable for ordinary people in Venezuela as the United States has ramped up military presence in the Caribbean off Venezuela's coast, alongside escalating sanctions, blockades and military threats against the oil-rich South American nation since late August.
https://www.presstv.ir/default/Embeded/761400
At a northeastern suburb in the capital city Caracas, locals can still purchase most of the commonly used medicines at a major supermarket, where some antibiotics have been sold out, and some first-aid medicines and supplies have become too costly for ordinary residents.
"I'm here mainly to buy antibiotics. I have problems with my lungs. But I can't get all I want, such as vancomycin," said a resident named Alfonso.
"Recent tensions have affected the supplies and prices of drugs. The prices of cancer drugs, insulin drugs and albumin are very high, and most patients here cannot afford them," said Giovanna Gonzalez a ...
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow is prepared to use military force to achieve the goals of its special military operation if Ukraine continues to delay peace talks.
During an inspection of a Russian armed forces command post on Saturday, Putin stressed that Moscow will not allow Kiev’s obstruction to prevent progress.
“If the Kiev authorities do not want to resolve the matter peacefully, we will accomplish all the tasks before us in the course of the special military operation by military means,” he said.
The Russian leader noted that the Ukrainian authorities are not moving toward a peaceful resolution, adding, “We see that even today, unfortunately, the leaders of the Kiev regime are in no hurry to resolve this conflict peacefully. I spoke about this a year ago in a speech at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
Putin also received reports from Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov and commanders of Russia’s “Centre” and “East” military groups.
Meanwhile, ...
