Blogging the End of the World™
Weakness in the bulk commodities markets, reflecting the depth of the recession, is shown by the incredible 92% decline in the Baltic Dry Index. … Construction and energy-intensive manufacturing are the first sectors to slump in a recession. This has cut the demand for bulk commodity inputs, leading to the Baltic Dry Index decline. Cargo […]
By Jeremy van Loon Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) — Glaciers from the Andes to Alaska and across the Alps shrank as much as 3 meters (10 feet), the 18th year of retreat and twice as fast as a decade ago, as global warming threatens an important supply of the world’s water. Alpine glaciers lost on average […]
From Calculated Risk: More cliff diving … From the International Air Transport Association: Cargo Plummets 22.6% in December (hat tip Bob_in_MA) In the month of December global international cargo traffic plummeted by 22.6% compared to December 2007. The same comparison for international passenger traffic showed a 4.6% drop. The international load factor stood at 73.8%. […]
By Michael Perry SYDNEY, Jan 29 (Reuters) – A heatwave scorching southern Australia, causing transport chaos by buckling rail lines and leaving more than 10,000 homes without power, is a sign of climate change, the climate change minister said on Thursday. The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting a total of six days of 40-plus Celsius […]
From Calculated Risk: The Census Bureau reports, New Home Sales in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 331 thousand. This is the lowest sales rate the Census Bureau has ever recorded (starting in 1963). …This graph shows New Home Sales vs. recessions for the last 45 years. New Home Sales have fallen […]
ABSTRACT: AMERICAN CHRONICLES about doomers and the current economic crisis. A year and a half ago, Dmitry Orlov, a forty-six-year-old software engineer from Leningrad, sold his apartment and bought a boat, on which he and his wife now live, in Boston. Orlov moved to the U.S. when he was twelve, and returned to the Soviet […]
From Calculated Risk: From the American Trucking Association: ATA Truck Tonnage Index Plummeted 11.1 Percent in December (hat tip Dave of SV) Click on graph for larger image in new window. The American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index plunged 11.1 percent in December 2008, marking the largest month-to-month reduction since April […]
World economic growth is set to fall to just 0.5% this year, its lowest rate since World War II, warns the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In October, the IMF had predicted world output would increase by 2.2% in 2009. It now projects the UK, which recently entered recession, will see its economy shrink by 2.8% […]
As many as 51 million jobs worldwide could be lost this year because of the global economic crisis, says the International Labour Organization (ILO). The UN agency says that would push up the world’s unemployment rate to 7.1% by the end of 2009, compared with 6.0% in 2008 and 5.7% in 2007. … "If the […]
Fire is the most ubiquitous form of landscape disturbance, and has important effects on climate through the global carbon cycle and changing atmospheric chemistry. There has been a significant increase in large-scale wildfires in all regions of the world during the past decade. This has triggered an interest in knowing how fire has changed in […]
