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@ISIDEWITH submitted…13hrs13H
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported that global food prices increased for the third consecutive month in May. This rise was driven by higher prices for cereals and dairy products, which outweighed declines in sugar and vegetable oil prices. The re-acceleration of food price growth should be a cause for concern among policymakers.The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks the international prices of a basket of globally traded food, averaged 120.4 in May, marking a .9% increase from its revised April level. Despite this rise, the index is still 3% lower than a year ago and 24.9% below its peak in March 2022. However, the index has reserved some losses over the past several months and turned higher. The FAO warned, "The recent adverse weather conditions in the Black Sea region will likely result in a downgrade in world wheat production, a possibility not yet reflected in the forecast." The bigger story here is global food prices are beginning to rise once again. This is potentially catastrophic for emerging market economies where currencies are moving lower and, inversely, food prices are moving higher. Folks in these countries have to allocate higher percentages of their incomes to food purchases, and the increase in that only produces financial stress. In return, higher food prices increase the risk of social instability.
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@ISIDEWITH submitted…7hrs7H
Germany has launched an 11th-hour bid to avert a full-scale trade war between Europe and China, resisting French calls to hit Chinese electric vehicles with punitive duties.The EU now charges a 10 percent tariff on all car imports — below China’s 15 percent. Realizing that it won’t be able to avert the tariffs, Germany is now pushing to keep them as low as possible, ideally on a reciprocal level that China also imposes on the EU — meaning 15 percent.“Something around 20-30 percent would give European manufacturers some breathing space to accelerate their investments in the sector and maintain their market share in Europe,” Elvire Fabry, senior research fellow at the Jacques Delors Institute in Paris, said.Yet even the highest rumored duty — 25 percent — would not be enough to deter Chinese brands thanks to their huge cost and technology advantages. Chinese EV sales into Europe grew by 23 percent, to nearly 120,000 units, in the first four months of this year.“They can lower their prices and continue to be competitive. We’ve seen that happen in France already,” Matthias Schmidt, a European auto analyst, said.
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President Joe Biden’s administration will formally propose a rule to bar medical debt from individual credit reports Tuesday, a move that would prevent major health care bills from negatively impacting borrowing.Vice President Kamala Harris and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra will announce the measure, a person familiar with the plan said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the move before it is made public. ABC News first reported the proposal.The move is the latest effort from the administration to help lower costs for consumers ahead of November’s election rematch between Biden and Republican Donald Trump, in which inflation will be a key issue.The proposal has been percolating for months. The CFPB said last year it was working on the change. At the time, the agency was also looking to stop lenders from considering such debts in an application and curb certain repayment practices.The exact parameters of the proposed rule and when it would take effect are unclear. Chopra told ABC it could take effect in 2025, potentially making its enactment dependent on the election.
@ISIDEWITH submitted…9hrs9H
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@BicameralVole from California submitted…11hrs11H
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