The United Nations has added its voice to the growing list of international organisations, including the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation, warning that interest rate hikes imposed by the US Federal Reserve are creating the conditions for a financial crisis and global recession.
Interest rate hikes leading to recession, UN says
Tag: Price Gouging
Germany criticizes U.S. for charging high gas prices
“Some countries, even the friendly ones, are charging astronomical prices in some cases. Of course, this brings problems that we must talk about,” Habeck told the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung (NOZ) newspaper.
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“The United States turned to us when oil prices soared, and the national oil reserves were tapped in Europe as well,” Habeck said. “I think such solidarity would also be good for curbing gas prices.”
Germany criticizes U.S. for charging high gas prices
She’s a Doctor. He Was a Limo Driver. They Pitched a $30 Million Arms Deal.
She’s a Doctor. He Was a Limo Driver. They Pitched a $30 Million Arms Deal.
The Biden administration encourages private sector deals for several reasons. It saves the Pentagon from further depleting its own armory after months of sending arms to Ukraine. And private sellers can provide weapons that the government cannot — like the Soviet-style weapons* already used by Ukrainian soldiers.
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Whether the deal goes forward or not, the BMI documents show that the Ukraine war presents an opportunity to charge big prices. The bullets that Mr. Zlatev planned to sell were 50 percent more expensive than those publicly listed by other vendors. His grenade launchers were selling for more than twice what is listed on a price list for United Nations peacekeeping forces. Experts say these increases typically help pay the middlemen — at the expense of a nation in the middle of a war.
Surging cost of living in US drives class tensions to the breaking point
The latest inflation data published Tuesday shows that the working class confronts months of immense hardships as wages lose their value in the face of rising living costs. The ruling class’s attempt to make the working class pay for the crisis of capitalism is driving workers into struggle across the world, including in the United States, where teachers, nurses, and possibly railroad workers are launching powerful strikes.
Surging cost of living in US drives class tensions to the breaking point
Pledging “pain,” Federal Reserve declares war on the working class
In his speech Friday at the Federal Reserve’s annual summit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell made one thing clear: America’s financial oligarchy is determined to make the working class bear the cost of the deepening economic crisis.
Pledging “pain,” Federal Reserve declares war on the working class
Baby Formula Crisis Requires Urgent Action to Address Shortage of Vital Nutrition & Price Gouging
Four corporations control 90% of the baby formula market in the United States, and as a national baby formula shortage drags on, it has impacted working-class families of color the most. We get an update from Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna of California, who just wrote an open letter urging leaders of federal agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration to take bolder action to address the shortage. Khanna discusses efforts to increase production domestically and supplement the shortage with formula from other nations, and why he is calling for President Biden to go further and pass antitrust laws to reduce reliance on corporate monopolies for vital products. “Why is it that we are so dependent on one or two manufacturers in this country?” says Khanna. “This is a problem not just in baby formula.”
Baby Formula Crisis Requires Urgent Action to Address Shortage of Vital Nutrition & Price Gouging
Domestic Crude Oil Peaked at $145 a Barrel in 2008. It Closed Yesterday at $118.50. So Why Is Gas at the Pump at All-Time Highs?
Part of that, as the above stories illustrate, is just plain ole price gouging. But the big picture is more complicated than that. According to the EIA, in addition to the 61 percent of the price of a gallon of gas that comes from the cost of crude oil, the other 39 percent shakes out as follows: the costs of refinement (14 percent), distribution and marketing (11 percent), and taxes (14 percent).
And refining* looks to be a particular problem right now. The EIA reports that as of January 1, 1982, the U.S. had 301 refineries in operation. That compares to just 129 in operation as of January 1, 2021.
Related:
*Chevron CEO says there may never be another oil refinery built in the U.S.
Previously:
More Oil From U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve Heads To Europe
The American Prison System’s War on Reading
Incarcerated people are banned from reading books with themes of Black liberation or leftist content. Now the profit motive is the rationale for preventing individuals or charitable organizations from donating books. For profit companies make money on people forced to work for little or nothing. The prison industrial complex is alive and well.
The American Prison System’s War on Reading
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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