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Two dams burst in northeastern Brazil... Two dams gave way in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia after weeks of heavy rains, swamping already swollen local rivers. The Igua dam on the Verruga River near Vitoria da Conquista in southern Bahia collapsed on Saturday night. On Sunday morning, a second dam gave way to rising water levels in Jussiape, 100 kilometers to the north.
There were no reports of deaths or injuries caused by the dam failures, though bridges and roads were damaged. Located 30 km from the Ilheus, the Cachoeira River was the highest level in 50 years. The flooding threatened to cut off the BR-116 highway, a major truck route between northeastern and southern Brazil. The state capital has reported that December rainfall has been six times greater than normal.
Japan’s consumer prices rise at fastest pace in nearly two years... Japan’s November consumer inflation marked the biggest year-on-year rise in almost two years on surging fuel costs, a sign that the fallout from global commodity price gains is broadening. Japan’s core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food but includes oil costs, rose 0.5% in November from a year earlier, government data showed, above the pre-report estimate of a 0.4% gain.
It was the biggest increase since February 2020 and followed a 0.1% rise in October. The gain was driven by a 15.6% surge in energy costs. Food costs also rose 1.4%, indicating households faced higher grocery costs even when wage growth remained slow.
The increase is unlikely to prompt the Bank of Japan to withdraw monetary stimulus any time soon, with inflation still distant from the central bank’s 2% target, according to analysts.
For the first time, world economy predicted to top $100 trillion... The world’s economic output will exceed $100 trillion for the first time next year, according to a British consultancy Cebr report. China’s timeframe to overtake the U.S. as the number one economy will take longer.
China will become the world’s top economy in dollar terms in 2030, two years later than forecast in last year’s World Economic League Table report. India looks set to overtake France next year and then Britain in 2023 to regain its place as the sixth-biggest economy.
“The important issue for the 2020s is how the world economies cope with inflation, which has now reached 6.8% in the U.S.,” said Cebr deputy chairman Douglas McWilliams. “We hope that a relatively modest adjustment to the tiller will bring the non-transitory elements under control. If not, then the world will need to brace itself for a recession in 2023 or 2024.”
Other future predictions include Germany overtaking Japan in terms of economic output in 2033, Russia becoming a Top 10 economy by 2036 and Indonesia looking on track for ninth place in 2034.
A trip to the grocery store is set to get more expensive next year... Labor, transportation and ingredient costs keep rising. Food prices are estimated to rise 5% in the first half of 2022, according to research firm IRI, though the level of increases will vary by grocers and regions. Mondelez, General Mills and Campbell Soup have announced some price increases. Higher freight costs are expected to push up the price of potatoes, celery and other heavier vegetables. Items such as mayonnaise and frozen meals are expected to be more pricey partly because of higher labor, logistics and packaging costs.
Major Russian wheat trader Solaris targets China’s market... A major trader of Russian wheat, Swiss-based Solaris is confident China will become a big buyer and seeks to boost exports to Egypt, Pakistan, Sudan, Tanzania and Turkey. “China is a key target also for Russian grain exports and Solaris is confident that China will soon be a major buyer of Russian wheat,” Josh Martin, Solaris chief executive, said, without specifying what he meant by soon.
“Solaris has been focused on increasing the supply of Russian wheat to existing markets like Turkey, Sudan, Tanzania and Egypt, as well as opening up new markets for Russian wheat such as Algeria and Pakistan among many others in progress,” Martin said.
Solaris was able to break into the Algeria market after France had dominated the market. The company also helped Russia to resume wheat exports to Indonesia and Vietnam.
Solaris also handles grain from Romania and Ukraine and is exploring export alliances for origins including Australia and Argentina.
Ukraine set to help food producers cope with high gas prices... Ukraine’s government is preparing measures to help domestic food producers, including bakers, cope with a rise in gas prices. Without giving details, Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said the government intended to limit the rise in prices for some types of bread. Flour millers reported natural gas prices had increased ten times this year.
“On behalf of the president, the government is developing mechanisms to support Ukrainian bakers and also Ukrainian producers of staple food products,” Shmygal told a televised briefing.
Basic foods considered especially important by the government are plain bread, cereals, vegetables and milk.
Starting in 2022, New York to require bioheat... By July 1, 2022, all heating oil sold for use in any building in New York must contain at least 5% biodiesel, 10% by 2025 and 20% biodiesel by 2030.
Biodiesel industry advocates estimate that the fuel will cut New York’s annual petroleum diesel consumption by two hundred million gallons per year, reducing the state’s annual carbon emissions by about 1 million metric tons.
New York will become the largest state to enact a biodiesel blending requirement for heating oil. Long Island and New York City already have biodiesel blending requirements. Rhode Island and Connecticut passed biodiesel blending requirements in the summer of 2021.
After the bird flu outbreak, Israel looks to import eggs... An avian flu outbreak has killed more than 5,000 migratory cranes in Israel, prompting authorities to seek egg imports. As a precaution, hundreds of thousands of chickens had been culled, and officials warned of an egg shortage.
In-person interviews for visas waiver continued... To reduce wait times, the U.S. State Department announced consular offices can waive in-person interviews for H-1B and other visas including ones for agricultural workers.
“The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in profound reductions in the department’s visa processing capacity,” it said in a statement. “As global travel rebounds, we are taking these temporary steps to further our commitment to safely and efficiently reduce visa wait times while maintaining national security as our priority.”
The consular officers will now be temporarily authorized to waive in-person interviews for a dozen visa categories, including Persons in Specialty Occupations (H-1B visas), visas for students, temporary agricultural and non-agricultural workers, student exchange visitors, as well as athletes, artists and entertainers.
The offices can also waive the in-person interview for applicants renewing a visa in the same visa class within 48 months of the prior visa’s expiration.
