Archiv: (Real-)Wirtschaft / Wirtschaftskreisläufe / economy / economic cycles


21.04.2026 - 06:27 [ CNN ]

Ex-US general explains why reopening Strait of Hormuz is harder than blocking Iran’s ports

Clark also said that Iran is aware of the strategic value of the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations: “More useful than a nuclear weapon. And they’ve used it,” he said. “And they don’t believe we have an answer for it.”

He added, “They know we don’t want to commit ground troops. They know we don’t want to take losses. We don’t want to get our ships close enough to be hit by their missiles … so this is a real tough military problem. That’s unfortunate because that’s driving their stance in the negotiations.”

13.04.2026 - 15:38 [ Ana.ir ]

High-Risk Strategy in the Strait of Hormuz: Donald Trump’s Costly Gamble Could Backfire

The strategy of a naval blockade, contrary to simplistic thinking, is not a low‑cost action. Continuous control of such a sensitive waterway requires a permanent military presence, vast resources, and enduring tensions. That means the US must enter an exhausting situation whose end is unpredictable. Experience has shown that entering such arenas, especially in a complex region like the Persian Gulf, usually leads to prolonged and costly conflicts rather than quick gains.

On the other hand, this action will, in practice, lead to a rise in energy prices on global markets. The Strait of Hormuz is the main artery for a significant portion of the world‘s oil, and any disruption there will immediately drive up prices. This price increase will not only put pressure on the economies of consumer countries such as China, Japan, and Europe, but will also directly harm the US economy. In such circumstances, Washington, by its own hand, imposes additional economic pressure on its allies – allies who are supposed to accompany it on this path.

12.03.2026 - 11:18 [ International Energy Agency (IEA) ]

IEA Member countries to carry out largest ever oil stock release amid market disruptions from Middle East conflict

IEA members hold emergency stockpiles of over 1.2 billion barrels, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government obligation. The coordinated stock release is the sixth in the history of the IEA, which was created in 1974. Previous collective actions were taken in 1991, 2005, 2011, and twice in 2022.

The conflict in the Middle East that began on 28 February 2026 has impeded oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, with export volumes of crude and refined products currently at less than 10% of pre-conflict levels. This is forcing operators across the region to shut in or curtail a substantial amount of production.

An average of 20 million barrels per day of crude oil and oil products transited the Strait of Hormuz in 2025, or around 25% of the world’s seaborne oil trade. Options for oil flows to bypass the Strait of Hormuz are limited.

10.03.2026 - 13:27 [ CNN ]

Why Trump can’t explain the start — or the endgame — of the war in Iran

Ten days in, Trump still hasn’t settled on a consistent rationale for why he went to war. Now, he’s hinting that peace might soon be at hand — even while he and top aides simultaneously warn the fighting might get more intense and last longer.

(…)

Tumbling stock markets and spiking oil prices have raised the possibility that a prolonged conflict could shatter the global economy. Days of Iranian retaliatory drone and missile strikes on Gulf states stoked fears of a wider conflagration.

The political clock is now ticking faster inside the United States, where Trump and his allies fret reverberations will worsen the cost-of-living misery that threatens the GOP’s midterm election prospects.

17.02.2026 - 07:04 [ Upi.com ]

Cuba postpones Habano Festival, losing another foreign currency source

Several distributors already had requested a postponement because of flight cancellations and travel advisories issued by some governments. The United Kingdom, Belgium and Canada have advised against nonessential travel to Cuba, while several airlines suspended operations because of aviation fuel shortages, according to independent outlet 14ymedio.

17.02.2026 - 05:40 [ Latin Times ]

Massive Fire Breaks Out at Cuba‘s Largest Oil Refinery as Island Faces Deepening Energy Crisis

(February 13, 2026)

Just a day earlier, two Mexican navy vessels docked at the same harbor carrying more than 800 tons of humanitarian aid, including fuel and essential supplies, underscoring the urgency of Cuba‘s shortfalls. The aid mission arrives as the Caribbean nation of nearly 10 million faces not only economic hardship but also continuing pressure from the longstanding US trade embargo.

15.02.2026 - 06:01 [ theConversation ]

Cuba is facing an economic and social catastrophe, and not entirely because of Donald Trump

(February 12, 2026)

Cuba’s current pain may not be enough to topple its Communist government, despite the desires of many Cuban exiles. Nor is the current crisis all Trump’s work. Cuba is a victim of the breakdown of the old international rules-based order.

17.01.2026 - 22:14 [ Tagesschau.de ]

Freihandelsabkommen unterzeichnet Was das Mercosur-Abkommen für die Wirtschaft bedeutet

Sechs Staaten sind Mitglied von Mercosur, von denen vier Teil des Abkommens mit der EU sind: Argentinien, Brasilien, Paraguay und Uruguay.

17.01.2026 - 22:01 [ CNN ]

EU and South America’s Mercosur bloc sign landmark free trade agreement

The European Union and the Mercosur bloc of South American countries formally signed a long-sought landmark free trade agreement on Saturday, capping more than a quarter-century of torturous negotiations to strengthen commercial ties in the face of rising protectionism and trade tensions around the world.

The signing ceremony in Paraguay’s humid capital of Asunción marks a major geopolitical victory for the EU in an age of American tariffs and surging Chinese exports, expanding the bloc’s foothold in a resource-rich region increasingly contested by Washington and Beijing.

17.01.2026 - 21:57 [ Associated Press ]

Trump says 8 European countries will face 10% tariff for opposing US control of Greenland

Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland would face the tariff, Trump said in a social media post while at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. The rate would climb to 25% on June 1 if no deal was in place for “the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland” by the United States, he said.

04.03.2025 - 20:36 [ Tagesschau.de ]

Wie von der Leyen Milliarden für Waffen beschaffen wil

Von der Leyen rechnet vor: Wenn die Mitgliedsstaaten zusätzlich anderthalb Prozent ihrer Wirtschaftsleistung investieren, könnten innerhalb von vier Jahren bis zu 650 Milliarden Euro für Rüstungsausgaben locker gemacht werden

01.02.2024 - 22:55 [ United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) ]

Preliminary assessment of the economic impact of the destruction in Gaza and prospects for economic recovery

The possibility and speed recovery of Gaza depends on the date of ending of the military operation and subsequent growth performance – both remain unknown.

(…)

However, if the 2007–2022 growth trend persists with an average growth rate of 0.4 per cent, it will take Gaza 70 years just to restore the GDP levels of 2022, with GDP per capita continuously and precipitously declining given the population growth rate.

01.02.2024 - 22:36 [ UNCTAD, @UN Conference on Trade and Development / Twitter ]

#Gaza: Unprecedented level of destruction will take tens of billions of dollars and decades to reverse. Even with the end of the military operation and the recent average growth rate of 0.4%, it would take Gaza until 2092 just to restore 2022 GDP levels.

26.09.2023 - 06:58 [ Amerika21.de ]

Linksregierungen in Lateinamerika fordern globalen Norden heraus

New York. Die links-gerichteten Präsident:innen aus Lateinamerika haben bei der 78. Vollversammlung der Vereinten Nationen grundlegende Veränderungen der globalen wirtschaftlichen und politischen Ordnung gefordert. Sie übten scharfe Kritik am internationalen Finanzsystem und am Krieg in der Ukraine, die in ihren Augen den Kampf gegen Armut, Ungleichheit und Klimawandel verhindern.

27.07.2023 - 23:50 [ CityAM.com ]

Taxpayer to hand over £150bn to Bank of England to cover QE losses

According to a quarterly report by the Bank on its asset purchase facility – the vehicle it uses to hoover up UK debt on financial markets – losses from bond purchases are poised to balloon by the early 2030s.

After the 2008 financial crisis, the Bank of England started purchasing UK government and corporate debt from financial institutions in an effort to stimulate the economy by pushing down yields.

27.07.2023 - 23:47 [ Financial Times ]

UK government faces £150bn bill to cover Bank of England’s QE losses

(25.07.2023)

Try unlimited access
Only 1 € for 4 weeks

– Then 65 € per month

27.07.2023 - 23:18 [ MortgageSolutions.co.uk ]

Bank of England set to raise base rate to 5.25 per cent

(today)

This will push interest rates to their highest since early 2008 and further hikes are expected this year.

If the rise goes ahead on Thursday, 3 August, it will be the 14th successive rise to the base rate and will pile more pressure on borrowers.

27.07.2023 - 22:10 [ Tagesschau.de ]

EZB erhöht Leitzins auf 4,25 Prozent

(today)

Zu diesem Zinssatz können sich Geschäftsbanken Geld bei der EZB leihen. Am sogenannten Hauptrefinanzierungssatz orientieren sich Banken bei der Kreditvergabe, etwa für private Baukredite.

Der sogenannte Einlagensatz, den Banken für das „Parken“ von Geldern bei der EZB erhalten, steigt somit von 3,50 auf 3,75 Prozent.

27.07.2023 - 22:07 [ Bloomberg ]

Fed Raises Interest Rates to 22-Year High, Leaves Door Open for More

(26.07.2023)

The quarter percentage-point hike, a unanimous decision, boosted the target range for the Fed’s benchmark federal funds rate to 5.25% to 5.5%, the highest level in 22 years.

02.06.2023 - 09:13 [ Lars / Nitter ]

Damit hat die EZB durch ihre Zinserhöhung doch erreicht was sie wollte. Auf die Bundesregierung zu zeigen, wenn doch die EZB das Ziel hatte, die Wirtschaft abzuwürgen, ist irgendwie komisch

(25.05.2023)

02.06.2023 - 09:07 [ finanzmarktwelt.de / Nitter ]

EZB und Zinsen: Lagarde -„kein Beweis“ für Rückgang der Kern-Inflation Zinsen sollen weiter steigen

28.05.2023 - 11:40 [ Karo CH / Nitter ]

Die EZB hebt Zinsen weiter an. Das Resultat weiter steigender Zinsen aber könnte die Wirtschaft in Deutschland noch stärker unter Druck bringen. Vor allem für die deutsche Industrie weisen alle Indikatoren weiter nach unten.

(…)

28.05.2023 - 11:06 [ TaxResearch.org.uk ]

Suppose we have an interest rate / inflation spiral now, and it’s been created by the Bank of England?

I suspect the Bank to deny this, but they have already admitted their models of inflation based on their own understandings of the issue do not work, so little weight should be given to that.

Instead it‘s time to cut rates and remove the only excuse businesses have to increase prices because interest rates are the only cost expected to remain high, and excessively so, from now into the future.

28.05.2023 - 10:55 [ theGuardian.com ]

Bank of England raises UK interest rates to 4.5%

(11 May 2023)

The Bank of England has raised interest rates by a quarter of a point to 4.5% as it forecast inflation would stay higher for longer than previously expected and the economy would perform more strongly.

19.05.2023 - 12:06 [ Haaretz ]

Netanyahu Sold Israel‘s Soul to the Devil and His Coalition Keeps Plundering

The reckless, messianic fanatics who run our lives aren’t pausing for a moment, pouncing on the public coffers like a pack of hungry hyenas, emptying them for many years to come ■ With the budget deadline looming next week, pressure is mounting on the architects of the judicial coup

04.05.2023 - 09:09 [ ORF.at ]

Zehntes Mal in Folge: US-Notenbank Fed erhöht Leitzins erneut

Mit einem erneuten Zinssprung um 0,25 Prozentpunkte liegt dieser nun in der Spanne von 5,0 bis 5,25 Prozent, wie die Federal Reserve am Mittwoch mitteilte. Das ist der höchste Wert seit 2007 – also vor Beginn der weltweiten Finanzkrise.

Damit hat der jüngste Bankenkollaps in den USA – der Zusammenbruch der First Republic Bank – die Fed nicht davon abgehalten, weiter leicht an der Zinsschraube zu drehen.

02.05.2023 - 21:43 [ Robert F. Kennedy Jr / Twitter ]

JP Morgan Chase now owns First Republic‘s sound assets. The FDIC owns its toxic assets. When big banks‘ gambles succeed, they profit. When they fail, we bail them out. Heads they win, tails you lose. #Kennedy24

Ultimately the problem stems from an over-financialized economy. Finance is supposed to serve production, not replace it. We need to reinvest in the productive base: infrastructure, labor, health, social, and natural capital. #Kennedy24