Gaza's famine, Malaysia's currency under pressure, PE impasse, pickles for millenials and Indonesian economic nationalism
Great links, reading and images from Chartbook Newsletter by Adam Tooze
Marinella Senatore, It’s time to go back to street, 2019, graphite and charcoal on paper, 8 1⁄4 × 11 3⁄4". From the series “It’s time to go back to street,” 2019–. Source: Art Forum
Gaza’s famine
Before the war, an average of 500 truckloads of aid and fuel entered the Gaza Strip each day, five days a week, for a population already heavily dependent on aid, according to UN figures. That number has fallen sharply. The highest daily number of trucks able to enter Gaza over the past five months has been 300, a figure reached just once. More often it has been well below 200 a day, according to UN figures. The effects of lower levels of aid delivery have been compounded as each day’s shipments fail to compensate for previous shortfalls and the accumulated damage of the war. Most hard-hit are the estimated 300,000 residents of north Gaza who stayed as the area bore the brunt of the initial Israeli ground offensive.
Source: FT
Caught between the Fed and China: The Malaysian Ringgit on the skids
The beleaguered Malaysian ringgit is testing levels not seen since the depths of the Asian financial crisis more than a quarter century ago, causing officials to step up their rhetoric to try and stem the slide. With U.S. interest rates at a 23-year high, capital has fled Malaysia as investors seek better returns elsewhere. They expect the Fed to start lowering its benchmark rate in June, as U.S. policymakers seek more evidence that inflation is firmly on a downward path before cutting rates. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday that U.S. monetary authorities were "not far" from having sufficient confidence in falling inflation to start reducing rates. The central bank has repeatedly attributed the fall in the currency to external factors, including U.S. interest rates and an uncertain Chinese economic outlook. The ringgit is undervalued, authorities say, and does not reflect the country's positive economic prospects. As an export-driven country, a weaker currency would typically benefit the economy. But that also means higher costs for importers, raising prices of goods and services.
Source: Nikkei Asia
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US Labour Productivity surge - worrying data for Europe
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Private equity impasse:
Private equity groups globally are sitting on a record 28,000 unsold companies worth more than $3tn, as a sharp slowdown in dealmaking creates a crunch for investors looking to sell assets.
Source: FT
Estman Radio Drama - Marghera Studio #2 Acrylic wall painting Marinella Senatore
Zhacai Pickled Mustard Stems make a millenial leap
Some say that preserved sichuan mustard greens, Zhacai, first gained popularity in the time of Zhuge Liang. History tells us that during Zhuge Liang's military campaign in the region known as Yizhou, now part of Sichuan province, in 213 AD, the master strategist learned the local method of pickling from Fuling residents, then adopted zhacai as a source of nourishment for his soldiers. The process of making zhacai is an art form. The plump mustard green stems are strung into beads that are laid in the sun to dry, with the dehydrated stems then soaked in brine. Later, the excess water is squeezed out, and the pickles are marinated in spices like chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns. Zhacai gets its name from the word zha, which describes the action of using wood to press water out of something. These pickles regained prominence during the late Qing Dynasty. In 1898, Fuling merchants were able to successfully sell pickled mustard greens, and the hit product then traveled downstream along the Yangtze River to cities like Shanghai. With the establishment of the People's Republic of China 75 years ago, the People's Liberation Army took charge of zhacai production, and it is said that even during the Korean War, "volunteer soldiers" carried zhacai to the battlefield. The consumption of zhacai spread as Sichuan cuisine gained popularity across the nation. They now face a new threat -- shifting global dining trends. The trends are now pointing younger generations to Japanese, American and other regional diets. As such, Fuling district fathers began to fear that consumption of the ancient military ration would fall off, cutting into the livelihoods of those who cultivate the greens and ferment the stems. So the Chongqing Fuling Zhacai Group, a local state-owned enterprise, in 2023 decided to start its own food trend and came up with lychee-, mango- and other fruit-flavored zhacai.
Source: Nikkei Asia
Hjalmar Schacht with Sumitro Djojohadikusumo and Jusuf Wibisono in 1951
Sumitro Djojohadikusumo (EVO: Soemitro Djojohadikoesoemo 29 May 1917 – 9 March 2001) was an Indonesian statesman and one of the country's most influential economists. He held ministerial positions under Presidents Sukarno and Suharto intermittently between 1950 and 1978. During his career in government, Sumitro served as Minister of Industry and Trade, Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Research in five different cabinets. He was also the Dean of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Indonesia. Born into a prominent Javanese banking family, after finishing secondary education in 1935, he commenced tertiary studies at the Netherlands School of Economics in Rotterdam.[2] Obtaining his bachelor's degree in 1937, he then took a one-year course in philosophy and history at Sorbonne University.[2][6] In his autobiography Sumitro claimed that he wanted to join the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War and had briefly joined a training camp in Catalonia, but he was rejected because he was too young.[7] In a 1986 recollection, Sumitro stated that he instead began to fundraise for the cause of Republican Spain.[8] During his studies, he joined an Indonesian students' organization which aimed to promote Indonesian arts and culture. He was completing his dissertation at Rotterdam in May 1940 when German forces invaded the Netherlands, and during the Rotterdam Blitz he was nearly killed by a Luftwaffe bomb which destroyed one of the walls to his room.[10] He still completed his dissertation, "The People's Credit Service during the Depression", and earned his doctorate in 1943. This made him the first Indonesian to earn a PhD in economics. Returning to Indonesia after the war, he was assigned to the country's diplomatic mission in the United States, where he sought to raise funds and garner international attention in the struggle against Dutch colonialism. After the handover of sovereignty as a result of the 1949 Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference, in which he took part, he joined the Socialist Party and became Minister for Trade and Industry in the Natsir Cabinet. He implemented the protectionist Benteng program, and developed an economic plan which aimed for national industrialization. Sumitro further served as finance minister in the cabinets of Prime Ministers Wilopo and Burhanuddin Harahap during the Sukarno era.
In 1950 Sumitro arranged for an exchange program sponsored by the Ford Foundation whereby American professors would teach in Indonesia and Indonesian students would spend several years in the United States. In mid-1951, he also invited Hjalmar Schacht, the former finance minister of Nazi Germany, to Indonesia to research the country's economic and financial situation, and to produce recommendations. Schacht's report called for much increased foreign investment and expertise, directly contrasting with the Indonesian popular mood at the time. Sumitro did not implement these recommendations.
During the 1950s, Sumitro favoured foreign investment, an unpopular position at that time which brought him into conflict with Nationalists and Communists. Due to political differences and allegations of corruption, Sumitro fled Jakarta and joined the insurrectionary Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia in the late 1950s. Considered a leader of the movement, he operated from abroad, liaising with Western foreign intelligence organizations while seeking funds and international support. After the movement's defeat, Sumitro remained in exile as a vocal critic of Sukarno, continuing to agitate for the downfall of the government. After the overthrow of Sukarno and the establishment of the New Order under Suharto, Sumitro was invited to return from exile and in 1967 was appointed Minister of Trade. In this position Sumitro set policies favouring industrialization through imports of capital goods and export restrictions of raw materials. He was involved in the high-level planning of Indonesia's economy, along with many of his former students from the University of Indonesia.
Sumitro’s son, Prabowo Subianto, married Suharto’s daughter, joined the military and was recently won the elections for Indonesia’s Presidency.
Source: Wikipedia
Nui simu (Siamo noi | That’s us), 2010 HD video su Marinella Senatore
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