GLOBAL RECESSION - SHOULD WE PUT AN END TO ALL DICTATORSHIP AND THE BILLIONAIRE CLASS?

U.N.’s Guterres Warns: ‘New Model for Global Governance’ Is Coming to Redistribute ‘Power and Wealth’

FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty

SIMON KENT

21 Jul 2020613

3:30

As the world continues to grapple with the deadly consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said only one thing is certain in its wake: “a new model of global governance” is coming and the globalist body is doing all it can to hurry its arrival.

The Portugese socialist made his prediction Saturday as he delivered the Nelson Mandela Lecture and spoke of the need for the U.N. to address “the huge gaps in governance structures and ethical frameworks” the epidemic has exposed. He said:

To close those gaps, and to make the New Social Contract possible, we need a New Global Deal to ensure that power, wealth and opportunities are shared more broadly and fairly at the international level.

A new model for global governance must be based on full, inclusive and equal participation in global institutions.

[…]

A New Global Deal, based on a fair globalization, on the rights and dignity of every human being, on living in balance with nature, on taking account of the rights of future generations, and on success measured in human rather than economic terms, is the best way to change this.

The worldwide consultation process around the 75th anniversary of the United Nations has made clear that people want a global governance system that delivers for them.

Guterres then outlined his plan for the future of the world, citing his “New Global Deal,” to be based on “a fair globalization, on the rights and dignity of every human being, on living in balance with nature, on taking account of the rights of future generations, and on success measured in human rather than economic terms, is the best way to change this.”

The 71-year-old professional bureaucrat claimed a “worldwide consultation process around the 75th anniversary of the United Nations has made clear that people want a global governance system that delivers for them.”

He also maintained the time has come for the “developing world” to have a far stronger voice in global decision-making. This reformation of international governance will be linked to financial relief and the forgiveness of debt for struggling countries. He said:

Reform of the debt architecture and access to affordable credit must create fiscal space for countries to move investment in the same direction.

This is not the first time Guterres,  a member of the Portuguese Socialist Party who served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, has spoken fondly of his desire to see the world recast along socialist principles.

As Breitbart News reported, earlier this month he demanded “more robust global governance,” adding the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), regional authorities such as the African Union and the European Union (E.U.) to a list of organizations he says can bring “order” to a future world disrupted by the coronanvirus pandemic.

In an essay titled ‘Global Wake-up Call’, the unelected head of the globalist body said “from COVID-19 to climate disruption, from racial injustice to rising inequalities, we are a world in turmoil.”

His solution to that disorder is more big government,  and more bureaucratic institutions in more places, delivered via the U.N. and its multiple agencies all funded by the contributions of taxpayers around the world.

Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com

Growing signs of deep and prolonged global recession

21 July 2020

The chief executive of PNB Paribas Asset Management, one of Europe’s largest investment firms, has said the global economy is facing the “mother of all recessions” as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic spreads around the world.

Reporting on his remarks, the Financial Times said CEO Frédéric Janbon had “poured cold water on the idea of a swift recovery from the pandemic,” pointing to what he called “a very, very substantial drop in activities in pretty much all of the economies around the world.”

Janbon said a V-shaped recovery was unlikely and predicted a long recession before any upturn in economic activity, adding that the escalation of the stock markets since the middle of March did not reflect underlying global economic conditions.

“The huge rally we have seen over the course of the few months from the low point in March is probably a bit fast and probably does not take into account the risk of a second wave,” he said, pointing to the rise in virus infections worldwide.

The reference to a “second wave” is something of a misnomer. In the US, Latin America and many other parts of the world the first wave is still growing. Moreover, even if the virus is brought under control, its impact on the economy will be long lasting. Millions of jobs have been destroyed and will not be coming back.

The Wall Street Journal reported at the weekend that many large US companies have determined the measures they took in March and April are not going to be sufficient. The increase in COVID-19 cases and related shutdowns have dashed hopes for a quick recovery.

Consequently, businesses from airline companies to restaurant chains are shifting their strategies “turning furloughs into permanent lay-offs, de-emphasizing their core businesses and downsizing production indefinitely.”

Amid sweeping job cuts in the airline industry,—American Airlines has said 25,000 jobs are at risk and United is looking to axe 36,000 staff—Delta said it had shelved plans to add more flights over the summer and did not expect business flying to return to pre-pandemic levels.

The article cited remarks by Pret A Manger chief executive Pano Christou on the announcement by the sandwich chain that it had suffered an 87 percent drop in US sales and was planning to close 20 stores. “We cannot defy gravity and continue with the business model we had before the pandemic,” he said.

Summing up the overall situation, the article noted: “Executives who were bracing for a months-long disruption are now thinking in terms of years. Their job has changed from riding out to reinventing. Roles once thought core are now an extravagance. Strategies set in the spring are obsolete.”

That is, processes already underway, in the US and around the world, before the pandemic struck, are now being accelerated by it. Whole industries are undertaking a major restructuring in which millions of jobs will be destroyed. Those who remain will be forced to accept lower wages and conditions under the threat of unemployment as governments start to withdraw the limited support packages put in place in March.

The effects of the crisis range across the entire economy. Bloomberg reported yesterday that global real estate investment fell by 33 percent in the first half of the year. So far the Asia-Pacific region has been hardest hit with investment down by 45 percent from a year earlier.

With international tourism at a virtual standstill, hotel investment plunged by 59 percent in the first half of the year. Investment in retail properties dropped by 41 percent.

The decline in trade is delivering devastating blows to export-dependent economies, most sharply expressed in the massive contraction in the economy of Singapore, which sits at the centre of the trading lanes of the Southeast Asian region.

According to data released by the island state’s Ministry of Trade and Industry last week, gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter declined by 41.2 percent from the previous three months.

Japan, the world’s third largest economy, after the US and China, is predicted to announce a 20 percent contraction in GDP on an annualised basis in the second quarter compared to the previous three months.

The International Monetary Fund has said it expects global gross domestic product to contract by 4.9 percent this year with the total loss of output for 2020 and 2021 to reach $12.5 trillion.

China recorded a 3.2 percent increase in GDP for the second quarter, following a 6.8 percent contraction in the first. The rise was largely a result of decisions by the central government to increase the amount local authorities can borrow for infrastructure projects that led to an increase in steel production. However, retail sales fell by 3.9 percent.

Liu Aihua, a spokeswoman for the National Statistics Bureau, said the figures showed a “gradual recovery,” but pointed to “mounting external risks and challenges” due to the continued spread of the coronavirus.

Despite signs of some revival, the Chinese economy is not going to be able to play the same role it did after the 2008 financial crisis when a massive stimulus package, the result of government spending and increased debt, provided a boost for raw material exporting economies around the world.

In Europe, the European Central Bank (ECB) has forecast a contraction of close to 13 percent in the second quarter with a rebound in the third. But following a meeting of its governing council last week, ECB president Christine Lagarde warned that the loss of income and jobs, as well as “exceptionally elevated uncertainty,” would weigh on consumer sentiment and business investment.

Leaving the ECB’s monetary policy on hold, while announcing it would continue with its asset purchasing program of €1.35 trillion until June next year, Lagarde urged leaders of the European Union to waste no time in reaching agreement on a €750 recovery fund for countries hit by the pandemic.

EU leaders then held their second longest meeting in history. Starting on Friday and reaching into the early hours of Tuesday morning, it was marked at times by bitter exchanges before reports emerged they were “closing in” on a deal.

The main conflict was with the so-called “frugal four”—the Netherlands Austria, Denmark and Sweden—that demanded a significant reduction in the allocation of grants to economically weakened countries from the €500 billion proposed in the initial French-German plan.

The intensity of the disputes led Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to comment at one point that failure to strike a deal could lead to the “destruction of Europe’s single market.” The rift may have been covered over for now but divisions are certain to re-emerge under conditions of deepening recession.

Poll: Pandemic Hurting Americans’ Finances in Disparate Ways

AP

21 Jul 20201

BURTON, Mich. (AP) — Crystal and Chris Martin put off some payments on their home in this blue-collar town near Flint and are pinching pennies to make ends meet until they return to work. In Windsor, Connecticut, Anne Druce’s family canceled home improvement projects out of an abundance of caution but remains financially secure.

As the coronavirus pandemic drags on, a new poll finds it is having different effects on Americans’ economic well-being. For some, the virus has meant lost income or struggles to pay bills on time — particularly among Hispanic, Black and younger Americans. Others, most notably college-educated and older Americans, have transitioned to working from home or have experienced the nation’s economic decline through a dip in the value of their investments.

“It’s just all been kind of frustrating,” said Crystal Martin, who lost her job managing a roller skating rink in March and waited 10 weeks for her first unemployment check. Her husband, an X-ray technician at a Flint hospital, was laid off for about month, then took parental leave after Crystal had a baby in July, to reduce the chances of bringing home the virus.

“We had to go into our savings, and we were crunching numbers to see how long it would last,” said Martin, adding that the couple, who have six children in their blended family, still aren’t sure if their mortgage company will add the deferred house payments to the end of their loan or demand the money all at once later this year.

Overall, roughly a quarter of Americans say they have lost savings and about as many have lost income, according to the latest COVID Response Tracking Study, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago. About 2 in 10 report losing a job and roughly another 2 in 10 say they have put themselves at risk of exposure to the virus for work.

Meanwhile, the survey also finds about a third of Americans say their investments were negatively impacted during the pandemic. About a quarter say they have had to change their work routine, including having to work from home.

That includes Druce, who said she and her husband, James, are fortunate to have well-paying jobs — she’s a process engineering consultant for an insurance company and he works for a mutual fund company — that allow working from home.

While feeling financially stable, they’re saving as much money as possible — aside from spending to take a beach vacation in August with their two young boys — because “anything can change,” Druce said.

“I know it sounds insanely privileged,” said Druce, “but I 1,000% feel fortunate.”

The poll finds that disparities of economic experience during the pandemic by race and ethnicity, age and education are stark.

— More college-educated Americans have lost investments, 45%, compared with 28% of those without a college degree. By contrast, Americans without a degree were more likely to have delayed paying bills — 26%, compared with 10% of college graduates.

— Hispanic and Black Americans were more likely than white Americans to have lost income (42% and 32% vs. 21%) and to have delayed paying bills (38% and 35% vs. 14%).

— Thirty-one percent of Hispanics say they have put themselves at risk of exposure for work, compared with 19% of white Americans.

— Younger Americans were more likely to have lost a job, put themselves at risk of exposure or delayed paying bills, while more older Americans lost investments.

Beyond the dollars-and-cents impacts of the pandemic, the survey found the economic effects taking a toll on Americans’ mental health, with stress rising among those who report a loss of income, a loss of savings and trouble paying bills.

Tom W. Smith, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Society at NORC and the study’s lead investigator, said people are also feeling more lonely than might be expected given the recent easing of restrictions and the reopening of businesses. That could be because people still are severely restricting normal activities, perhaps because of finances or because they’re “not willing to take the chance yet” on potentially exposing themselves to the virus.

Adding to the uncertainty and anxiety: Some initiatives meant to help people get through the crisis — including extra unemployment compensation and moratoriums on evictions and utility shut-offs — are set to expire soon, said Joy Peterman, development director at the Salvation Army in Flint.

Her organization has seen a 25% increase in requests for assistance during the pandemic, mostly from people who were forced to seek help for the first time and many of whom were still working.

“They just didn’t have enough money to continue to pay their bills (because of) shorter hours and less pay,” said Peterman, who believes needs will increase in coming months. “You still have rent, you still have utilities, you still have a car payment, insurance and the phone bill. And you still have to feed your children.”

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The survey of 2,012 adults was conducted June 22-July 6 with funding from the National Science Foundation. It uses a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3 percentage points.