Canada - The price of pasta is expected to rise at the grocery store and on restaurant menus because of a summer drought that affected durum wheat drops in Alberta and elsewhere. In August the price of Alberta durum wheat hit nearly $500 per tonne. That's 70 per cent higher than it was in August of 2020. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/pasta-durum-wheat-alberta-producers-1.6234775

China's central bank digital currency has been used for $9.7 billion in transactions, as of the end of October. More than 140 million people have opened digital wallets for the digital yuan. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/chinas-digital-currency-sees-soaring-growth-in-users-as-transactions-near-2410-billion/ar-AAQhwce

Russia plans to impose a six-month quota on some fertilizer exports to safeguard local supplies and limit costs for farmers after the energy crisis sent nitrogen nutrient prices soaring. The move -- covering exports of nitrogen and complex fertilizers containing nitrogen -- comes as nutrients prices have surged globally as soaring gas prices boost production costs and force some plants to cut production. That risks curbing harvests in the year ahead and accelerating food inflation. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/russia-slap-quotas-fertilizer-exports-131808345.html

Greek shipping companies have been hit by a ransomware attack that spread through the systems of a popular, well-established IT consulting firm, according to Greek outlet Mononews. Danaos Management Consultants, the IT service provider whose services were affected by the hack, confirmed the incident and. The company said that Danaos’ own shipping operations have not been hit, and that fewer than 10 percent of its external customers had their files encrypted by the ransomware attack. https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/11/04/cyberattack-multiple-greek-shipping/

World food prices are the highest since July 2011, reflecting in part reduced wheat harvests by major exporters and higher palm oil prices, the United Nations' food agency said Thursday. The Rome-based (FAO) said international prices of its basket of food commodities rose by 3% in October, for a third straight month of increases. https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/world-food-prices-hit-peak-wheat-harvests-factor-80970338

One cybersecurity expert says the cyberattack on the Newfoundland and Labrador health-care system may be the worst in Canadian history, and has implications for national security. "We've never seen a health-network takedown this large, ever," Shipley said in an interview with CBC News. "The severity of this is what really sets it apart." the cyberattack has delayed thousands of appointments and procedures this week, including almost all non-emergency appointments in the Eastern Health region. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/nl-cyber-attack-worst-canada-1.6236210

The problems couldn’t have come at a worse time for agricultural supply chains. Global food prices have surged more than 30% in the past 12 months to reach a decade high. With fertilizer markets now seeing unprecedented supply shocks and record prices, it means even more food inflation across the world.
Global commodity futures are already convulsing. Benchmark wheat prices have shot up to the highest since 2012, coffee is near multi-year highs and corn has also jumped. https://www.farmprogress.com/fertilizer/global-fertilizer-crisis-may-push-food-prices-higher

A trial of a digital cross-border payment system between Asia and the Middle East made progress in the eight months after it was launched. A total of 22 banks and financial institutions from mainland China, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Thailand participated in the study of the Multiple Central Bank Digital Currency (m-CBDC) Bridge project. The collaboration among the central banks of the four jurisdictions completed more than 2 billion yuan ($312 million) of cross-border transactions, according to the report released at the Hong Kong Fintech Week conference. The project aims to facilitate real-time cross-border foreign exchange transactions in a multi-jurisdictional context and explore cross-border business usage employing domestic and foreign currencies. https://www.caixinglobal.com/2021-11-04/asia-middle-east-digital-currency-trial-reports-progress-101800288.html

The world is facing the prospect of a dramatic shortfall in food production as rising energy prices cascade through global agriculture, the CEO of Norwegian fertilizer giant Yara International says. "I want to say this loud and clear right now, that we risk a very low crop in the next harvest," "I’m afraid we’re going to have a food crisis." https://fortune.com/2021/11/04/energy-crisis-food-shortage-security-fertilizer-prices-yara-ceo-madagascar-cop26/

Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) has announced the possibility of trailing its digital Real on Lithosphere blockchain as the bank is in discussion with the developer, KaJ Labs.
The bank has been exploring and working on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) since 2020. In August 2020, the bank created a multidisciplinary study group to analyse its risks, advantages, and potential impacts on the Brazilian economy. https://thepaypers.com/cryptocurrencies/brazils-central-bank-to-trial-cbdc--1252600

World wine production is expected to fall to one of its lowest levels on record after harsh weather battered vineyards in Europe’s major wine-producing regions. The conditions “severely impacted” production in Italy, Spain and France, resulting in “extremely low” production volumes, an international wine body has said. https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/nov/05/warning-over-extremely-low-wine-production-in-europe-due-to-bad-weather

UK- Labour politicians’ home addresses and personal phone numbers were reportedly stolen during a “cyber incident” affecting the party’s IT provider – sparking personal security fears in the aftermath of Tory MP David Amess’ murder. The Labour Party confirmed on Thursday that a “significant quantity” of its data had been “rendered inaccessible” following a recent cyberattack on the unnamed third-party firm’s systems. https://www.rt.com/uk/539458-labour-addresses-phone-numbers-stolen/

You know, you'll be seeing things like in Latin America, Mexico is one of our key markets that we work with a lot. Certainly, the African countries with lower incomes, where they already have a much higher percentage of their disposable income dedicated to food, and it's much more basic food. So they are really in kind of a tough spot there. Proteins are up because grain and soybean is up. Edible oils are way up, thanks to some of the US policies, along with the shortening. https://finance.yahoo.com/video/supply-chain-crunch-sparks-food-185806164.html

A gauge of North American fertilizer prices touched a new record high, driving up costs for farmers who are already experiencing tight margins and threatening to make food even more expensive. The Green Markets North American Fertilizer Price Index rose 3% to $1,048 per short ton on Friday, rocketing past an October peak for the index that began in January 2002. Fertilizer plants in Europe have been forced to shut down or reduce production. That’s driving up international prices for crop nutrients. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fertilizer-prices-climb-north-american-170651750.html

The world’s biggest battery market is showing the strain of surging commodity prices. Chinese manufacturer Gotion High-tech Co. sent a letter to customers in mid-October seeking to adjust battery prices, citing a jump in the cost of cathode materials and electrolyte to copper and aluminum foil. The company said it “has tried its best to reduce the cost impacts but with little effect.” https://www.mining.com/web/the-commodity-boom-is-starting-to-push-battery-prices-higher/

American utilities are facing the highest natural-gas prices in years as they build stockpiles for winter. The reason: Exporters are sending more gas than ever to countries starved for the fuel. Pipelines to Mexico and Canada and tankers traveling to Europe and Asia have moved record amounts of U.S. gas out of the country this year as parts of the world fall short of supplies. https://www.wsj.com/articles/natural-gas-exports-lift-prices-for-u-s-utilities-ahead-of-winter-11636281000?mod=rss_markets_main

BlackMatter cybercriminal group reported that it is closing down tasks, referring to pressures from law authorization specialists. BlackMatter offers ransomware-as-a-administration (Raas), empowering threat actors and cybercriminal members to convey ransomware. BlackMatter operators have designated a few basic foundations in the U.S. what’s more, requested payment installments going from $80,000 to $15,000,000 in Bitcoin and Monero. https://ictframe.com/blackmatter-ransomware-group-shuts-shop-citing-pressures-from-law-enforcement/

Algeria decided to close the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline after Morocco refused to invest in its own part of the gas export pipeline, while still taking a part of the gas in the pipeline as payment for the transfer rights. Morocco used the gas to produce around 12% of the country’s electricity. Due to the closure, Spain is directly affected. In the heads of Algerian leaders, the Medgaz pipeline is seen as a replacement, which would allow Algeria to get rid of intermediaries and to cut Morocco out. Knowing that Algeria refuses to renew the contract with Morocco, Spain has been left scrambling for whatever gas supply it can get hold of. https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Africa/Conflict-In-North-Africa-Threatens-Gas-Supply-To-Europe.html

With global supply chains ensnared by bottlenecks, Mondelez International ($87 Billion in market cap.) expects next year to be nearly as bad as the current one. "I think when we look at supply chains across the world, there are inflationary pressures that are mostly due to the fact that there are several bottlenecks in supply chains that are globally interlinked," "I expect this to continue into 2022, for the entire 2022," the executive added. "I think the holiday season ahead of us will put even more strains on global supply chains." He also warned that some product prices could rise in the face of global inflationary headwinds. http://a.msn.com/00/en-us/AAQoDla?ocid=st

Ireland- More than half of large Irish companies have been targeted by a cyberattack in the last 12 months, according to the latest State of Cyber-Resilience research.The study, carried out by Accenture, found 58 per cent of large Irish companies have been the victim of a recent attempted cyberattack, while 85 per cent say the cost of trying to stay ahead of attackers is "unsustainable". https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/over-50-of-large-irish-companies-targeted-by-cyberattack-in-last-12-months-survey-1210212.html

A tight supply of stock and strong international demand have caused wheat prices in the international market to rise to their highest since 2012. To add to the pressure, Russia, one of Egypt's most important suppliers, has imposed taxes on wheat exports. The latest price is also about $80 higher than what was projected in the government's budget for the fiscal year 2020/2021. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-millions-vulnerable-rise-global-wheat-prices-climate-change