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

The Bank of China has shown a machine that converts foreign currencies into digital yuan. The machine is likely in preparation for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, when the central bank digital currency (CBDC) is set to be introduced to the rest of the world. Users need to link their passports to the transaction, but don’t need a bank account, https://sports.yahoo.com/bank-china-reveals-machine-converts-101909988.html

Bitcoin neared a record high and ethereum reached a fresh all-time peak on Monday amid continued fears about inflation. “The recent surge in the crypto asset partly seems to have been caused by investors piling in, seeing it as a hedge against inflation,”. “Some appear to have been enticed by the argument that the huge monetary stimulus programmes unleashed by central bank is fuelling inflation which will see the value of money decrease over time, https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ethereum-hits-high-bitcoin-nears-130845652.html

Argentine grains exporters have asked the government to identify farmers who are growing drought-resistant genetically modified (GM) wheat, so they can halt sales from those areas until top importer Brazil approves the technology. Exporters say if any GM wheat is shipped from Argentina, all international sales of the grain may be shunned due to concern about possible cross-contamination from GM to non-GM cargos, given some consumers' aversion to bread made with GM flour. https://www.esmmagazine.com/supply-chain/argentine-exporters-vow-safeguards-to-keep-gm-wheat-out-of-shipments-152767

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) says it will technically be ready to launch a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) in January of next year, using Switzerland’s newly-licensed Six Digital Exchange (SDX).
While it’s the retail-facing version of a CBDC that tends to grab most attention, the argument for wCBDC, designed to clear and settle wholesale payments, is compelling and less complicated to deploy in most cases. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/swiss-central-bank-ready-run-115930569.html

Vasinskyi is charged with breaking into the victim companies and installing encryption software, developed by the core REvil group. REvil directly handled the ransom negotiations and split the profits with affiliates like Vasinskyi. This model allowed the notorious ransomware gang to extort numerous companies for cryptocurrency. https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-seizes-6-mln-ransom-payments-charge-ukrainian-over-cyberattack-cnn-2021-11-08/

The pace of wholesale inflation over the past 12 months was flat at 8.6%. That’s the highest level since the index was reconfigured in 2009, and likely one of the highest readings since the early 1980s. The yearly pace of inflation using the Federal Reserve’s preferred PCE price gauge just hit a 30-year high of 4.4%. The wholesale cost of energy jumped 4.8% in October, mostly reflecting higher gasoline prices. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/wholesale-prices-surge-again-and-offer-americans-no-relief-from-high-inflation/ar-AAQuSLD

China - A government notice issued last Monday advising households to stock up on daily necessities and a snow forecast reinforced the rush this year, with long early morning queues forming outside supermarkets in downtown Beijing. “Every year at this time the [cabbage] sales volume is high. But after the report came out, everyone rushed to buy even more,” https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3155274/china-food-security-beijing-residents-stock-cabbages-winter

US- California’s exceptional drought and new restrictions on groundwater pumping are forcing them to do what was unthinkable until just a few years ago: uproot tens of thousands of fruit and nut trees and leave the land barren. Farmers are being forced to fallow — a term for plowing land and leaving it unplanted — their fields and orchards in unprecedented numbers due to the water shortage by droughts which are becoming longer and more severe; and the state has begun to implement the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, new restrictions designed to stop growers and other users from depleting aquifers. https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/To-fight-off-a-California-dust-bowl-the-state-16596612.php