Corn prices in China have pushed to multi-month highs despite the advancing harvest after wet weather slowed crop collection just as record energy prices pushed up grain drying and logistics costs, analysts and traders said. "Rains and snow delayed sales of the new crop to market in Liaoning (province), the northwestern and northern regions, while logistics at ports in Liaoning were suspended due to the bad weather," https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/china-corn-prices-rise-as-bad-weather-delays-crop-shipments-2021-11-12

USA- The FBI email system had reportedly suffered a hack on Saturday morning amid several reports of messages sent from the agency's email infrastructure purporting to be a warning from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about a cyberattack. "While the emails are indeed being sent from infrastructure that is owned by the FBI/DHS (the LEEP portal), our research shows that these emails *are* fake." Some social media users reported receiving the strangely worded email, which refers to "a sophisticated chain attack" and references "the extortion gang TheDarkOverlord." https://a.msn.com/01/en-us/AAQEYTJ?ocid=winp-st

Soybean futures rose about 2% on Friday, led by soaring soymeal futures tied to technical buying, brisk demand for the high-protein feed ingredient and logistical hurdles, traders said. "The feeling is, we are going to see the Chinese trying to feed more soybean meal and less corn, with the corn tighter than meal," "The ethanol guys have these massive margins, so they are running hot and bidding up to buy all the corn they can," https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/grains-soybeans-climb-as-soymeal-surges-u.s.-wheat-nears-9-year-top-2021-11-12

USA - Inflation hits highest mark in 31 years. The federal government reported that inflation has surged over the past 12 months as the U.S. economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. The consumer price index increased by 0.9% in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said, leaving prices 6.2% higher than a year earlier. It's the largest 12-month increase since 1990. https://a.msn.com/00/en-us/AAQEWHj?ocid=winp-st

Iraq - 447 families who were forced from their land in Nineveh by IS and then returned to it after the jihadists' defeat were forced to leave again between June and July this year because of the drought.
"Nearly all, if not all, the families were displaced due to inability to feed their cattle," the IOM said. In 2020, 927,000 tonnes of wheat were harvested in Nineveh, making it a "self-sufficient" province. https://www.ibtimes.com/drought-forces-iraqi-farmers-leave-their-land-3337388

US - Farmers have no other choice than to search for used tractors, equipment, and parts at auction houses because the strike at Deere is inhibiting their ability to source new parts or tractors. Thanks to the Deere strike and supply chain woes, secondary farm equipment markets are seeing an abundance of demand that is driving up prices. Some farmers cannot source parts or find suitable tractors for the next season, which may affect their plantings. https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/used-tractor-prices-skyrocket-amid-deere-strike

An extreme snowstorm is wreaking havoc across north-eastern China, as record-breaking blizzards sweep across the region. Meteorologists studying the snowstorm claim it was an extremely random and sudden extreme weather event. This marks the highest recorded snowfall since 1905. Large parts of Inner Mongolia have also been cut off. Officials in northwest China have responded by ramping up coal imports and maximising energy production capacity. https://www.express.co.uk/news/weather/1520396/China-snowstorm-blizzard-freak-weather-extreme-Mongolia-Liaoning-latest-news-vn

The actors responsible for selling these credentials range from newcomers to the most prolific network access brokers. These actors have obtained these credentials by leveraging well-known vulnerabilities in remote access solutions. The logistics industry is constantly targeted, and the ramifications of a cyberattack can have a crippling ripple effect on the global economy. At a time when this sector is struggling to keep things operating, a successful attack could bring this industry to a screeching halt. https://intel471.com/blog/shipping-companies-ransomware-credentials

Supply woes from Brazil to Vietnam sent coffee prices to a seven-year high with poor weather, shipping snarls and soaring fertilizer costs threatening to curb supply. Arabica futures for March delivery rose as much as 4.8% to $2.235 a pound in New York, the highest for a most-active contract since October 2014. https://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/food-entertainment/grocery/coffee-prices-hit-highest-in-seven-years-on-global-supply-threats/87708624

About a 10th of the world already doesn't have enough to eat. The fertiliser crisis means major staple crops -- corn, rice and wheat -- are in further jeopardy, sending the Bloomberg Grains Spot Subindex up about 4% in the past month. With fertilizer markets now seeing unprecedented supply shocks and record prices, it means even more food inflation across the world. "Farmers could pass the higher cost of fertilisers on to consumers in the form of lower crop production and the subsequent higher food prices," https://www.independent.ie/business/farming/agri-business/agri-food/fertiliser-crisis-means-higher-prices-for-every-plate-of-food-41052408.html

Based on the framework of Ethereum, Israel has begun development of its own digital shekel. The Bank of Israel has trialled a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and has taken a firm step towards the future of a cashless society and complete elimination of the need for traditional banking with a digital currency. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/israel-starts-development-digital-shekel-164817788.html

Cybercriminals are targeting Alibaba Elastic Computing Service (ECS) instances, disabling certain security features to further their cryptomining goals. Alibaba ECS has an auto-scaling feature, so that the service will automatically expand the availability of computing resources depending on demand. This gives cryptominers unlimited resources and could result in bill shock for the victim. https://threatpost.com/cybercriminals-alibaba-cloud-cryptomining-malware/176348/

Tyson Foods Inc. is planning further price increases to offset soaring costs. The Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson, the biggest U.S. meat company by sales, said chicken prices rose 19% during its fiscal fourth quarter while beef and pork prices jumped 33% and 38%, respectively. "We expect to take continued pricing actions to ensure that any inflationary cost increases that our business incurs are passed along," https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/tyson-foods-plans-further-price-hikes-offset-inflation-pressures

The German energy regulator Bundesnetzagentur suspended the certification of the Nord Stream 2 AG as an independent operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Natural Gas futures prices in Europe increased by 11% after the announcement. https://sputniknews.com/20211116/german-regulator-suspends-certification-of-nord-stream-2-ag-1090771368.html

Arabica coffee futures on ICE rose to the highest level in almost a decade boosted by tightening supplies in many consuming countries following shipping delays while sugar and cocoa prices also climbed. Dealers said the market continued to derive support from delays to shipments from South America and high freight costs which has helped to increase demand for exchange stocks. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/softs-arabica-coffee-climbs-to-near-decade-high-sugar-also-up

Canada is sending the military to help evacuate and support communities hit by “catastrophic” flooding with the death toll expected to rise after record rainfall on the Pacific coast triggered a state of emergency. Downpours in British Columbia this week trapped motorists in mudslides that left at least one dead and four missing, forced thousands or residents to flee their homes, and cut off Vancouver and its port. https://www.digitaljournal.com/world/canada-death-toll-set-to-rise-as-floods-ravage-pacific-coast/article

The Reserve Bank of India's digital currency may see its pilot launch in the first quarter of the next fiscal year. "The central bank is also checking if intermediaries can be bypassed altogether, and most importantly, checking if the technology should be decentralized or should be semi-centralised,". https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-cenbank-may-launch-digital-currency-pilot-next-year-report-2021-11-18/

The International Grains Council (IGC) cut its forecast for 2021/22 global wheat production, partly driven by a diminished outlook for the crop in Iran. In its monthly update, the inter-governmental body reduced its 2021/22 world wheat crop outlook by 4 million tonnes to 777 million tonnes. The largest downward revision was for Iran where the crop was cut to 11.5 million tonnes, down from a previous estimate of 14.0 million. The country suffered its worst drought in 50 years during the 2021 growing season. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/igc-cuts-forecast-for-2021-22-global-wheat-crop

Peru is now the latest nation to reveal it is looking to implement a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP) President, Julio Velarde said that the bank was working on a framework to implement a CBDC. He also revealed that the central bank was working on the project with other central banks. The South American nation is currently in a bad situation facing inflation in goods and services while also experiencing instability in the country's financial system. The government is reviewing economic models that could help mitigate the crisis. https://coinjournal.net/news/latin-america-accelerating-on-cbdc-development-peru-joins-the-race/

Shoppers in Canada's flood-hit province of British Columbia have emptied grocery shelves following catastrophic flooding. Canada's westernmost province declared a state of emergency on Wednesday after a phenomenon known as an "atmospheric river" brought a month's worth of rain in two days. The rainfall washed out roads and railways, cutting off Vancouver and the lower mainland region from the rest of the country, and blocking access to some towns entirely. Some three-quarters of B.C.'s milk production was stranded for several days, amounting to a few million litres that farmers had to dump. https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-11-18/panicked-shoppers-clear-out-grocery-stores-in-flood-hit-british-columbia

Mountains of wheat and canola are stranded in Canada after storms blocked access to the Port of Vancouver during peak shipping season. There’s no rail access to Canada’a biggest port after days of torrential rain and landslides. About 20 vessels are waiting for deliveries, while a couple hundred thousand tons of grain are stuck in transit, according to Quorum, a company that monitors Canada’s grain transportation system. It’s so bad that some exporters may even be forced to declare force majeure to avoid penalties as they won’t be able to make deliveries on time. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/storms-canada-biggest-port-leave-201304732.html