INDIA - PM Modi is all set to launch a digital payment solution, ‘e-RUPI’. ‘e-RUPI’ is a cashless and contactless digital payment instrument, which will be delivered to beneficiaries in the form of a QR code and SMS-string-based voucher. e-RUPI will also serve as a cashless payment solution for Covid-19 vaccination. https://theprint.in/economy/pm-modi-to-launch-e-rupi-a-cashless-contactless-solution-for-leak-proof-welfare-delivery/707664/

UK- More than 300 branches of the convenience store chain Spar in the north of England have been hit by a cyberattack, forcing many of them to close. The attack hit the company’s computer systems, causing a “total IT outage” that has prevented staff from taking card payments and locked them out of emails. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/dec/06/more-than-300-spar-shops-in-north-of-england-hit-by-cyberattack

China- Having sold its Gulfstream Jets, dumped assets (at fire-sale prices), and seen its CEO forced to pledge his Hong Kong mansion as collateral for a loan, it appears - as we warned yesterday - that time is up for Evergrande bond (and stock) holders.
Specifically, offshore (dollar) bondholders did note receive coupon payments by the end of a 30-day grace period, pushing the cash-strapped property developer closer to formal default. And after this missed payment, there are billions more coming due... and soon ($300 billion in total liabilities) https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/evegrande-default-inevitable-sp-warns-chinese-developer-misses-dollar-bond-payments

Europe’s energy crunch is set to last as electricity prices climb to a record, fueling inflation and raising bills for millions of households and industries across the continent. Power prices for delivery next year surged almost 11% in Germany and 7.7% in France as freezing weather has forced European utilities to burn more gas, coal and even oil to keep the lights on. High prices this month are spilling into futures contracts for the following years, a sign that the crunch could last longer than many expected. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-08/energy-crunch-sends-benchmark-european-power-prices-to-record

A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, the world’s largest shipping company, announced Wednesday it would pay $1,000 bonuses to each of its 80,000 employees after projecting a record $17 billion in profits for 2021. Bloomberg recalled Maersk paying a similar bonus to most of its staff in 2020, when the company emerged from several years of losses to post a $2.9 billion profit. The company just posted the best third quarter in its 117-year history. https://paine.tv/worlds-largest-shipping-company-hits-record-profits-pays-80m-in-bonuses/

Australia -Millions of homes were moments away from losing power after a major energy network was hit by a ransomware attack believed to have been the work of Chinese hackers. The attack was stopped at the last minute before it had the potential to shut down two major thermal coal plants. If the attack had been successful, 3500 megawatts of power would have been taken out of the grid, enough for between 1.4 and three million homes. https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/security/cs-energy-hit-by-chinese-cyberattack-that-almost-cost-3m-homes-power/news-story/a35d9903dbd87b39e48901055bc8fef3

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said a tokenised form of central bank digital currency (CBDC) could be used by the wholesale market for the funding, settlement and repayment of a tokenised syndicated loan on an Ethereum-based distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform. https://news.yahoo.com/australias-central-bank-sees-potential-235414527.html

Russia and India have agreed to ditch the dollar as a means of mutual settlements, as Washington continues to impose sanctions on Moscow. Russia and India have abandoned the use of the US dollar in mutual settlements, with all payments made in rubles and rupees. Rosoboronexport has moved away almost 100% from settlements in the US currency. https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/russia-india-abandon-us-dollar-in-mutual-settlements

Coffee drinkers have been given an unwelcome pre-Christmas jolt after wholesale prices jumped to a ten-year high this week. Freight bottlenecks and a drought in Brazil have seen the cost of coffee double since January. On the Intercontinental Exchange, one of the main venues for trading soft commodity futures, the price of a pound of arabica — the higher quality coffee bean — exceeded £2.50 earlier this week. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coffee-prices-surge-as-weather-hits-crops-mm5wg56zx?shareToken=e9bf730419eeeaf72d9bb2ed02b3a535

Two more Eastern Caribbean nations have begun using the DCash system, which allows payments and transfers of the digital EC dollar CBDC. The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) rolled out its digital payment system to The Commonwealth of Dominica and the British overseas territory of Montserrat. DCash is a payment system designed specifically for use with the digital EC currency. The wallet app allows holders to make purchases and person-to-person transfers of the CBDC within the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). https://cointelegraph.com/news/eastern-caribbean-cbdc-expands-to-another-two-territories

Key crops, from Brazilian corn to Malaysian durians, are at risk after tight supplies and blistering prices of fertiliser have caused farmers to scrimp on vital crop nutrients, adding to global food security and inflation fears. Fertiliser costs soared this year amid rising demand and lower supply as record natural gas and coal prices triggered output cuts in the energy-intensive fertiliser sector. Urea surged more than 200% this year while diammonium phosphate (DAP) prices have nearly doubled. Brazil, the world's top soybean grower and third-largest corn producer, feeds 10% of the global population. The country has warned of a fertiliser shortage next year that is predicted to slow soy, corn and cotton farm expansions. https://www.yahoo.com/now/analysis-global-farmers-facing-fertiliser-063347848.html

Israel led a 10-country simulation of a major cyberattack on the global financial system in an attempt to increase cooperation that could help to minimise any potential damage to financial markets and banks. The simulated "war game", as Israel's Finance Ministry called it and planned over the past year, evolved over 10 days, with sensitive data emerging on the Dark Web. The simulation also used fake news reports that in the scenario caused chaos in global markets and a run on banks. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/exclusive-imf-10-countries-simulate-cyber-attack-global-financial-system-2021-12-09/

Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao has said the central bank could lose control over the money supply and inflation management if cryptocurrency is allowed in the country. ''Crypto is backed by algorithms and there is fear that the central bank might lose control over the money supply and inflation management. There are also concerns that crypto will disrupt monetary policy,". ''Crypto can jump capital controls; fiat money is linked to the reserve currency," https://www.msn.com/en-in/money/topstories/allowing-cryptocurrency-may-erode-central-bank-s-control-over-money-supply-says-ex-rbi-guv/ar-AARGzNI

Websites under Brazil's Ministry of Health (MoH) have suffered a major ransomware attack that resulted in the unavailability of COVID-19 vaccination data of millions of citizens. Following that attack that took place at around 1 am today, all of MoH's websites including ConecteSUS, which tracks the trajectory of citizens in the public healthcare system, became unavailable. This includes the COVID-19 digital vaccination certificate, which is available via the ConecteSUS app. https://www.zdnet.com/article/brazilian-ministry-of-health-suffers-cyberattack-and-covid-19-vaccination-data-vanishes/

Consumer prices across America have risen at their fastest annual pace in almost 40 years, driven by pricier energy, food and housing. Consumer prices rose by 0.8% m/m in November, taking the annual CPI inflation rate up to a near 40-year high of 6.8%. Core consumer price inflation, accelerated to 4.9% last month. Core inflation, which strips out food and energy price changes, has hit its highest level in 30 years.
The index for all items less food and energy rose 4.9% over the past 12 months, its largest 12-month increase since June 1991. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/us-inflation-hits-68-25-in-november-highest-since-1982-e2-80-93-business-live/ar-AARFRhQ

USA- Hawaii - A cyberattack on Oahu's public transportation system resulting in a "massive " shutdown of online servers could be a ransomware attack. The Honolulu Department of Transportation Services reported the cyberattack that disabled Oahu Transit Services servers, which caused a "mass disabling of online servers to both administrative and operating access related to TheBus and TheHandi-Van." https://news.yahoo.com/cyberattack-causes-mass-disabling-city-223300265.html

Volvo Cars has released a statement confirming a breach of sensitive files that resulted from a cyberattack. Volvo said it is now aware that "one of its file repositories has been illegally accessed by a third party." "Investigations so far confirm that a limited amount of the company's R&D property has been stolen during the intrusion. https://www.zdnet.com/article/volvo-announces-some-r-d-files-stolen-during-cyberattack/

The world’s poultry farmers are battling another grim spell of bird-flu cases, risking higher chicken prices and fewer free-range eggs. More than 40 countries across Europe, Asia and Africa have seen outbreaks since May. It’s threatening to drive food prices, even higher and boost costs for households. This week - UK- A flock of 22,000 hens in nearby Kirkpatrick Fleming was also culled. India- A total of 12,000 ducks were culled in ward number 10 of the Thakazhi gram panchayat in Kerala's Alappuzha district. Canada-Bird flu has been confirmed in the wild bird population in Tipton. The health authority in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong said on Saturday that one case of a human being infected with the H5N6 strain of bird flu has been reported in the city of Huizhou. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-11/bird-flu-is-raging-adding-to-the-risks-for-food-inflation

Germany - Billion-dollar logistics firm Hellmann Worldwide Logistics reported a cyberattack that forced them to temporarily remove all connections to their central data center which operates in 173 countries and offers logistics services for rail, seafreight, airfreight, and road transportation. "Operations will be restored step by step, with the security and integrity of the systems as the top priority," https://www.zdnet.com/article/german-logistics-giant-hellmann-reports-cyberattack/

Building on the model for retail CBDC that the HKMA is jointly investigating with the Hong Kong Centre of the BIS Innovation Hub, the Whitepaper explores potential technical design options for issuing and distributing retail CBDC. The e-HKD will allow the public to use this form of electronic payment to shop, dine or make money transfers. https://www.macaubusiness.com/opinion-the-electronic-hong-kong-dollar-e-hkd-one-more-cbdc-project-in-hong-kong/

Canada - Quebec is shutting down government websites following a cyberattack targeting Hydro-Quebec, among others. The Minister for Digital Transformation, Eric Caire, will officially announce the preventive closure affecting certain government websites, agencies and state companies today. The website of the Ministry of Education is no longer accessible at this time and the provincial government has recommended that institutions in this sector shut down certain computer systems. https://www.thesuburban.com/news/city_news/cyberattack-targeting-hydro-leads-to-quebec-websites-shutdown/article_8d26c1cb-c8c8-5ef6-b689-2f59c720b439.html