Russian internet giant Yandex has been hit by a cyber attack that the Vedomosti daily reported was largest DDoS attack in the history of the Russian segment of the internet. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/russian-internet-firm-yandex-hit-by-major-cyber-attack-report-2021-09-08

The personal data of visa applicants hoping to visit or emigrate to France has been exposed in a cyber-attack targeting the French government’s ‘France-Visas’ website. https://portswigger.net/daily-swig/french-government-visa-website-hit-by-cyber-attack-that-exposed-applicants-personal-data

Boris Johnson is set to delay the introduction of some post-Brexit checks on EU imports amid fears they could cause food shortages over the Christmas period, it was claimed today. The UK is supposed to be introducing a fresh wave of checks and requirements on imports of animal origin and certain foods from next month. But the roll-out could now be pushed back by six months in what would be the second time the checks have been delayed. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/boris-johnson-will-delay-imposing-checks-on-eu-imports-to-uk/ar-AAOoJPX?pfr=1

The sale of farmers' 2021 second corn crop in Brazil reached 70.1% of the estimated output, up from 62.6% at this time last year, Corn, used as livestock feed, is on high demand in Brazil, home to some of the world's largest pork and poultry processors. This year, planting delays followed by a drought and an ill-timed frost slashed Brazil's overall corn output, raising internal prices, increasing the need to import and reducing Brazil's export prospects. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/brazil-farmers-sell-more-of-their-2021-second-corn-crop-as-demand-rises-safras-2021-09-13

South Africa’s recently announced trial of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for cross-border payments could motivate other financial institutions around the world to work towards using the technology. The initiative, dubbed Project Dunbar, will develop platforms for cross-border transactions using CBDCs, enabling financial institutions to transact directly with each other in the digital currencies issued by central banks, and eliminating the need for intermediaries, as well as reducing the time and cost of transactions. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/south-africa-is-testing-central-bank-digital-currencies/ar-AAOomUh?pfr=1

Plant-based protein manufacturers, like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, view chicken supply chain shortages throughout the U.S. as an opportunity. The two companies both recently introduced plant-based chicken nugget substitutes into retail and foodservice. The timing may seem coincidental, but Beyond Meat told CNBC that the new chicken tenders will reach menus at the same time that restaurants experienced both shortages and price hikes for poultry products. https://www.wattagnet.com/blogs/51-poultry-tech-trends/post/43567-meat-alternatives-seize-opening-left-by-chicken-shortages

Venezuela's gold reserves fell by 3 tonnes in the first half of 2021 to their lowest level in 50 years, central bank data showed on Tuesday, as President Nicolas Maduro's cash-strapped government continues selling gold as a source of income. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/venezuela-central-bank-gold-reserves-fall-as-maduro-seeks-cash-2021-09-07

Germany wholesale prices grew at the fastest pace since 1974 in August amid sharp increases in raw material and intermediate product prices, Destatis reported Monday. Wholesale prices increased 12.3 percent on a yearly basis, following July's 11.3 percent in July. This was the strongest growth since October 1974, when prices were up 13.2 percent in the wake of the first oil crisis. https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/interestrates/germany-wholesale-price-inflation-strongest-since-1974-1030794855

UK inflation hit a nine-year high in August as the economy reopened, with food and fuel prices climbing sharply, the country's Office for National Statistics said. Year-on-year consumer price index inflation came in at 3.2% in August, the fastest rate since March 2012, after slowing to 2% in July. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/uk-inflation-surges-to-nine-year-high-of-32-25-in-august-as-food-and-fuel-prices-jump/ar-AAOscZZ?pfr=1

56 cargo ships were stuck at anchor or in drift areas off of Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. The ports are currently dealing with 140 total ship in the ports, including 87 freighters, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California. The queue is a result of COVID-19-related disruptions, and holiday-buying surges, paired with a national labor shortage. Port of Los Angeles data indicates that ships' average wait times have increased to 8.5 days. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/an-all-time-high-of-56-cargo-ships-are-stuck-waiting-off-the-california-coast-as-shipping-ports-hit-their-4th-record-backup-in-three-weeks/ar-AANTZ9J

Hungry families are taking a hit as lorry driver shortages are leaving the UK’s largest food bank charity at risk of losing nearly a third of its daily food supply. FareShare, the UK’s biggest food-bank network, said it is losing out on around 30 per cent of the food it normally receives each day due to the issues affecting the haulage industry. https://inews.co.uk/news/hgv-driver-shortage-food-bank-uk-charity-daily-lorry-supplies-1199957?ito=twitter_share_article-top

Spot propane prices at Mont Belvieu, Texas, have reached their highest levels since 2014 ahead of the winter season on fears of low inventory. Energy inflation could be problematic for commercial and residential users of the fuel that heats building structures and powers vehicles, gas grills, patio heaters, generators, among many other uses.
https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/eer_epllpa_pf4_y44mb_dpgW.htm
https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/propane-prices-soar-inventory-concerns-mount-ahead-winter

Fertilizer producer CF Industries Holdings Inc halted two fertilizer plants in the UK. CF Industries Holdings, a top manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products said the manufacturing facilities suspended operations "due to high natural gas prices." https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/major-uk-fertilizer-plants-shuttered-due-skyrocketing-natural-gas-prices

A ransomware attack that paralysed the IT systems of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has brought the Master’s office for South Africa’s courts to its knees. https://mybroadband.co.za/news/security/414440-south-africas-legal-system-on-its-knees-after-cyberattack.html

The People’s Bank of China is pulling out all the stops to promote the e-currency to a population far more used to transacting on a daily basis using Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat Pay and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Alipay. The central bank has rolled out pilot programs in 11 cities and regions from Shenzhen to Hainan so far and has recruited major banks and technology firms to help get an otherwise indifferent population to make the switch to the e-yuan. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-14/digital-yuan-goes-head-to-head-with-alipay-wechat-in-beijing

The first outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the Western Hemisphere in four decades began on July 28 in the Dominican Republic and was confirmed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The presence of ASF has led to massive hog culling on the Caribbean island that borders Haiti. Bloomberg notes the island may have to slaughter more than half a million pigs to prevent the deadly swine fever virus from spreading. https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/us-pork-exports-dominican-republic-spike-amid-pig-ebola-outbreak

The Syrian capital was thrown into darkness after an “attack” on a gas line feeding a major power plant. “There was a significant direct drop in gas pressure, which led to the failure at the Deir Ali power station... as a result of an attack on the gas line,” Minister of Electricity Ghassan al-Zamil told the Syria TV channel late on Friday, though added that few details were yet known about the purported attack. https://www.rt.com/news/535178-syria-blackout-gas-pipe-attack/

Iran is set to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization led by China and Russia as a full member, a move experts say will give Tehran more influence over Central Asia -- including war-torn neighbor Afghanistan. https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Iran-to-gain-Central-Asia-clout-with-entry-into-SCO-security-club

Soaring natural gas prices across the UK have disrupted companies from operating. The latest is slaughterhouses that use carbon dioxide, a byproduct of fertilizer derived from natural gas. Surging natural gas prices is a massive blow for poultry companies, which frequently use a byproduct of fertilizer production -- carbon dioxide -- to incapacitate birds at slaughterhouses. https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/uk-gas-crisis-stuns-poultry-slaughterhouses

The crisis engulfing Evergrande, China’s second-biggest property company, is the greatest test yet of President Xi Jinping’s effort to reform the debt-ridden behemoths of the Chinese economy. The more extreme prophecies of doom for China may be no more correct than the assumption that Beijing will simply step in and bail out Evergrande to make sure the fallout from the failure of a property giant does not spread to other areas of the Chinese economy. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/17/chinas-lehman-brothers-moment-evergrande-crisis-rattles-economy

US - An Iowa grain co-op said it was hit with a cyberattack that security researchers are linking to newly launched ransomware group BlackMatter, which the researchers said demanded $5.9 million to unlock the organization’s data. https://www.wsj.com/articles/iowa-grain-cooperative-hit-by-cyberattack-linked-to-ransomware-group-11632172945