European power prices surged to record highs over the past couple of days after France announced the closure of four of its largest nuclear reactors. The crisis is further exacerbated by already very high prices of natural gas and cold temperatures. By the end of the month, most of the continent will endure below average temperatures, further increasing power demand. https://watchers.news/2021/12/20/electricity-prices-europe-record-highs-december-2021/

European member states certified house crickets, yellow mealworms, and grasshoppers as food fit to be sold at supermarkets. The bugs will be sold in frozen, dried, and powdered forms and will be packed with nutrients and low-cost. Earlier this month, the World Economic Forum published two articles explaining how people must get used to eating bugs. Those who can no longer afford meat, such as ham or turkey, and other traditional holiday foods will come to find a new substitute. https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/food-inflation-grinch-spoils-christmas-cheer

The Belgian Ministry of Defense has confirmed a cyberattack on its networks that involved the Log4j vulnerability. In a statement, the Defense Ministry said it discovered an attack on its computer network with internet access on Thursday. They did not say if it was a ransomware attack but explained that "quarantine measures" were quickly put in place to "contain the infected elements." https://www.zdnet.com/article/belgian-defense-ministry-confirms-cyberattack-through-log4j-exploitation/

Global potash prices are set for an extended rally after the United States imposed sanctions on major supplier Belarus Potash Company (BPC), piling more pressure on farmers and consumers already facing rocketing costs and a global economy navigating rising food inflation. BPC is the export arm of Belaruskali, the world's second largest potash producer. The U.S. black-listed Belaruskali and added BPC to its sanctions list as the West escalated punitive action against Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. Potash exports are a key foreign currency earner for Minsk. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/potash-importers-brace-prolonged-price-121658780.html

Bakong, developed by Japanese blockchain company Soramitsu, enables Cambodians to use a free mobile app to make payments and transfer money through any bank on the platform, even if they don't have a traditional account with the bank. More than 200,000 previously unbanked Cambodians use a Bakong e-wallet now. Globally, the use of physical cash is falling, and authorities are looking to fend off the growing threat of cryptocurrencies. https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/cambodia-aims-hybrid-digital-currency-blockchain-unbanked-2021-12-22/

Syria's wheat production reached its lowest level in 50 years due to a combination of drought, increasing costs, and worsening economic conditions. The decline in agriculture production comes as Syria suffers from famine-like conditions in parts of the country with over 12.4 million people "food insecure" and around 90 percent of the population living in poverty. Besides rising prices, the country suffers from severe food shortages and government-run stores meant to provide subsidised goods are often empty. https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/syrias-wheat-production-lowest-50-years-un

The UK government urged poultry producers, and anyone keeping birds to follow strict biosecurity protocols and keep birds indoors as the country faces its largest-ever outbreak of avian influenza. All bird keepers, regardless of the number of birds, are legally required to introduce higher biosecurity standards on farms or small holdings. https://www.meatpoultry.com/articles/25952-uk-faces-largest-ever-outbreak-of-bird-flu

Unfavourable dryness in crop-growing areas of South America on Tuesday pushed Chicago Board of Trade corn futures to their highest price since July and soybeans to an August high. Wheat futures also rallied. South American weather was in the spotlight amid concerns about dry weather in southern Brazil, the world's top soybean exporter. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/grains-corn-soybeans-hit-summertime-highs-on-south-america-crop-worries

European prices for natural gas exceeded $2,150 per 1,000 cubic meters for the first time ever, according to Intercontinental Exchange’s London clearing house. The January futures on the noscript transfer facility hub in the Netherlands traded at $2,150 per 1,000 cubic meters, marking a 27% increase from Monday. Europe has seen an unprecedented growth in energy prices as Germany continues to postpone the launch of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, citing concerns that it doesn’t meet EU regulations. https://www.rt.com/business/543888-gas-price-europe-record-high/

Prices of household foods, such as flour products and cooking oil, are set to spike in Japan from early next year. The price hikes stem from rising ingredient prices, following a global surge in demand after economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis, as well as from climbing logistics costs. With companies unable to find ways to offset the high costs, some products have already seen prices raised, hitting consumers.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/12/23/business/economy-business/japan-flour-oil-food-inflation/

India - The law relating to issuing of digital currency by the Reserve Bank of India should be framed "quickly" and the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) considered as legal tender. "The government should out rightly ban buying, selling, investing and otherwise dealing in cryptocurrencies by any person resident in India," the resolution demanded. "Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc should not be recognised as asset or digital asset because it will indirectly become medium of exchange like currency." https://www.livemint.com/news/india/ban-crypto-transactions-rss-affiliate-swadeshi-jagran-manch-urges-centre-11640524054444.html#box_11640524054444

UK prices for ex-farm bread wheat have reached new levels this month, with the average reaching £276/tonne (€326.34/tonne)for December delivery. This is a price never seen before, at least since January 1990 when electronic records began. But tight global supplies have continued to support wheat prices lately and recent poor weather in Australia potentially hampering their harvest has added to this, particularly for high quality wheat, meaning that bread wheat prices are likely to remain elevated on the back of global concerns. https://www.allaboutfeed.net/market/market-trends/bread-wheat-prices-reach-record-levels-in-uk/

Switzerland - Bank of International Settlements - New CBDC payment system to settle transactions between Euros and Swiss Francs. Jura explores the direct transfer of euro and Swiss franc wholesale central bank digital currencies (wCBDCs) between French and Swiss commercial banks on a single DLT platform operated by a third party. Tokenised asset and foreign exchange trades are settled safely and efficiently using payment versus payment (PvP) and delivery versus payment (DvP) mechanisms. https://www.bis.org/publ/othp44.htm

Israel will face a shortage of millions of eggs due to the outbreak of pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza. There would be a 14 million egg shortage per month, out of the 200 million eggs consumed in Israel each month. To address the issue, Israeli Agriculture Minister Oded Forer decided to open the Israeli market to duty-free imports of 70 million to 100 million eggs immediately. https://insiderpaper.com/israel-sees-egg-shortage-amid-bird-flu-spreading-in-hen-coops/

The System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS), the Russian equivalent of SWIFT, has over 400 member banks across former Soviet republics, handling more than 20 percent of domestic transactions. China has also been developing a SWIFT alternative, called the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), which it had hoped would help internationalize the yuan. CIPS may be another possibility for Russia. Due to China’s greater economic importance, the yuan may be a more viable option than the ruble for cross-border trade. Another possibility for Russia is the digital ruble, which is meant to be launched in 2022. https://www.theepochtimes.com/banning-russia-from-swift-would-drive-it-closer-to-russia_4173703.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=ZeroHedge

Less than 20% of the world's population has managed to stockpile more than half of the globe's maize and other grains, leading to steep price increases across the planet and dropping more countries into famine. The hoarding is taking place in China. China is maintaining its food stockpiles at a "historically high level,". China is expected to have 69% of the globe's maize reserves in the first half of crop year 2022, 60% of its rice and 51% of its wheat. Related articles in the comments below. https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Datawatch/China-hoards-over-half-the-world-s-grain-pushing-up-global-prices

US- T-Mobile suffers 2nd cyberattack. Customers either fell victim to a SIM swapping attack (which could allow someone to bypass SMS-powered two-factor authentication), had personal plan information exposed, or both. The document shows that the customer proprietary network information that was viewed could’ve included customers’ billing account name, phone and account number, and info about their plan, including how many lines were attached to their account. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/another-t-mobile-cyberattack-reportedly-exposed-customer-info-and-sims/ar-AASdIEq

Poor winter weather conditions combined with already-low global inventories could send prices for wheat higher by up to 19%. War in Eastern Europe could catapult them further. “Europe, Ukraine, and the U.S. face some very unfavorable weather that will really set off a supply shortage concern,”. Hackett sees prices rallying to between $9.50 and $10 a bushel, or as much as 19% above recent levels. That’s his outlook without a military conflict. https://www.barrons.com/articles/bad-winter-weather-could-send-wheat-prices-higher-51640768401

It's not only the weather and potential military conflict between 2 major wheat exporters (Russia/Ukraine) but fertilizer shortages with high prices working towards higher prices for all crops using fertilizer. It has already begun in South Asia, for example in Nepal. See article. Reports of the same are coming from India/Pakistan. Additional info posted in the comments. https://english.makalukhabar.com/2021/12/37054/

UK - 30,000 pigs have now been culled on farms across the country as farmers take desperate measures as critical worker shortages in processing plants continue to bite. The sector's crisis is a result of slaughterhouse and butchery worker shortages. "It's time the pain was felt by all, and all actors within the supply chain take some responsibility or there will be no independent pig farmers left in this country,". https://www.farminguk.com/news/30-000-pigs-culled-on-farms-as-backlog-remains-dire-_59533.html

Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, has introduced what it said is the country’s first exchange-traded fund (ETF) to provide exposure to companies involved in the blockchain industry. It aims to track the Sber Blockchain Economy Index, giving investors exposure to crypto trading firms including Coinbase, Galaxy Digital and blockchain software provider Digindex. The index also includes crypto asset and mining companies and firms providing consulting services in the blockchain industry. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/russia-largest-bank-introduces-first-122002322.html