Overseas athletes and spectators visiting the Beijing Winter Olympics will be among the first foreign nationals to be able to trial China’s digital yuan central bank digital currency (CBDC) at event venues, nearby merchants and inside the Olympic Village. Visitors will be able to acquire, store and use the CBDC in an app or on a physical card or hard wallet, while athletes and coaches will be eligible for wristbands that support contactless payments in digital yuan and will be able to convert foreign banknotes into the digital currency at self-service machines. https://www.nfcw.com/whats-new-in-payments/china-to-let-visiting-athletes-and-spectators-use-digital-yuan-at-beijing-winter-olympics/

Italians, the world’s biggest consumers of pasta, face surging prices for the staple food used in dishes from lasagne to spaghetti. Higher costs are forcing producers to increase the wholesale price of dry pasta, Vincenzo Divella, chief executive officer of Italian pasta company Divella. Average prices charged to supermarkets could climb to 1.52 euros ($1.73) a kilogram by the end of January, a 38% jump from September, the CEO said. Italians, who on average consume 23 kilograms of pasta a year, are bracing for more pain after inflation accelerated to the highest in more than a decade in December. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-12/italians-face-more-expensive-spaghetti-after-pasta-costs-soar

Visa is collaborating with the blockchain software company ConsenSys to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot program to test retail applications like cards and wallets. Both companies will first hold talks with an estimated 30 central banks regarding what the monetary authorities expect to achieve with government-backed digital currencies. The pilot is anticipated to launch in the spring of this year. The move comes as regulators worldwide continue to grapple with how best to approach CBDCs in an evolving financial landscape overgrown with cryptocurrencies. https://www.pymnts.com/cbdc/2022/visa-teams-with-consensys-for-central-bank-digital-currency-pilot/

As farmers furiously try to price and source fertilizer ahead of the spring rush, a new report from the Texas A&M Agricultural and Food Policy Center (AFPC) shows supply chain disruptions are wreaking havoc on nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous prices, costing feedgrain farms the most. Under FAPRI’s August 2021 baseline outlook, nitrogen prices were expected to increase about 10% in 2022. Based on current spot market prices, it appears as though fertilizer prices will increase in excess of 80% for the 2022 planting season. https://www.agweb.com/news/crops/corn/50-surge-fertilizer-prices-adds-128000-farm-costs-2022-finds-texas-am-study

Switzerland's central bank has successfully used digital currency to settle transactions involving five commercial banks, the Swiss National Bank said on Thursday, the latest trial of the technology in wholesale markets. The trial, called Project Helvetia, could bring the introduction of central bank digital currencies a step nearer in Switzerland, which has conducted some of the most advanced central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiments in Europe. Under Helvetia, named after the symbol for Switzerland, the SNB integrated CBDCs into payment systems and used them in simulated transactions in the experiment which involved UBS, Credit Suisse Goldman Sachs Citigroup and Hypothekarbank Lenzburg. The scheme showed it was possible to instantaneously execute payments, which ranged in size from 100,000 to 5 million Swiss francs ($109,469 to $5.47 million), eliminating counter-party risk. https://www.usnews.com/news/technology/articles/2022-01-13/switzerland-tests-digital-currency-payments-with-top-investment-banks

US - Maryland officials confirmed that the state's Department of Health is dealing with a devastating ransomware attack, which has left hospitals struggling amid a surge of COVID-19 cases. "We have paid no extortion demands, and my recommendation -- after consulting with our vendors and state and federal law enforcement -- continues to be that we do not pay any such demand. Some people dealing with HIV could no longer access the daily medication they need and some hospitals were unable to access bank accounts to cover the cost of basic necessities. https://www.zdnet.com/article/maryland-officials-confirm-ransomware-attack-shut-down-department-of-health/

Paraguay's Agriculture Ministry has announced between 6 and 7 million tons of soybeans were to be harvested this season against the original projections of 10 million due to the unprecedented weather conditions. The current drought had led Paraguayan authorities to recalculate their projections, which has resulted in a 40% drop when compared to previous estimates. Paraguay is the world's fourth largest exporter of soybeans, which may affect the international price of the product, it was reported. https://en.mercopress.com/2022/01/13/paraguay-lowers-expectations-on-soy-due-to-drought

Brazilian consumers could see another round of stiff rises in food prices this year as meatpackers grapple with higher costs due to a drought hurting the crops used to feed livestock. Private analysts are slashing their crop forecasts due to hot, dry weather in Brazil's southern states, while state crop agency Conab has been conservative, trimming its outlook but projecting a larger soy and corn crop than last year. Meat prices in Brazil rose 8.45% in 2021, contributing to overall food inflation of 7.94% and fuelling a 10.06% rise in the benchmark consumer price index, the highest for a calendar year since 2015. https://www.thepigsite.com/news/2022/01/brazil-faces-another-year-of-high-food-inflation

A ransomware attack locked down a US jail, knocking out security cameras and leaving inmates confined to their cells. Cyber attackers hacked into the computer system that controls servers and internet access at the prison in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. For a short time, the jail's automatic door system was knocked out, meaning staff at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) had to manually unlock each cell. https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-news-us-prison-lockdown-us-prison-in-new-mexico-locks-down-due-to-a-ransomware-attack-2705793

Social-media sites are full of photographs of empty grocery-store shelves, and the head of one of the biggest U.S. supermarket chains says the situation will take weeks to improve. Port congestion and winter weather in parts of the country aren’t helping, either. Online searches are surging for basic products, reflecting consumer anxiety over supplies. As of Tuesday afternoon, the list includes chicken, potatoes, spinach, pasta, meat, lettuce, eggs, cream cheese and cat food. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-06/omicron-s-spread-means-more-food-outages-at-u-s-grocery-stores

European Union governments will launch later this week a large-scale simulation of cyberattacks against multiple member states. Participants will be confronted with attacks on their supply chains and some spillover socio-economic effects in other member states, before having to coordinate public communications and a diplomatic response. The exercise will be structured around a gradual escalation toward a major crisis that culminates in an attack that could qualify as an armed aggression under the United Nations Charter. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-11/eu-to-stage-large-scale-cyberattack-exercise-on-supply-chains

Hong Kong’s catering sector is bracing itself for a shortage of Japanese seafood, especially sashimi, as tightened Covid-19 quarantine rules for cargo aircrew are expected to drastically restrict the supply of goods into the city. Experts have warned that the reduced capacity will hurt the city’s status as a global cargo hub, if the stringent rules on such aircrew – requiring them to isolate in a designated hotel for seven days upon returning – continue. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3163314/no-more-sashimi-hongkongers-favourite-japanese

Israeli policymakers have broadened the scope of their research into launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC) as the Bank of Israel scrambles to avoid falling behind other countries. The bank has begun talking about the risks and benefits of a CBDC with various stakeholders. “Right now, we are increasing the resources devoted to the digital shekel project, both in terms of finances and people. https://www.pymnts.com/cbdc/2022/bank-of-israel-studies-potential-of-digital-shekel/

Housing, utilities and food costs have pushed Spanish inflation to its highest since 1992 in December. Spanish consumer prices rose 6.5% year-on-year in December accelerating the upward trend to hit the fastest inflation rate since May 1992. Prices of housing and utilities jumped 23.3% year-on-year, mainly driven by soaring electricity prices. Electricity prices had risen 72% from a year ago. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/housing-food-costs-push-spanish-end-2021-inflation-to-6-5-highest-since-1992/ar-AASLYas

Multiple Ukrainian government websites were knocked offline on Friday by a "massive" cyber breach of unidentified origins. A message written on the hacked websites said; "Ukrainian! All your personal data was uploaded to the public network. All data on the computer is destroyed, it is impossible to restore it,". "As a result of a massive cyber attack, the websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a number of other government agencies are temporarily down,". https://news.yahoo.com/massive-cyberattack-hits-ukraines-government-114914259.html #cyberattack #ICE9

“Ukraine is an important transit route for Russian flows to Europe” and Russia is a key supplier of natural gas to the EU, meeting almost 50% of the region’s import demand. Oil is also a key concern given that Russia produces close to 11 million barrels per day. Any possible action that targets oil exports would “tighten the oil market. Ukraine is expected to export over 24 million metric tons of wheat in the current marketing year, accounting for almost 12% of total global exports. “Any disruption at Black Sea ports could prove to be a market mover should the conflict escalate.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/tensions-between-russia-and-ukraine-aren-e2-80-99t-fully-priced-into-commodities/ar-AASKJQN

Shipping giant Maersk has warned ongoing port delays mean supply chain strains will “continue for some time”. “Unfortunately, 2022 has not started off as we had hoped. “We do foresee the strain to continue for some time still.” UK's Felixstowe’s dwell times were double those of Antwerp’s 2-4 days, the port with second highest delays in Europe. https://www.cips.org/supply-management/news/2022/january/shipping-freight-delays-not-set-to-ease-for-some-time/

Suspected members of the cyber criminal REvil ransomware gang have been detained and the group has been dismantled following raids by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), REvil was also accused of being responsible for a major ransomware attack against food supplier JBS, which paid $11 million in Bitcoin to the attackers. https://www.zdnet.com/article/russian-authorities-take-down-revil-ransomware-gang/

Beijing is trying to fortify the Chinese economy against a prolonged period of tension with the U.S. and other countries, stockpiling some essentials and planning on more domestic production as it accelerates efforts to make China less dependent on the world. China’s stockpiling is already pushing up global prices for grains and other commodities. Xi stressed the need to produce in China, for China, everything from toilets to satellites. China had poured resources into its own research labs, universities and companies to try to wean the country off its addiction to foreign technologies like American semiconductors. https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-looks-to-secure-supplies-as-strains-with-u-s-and-its-allies-grow-11642075381

Those increases were attributed to dry weather affecting large grain producers, including a drought in the U.S. and a fire in Russia that destroyed its grain crop. The impact was magnified in Middle Eastern countries where bread is a staple, with some geopolitical analysts saying it contributed to the Arab Spring. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-14/food-prices-are-back-to-where-they-were-in-the-2011-crop-crisis

A collective global effort is needed to deal with the problems posed by cryptocurrenices. "The kind of technology it is associated with, the decision taken by a single country will be insufficient to deal with its challenges. We have to have a similar mindset," Modi said at the World Economic Forum's virtual Davos Agenda conference. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-working-signing-free-trade-deals-with-many-countries-modi-says-2022-01-17/