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/

A VPN service used by criminals to distribute ransomware, malware and facilitate other forms of cybercrime has been taken offline following a coordinated international operation by police. As part of the joint action by Europol, Germany's Hanover Police Department, the FBI, the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) and others, the 15 servers used by the VPNLab.net service have been seized or disrupted, rendering it no longer available. https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-vpn-service-used-by-cyber-criminals-to-deliver-ransomware-has-just-been-taken-down-by-police/

Turkey- The process of de-dollarizing the Turkish economy will be accelerated in the coming weeks. The government will step up the conversion of the nation’s foreign currency holdings into Turkish lira, he said, adding that more than 131 billion lira ($9.69 billion) had been deposited in accounts under the plan. The government program, unveiled last month, is intended to protect lira deposits from further forex depreciation, as well as to make citizens feel more secure when holding their savings in a bank. https://www.rt.com/business/546201-turkey-ditching-dollar-lira-crisis/

Malaysia’s central bank recently completed a proof-of-concept for a CBDC with three other nations and may consider developing its own cross-border payment system using the blockchain. It also stated that the ostensible reason for the current research effort was to ensure it is prepared to launch a CBDC program “should the need to issue CBDC arise in the future.” https://cointelegraph.com/news/malaysia-s-central-bank-actively-assessing-cbdc-options?utm_source=Telegram&utm_medium=social

Russian state energy giant Gazprom said it has not booked any capacity to pump gas to Europe through the Yamal pipeline next month, underscoring a sharp drop-off in Russian exports to the region so far this year. Gazprom said pipeline exports of Russian gas have tumbled 41% from a year ago so far in January, underlining the impact of a reversal in the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which usually pumps Russian gas into Europe, from Germany to Poland. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/yamal-gas-pipeline-flows-still-heading-eastward-germany-poland-2022-01-17/

China's 2021 corn imports almost tripled in volume from the previous year, hitting a new record, as buyers turned to cheaper alternatives overseas amid soaring prices and a domestic supply crunch. The world's top grains market brought in 28.35 million tonnes of corn in all of 2021, up 151% from an annual record figure of 11.3 million in 2020. Imports of wheat in the first 12 months of the year also hit a record at 9.77 million tonnes, and were up 16.6% from 8.38 million in 2020. China's corn prices hit record highs in 2021 after Beijing whittled down its massive temporary stockpile of the grain and bad weather hit output in the main production region the previous year. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/chinas-corn-imports-soar-to-new-record-in-2021

The most populous county in the United States is becoming too dangerous for freight trains to pass through without being looted. This debacle throws another wrench into supply chains. Union Pacific is looking to avoid that stretch of track entirely, and FedEx and UPS may route their shipments to avoid Los Angeles County. https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/train-robberies-in-la-up-356-percent-in-2021/

Hot, dry weather in December and early January has analysts and trade groups lowering their estimates for soy production in key producers Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, helping push up prices of the oilseed by about 12% since the end of November. https://www.bloombergquint.com/onweb/paraguay-soybean-giant-girds-for-worst-harvest-in-two-decades

Germany’s gas storage facilities are 50.6% full (as of January 11, 2022),” the German Ministry of Economy said, “This corresponds to a theoretical working gas availability of 17.7 days,” https://www.rt.com/business/546399-germany-reveals-gas-reserves/

Oil prices rose for a 4th day to a 7 year high as an outage on a pipeline from Iraq to Turkey increased concerns about an already tight supply outlook amid worrisome geopolitical troubles in Russia and the UAE. Brent crude futures to $88.30 per barrel. Turkey’s state pipeline operator Botas said that it cut oil flows on the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline after an explosion on the system. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/19/oil-markets-middle-east-tensions-iraq-turkey-pipeline.html