Europe- A decade later, the continent’s biggest economy has shut down almost all its capacity already. The rest will be switched off at the end of 2022 — at the worst possible time. Wholesale power prices are more than four times what they were at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Belgium and Spain, meanwhile, are following Germany’s lead in abandoning nuclear. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-01-31/europe-s-nuclear-power-plants-are-disappearing-just-as-energy-crisis-hits-hard

Russia is warming up prices by introducing quotas for grain exports and reducing gas supplies to Europe, and now it has decided to limit the export of ammonium nitrate. Prices for ammonium nitrate increased 2.5-3 times compared to last year amid a rise in gas prices and a decrease in supply. The Russian government introduces a two-month ban on the export of ammonium nitrate. https://graintrade.com.ua/en/novosti/rosiya-na-2-misyatci-zaboronila-eksport-amiachnoi-selitri.html

Meanwhile in the US - A fire at a North Carolina fertilizer plant packed with 600 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate continued to burn out of control on Tuesday, forcing firefighters to abandon the scene and prompting the evacuation of roughly 6,500 residents in a mile radius of the facility. https://abcnews.go.com/US/north-carolina-firefighters-pull-back-blaze-fertilizer-plant/story?id=82599355

One of the biggest bridges between Solana and other blockchains, Wormhole, has been hacked to the tune of around $320 milion - or 120,000 ETH potentially stolen, which would make it the second largest DeFi hack to date. Wormhole is a protocol that allows users to bridge assets across blockchains. It has over $1 billion in total value locked and supports six blockchains: Terra, Solana, Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche and Polygon. https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/320-million-limbo-after-second-largest-defi-hack-ever

A government plan for tackling Lebanon's financial crisis projects a 93% devaluation of the Lebanese pound and converts the bulk of hard currency deposits in the banking system to local currency. Lebanon's crisis may be one of the worst depressions in world history. https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/lebanon-plan-sees-93-currency-slide-turns-bulk-fx-deposits-pounds-2022-01-31/

Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co.’s plans on issuing a gold pegged cryptocurrency in the country. The coin known as ZipangCoin (ZPG) will be available for trading as soon as this month. he value of ZipangCoin is set to similar to the value of one gram of gold. https://www.fxempire.com/news/article/japan-gold-pegged-cryptocurrency-to-be-issued-this-month-888328

News Corp was the target of a hack that accessed emails and documents of some employees, including journalists. The attack, discovered on Jan. 20, affected a number of publications and business units. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/news-corp-journalists-targeted-by-suspected-cyberattack-11643981021?mod=home-page

Russia and China are increasingly contemplating using their own currencies in mutual settlements and finding ways to work together to counter sanctions. If penalties are imposed on one of our banks, it is quite difficult for Chinese recipients of our products to pay us, although they have the money and the desire to do so.”. https://www.rt.com/russia/548070-china-moscow-plan-currency/

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston released research in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, on the technological viability of a Fed-backed digital dollar, also known as a central bank digital currency. The results are promising for the viability of a digital dollar, as the research produced two separate architectures for a potential U.S. CBDC. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/move-toward-digital-dollar-gains-steam-as-boston-fed-says-its-prototype-can-handle-17-million-transactions-per-second/ar-AATrz1D

Turkey’s annual inflation came in at nearly 49% on Thursday, hitting a nearly 20-year high and further eroding people’s ability to buy even basic things like food.
The Turkish Statistical Institute said the consumer price index increased by just over 11% in January from the previous month. The yearly increase in food prices was more than 55%. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/turkey-inflation-recep-tayyip-erdogan-ankara-b2006739.html

Following news of major cyberattacks on German-based oil storage companies, there are now reports of similar attacks in the Netherlands and Belgium. https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Who-Is-Responsible-For-Cyberattacks-On-Europes-Oil-Industry.html

The United Nations Food Price Index reached an all-time high in January, and the highest level in "real" terms since the early 1970s. Smaller-than-expected soybean harvest in Brazil. Natural gas prices in Europe sit at near record highs, driving fertilizer prices globally to nearly 3x pre-pandemic levels. Russia recently banned export of ammonium nitrates fertilizer; China is banning phosphates fertilizer export. https://seekingalpha.com/news/3796166-un-food-price-index-hits-all-time-high-governments-take-action-to-control-damage

Swissport, the world's largest airport ground services and cargo handling company, has been targeted by ransomware hackers. Some flights have been delayed at Zurich airport and passengers are being warned of further potential disruption.
Swissport's website was forced offline by the cyberattack and the company said some services had been affected for both passengers and freight. https://menafn.com/1103644158/Swiss-based-airport-services-firm-suffers-ransomware-attack

The rush by physical traders and financial players has boosted benchmark Chicago futures by 31 percent since early November last year to an eight-month high, with the premium for July versus November contracts surging eightfold. Demand for immediate delivery has pushed cash prices at elevators in places such as Iowa and Illinois to unusually high premiums over futures. https://taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2022/02/06/2003772622

Blockchain infrastructure company Meter said $4.4 million was stolen during a cyberattack on the platform. The Meter network as well as the Moonriver network were affected by the hack. Blockchain research company PeckShield confirmed that 1391 ETH and 2.74 BTC were stolen during the incident. https://www.zdnet.com/article/4-4-million-stolen-in-attack-on-blockchain-infrastructure-meter/

The occupancy rate in Europe's natural gas storage facilities fell to 37.5% in January 2021 from 52% in January 2022. The colder-than-expected winter season and the increase in energy demand have led to more use of natural gas in storage. The decrease in the amount of natural gas sent by Russia to Europe via Ukraine and the decrease in production from hydroelectric power plants were also influential in decreasing gas in the storages. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/europes-gas-storage-levels-fall-to-375-in-january-2022/2495399

Stock of Tyson Foods, the world's second largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork after Brazil's JBS S.A., is soaring 9%, hitting an all time high and is one of the S&P's best companies. And speaking of food inflation, brace for more, much more: recent data showed the American cattle herd shrank more than expected, signaling consumers faced more sticker shock. https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/tyson-foods-soars-record-after-hiking-beef-chicken-and-pork-prices-double-digits

Greece - Retail electricity prices in December 2021 rose by 45% y-o-y. the country in the grip of an unprecedented avalanche of high energy prices, which soon translated into indiscriminate increases in food and goods prices, which gave rise to strong inflationary pressures. Industrial producer prices soared to a 21-year high last month, pointing to further retail price hikes in the weeks and months to come. https://www.financialmirror.com/2022/02/06/greece-faces-energy-crisis-as-prices-spiral/

Edible oil prices could face further turmoil after Indonesia imposed curbs on its world-leading palm oil exports and as concerns grew that war in eastern Europe could dent Ukraine’s huge sunflower oil output. Together Indonesia and Malaysia account for over 80% of global palm oil exports. Russia and The Ukraine make up “more than 75% of all sunflower oil exports. https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/commodities/vegetable-oil-prices-surging-amid-tightening-supply-and-tensions-in-ukraine/664214.article

Iowa and U.S. farmers can expect income from crops and livestock production to tumble, with costs spiking. The agency expects U.S. farm income to fall to $113.7 billion, down $9.7 billion, or 7.9%, from 2021. costs to raise crops and livestock will grow 5.1% to $411.6 billion over the 2021 figure, with the price of fertilizer climbing 12% and for livestock feed, 6.1%. https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2022/02/06/2022-farm-income-expected-fall-production-fertilizer-feed-costs-rise/6665786001/