No Financing And No Demand: Chinese Refiners Run Into Trouble

International banks are suspending credit lines for some independent oil refiners worried about the growing risk of defaults across industries because of the coronavirus epidemic, Reuters reports, citing industry sources… According to the sources, at least three private refiners, or teapots, have had credit lines to the tune of $600 million suspended by banks including French…

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Will COVID-19 Lead To A Gold Standard?

Even before the coronavirus sprang upon an unprepared China the credit cycle was tipping the world into recession. The coronavirus makes an existing situation immeasurably worse, shutting down China and disrupting global supply chains to the point where large swathes of global production simply cease. The crisis is likely to be a wake-up call for complacent…

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The Dilemma Facing China Is Truly Awful

As has been the case since Monday’s sell-off, there is an attempt to try to look on the bright side of the virus headlines. Chinese officials are spreading the word globally that things are under control and that other country should not be closing their borders to China, in line with the WHO recommendations that…

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Coronavirus And The “Unsinkable” Titanic Analogy

Unthinkable doesn’t mean unsinkable. As we all know, the “unsinkable” Titanic suffered a glancing collision with an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912. A half-hour after the iceberg had opened six of the ship’s 16 watertight compartments, it was not at all apparent that the mighty vessel had been fatally wounded, as there was…

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