There has been a lot of talk over the last couple of years regarding the recession, who's to blame and how to get out of the rut. Whilst the newspapers and repeaters flap about a potential double dip, what Kate wore for her wedding or what happened in the latest episode of some nonsense such as 'Only way is Essex' no one seems to be talking about the on going currency wars or the up coming trade wars.
The past few years have seen a rise in the price of goods across the entire spectrum, from the barrel of oil in the docks of Libya, to the food on our shelves. The underlying factors behind this have not been fully explained by economic 'specialists' or should I say not explained in a way that everyday people would necessarily understand, which is wrong, or not linked in a way to show true links and trends.
Economics, finance and all these other important issues are reported in a way that turn people off UNLESS they have a vested interest through business or their specific trades. I am sure the majority of you remember maths, business and other associated topics with a less than fond memory, potentially boring and generally something that you "would not need in later life".
In reality this could not be further from the truth.
The true reason for these increased prices cannot really be linked to a single event, remember globalisation is a fact, as I wrote about in February 2011 as a reaction to events going on around the world currently.
Today are all connected in an unprecedented way.
Events such as the extreme weather systems in Australia that lead to huge cyclones, wiping out not only entire crops but homes and towns also, this added to the crop fires in Russia, both equated to a drop in crop harvested for export resulting in an increase in crop prices as demand starts to outstrip supply. Do I need to remind you of the E.coli outbreak in Europe this year that left Spain (and later) Egypt carrying the can whilst in the midst of economic and political turmoil?
Where does the cucumber, strawberry, broccoli or pepper in your basket come from?
The supply chain has obviously been affected by the spiked increase in the price of oil which recently led to America releasing 30 million barrels of its emergency reserve oil into the supply chain (along with a consortium of other nations that released a combined total of 30 million barrels to help drive down the price) making a total of 60 million barrels in total. As this news was released I am sure I saw the price of petrol drop 3 pence whilst I waited my turn to fill up.
It's like quantative easing with black gold.
When all these things are put together and looked at in context it becomes easy to see that there is not one single reason why the majority of the world is struggling. It is a combination of all these events, major and minor.
More recently the BBC broke the news that a bank is leading the way in returning call centres back to the UK following complaints from customers;
If any one truly believes this is due to satisfying customer satisfaction then I would be surprised. This is hot on the heels of major fashion retailers, such as Christian Louibouton, bringing home their operations from the far east.
All these events are part and parcel of trade wars, the currency war is being lost by the US as the dollar is in steep decline, and the world in it's trade dependency between each nation, now competes on a viscous scale as the financial crisis tightens it's grip.
The rise of the Chinese raises a potential threat to the established 'super power' that is America as it continues to buy land and horde rare Earth minerals. The Chinese Government continue to seek to strengthen it's position in Europe by offering to assist in the Eurozone bail out. This could potentially put the relationship between Europe and America under strain if the economic 'specialists' try to inform us that the only way out of the crisis is to all join a global currency as both the Chinese and the Russians have both categorically said "no" to a world currency.
I imagine we will be offered a referendum but unfortunately the majority of us will not be informed enough to make a decision that will not have been already spelt out to us.
With the trade wars under way and the people around the world rising up against oppression and the standard of living I wait to see the outcome.
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