USA - It's probably not the endorsement Biden's flailing administration wanted. In a time when social networks have been swamped with photos of empty shelves from across the nation, Goldman's head commodity strategist and one of the closest-followed analysts on Wall Street, said he’s never seen commodity markets pricing in the shortages they are right now. “I’ve been doing this 30 years and I’ve never seen markets like this,” Currie told Bloomberg TV in an interview on Monday. “This is a molecule crisis. We’re out of everything, I don’t care if it’s oil, gas, coal, copper, aluminum, you name it we’re out of it.” The shortage of, well, everything has translated into record prices of virtually all commodities: the Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index, which tracks 23 energy, metals and crop futures, has touched a record this year. That has been driven in part by surging oil prices, which have hit their highest level since 2014 and earlier today Brent rose as high as $94, assuring even more pain at the pump.

USA - Supplies of diesel and heating oil in the United States have dwindled as refiners are having trouble replenishing the domestic fuel supply this winter, which may keep oil prices elevated for months. Heating oil futures reached $2.83 per gallon at the market’s close on February 4, the highest price in seven years. US and global benchmarks for crude-oil futures hit above $90 a barrel, as a harsh winter storm affected large portions of the country, adding to existing supply concerns. The latest national average price for diesel was at $3.78 per gallon, the highest since September 2014.

USA - President Joe Biden will welcome German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to the White House on Monday to discuss Russian aggression against the Ukraine and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as tensions mount in Eastern Europe. Scholz's visit comes as both Democrats and Republicans - along with American allies in Western Europe - have accused Germany of being 'missing in action' on Ukraine and expressed frustration Berlin hasn't done more to help its fellow NATO members in Eastern Europe as Russia builds up its military force on the Ukraine border. Scholz has said that Moscow would pay a 'high price' if it attacks. But concerns have been raised about his government's refusal to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine, to increase Germany's troop presence in Eastern Europe or to clarify which sanctions it would support should Russia act.

CHINA - The president of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, recently attended the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing. The next day, he met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People, where he signed Argentina up to the Belt and Road Initiative, while also penning an $8 billion nuclear power plant deal to be financed and built by Chinese firms. In a joint statement, both countries also affirmed Argentina's sovereign claims over the disputed Malvinas/Falkland Islands – a gesture which, while not a new position for either country, drew the ire of UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Twitter. In tandem with this, the president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, was also in town, and, despite his government traditionally being a more US-aligned administration, he later announced talks on a bilateral free trade agreement with China. While the Winter Games go on, so do the political games. In the space of just a few days, it seems clear where the gold medal for seizing the diplomatic initiative is heading.

USA - The lack of critical thinking that we see in the world of journalism today is absolutely frightening. Way too often, the mainstream media simply takes the information that it is being fed and packages it as “truth” for an unsuspecting public. And since the general public does so little critical thinking at this point, most of the time the misinformation that is being foisted upon us goes virtually unchallenged. On Friday, NPR was thrilled to report that the US economy “added 467,000 jobs last month”… But the US economy did not add 467,000 jobs last month. It actually lost 2.8 million jobs. So how does a loss of 2.8 million jobs become a gain of 467,000 jobs? That is where “seasonal adjustments” come in, and as one expert quoted by Zero Hedge noted, “there has never been a January Seasonal Adjustment of this magnitude”… I would recommend examining all of the evidence and coming to your own conclusions. Things just keep getting worse, and at this point it is hard to imagine how anyone can be optimistic about the months ahead.

USA - In order to understand how far we have fallen as a society, we need to take a look back at how Americans once lived. Because the way that we live today would be unrecognizable to those that inhabited our cities in the middle of the last century. We like to think of ourselves as the most advanced and most sophisticated generation that the United States has ever produced, but the truth is that we are filthy, disgusting “pig people” compared to the generations that have come before us. Today, we take great pride in being as informal as possible. Or, putting it another way, we have become a nation of complete slobs. Sometimes we like to laugh at “People of Walmart”, but the truth is that the entire country is filled with “People of Walmart” at this point. From coast to coast, our nation is degenerating at a pace that is absolutely breathtaking. If you walk down the streets of any of our major cities today, you aren’t going to encounter highly civilized people... Instead, you may run into some “woke” young adults that our rapidly decaying system of education has recently produced.

USA - Scientists at MIT have developed a material that is as light as plastic — but stronger than steel. They believe the material could revolutionize the car, mobile phone and building industries. The easily manufactured substance – up to six times more difficult to break than bulletproof glass – is the result of an engineering feat previously thought to be impossible. It is a two-dimensional polymer that self-assembles into sheets, unlike all other polymers, which form one-dimensional, spaghetti-like chains. Until now, scientists believed it was impossible to induce polymers to form 2D sheets. Now, its developers hope the material could be used as a lightweight, durable coating for car parts or mobile phones. It could also serve as a worthy candidate for the construction of office buildings, bridges or other structures.

UK - Now we learn that one of our leading universities is demanding recognition for people who identify as cats. Beam me up, Scotty.

GERMANY - The power struggle that the West is waging against Russia is provoking a long-term hike in natural gas prices in Germany as well as a tendency toward unreliable supplies. This results from the German government’s plans to rely more on liquefied gas imports in the future. Liquefied gas is more expensive than pipeline gas, and is also more unreliable, in the current situation. Liquefied gas tankers can be diverted to another destination at any time, if higher prices can be obtained. In addition, liquefied gas is “nearly as harmful to the climate as coal,” an expert at Germany’s Federal Environment Agency explains. Industry representatives confirm that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will still not be commissioned, even though it could remedy Germany’s current gas shortage, which is taking on serious proportions. Gas is more expensive than ever. Germany’s gas storage facilities’ levels are lower than they have ever been at this time of the year. The supply would collapse, if there were a cold spell for only a week. Berlin is insisting on importing gas from Groningen – preventing the shutdown of that gas field in spite of the risk of earthquakes.

USA - In these tough financial times, a new study finds it’s getting harder and harder for people to save any of their money. In fact, seven in 10 Americans say they’re living paycheck to paycheck. A recent survey of 2,007 adults found that 63 percent don’t see themselves reaching a level of financial security that will allow them to live the lifestyle they want. Lack of financial education and resources may be to blame, particularly for women, who were less likely to say they had access to these tools in comparison to men (65% vs 84%). On average, respondents feel they’d need $686 of disposable income per month to feel financially comfortable.

TAIWAN - With Russia massing troops along Ukraine’s borders, President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan felt compelled to act. She ordered the creation of a task force to study how the confrontation thousands of miles away in Europe could affect Taiwan’s longstanding conflict with its larger, vastly more powerful neighbor. “Taiwan has faced military threats and intimidation from China for a long time,” Ms Tsai told a gathering of her national security advisers late last month, according to a statement by her office. Perhaps more than people in any other place in the world, Taiwanese know what it is like to live in the shadow of an overbearing power, with China claiming the island as its own. Ms Tsai added, “we empathize with Ukraine’s situation.”

UK - Classic children's novels have been given "content warnings" by university chiefs. English undegraduates at Leeds are being told Anna Sewell's 1877 novel Black Beauty contains "depictions of cruelty to animals". Daniel Defoe's 1719 adventure tale Robinson Crusoe "discusses race and slavery" and has "attitudes typical of its time". And Edgar Rice Burroughs's 1912 classic Tarzan Of The Apes is said to contain "expressions of racism". Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: "Each week brings more ludicrous examples of universities cosseting adults from the 'horrors' of children's literature. Perhaps the first thing that they should be teaching their students is that the real world doesn't come with a trigger warning."

USA - Ford Motor Co tumbled into a bear market after a fourth-quarter profit and sales missed Wall Street expectations. Chief Executive Jim Farley warned of "persistent supply-chain disruptions" limiting its ability to meet strong demand. Reuters reports the Detroit automaker will shutter eight factories in the US, Mexico, and Canada, beginning on Monday as it copes with chip shortages. Reuters' report paints a challenging 2022 backdrop for the company as it continues having trouble sourcing chips, an ongoing issue for well over a year, and still not yet resolved. The good news is Ford's turnaround is underway with the launch of electric vehicles. However, it has to reduce the complexity of its supply chain, a transition that won't be easy.

IRAN - A hacktivist organization has revealed a highly sensitive Iran Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps document that asserts Iranian “society is in a state of explosion” because of the crippling sanctions imposed on the nation due to its illicit nuclear program. According to Radio Farda’s Golnaz Esfandiari, who authored the exclusive article, “the document covers a meeting with IRGC’s intelligence wing and quotes an official named Mohammadi saying that Iran’s “society is in a state of explosion.” Mohammadi added that “social discontent has risen by 300% in the past year.” Revolts against the clerical state have erupted in Iranian society since the 1979 Islamic revolution, including the widespread Green movement protests in 2009 and massive unrest in 2019.

USA - While the overwhelming majority of Americans favor clean air and water, they also want affordable food and energy prices, but thanks to a series of bad policy decisions on the part of US and Western leaders, they can’t have both. The global financial system was sent into a tailspin and the world has yet to recover. The economic system is out of whack and it’s not clear at this point what will bring it back into alignment, but in the meantime, there is a crisis building regarding the cost of food that is directly related to skyrocketing oil and energy prices. Bloomberg News has more: Global food prices jumped toward a record last month, further adding to the surging cost of living for consumers. While it’s true that inflation has become rampant in the United States, it’s actually become a global problem: According to the United Nation’s world food index, household budgets will be further pressured as prices continue to rise for basic items. What’s more, the cost of producing food is also skyrocketing, and “that’s particularly bad news for the poorest consumers and nations with the least disposable income,” Bloomberg noted.