* European Central Bank hikes interest rates by 75 basis points
* German economy grows slightly in Q3, defies forecasts of recession
* Fossil-fuel demand may peak in a few years, IEA advises
* Elon Musk takes control of Twitter and fires top executives
* Amazon shares tumble on weak Q4 earnings outlook
* Durable goods orders in US rose in September but momentum is fading
* US jobless claims edged up last week but remain near historically low levels
* US economy recovers in Q3, posting solid 2.6% increase after first-half decline:

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Last year’s spike in Covid-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations has faded from the public’s focus, and for an obvious reason. The numbers have fallen and worries about other issues – inflation, the economy, energy supplies, next week’s elections, to name a few – are now front and center. But with the winter approaching, is a rebound in pandemic troubles lurking?

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* US mortgage interest rates rise to 7.16%, highest since 2001
* Ukraine war will accelerate shift to cleaner energy sources, IEA forecasts
* Oil giant Shell set to hike dividend after quarterly profit surges
* Europe now has glut of natural gas, sending prices lower
* American middle class facing biggest decline to its wealth in a generation
* New US home sales fell 11% in September after sharp rise in mortgage rates
* US broad money supply continues to slide in real terms in September:

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After a stellar first half in 2022, the energy sector stumbled, inspiring some analysts to forecast that the bull run was over. But that view is looking premature as Big Oil shares rally anew.

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* The energy future the West wants is magical thinking
* Natural gas and electricity prices in Europe plunge from summer peaks
* Health insurance inflation, a key CPI input, is expected to drop sharply
* Microsoft reports profit slide amid slowdown in personal computing industry
* Hydropower, world’s biggest source of clean energy, is evaporating fast
* Atlanta Fed Mfg Index continues to report weak conditions in October
* US consumer confidence eases in October after gaining for two months
* US home prices decelerate at rapid rate in August:

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Economic activity for the US for the third quarter is on track to recover in this week’s initial estimate from the government, based on the median for a set of estimates compiled by CapitalSpectator.com. The rebound is set to fade in Q4, however, according to early projections and so any celebrations over this week’s results may be short-lived.

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* UK economic, financial turmoil await Rishi Sunak, the incoming prime minister
* World in ‘global energy crisis’, says head of the International Energy Agency
* Fed’s rate hikes will pause when inflation halves, economist predict
* Recession is price to pay for taming inflation, says JP Morgan president
* China’s yuan falls to 15-year low against the US dollar on Tuesday
* China probably won’t bail out its ailing property sector, says economist
* US economic activity contracted in October via PMI survey data
* Chicago Fed Nat’l Activity Index indicates “steady” US growth in September:

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Offering a reprieve from bear-market conditions that have pummeled markets for much of 2022, traders bid up prices for most of the major asset classes for the week through Friday, Oct. 21, based on a set of ETFs.

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* Rishi Sunak is set to become Britain’s new prime minister
* Global tension on track to rise as Xi secures third term to lead China
* US rebuts Russia’s claim that Ukraine may use dirty bomb and blame Moscow
* The two Koreas exchange warning shots along disputed sea boundary
* China releases delayed Q3 GDP data, which shows modest rebound in output
* Eurozone economic contraction deepens in October via PMI survey data
* UK economic downturn accelerates in October, PMI survey data shows
* Illegal border crossings into US set to reach record high
* Federal Reserve on track for another 75-basis-points rate hike in November
* US Treasury real yields remain near 13-year highs:

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● MegaThreats: Ten Dangerous Trends That Imperil Our Future, And How to Survive Them
Nouriel Roubini
Review via Financial Times
At least there were only four horsemen of the apocalypse. But reflecting today’s rampant inflation, Nouriel Roubini now identifies 10 so-called megathreats, spanning various economic, financial, political, technological and environmental disasters. “Sound policies might partially or fully avert one or more of them, but collectively, calamity seems near certain,” Roubini jauntily concludes. “Expect many dark days, my friends.”
Readers of a nervous disposition may want to file this book in the bin before they turn a page. Those braced for an ice bath of pessimism may profit from its gloomy insights about the state of the world. Roubini’s warnings may be alarmingly scary, but they are also disturbingly plausible. One only prays that policymakers have better solutions than the author unearths.

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