European Economics Thread
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Europe Loses Another Smelter as Energy Crisis Leaves Deep Scars
March 9, 2023... Another European aluminum smelter is closing, in a fresh sign of the damage wrought by an energy crisis that’s hammered the region’s industrial economy and crimped supplies of critical raw materials.
While power prices have retreated sharply from last year’s peaks, Speira Gmbh will shut its Rheinwork plant in Germany this year due to challenges in the energy market, the company said Thursday. That follows a 50% cut in aluminum production announced in September as soaring power and gas prices plunged Europe’s energy-intensive metals industry into an existential crisis.
Some smelters have been ramping back up in recent weeks, but the Speira shutdown is the latest sign of the obstacles politicians face as they seek to prevent a further wave of deindustrialization. They are also looking to shore up local supplies of critical industrial raw materials as global supply chains become more fragile.
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Speira will now focus solely on recycling and processing aluminum into value-added products, it said. While the decision to close the smelter will affect about 300 employees, the company will deliver all contracted sales to its customers, replacing the curtailed production with external metal supplies.
Eurozone bankruptcies are starting to rise, surpassing levels seen during the peak of the economic impact of COVID.
For EU, at the current rate of business destruction it won’t be long before businesses are closing at a faster rate than they are opening. :
The country that witnessed the in bankruptcies last year was Spain. Other EU countries that have seen a notable increase in bankruptcies in 2022 include Austria (57%), France (51%), Belgium (42%), the Netherlands (18%) and Finland (8.5%).
As Euractiv in January, insolvencies in France and across Europe have hurt small businesses, particularly one-person outfits, the most. “When SMEs fall, it is the whole local economic network that is impacted,” Thierry Millon, who directed the study, told EURACTIV France. “They can no longer pay their suppliers, and the job loss is much greater across the value chain,” he said.
The country that witnessed the in bankruptcies last year was Spain. Other EU countries that have seen a notable increase in bankruptcies in 2022 include Austria (57%), France (51%), Belgium (42%), the Netherlands (18%) and Finland (8.5%).As Euractiv in January, insolvencies in France and across Europe have hurt small businesses, particularly one-person outfits, the most. “When SMEs fall, it is the whole local economic network that is impacted,” Thierry Millon, who directed the study, told EURACTIV France. “They can no longer pay their suppliers, and the job loss is much greater across the value chain,” he said.
Rotting garden
Nah. More like Garden Burger. Insipid taste wise but will fill you up if you are sufficiently hungry.
Things are moving really fast this past week. CS went through multiple ups and downs, but everything feels like 2008. I'm not 100% that CS will be taken over by UBS. Things could unravel depending on other major banks and such.
Although the first bank failures were in America, Europe will be the hardest hit here. Suisse banks suffer the most from sanctioning Russian accounts. Major Chinese & possibly other Asian accounts have taken their money out of Swiss banks
We will see what happens here, but 2010 to 2014 was rough in Europe. It would be hard to not see re-run of that episode here.
interesting to read back on my own post of getting spooked back 5 months ago. Turned out SNB did step in and save them initially, but that only gave them a temporary reprieve. SVB basically triggered the current flight of bank runs.
We are at the point where Western banks can't handle 5% interest rate, so we are stuck with persistent inflation or banking failure.
Strip the riches from their riches and there's plenty money for anyone. Especially for the elder people. Show some respect bastards