Dr Doom sees a looming global recession and its contingent financial turmoil. Some important must-knows about crypto. What the EU is doing to stave off an energy supply crisis. Why the health risks from air pollution may be greater than we thought. A clinical psychologist’s action-oriented antidote to the anxiety generated by all the above.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Virtually no aspect of human life is unaffected by the quality of our air” (in the article on air pollution)

ARTICLE OF THE WEEK

Nouriel Roubini, A Stagflationary Debt Crisis Looms
(Project Syndicate, 29 June 2022)
We know that Roubini is not to ‘everybody’s taste’, but it’s always worth paying attention to his warnings and dissecting his arguments. He asserts here that there is ample reason to worry that major economies like the US are heading for a recession, accompanied by cascading financial turmoil (many would dispute the latter). Some of the worst elements of both the 1970s and the 2008 crash are now in play, he says, with equity markets likely to move deeper into bear territory (may require free registration to read – 6-7 min).
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Sonari Glinton, Can Regulators Catch Up to Crypto?
(Slate Futures, 28 June 2022)
This is much broader than the title suggests. In this transcript of an interview, Anthony Lee Zhang, who teaches finance at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, shares his views on a whole range of crypto issues including: whether it’s too risky for regular people to be investing their life savings in, the potential for regulation, the blockchain mania. An interesting observation: “fundamentally, crypto and blockchain technologies are substitutes for lawyers”. Interesting throughout (metered paywall – reads in about 10 min).
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Stefan Ellerbeck, What progress is the EU making on ending its reliance on Russian energy?
(World Economic Forum, 29 June 2022)
This is a vital question here in Europe. The EU says it will block Russian oil imports arriving by sea by the end of 2022 and has committed to reducing gas imports from Russia by two-thirds within a year. It is also looking at accelerating its clean energy transition by setting aside “go-to areas” of land or sea for renewables. This article describes the EU plan, but it’s important to remember that Russia may at any time throw a spanner in the works (like ceasing to export gas to the EU) (free access – reads in 5-6 min).
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Sandra Aguilar-Gomez, Holt Dwyer, Joshua Graff Zivin, Matthew Neidell, Damage from air pollutants you won’t hear about from your doctor
(VOXeu, 30 June 2022)
By now, most people know about the damaging effects of air pollution on diagnosable health outcomes. But as this article makes clear, the burden of disease is not the only economic cost arising from poor air quality. An emerging body of work suggests that air pollution may have significant effects on day-to-day functioning, economic output, and individual wellbeing in cities around the world, even for people with none of the observable health problems attributed to pollution exposure (free access – reads in 7-9 min).
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Mary Pipher, How I Build a Good Day When I’m Full of Despair at the World
(The New York Times, 28 June 2022)
At a time when so much seems to be going wrong, this is an apt and useful contribution. The clinical psychologist offers some tips and elaborates on the skills required for “building a good day”. She makes it clear how dangerous it is to lose hope in the future and why “the best way to cope with suffering is to face it”. There are many ways to muster our inner resources to move forward (like meeting with friends or helping another person).  And remember: “action is always an antidote to despair” (behind a paywall but gifted – reads in 6-8 min).
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