The supply chain crisis isn't going anywhere

The Fed chair warns the supply chain crunch — and inflation — will stick around; leaked docs show some countries want the IPCC to tone down warnings about fossil fuel.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Ellen Ioanes.

Supply chain woes have “gotten worse,” Powell says

Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images

• Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said he expects supply chain issues — and related problems like inflation — to continue into 2022, and that the central bank will be prepared to react should inflation fail to subside. [NYT / Jeanna Smialek]
• “Supply-side constraints have gotten worse,” Powell said at a Bank for International Settlements-South African Reserve Bank virtual meeting on Friday. That supply chain problem has not only created a crunch in accessing goods, but it’s driven up prices for core consumer goods, including food and gas — otherwise known as inflation. [WSJ / Nick Timiraos]
• The supply chain backup is being felt at nearly every level — from a scarcity of consumer goods, to shipping container backlogs, to cargo ship bottlenecks, to cardboard and labor shortages. What started with a temporary manufacturing shutdown at the beginning of the pandemic has spiraled into a global crisis as consumer demand has skyrocketed. [CNBC / Holly Ellyatt]
• Supply-chain challenges are present all over the world, but the Asia-US pipeline has proven particularly fragile as billions in stimulus funds turned into consumer spending, and the pandemic exacerbated issues like outdated ports in the US. “Global supply chains are not built for this. Everything is breaking down,” Brian Bourke of SEKO Logistics said. [Washington Post / David Lynch]
• In light of the country’s economic challenges, Powell said Friday that the central bank could gradually taper down its $120 billion monthly bill for government bonds and mortgage-backed securities — its method of supporting the economy. Powell said that an interest rate hike to balance out inflation isn’t likely at the moment and added, “We think we can be patient and allow the labor market to heal.” [Reuters / Lindsay Dunsmuir and Ann Saphir]
• As far as the prospects for the supply chain getting back on track, World Trade Organization head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says the crisis could last for “several months” as shipping companies deal with the “supply-demand mismatch.” The upcoming holiday season and inequitable vaccination rates inhibiting growth in poorer countries could compound the crisis, she said. [Financial Times / David Pilling]

Governments lobby IPCC to cool it on fossil fuel concerns

• Leaked documents show that Australia, Japan, and Saudi Arabia are among countries trying to lobby the United Nations to minimize the urgent need to move away from fossil fuels in order to mitigate climate change, ahead of the COP26 environmental summit in Glasgow, Scotland. [BBC / Justin Rowlatt and Tom Gerken]
• A Greenpeace investigation found that OPEC nations like Venezuela, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, the UAE, and Nigeria were also among the nations urging the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, to downplay the risks of fossil fuel to the environment. Nations like Brazil and Argentina, large meat and dairy producers, wanted the IPCC’s report to back off on recommending plant-based diets to combat climate change. [Guardian / Robyn Vinter]
• Many of the countries named in the investigation are facing immense pressure from global bodies to step up their commitment to hitting climate change mitigation targets. Governments are expected to bring ambitious climate mitigation plans to the upcoming COP26 summit. [Independent / Tom Batchelor]
• There is typically quite a bit of lobbying when these reports are being written, according to Piers Forster, a University of Leeds professor who helps write the IPCC reports. “It is important to note that the authors get the last word as ultimately the report rests on peer-reviewed science, not opinion,” Forster said. [Politico / Zia Wiese]

The Financial Action Task Force, which gauges countries’ ability to detect and fight financial crime, has added Turkey to its “gray list” over charges of money laundering and terrorist financing, a move likely to rattle the country’s already-plummeting economy. [WSJ / Ian Talley]

• Poland’s illiberal policies and judgment that its Constitution trumps European Union law in some cases are creating a crisis within the 27-member bloc, with some countries pushing for sanctions against the country. [NYT / Elian Peltier and Monika Pronczuk]
• Alec Baldwin shot a prop gun on the set of his film Rust, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. [Vulture / Justin Curto]
• The FDA and CDC have both approved the use of different vaccine formulations as boosters for patients’ initial vaccines — meaning someone who received a Johnson & Johnson dose could have a Moderna booster — and expanded the nation’s booster campaign. [AP / Lauran Neergaard and Mike Stobbe]

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"If you want to have the advantages of being in a club ... then you need to respect the rules. You can't be a member of a club and say 'The rules don't apply to me.'"

[Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, discussing Poland's defiance of European Union norms and laws]

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