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    Vitaliy_Kiselev
    UK: Lack of gasoline
    • In the UK, thousands of gas stations have run out of gasoline, the Associated Press reports. The crisis has arisen due to a shortage of truckers who have to deliver fuel.

      About two-thirds of the members of the British Association of Gasoline Retailers, which represents the interests of about 5.5 thousand outlets, reported a complete lack of fuel. The remaining third warned that stocks would soon run out. The head of the organization, Brian Madderson, linked the deficit to the "panic" sentiments of buyers. “This country is full of fuel, but it's not in the right place for motorists. It is still in terminals and at refineries, ”the businessman said in a conversation with BBC.

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    Vitaliy_Kiselev
    UK: Advice on how to survive and save energy during hard times
    • 1) Turn your heating down by 1 degree saves £80 a year

      It's easy to just put the heating on as and when you are cold -- particularly if you are working from home and away from a radiator. However, setting your heating on a timer and turning the dial to 1 degree below your usual temperature can save you a huge £80 per year. If you do get chilly, though, there are other things you can do to save money. Only turn radiators on in the rooms you require and move any furniture that may be blocking your radiators to ensure that heat can circulate the room properly. For anyone with a bit more spare time, you could even make your own draft excluders using old clothes and bed sheets for the bottom of doors.

      2) Switching one unnecessary plug off each day saves £99 each year

      If you leave a plug on that is not needed, you are wasting £0.27. So, if you have one for your TV, phone and other electrical items, that quickly adds up. Just one unnecessary plug left on is £99 more on your bill each year. If you were to leave five plugs left on each day, that jumps up to £491. So, when you finish your work, why not double-check what needs to be left on. Plus, it will make you feel better and allow you to disconnect and relax each night!

      3) Enjoy natural light and save £170 each year

      Leaving a light on in your house costs an average £170 per year! So, make sure you switch off any unnecessary lights or lamps. Luckily, we are heading towards the brighter months which means more natural light, which spells good news for our budget. However, there are times where we do need to turn the light on, so why not change your regular bulb to LED? By doing so, you could save a massive £152 off your annual bills, which you could save up for a rainy day.

      4) Stop leaving items on standby to save £30 per year

      We're all guilty of it, but did you know that it can cost you £30 per year due to leaving things on standby? Almost all electronic appliances can be switched off when not in use. We do recommend double-checking as some electronics (e.g. the fridge and freezer) will need to be left on. But just a cursory glance each night could see you saving an additional £30.

      5) Boil the kettle only when needed to save 2.5p per cup

      How many times have you got up to boil the kettle to make a cup of tea, only to forget and have to re-boil? Each time you do that, you are spending an extra 2.5p. Say you do that three times a day, that's £27 across the whole year -- making that the most expensive cuppa in Britain.

      6) Look at switching internet tariffs to reduce your yearly bill by up to £69

      It is definitely a great time to get saving and review your household bills. If you feel you are spending too much on your broadband, there are things you can do. Why not look at switching internet providers? By looking for the cheapest deal out there, you could save up to £69 each year. That's well worth the time spent reviewing your contracts.

      7) Switch off your laptop to save £7 per year

      If you are using your laptop each day at home, the temptation to leave it on standby is common. But, if you were to do that for 10 hours each night, you are wasting £0.02 p or the equivalent of £7 per year. While that doesn't sound like a lot, do that over your working lifetime and you are looking at a cost of £365 - which can actually be the cost of a brand-new laptop! So, if you can switch off your laptop, we recommend you do.

      8) Leave your hair to dry naturally and annually save £13

      With more of us at home, there are things you can now do which might not have been possible when getting ready for work -- such as, letting your hair dry naturally. A low-power hairdryer uses 73kWh -- or £0.035 - for just 10 minutes' worth of use. If you were to use it every day, that rounds up to £13 per year. Over your working lifetime , that equates to a staggering £150 on just drying your hair.

      9) Switch off your children's consoles to save £11 each year

      It's easy for children to play on their consoles and forget to turn them off. But, leaving a games console on standby can cost £0.03p a day -- the equivalent of £11.

      You could even use this as a learning experience and reward them with the annual savings if they remember to switch off their consoles once they are finished.

      10) Cut laundry loads by one and save up to £14 per year

      With the kids at home and, quite possibly, playing out in the garden, you are likely to be washing more clothes. But did you know washing at 30 degrees uses 40% less electricity than washing at 40 degrees?

      And if you add a cup of white vinegar to the drawer, it acts as a natural antibacterial that allows you to still wash at that temperature. Plus, if you were to do washing over six days as opposed to every day, you could save £14 -- down from £97.

      11) Dry clothes outside to save £142 each year

      The sun is beginning to shine, so take advantage of getting outside in the fresh air to hang clothes outside. If you use your dryer for five hours every other week, that will cost you an average of £142 each year. But, by drying outdoors, you can save money and enjoy the breeze!

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    Vitaliy_Kiselev
    China: Very big energy issues, lot of manufacturers stopped
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      This week, several Chinese suppliers immediately notified of delays in deliveries and the inability to name exact production dates. The reason is the strong restrictions on the operation of factories due to electricity savings. Workers are forcibly sent home for a long fall break, and are not sure they can return.

      This year, the cost of delivery from China has increased several times, there is still a shortage of containers for transportation, the prices for components and materials for production have risen. But the fall brought new surprises: now, in key industrial regions, they began to restrict the work of factories.

      In the next 15 days, industrial China "stands".

      The work restriction affected large industrial cities in Guangdong province such as Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Huizhou, Foshan and others. A number of factories are recommended to work only two days a week, and five - to be idle. Small businesses are generally allowed to work no more than one day a week.

      In some provinces, compulsory holidays of 7 to 14 days have been established.

      The purpose of such measures is to ensure no more than 15% of the load on the network, especially during the period of peak consumption from 7:00 to 23:00. Violators of the energy-saving regime were promised to be forcibly turned off for 10 days and to impose fines.

      In Jiangsu province, many factories were ordered to suspend work for 15 days (for a total of 22 days, taking into account national holidays in the first week of October). In the city of Nantong, manufacturing companies went to rest for 17 days (for a total of 24 days), in Taizhou (Zhejiang province), most companies were sent to rest from September 16 to the end of the month (followed by another week of weekend).

      Office workers also have a hard time: in the south of China, where to this day the air temperature is about 30 degrees, it is forbidden to turn on air conditioners in a number of offices and business centers. Therefore, the clerks, as in the old days, open the windows and turn on the fans. Jiangsu Province has 50% limited street lighting at night.

      China has decided to restrict production in connection with the "explosive" rise in prices for natural gas and coal, and other sources of energy.

      More info in Chinese - https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/L6H_CaMGOm5X_HSz_IzlUA

    10 comments 11 comments Vitaliy_KiselevSeptember 2021Last reply - November 2021 by Vitaliy_Kiselev Subscribe to this blog
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    Vitaliy_Kiselev
    UK: Life level degradation
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      “The next few months of skyrocketing inflation will be an inconvenient period for the [Bank of England] monetary policy committee,” said Paul Dailes, chief UK economist at Capital Economics.

      Since wage charges are not growing as fast as inflation, and employers are likely to want to stick to a hard line on wages as they face higher national wage insurance taxes, households will feel income disadvantaged.

      It is clear that working-age households with lower incomes will face the greatest difficulties, as they will be fully affected by the contraction in universal credit in October and will be hit harder than richer households by rising food and energy costs.

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    Vitaliy_Kiselev
    Capitalism: On global debt
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      In the second quarter of 2021, the volume of global debt reached $ 296 trillion, follows from the results of a report published last week by the Institute of International Finance (IIF). Over the quarter, this figure increased by $ 4.8 trillion, and over the past 18 months, i.e., since the beginning of the pandemic, by $ 36 trillion.

      The largest contributors to the rise in global debt in the second quarter were developing countries, which borrowed $ 3.5 trillion and brought their total financial liabilities to nearly $ 92 trillion. China borrowed faster than other developed countries, whose total debt, with the exception of China, reached a new record of $ 36 trillion.

      The debt of developed countries, especially in the Eurozone, began to rise again in the second quarter after a slight decline in the first.

      US debt in the last reporting period rose by $ 490 billion, which was a record low quarterly value since the start of the pandemic. At the same time, household debts grew at a record pace.

      The total debt of global households rose by $ 1.5 trillion in the second quarter to $ 55 trillion. In the first half of the year, IIF recorded an increase in household debt burden in almost a third of the countries studied.

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