TRANSITION ST. ASAPH

## Global economic meltdown ##

Signs point to a severe housing correction in Canada (Globe and Mail)

Australian Home Sales Sink, Luxury Units Sell for Half Cost; New Home Loans at 10-Year Low; Australia Retailers in Deep Trouble; Party Officially Over (Mish)
Spain Different? Sadly Not

The Breakdown Of Economic Expansion In The 21st Century (Decline of the Empire)

## Fault lines/flashpoints/military ##

Asif Ali Zardari: Afghan war ‘destabilising Pakistan’
Yemen’s President Loses Backing From Arab Gulf Amid Uprisings

“Bombs were thrown in Tehran Monday as students rallied outside the Saudi Embassy to protest Saudi intervention in Bahrain, authorities said.”

## Energy/resources ##
Nuclear Power Fears at New Heights Despite Safety, Viability (CNBC)

IMF hikes oil price forecast by 20% (Fortune)

## Got food? ##
Global irrigated food, fibre commods hit record highs

Grains Week Ahead – Big appetite for corn needs curbing (Reuters)

“The United States, the world’s top grain exporter, runs the risk of depleting its corn supplies before the autumn harvest unless demand is curbed.”

## Environment/health ##
Radiation risks in Europe from Fukushima ‘no longer negligible’

## Intelligence/security/internet/systemic breakdown ##

“Will Japan have enough diesel fuel to support all of its data centers if power rationing is implemented more widely this summer? As authorities urge businesses and residents to conserve energy, Japan’s country’s data center industry is assessing worst-case scenarios in which the math could become problematic.”

## Japan ##

“The head of Tokyo Electric Power Co. was refused a meeting with the governor of Fukushima, where the utility is battling radiation leaks from its atomic station at the center of Japan’s worst civilian nuclear disaster.”

## China ##

In Fast-Growing China, Dangers Threaten to Hamper Its Success (WSJ)

## UK ##
UK Public Debt Is 240 percent of GDP: Think Tank

IMF cuts UK economic growth forecast for 2011 to 1.75%
“Fund downgrades forecast on UK economy for third time in a year in report that suggests rising unemployment and social unrest”

## US ##
Is $4/gallon the new normal?

Drivers start to cut back on gas as prices rise
Population Leaves Heartland Behind
“Census Shows Growth Fueled by Increasingly Diverse Metro Areas; in Kansas, a Small Town Tears Down Empty Homes”

THE DEATH OF DOWNTOWN CHICAGO And 20 More Urban Population Shifts
Earnings Look Strong Now, But Growth May Not Last

links collated by Rice Farmer