A review of things you need to know before you go home on Friday; many retail rate increases, consumer sentiment dives, nuclear risk jumps in Ukraine, aluminium price leaps, swaps volatile, NZD firm, & more

Now watch as Rio Tinto forget they are closing. Time to hike their power prices massively. 

Actually a loss making hydrogen scheme could be enough to push up tiwai power prices to a point where Rio have to actually pay a fair price. They can afford to now. 

It ruins the argument of Chernobyl as a bomb-proof army base

Haha yeah.

Either unbelievably dumb or very evil.

Or could be both.

What was I saying earlier in the week about the priority that they placed on securing Chernobyl?

Is he trying to commit suicide and take the whole world out with him.

Suicide by genocide.

I'm no expert on Ukraine power grid, but the Russian invasion plan could well be to scare the Ukranians into shutting down all nuclear power plants and removing power from the majority of the country.

If this is true, it looks as though as it is working as the Ukranians are shutting down the power plant. Might be part of a collective plan to cause widespread chaos across the country and make life unbearable for Ukranian citizens until they cease resistance.

Might not be so Darwin as is collectively thought assuming the accuracy of the attack is within controlled limits (of which of course I cannot comment on!)

It's more likely a ploy to have the power plant shut down by the Ukrainians, normal war strategies of taking out telecommunications  and electricity (internet)  to isolate the foe. Can't imagine there being any plan to damage the reactor  while piling troops into Ukraine, that would be dumb, which Putin is not 

Xi is too busy lining up Taiwan as all eyes are on Russia and Europe. 

He or she is sitting quiet. And so he or she should. China is on the brink of strengthening, increasing its power immensely. Russia is doing that all on its own. Russia will emerge from whatever it might achieve in Ukraine far far weaker than when Russia entered. And it won’t start getting any better at that point, only worse. China is positioned both geographically and economically to advantage themselves of that downfall, and do so hugely and with some irony note that Russia will need China more than ever before. It’s going to be win, win and win again for China without them having had to lift a little pink finger.

Yeah. Inflation is only going to accelerate. It’s a new cycle. Hunger abroad anger at home. 

Good point, although what I have read is that it's still a high risk strategy, as peripheral shelling and fires have the potential to spread toward the reactors. 

Agree - I'd say the strategy will be to scare the Ukranians into shutting down the power plants across the country and removing power to its citizens.

If the explosions and fires on the periphery affect the cooling water or power to the plant then that is still Bad News. 

The ministry of truth says that we have always been at war with Eastasia.

A mild disease now is it, how convenient. If so why then after the not so mild Delta had been “seen off” did virtual lock down measures have to be re-instated beyond what was in place up until 21/12/21 & the opening up put in place abruptly cancelled. Have to say the endless spin, massaging of facts & figures by this government & its bureaucracy has become simply unbearable. Undoubtedly the Prime Minister is in the thick of this. How many years honing such skills in the department of UK Prime Minister Blair. Never make any statement, or answer any question, unless the words used, have at the very least, two different meanings. Still being able to talk out of the side of your mouth with a forked tongue does take, I imagine, quite some practice and application.

I think you are being disingenuous. It is a mild disease for most (especially those vaccinated), but with a large number catching it, even if only a small percentage get hospitalised it could cause havoc. That is why the PM keeps talking about removing the rules after we hit a peak in cases which probably isn’t far away. But I’m sure you knew all this already. 

Zachary

Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing.

There was an article the other day that pointed out that the average age of the "war cabinet" was 68. It makes me wonder if the rumours about Putin having Parkinson's is true (or some other terminal illness) - he wants to leave a "legacy". and this is the last chance to do so.