Tag Archives: economic collapse

What has gone wrong with the economy? Can it be fixed?

Posted on October 6, 2025 by Gail Tverberg

I don’t believe that the situation is hopeless. At the end, I discuss where we are now, relative to historical patterns, and some reasons to be optimistic about the future. Continue reading →

Posted in Energy policy, Financial Implications, oil shortages | Tagged , , , | 1,621 Comments

What should individuals do in a world filled with conflict?

Posted on June 18, 2025 by Gail Tverberg

Regardless of how things play out, it is the physics of the self-organizing system that determines what happens next. No matter how offended we as individuals may feel regarding what some political party or politician has done or has not done, individuals are not able to fix the system, except to the extent that available inexpensive energy supply allows such a fix. Continue reading →

Posted in Financial Implications, News Related Post, Planning for the Future | Tagged , , | 1,547 Comments

Is the debt bubble supporting the world economy in danger of collapsing?

Posted on May 17, 2022 by Gail Tverberg

With an ever-lower cost of debt, the economy has had a hidden tailwind pushing it long between 1981 to 2020. Now that interest rates are again rising, the danger is that a substantial portion of this debt bubble may collapse. My concern is that the economy may be headed for an incredibly hard landing because of the inter-relationship between interest rates and energy prices (Figure 2), and the important role energy plays in powering the economy. Continue reading →

Posted in Energy policy, Financial Implications | Tagged , , | 4,216 Comments

Russia’s attack on Ukraine represents a demand for a new world order

Posted on March 2, 2022 by Gail Tverberg

Russia’s attack on Ukraine represents a demand for a new world order that, over the long term, will support higher prices for fossil fuels, especially oil. Such an economy would probably be centered on Russia and China. The rest of the world economy, to the extent that it continues to exist, will largely have to get along without fossil fuels, other than the fossil fuels that countries continue to produce for themselves. Population and living standards will fall in most of the world. Continue reading →

Posted in Energy policy, Financial Implications, News Related Post | Tagged , , , , | 5,373 Comments

It Is Easy to Overreact to the Chinese Coronavirus

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Gail Tverberg

Recently, a new coronavirus has been causing many illnesses and deaths. The virus first became active in Wuhan, China, but it has already spread to the rest of China. Scattered cases have been identified around the rest of the world … Continue reading →

Posted in Financial Implications | Tagged , , , | 1,772 Comments