EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY, CHAIRMAN XI: Chinese Toyota Plant Runs Out of Electricity. “Toyota has suspended operations at a factory in China because local authorities issued an order for the region to conserve electricity. Sichuan province is reportedly rationing energy for both residential and industrial zones, complicating things for manufacturers. . . . Considering Toyota thinks it might not have reliable access to electricity until the weekend, something tells us the issue might be bigger than presented by the state-run press. According to Reuters, the province is expecting producers of lithium, fertilizer, and various metals used in construction to temporarily shut down or curb their output if they manage to stay open. Market analysts are already speculating that this could further spur the prices of EVs, and automobiles in general, as the value of the relevant (and seriously in-demand) commodities continues to climb.”

All around the globe, the people running the world don’t seem to be doing a great job.