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GEAB 119

The monthly bulletin of LEAP (European Laboratory of Political Anticipation) - 15 Nov 2017

Listening to the weak signals of trends: our selection

– Iran … Germany, France and Norway have signed a series of contracts with Iran. They are not the only ones in Europe[1], despite the warnings and the risks which potential North American sanctions pose to European companies contravening the US policy[2]. The amounts of those contracts are significant and they refer to diverse sectors, such as traditional industry, energy (oil, gas …) and high-tech sectors like solar power plants, water technologies. Infrastructures, transportation and environment are also concerned. The US / EU decoupling is underway, everybody knows that, starting with the British and President Trump himself[3]

Palladium … Boom in palladium prices which rose by 43% in 2017 alone. Since September, its value exceeds that of platinum. This paradigm shift in the world of platinoids is a direct consequence of the dieselgate affair. Palladum is used in particular for the catalysis of gasoline vehicles, whilst platinum is used for diesel-powered vehicles. Beware of your catalytic converters, which are now highly coveted by dealers in precious metal industries. Other areas of palladium application include electronics and high tech. Thanks to its ability to capture hydrogen, palladium is used as an electrode in fuel cells, whilst hydrogen is the other “fuel” resource for our vehicles of tomorrow: cars, but also trains and trucks… 

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Contents

The end of the year will be rich in surprises and escalation risks, as we have been saying for the last two months. Currently, all eyes are on the Middle [...]

End 2017/early 2018, all major Western Central Banks will be putting a final stop to the 2008 crisis-related unconventional monetary policies, namely the famous quantitative easing policies (QEs) which enabled [...]

China's decision to introduce in 2018 the gold-convertible petro-gazo-Yuan currency is an important step in the process of internationalisation of the Yuan. It confirms the will of Beijing (asserted for [...]

Strategic recommendation: remain covered Even though this GEAB bulletin is optimistic and sees the end of the transition tunnel focused on peace in the Middle East, we shall keep our [...]

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