An oasis of wealth.

"Rising fuel costs, soaring fuel bills and wages that are not keeping pace. Inflation is plundering people's wallets, sparking a wave of protests around the world," ET. "This week alone saw protests by the political opposition in Pakistan, nurses in Zimbabwe, unionised workers in Belgium, railway workers in Britain, indigenous people in Ecuador, hundreds of US pilots and some European airline workers. Sri Lanka's prime minister declared an economic collapse on Wednesday after weeks of political turmoil." In the US, "Pick your poison. Inflation sits at the highest level in more than four decades, and every feasible solution for fighting it comes with serious drawbacks," wrote Ben Wincke. "Skyrocketing food and gasoline prices lead the way," but, "Practically every fix for the inflation problem is either too slow, too risky, or too divisive." "Much of the inflation problem boils down to gas prices." "The rally intensified in March when the US, UK, and the European Union slapped Russia's energy sector with severe embargoes. The measures aimed to cripple one of Kremlin's biggest sources of revenue, but it left the West paying sharply higher energy prices." "German energy official Klaus Muller, the head of the Federal Network Agency, or Bundesnetzagentur, warned on Friday that consumers may see their gas bills increase by two or even three times as Germany faces the prospect of Russian gas supplies being cut," DW. "Russia has already reduced gas supply through the pipeline to just 40% of its capacity." "In a breakthrough, Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)...reached an understanding on the federal budget for 2022-23, leading to revival of the extended fund facility (EFF) after authorities committed to generate Rs 436 billion more taxes and increase petroleum levy gradually up to Rs 50 per liter," Dawn. In a terrifying prospect for India, "Chairman of Karakoram National Movement, Mumtaz Nagri has expressed fear that Pakistan may cede Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir region, to China on lease to pay off its mounting debt," HT. Unable to pay its debts to China, Sri Lanka handed over Hambantota Port to China on a 99-year lease, HT. "Interestingly, there was no change in Sri Lanka's debt obligations for this project following acquisition by Chinese entities," and "Therefore, Sri Lanka continues to repay the debt despite restructuring the port itself and handing it over to China." "Runs on small Chinese banks have become more frequent in recent years and some have been accused of financial improprieties or corruption," CNN. "The trouble began in April, when four banks in Henan suspended cash withdrawals." "In an annual assessment of US economic policies, the IMF said it now expects US Gross Domestic Product to grow 2.9% in 2022, less than its most recent forecast of 3.7% in April. For 2023, the IMF cut its US growth forecast to 1.7% from 2.3% and it now expects growth to trough at 0.8% in 2024," ET. Amidst all this mayhem, India remains an oasis of wealth. On 8 June, "The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has retained the GDP forecast at 7.2%," while the World Bank predicted 7.5% and the IMF predicted an eye-popping growth rate of 8.2%, ET. Are we going to become very rich? The suspense is killing.