Motor is stalling.

"Emmanuel Macron's grand plans are now stuck in a cul-de-sac of chaotic failure after Le Pen allied with other parties...to topple Barnier. France now has no fully empowered government - and no obvious way to form a stable one for months," and so, "Investors have driven up risk premiums on French assets over peers to levels not seen in a decade and sent stocks plunging." "German industrial production fell in October." ET. Determined to hang on to his lame duck status till his term ends in 2027 (ABC), "A gravely weakened President Emmanuel Macron hopes to win a new lease of political life from Saturday's (07 Dec) ceremonial reopening of Notre Dame." BBC. "The EU as a whole is affected," as "France, together with Germany, is traditionally seen as the EU's 'motor' in terms of ideological and political horsepower." "Germany will hold a snap general election in February as its bickering coalition government recently collapsed." BBC. In addition, "Europe's struggling industries are bracing for a new gas price shock over the coming winter months, as colder weather depletes stocks, competition with Asia for liquefied natural gas intensifies, and the prospect of reduced Russian supplies looms." "Dozens of factories in Europe closed and nearly a million manufacturing jobs were lost over the last four years, Bernstein data showed." Reuters. To complicate matters, "United States President Joe Biden is doing his utmost to start new conflicts before vacating the White House on January 20. DH. Last month, Biden "authorized the transfer of long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine for use against Russian targets." TOI. Then he supplied Ukraine with anti-personnel land mines (BBC), which were banned by the Ottawa Treaty in 1997 (wikipedia). The US, Russia, China and India have not ratified the treaty. "In response to mounting concerns of a conflict with Russia, Sweden is distributing over five million leaflets to its citizens, offering them clear-cut instructions on how to get ready for the prospect of war and how to store up food and water." HT. While Russia's gas supplies are falling, "China's trade restrictions on strategic minerals are starting to hit Western companies where it hurts." "The price of antimony, scarce in nature but essential for military equipment such as ammunition, infrared missiles, nuclear weapons and night vision goggles, rallied by nearly 230% this year to about $39000 per metric ton." Reuters. In his desperation for re-election, Biden has deployed land mines against his own nation as, "America's national debt has reached a record high of $36 trillion, with a $2 trillion increase this year alone." ET. In addition, "The world's debt stock surged by over $12 trillion in the first three quarters of 2024 to a fresh record of nearly $323 trillion," while "Large government budget deficits suggest that government debt could rise by a third by 2028 to approach $130 trillion." Reuters. So, will the world drag the US down, or will the US drag down the world? The global economic motor is stalling. Hope it doesn't stop.