I’m Tyne Morgan, with today’s AgDay Minute.
The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and government aid will accelerate global economic growth to a record high this year. That’s according to the International Monetary Fund. It expects the world economy to expand by 6-percent this year. That’s up a half-a-percent it had forecast in January. If that happens, it would be the fastest expansion of the global economy in records dating to 1980. Specifically, it says the U.S. economy will expand 6.4-percent this year the fastest growth since 1984. The world’s second-largest economy, China, could record 8.4-percent growth this year.
Did your electric bill go up? You’re not alone. Data firm “Ownerly” reporting the average U.S. monthly electric bill was 4-percent higher from April through December of last year amid pandemic lockdowns. California, Vermont, New Mexico, Arizona, and Michigan saw the highest increases percentage-wise.
American restaurants may soon be facing a ketchup shortage. The Wall Street Journal reporting restaurants are having an issue “catching up” because pandemic food takeouts trigger a run-on for individual ketchup packets. With prices for single-serve items surging 13-percent this year. It reports some 300-thousand tons of ketchup were sold to food service providers last year and condiment king Kraft Heinz is struggling to keep up with demand.
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