Although 2021 will witness a faster-than-expected economic recovery, there are still many challenges that need to be addressed.
2021 begins with optimism, that with the efforts of scientists and pharmaceutical companies, the Covid-19 vaccine will quickly be popular in the world. Everyone will be immune, contact will be safe, and Covid-19 will be a thing of the past.
However, that was not the case in reality. The Delta mutation that appeared in India in the spring turned everything upside down. And although 2021 will see a faster-than-expected global economic recovery, thanks to massive monetary and fiscal stimulus packages, challenges still remain. Supply chains are broken everywhere, inflation is rampant, fuel prices are skyrocketing, and offices are empty because workers have to work from home.
According to Bloomberg, below are photos showing many aspects of the global economy this year.
Frankfurt, 11/2: Empty offices in this city's financial district. The hustle and bustle here is a long way from returning to normal. Recently, Germany and some European countries even re-imposed the work-from-home policy to prevent the pandemic from spreading.
Sydney, February 20: An auctioneer interacts with buyers during the auction of a home in Paddington. House prices in Australia, as in many parts of the world, have skyrocketed in the past year. The fear of being left behind has caused many buyers to rush into the real estate market.
Nadvoitsy (Russia), March 18: An engineer is adjusting a virtual currency mining rig at the CryptoUniverse mining farm. Bitcoin price this year continuously peaked, reaching $67,778 in early November.
Egypt, March 23: The Ever Given ship blocked the Suez Canal when it got stuck here. The incident lasted for nearly a week, further straining global supply chains already strained during the pandemic. More than 360 ships were stranded with goods worth 3-9.6 billion USD. The incident also exposed the weakness of the global trading system, when shipping was too dependent on the narrow canal.
Beijing, April 21: Meituan's food delivery army. Like other e-commerce players in the world, the Chinese giant has performed quite well during the pandemic thanks to the trend of online shopping. They have raised about $10 billion from the stock market to compete with Alibaba and other competitors.
Miami, June 4: More than 12,000 people attended what is considered the largest Bitcoin conference globally, held over two days. This year, the world also witnessed a sharp increase in the number of amateur cryptocurrency investors. They are inspired by social networks, a sense of adventure and the ability to make quick profits.
London, September 6: After 18 months, new brokers are returned to the London Metal Exchange. This is where the reference price is set for commodities like copper or aluminum. Brokers fill the floor's famous circular, red seats that are seen as a symbol of life returning to normal.
California 9/10: The number of cargo ships waiting outside the two ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach clearly shows that the supply chain is overloaded globally.
Lucknow, India, October 13: The streets in India are crowded again, as the economy recovers from two strong outbreaks in the first half of the year because of the Delta mutation. The Indian economy has stabilized since October, when both manufacturing, services and exports grew strongly.
New York, October 21: The $3.3 billion Summit One Vanderbilt tower is crowded on opening day. This place attracts quite a few tenants, including the Carlyle Group and Oak Hill Advisors. New York, like many other cities around the world, is working to reopen, attract tourists and invest to revive the economy ravaged by the pandemic.
Ha Thu (according to Bloomberg, AP)