Baby, it’s hot outside. Besides being an instant topic of conversation, the extreme heat gripping much of the northern hemisphere is an economic phenomenon. Global temperatures in the first half of the year have been the highest since records began 130 years ago.
The US and eastern Europe have dominated the headlines but temperature records have been broken in more than a dozen countries, including Pakistan, Qatar, Colombia and Burma.
Purveyors of cold foods and beverages such as Unilever and Coca-Cola typically see a meaningful sales boost from the heat, as do brewers. But the latter are being pinched this summer by the surging cost of barley from Russia’s drought.
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