1.
(Reuters) - As oil production swells, demand falters and prices slide, the global oil market appears on the verge of a pivotal shift from an era of scarcity to one of abundance.
Oil prices have fallen as much as 20 percent since June, despite a host of rising supply risks, leading more investors and traders to consider whether 2015 is the year in which the U.S. shale oil boom finally tips the world into surplus.http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/07/us-oil-markets-inflection-analysis-idUSKCN0HW09L20141007
2.
Waning tension in Ukraine and bargain prices are helping make Russian stocks a favorite among emerging-market investors.
Asset managers added $154 million to U.S.-based exchange-traded funds focused on Russian equities last week, the biggest inflow among developing-nation ETFs, even as the benchmark index slumped to a two-month low, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Money is coming into Russia at the same time as traders pulled $1.2 billion from ETFs that invest across emerging markets in the five days ended Oct. 3.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-07/etf-bulls-fuel-biggest-inflow-in-emerging-markets.html
3. Ebola, Marburg, Enterovirus and Chikungunya - these diseases were not
even on the radar of most people coming into 2014, but now each one of
them is making headline news. So why is this happening?
Why are so
many deadly diseases breaking out all over the world right now? Is
there some kind of a connection, or is the fact that so many horrible
diseases are arising all at once just a giant coincidence? And this
could be just the beginning. For example, there are now more than a million cases of Chikungunya in Central and South America, and authorities are projecting that there will be millions more
in 2015. The number of Ebola cases continues to grow at an exponential
rate, and now an even deadlier virus (Marburg) has broken out in
Uganda. We have gone decades without experiencing a major worldwide
pandemic, and many people believed that it could never happen in our day
and time. But now we could potentially see several absolutely
devastating diseases all racing across the planet at the same time.
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/there-will-be-pestilences-why-are-so-many-deadly-diseases-breaking-out-all-over-the-globe-right-now
4. The
US stock market had rocky periods during the third quarter of 2014.
There were concerns about rising geopolitical risk that impacted market
sentiment. Those concerns triggered some abrupt, albeit minor,
corrections. Volatility of the major averages within the quarter was
restrained to single-digit declines. These masked some of the market
shifts. On September 9, Bloomberg reported as follows:
Beneath
the U.S. stock market's record-setting gains, trouble is stirring.
About 47 percent of stocks in the Nasdaq Composite (CCMP) Index are
down at least 20 percent from their peak in the last 12 months while
more than 40 percent have fallen that much in the Russell 2000 Index
and the Bloomberg IPO Index. That contrasts with the Standard &
Poor's 500 Index (SPX), which has closed at new highs 33 times in 2014
and where less than 6 percent of companies are in bear markets, data
compiled by Bloomberg show.
The
key elements of geopolitical risk are the evolution of ISIL and its
activities in Syria, Iraq, and the broader region known as the Levant.
In addition, there is continuing turmoil in Nigeria, a primary oil
source. A spreading Ebola epidemic adds to risk. There are also of
course problems involving Russia and Ukraine and the responses of the
US and European Union to that crisis. In addition, there are tensions
in the South China Sea that do not always appear on the news media’s
radar screen in the US. Developments there are gradually worsening.
http://online.barrons.com/news/articles
5. Hewlett-Packard confirmed Monday that the company will split into two separate businesses. The breakup that will lead to massive layoffs.
6. Here's a tale-tell chart from the site below with story about the wealth of Congress. And they just don't get it.
It
has long been a given that Congress is a playground for the wealthy,
with many members like Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Rep. Michael McCaul
(R-TX) and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WVA) millionaires many times over.
The
House -- the so-called “people’s chamber,” created by the Founders to
be closer than the Senate to average Americans – is much wealthier than
the rest of the country and far wealthier than past Congresses. An
analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics shows freshmen House
members in the 112th Congress boasted a median net worth of
$807,013, compared with a median income of just $44,900 for the public
at large last year. In fairness, that number includes homes and cars,
and the public at large includes 15 year olds and older.
- See more at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2014/10/06/Why-Americans-Think-Congress-Just-Doesn-t-Get-It#sthash.E0hxj8GO.dpuf
t’s
not just the drought in parts of the U.S. and in other countries that’s
driving food prices. A number of diseases and rare bacteria are also
affecting how much you ultimately pay for your groceries.
Coffee
plantations, for example, are experiencing a double whammy: They’re
being hit by a fungus as well as by a beetle that’s attacking the beans.
Even Ebola is having a damaging effect on cocoa imports from Africa by
holding up shipments.
SLIDESHOW: 9 Reasons You’re Paying More for Groceries
Food prices have been on the rise for most of the year and it’s unlikely they’ll drop anytime soon.
The
Agriculture Department expects meat prices to rise 6.5 percent in 2014,
up from a 5.5 percent forecast earlier this year and
well ahead of the 20-year average increase of 2.9 percent.
The trend is similar when it comes to milk and other dairy products, as well as vegetables, fruits and nuts.
On
the positive side, corn and wheat crops have been good this year as the
Department of Agriculture reported larger-than-expected stockpiles of
the grain, prompting prices to fall.
One other piece of good news
for consumers—with gas prices dropping below $2 in some areas, a trip to
the grocery store costs a lot less.
- See more at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2014/10/06/9-Reasons-You-re-Paying-More-Groceries#sthash.r7vAs2lx.dpuf
Food prices have been on the rise for most of the year and it’s unlikely they’ll drop anytime soon.
The
Agriculture Department expects meat prices to rise 6.5 percent in 2014,
up from a 5.5 percent forecast earlier this year and
well ahead of the 20-year average increase of 2.9 percent.
The trend is similar when it comes to milk and other dairy products, as well as vegetables, fruits and nuts.
On
the positive side, corn and wheat crops have been good this year as the
Department of Agriculture reported larger-than-expected stockpiles of
the grain, prompting prices to fall.
One other piece of good news
for consumers—with gas prices dropping below $2 in some areas, a trip to
the grocery store costs a lot less.
- See more at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2014/10/06/9-Reasons-You-re-Paying-More-Groceries#sthash.r7vAs2lx.dpuf
Food prices have been on the rise for most of the year and it’s unlikely they’ll drop anytime soon.
The
Agriculture Department expects meat prices to rise 6.5 percent in 2014,
up from a 5.5 percent forecast earlier this year and
well ahead of the 20-year average increase of 2.9 percent.
The trend is similar when it comes to milk and other dairy products, as well as vegetables, fruits and nuts.
On
the positive side, corn and wheat crops have been good this year as the
Department of Agriculture reported larger-than-expected stockpiles of
the grain, prompting prices to fall.
One other piece of good news
for consumers—with gas prices dropping below $2 in some areas, a trip to
the grocery store costs a lot less.
- See more at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2014/10/06/9-Reasons-You-re-Paying-More-Groceries#sthash.r7vAs2lx.dpuf
Food prices have been on the rise for most of the year and it’s unlikely they’ll drop anytime soon.
The
Agriculture Department expects meat prices to rise 6.5 percent in 2014,
up from a 5.5 percent forecast earlier this year and
well ahead of the 20-year average increase of 2.9 percent.
The trend is similar when it comes to milk and other dairy products, as well as vegetables, fruits and nuts.
On
the positive side, corn and wheat crops have been good this year as the
Department of Agriculture reported larger-than-expected stockpiles of
the grain, prompting prices to fall.
One other piece of good news
for consumers—with gas prices dropping below $2 in some areas, a trip to
the grocery store costs a lot less.
- See more at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2014/10/06/9-Reasons-You-re-Paying-More-Groceries#sthash.r7vAs2lx.dpuf
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2014/10/06/Why-Americans-Think-Congress-Just-Doesn-t-Get-It
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