Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Russia Tries Emergency Steps for Second Day to Stem Ruble Plunge
December 17th, 2014Via: Bloomberg: Russia tried for a second straight day to reverse a rout in the ruble with emergency measures, narrowing President Vladimir Putin’s options in confronting the country’s deepest financial crisis since 1998. The ruble rose after the Finance Ministry announced that it bought the currency. The rebound came after a plunge yesterday in the […]
Oil Still Dropping
December 16th, 2014$53.80. Via: Reuters: U.S. stock index futures fell on Tuesday as a slide in the Russian rouble and crude oil prices sent traders fleeing risky assets. The rouble (RUB=) lost more than 17 percent against the U.S. dollar even after Moscow’s central bank hiked its main interest rate to 17 percent from 10.5 percent. Brent […]
New Zealand: “Are Electricity Prices Rising Too Quickly?”
December 16th, 2014Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. There are multiple retailers, so a functional market must exist! Right? Cartel. Cartel. Cartel. This is a word that crooks on both the left and right hope you’ll never understand. Cartel: In economics, a cartel is an agreement between competing firms to control prices or exclude […]
Reposit Power
December 15th, 2014Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. Via: REneweconomy: A Canberra-based company is to introduce new technology that it says could help turn electricity markets on their head – by allowing households to buy and sell electricity on the market. The buying and selling of electricity has hitherto been the province of large […]
Russia Defends Ruble With Biggest Rate Rise Since 1998
December 15th, 2014Via: Bloomberg: Russia took its biggest step yet to shore up the ruble and defuse the currency crisis threatening its stricken economy. In a surprise announcement just before 1 a.m. in Moscow, the Russian central bank said it would raise its key interest rate to 17 percent from 10.5 percent, effective today. The move was […]
The Devalued American Worker
December 15th, 2014Via: Washington Post: The American economy has stopped delivering the broadly shared prosperity that the nation grew accustomed to after World War II. The explanation for why that is begins with the millions of middle-class jobs that vanished over the past 25 years, and with what happened to the men and women who once held […]
Strikes Across Belgium Cause Transport Chaos
December 15th, 2014Via: BBC: A nationwide strike in Belgium has brought air, rail and road transport to a standstill and forced many businesses to close. Hundreds of flights to and from Belgium have been cancelled, as well as Eurostar services to Brussels. The widespread industrial action is the latest in a series of strikes protesting against the […]
Afghanistan War: One Trillion Dollars
December 14th, 2014Hope + Change we can believe in = Priceless Via: Financial Times: The Afghanistan war, the longest overseas conflict in American history, has cost the US taxpayer nearly $1tn and will require spending several hundred billion dollars more after it officially ends this month, according to FT calculations and independent researchers. Around 80 per cent […]
Sony Suspends Filming After Hackers Hit Payments
December 12th, 2014Via: The Times: The Hollywood studio that made the James Bond and Spider-Man films has abandoned shoots after hackers crippled its computer network, and leaked four films and thousands of documents. Agencies filming for Sony Pictures have cancelled shoots because the problems have left it unable to process payments, a source told The Times.
“Could the U.S. Bail Out Its Own Oil Sector?”
December 10th, 2014Warning: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. “…there’s a part of me, a gut feeling, that thinks that the shale apocalypse will just continue on somehow.” —Oil Down 6.88% On OPEC Strategy to Destroy U.S. Shale Business My long side trigger finger will start to itch if it […]
