All kinds of computer treachery around here this morning…report prepared in skeleton form for later this week was twisted up into this morning’s and there’s been a flash sent out from government computer experts to businesses to keep an eye on things for a malware attack. Server hasn’t been cl;earing cached data proper…all kinds of baldness inspiring crap going on.
Not like I’m alone though…
Sony Pictures is coming back up to normal operations after a devastating attack that left a lot of its operations exposed….
Oil and Energy Wars
We note that Russia is giving up on plans for a southern gas pipeline project, and while blaming Europe in the process, there is likely more to this.
The Wall St. Journal this morning report, for example, that Russia looks to be headed into a recession in 2015 and that’s the kind of thing that the West might look at with some satisfaction, in that it’s Russia punitive actions have really started to bite and bite hard.
The Global Game
Is pretty much unchanged this morning on the interest rate front. India is apparently looking to ease rates perhaps next year. That might make for something of an economic rally.
There’s also a report that RBA (Australia) may lower rates next year, as well. The problem with this is that such a decline would only reinforce what oil prices have been telling us: Global deflation, not inflation is the big problem now.
This has tremendous implications for investors in things like precious metals: Don’t dismiss our long-standing belief that as the world’s economies go into their last-gasp death throes that gold could sink well under $1,000 before printing money goes absolutely crazy in a few years.
Commodity prices have stabilized going into the open and there has been oil trading back up to the $68 range, but that doesn’t eliminate the “rig lay down” issue covered in Monday’s report. Below a certain level ($60-$75 and we could argue that all day) putting in new rigs doesn’t make sense.
As one reader noted, when you hear ads on the radio to bring new investors into the oil and gas exploration business with hype about owning an oil well, you can almost bet more downside is out there.
More after this…
Let It Rain
Southern California is soaking it up this morning…more than an inch of rain in SoCal has at least started to put an end to the drought. Not that it’s over, but some rain is better than none.
As this report discusses, people are freaking out a bit. Not that that is unusual for SoCal. Isn’t that where the freak-out was invented? TTG Studios at the corner of Sunset and Highland in 1966..the Mothers of Invention album Freak-Out!
Terrorism is Still Around…Or Is It?
But we’re now hearing about something from 2009: A couple of reports suggest that the Oprah show may have been a target or terrorism planners. Of course there were other targets, too, like the Sears Tower.
Hmmm…Absent a really big fear-inducing story (like Ebola) I always wonder about delayed reports from 5-years back which have emotional hot buttons.
Still, when a report comes out that ISIS may target US military personnel on homeland soil, it’s something to be taken seriously.
The Hong Kong Gambit
Pay attention to how a British lawmaker, who is trying to enter Hong Kong to address revolutionaries there (oops! Freedom fighters, forgot the narrative there for a moment)…watch how the Chinese actually run firm borders.
Not that there’s a lesson here, or anything…
