Russia's Economy Hitting the Skids

Things are bad in Russia, right now - and they are bound to get worse before they get better. Oil prices are not expected to increase substantively until 2017,  while production levels are  being punished. Too much economic pressure  on Russia, however, is not good for global peace.
Keep a steady  eye on this situation.

Can things get any worse for Russia? You're about to find out

For a decade, Dmitri Barinov has been following the volatile economy of his homeland from the safe distance of Union Investment’s offices in Frankfurt. Last year, as other money managers were steering clear of Russia’s broken economy, the Moscow-born Barinov pulled off something of a coup: He persuaded his bosses to take the plunge and buy Russian government bonds. It was a narrow bet, but he ended up winning because the central bank—after implementing the biggest interest rate hike since the Russian financial crisis in 1998 to prop up the collapsing ruble—changed course and aggressively backtracked. In the first 10 months of 2015, ruble-denominated government bonds handed investors such as Barinov a 25 percent return in dollar terms, the biggest gain for local bonds anywhere.

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http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/can-things-get-any-worse-for-russia-youre-about-to-find-out/ar-BBpU3Q4?li=BBnbfcL

Putin "Prepared to Use Tactical Nuclear Weapons" If Turkey/Saudi Invade Syria  

In Syria, rather than cooperate with Russia and Iran in helping Assad’s military defeat the jihadists, the Obama administration has continued playing it cute, insisting – as Secretary of State John Kerry has said recently – that armed “legitimate opposition groups” exist separately from Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front.

Recession 2016: In Some States, A Very Deep Economic Downturn Has Already Arrived 

If the price of oil does not go back up, this could be just the beginning. It is being reported that a whopping 35 percent of all oil and gas companies around the planet are at risk of falling into bankruptcy, and the financial institutions that have been backing these energy companies are getting very nervous.

1 in 4 Americans on Verge of Financial Ruin  

That’s particularly problematic considering that emergencies happen more often than you might think. A 2014 survey by American Express found that half of all Americans had experienced an unforeseen expense in the past year — some of which could be considered an emergency. Indeed, 44% of those who had an unforeseen expense(s) had one for health care and 46% for car trouble — two items that for many Americans are must-pay items, as you need a car to get to work and your health expenses are usually not optional. 

Thousands Told Their Pension Savings at Risk

Thousands of workers who have been encouraged by the government to take out pension plans could be at risk of losing their savings, the industry regulator has told the BBC.

It follows fears that dozens of companies providing auto enrolment pensions are too small to survive.

The BBC has also uncovered evidence that employers and workers are being deliberately misled by some providers.

The government said it was aware of the issue, and was planning to take action.

Independent experts claim the problem could affect up to a quarter of a million people a year who are putting their savings into so-called master trust pensions.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35560788 

www.firstfinancialinsights.blogspot.com

Eurozone Retail Sales Plunge As Concerns Spread, & More

Eurozone Retail Sales Fall Sharply In June

Retail sales in the eurozone fell more sharply than expected in June, a fresh sign that the currency area's economic recovery remains too weak to quickly bring down very high rates of unemployment, or raise inflation to the European Central Bank's target.

Separately, the final results of surveys of purchasing managers at businesses around the eurozone recorded a slowdown in activity during July, although it was less marked than first estimated.

The European Union's statistics agency said Wednesday retail sales in the 19 countries that use the euro fell 0.6% in June from May, but were up 1.2% from the same month last year. It was the largest month-to-month fall since September 2014. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had estimated sales fell 0.2%, having seen figures from Germany that recorded a large drop.

Italy's industrial output falls more than expected

ROME--Italy's industrial production fell more than expected in June, as it contracted in almost all sectors, reversing the rise seen in the previous month, in a sign that the recovery from the country's worst postwar recession is still fragile.

Industrial output in the euro zone's third-largest economy fell 1.1% on the month in seasonally adjusted terms, national statistics institute Istat said Wednesday.

A more modest fall of 0.2% had been the average forecast of 11 economists polled earlier by The Wall Street Journal.

The monthly fall was led by a 1.7% monthly contraction in the production of intermediate goods, while consumer goods fell 0.8% and energy goods' output contracted 1.0% over the period, Istat said.

Italian industrial production fell 0.3% on the year in June in workday-adjusted terms, Istat said.

OECD: Global inflation still stubbornly 

low

The OECD's figures indicate that a wave of fresh stimulus measures enacted by central banks around the world since late last year has yet to achieve its main goal--minimizing the risk of a slide into deflation. Very low inflation rates make economies vulnerable to a slide into deflation, an outcome that policy makers regard as unlikely, but highly damaging should it occur.

China state margin lender injects $32 

billion

  New Mutual Funds - China Securities Journal

China Securities Finance Corp, the state margin lender tasked with stabilizing the stock market, has injected 200 billion yuan ($32.21 billion) since July into five newly-launched mutual funds, the official China Securities Journal reported on Tuesday.

Swiss housing 

bubble risk highest

 since 1991, says

 UBS

Negative interest rates have created excess demand for property as an investment, the Zurich-based bank said, which brings the housing market back into focus for the Swiss National Bank (SNB).

New world of work: political cost of 

Spain’s recovery

The numbers of those in temporary employment — whose numbers fell during the crisis partly because of their vulnerability — is on the rise again. In July, the Spanish unemployment roll dropped by 74,000, the best July since 1998. But of the 1.8 million labour contracts that were signed during the month, only 6.9 per cent of the contracts were for permanent positions

Indian consumer sentiment lowest 

since March: MNI Indicator

Indian consumer sentiment lowest since March: MNI Indicator

Japan’s Monetary Base Stands at 

Record High

Japan’s monetary base stood at a record-high 325.74 trillion yen ($2.63 trillion) at the end of July, up 33.9 percent from a year earlier, as the Bank of Japan continued to provide more liquidity to raise the inflation rate to its targeted 2 percent, BOJ data showed Tuesday. The monetary base reached an all-time high for the 12th straight month. The central bank took additional monetary easing steps last October to raise the pace of supplying funds.

The Oil Crash Has Caused  A $1.3 Trillion Wipe-out

The California Public Employees Retirement System, a $303 billion fund that provides benefits to 1.72 million people, owned a $91.8 million slice of Pioneer Natural Resources Co. in June 2014. At the time, Pioneer was a $33 billion company and one of the biggest shale producers in Texas. Today, Pioneer is worth $19 billion and Calpers’ stake has lost about $40 million in market value.

Learning Success: 

APPLY Tips From The Best

Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway – He is a deeply conservative trader during the times that everyone around him is moving from one extreme to the other to the tune of huge losses and gains. Warren Buffett is a perfect example of patience, proving that slow and steady generally wins the business race. (Although I continue to press my own desire to spur Fishbowl’s inventory software business to race!)

Top Weekly Ideas and Insights

An Inconvenient Truth:

What Happens When Top Economists Realize Physical Growth Constraints?

 EXISTENTIAL REALITY 

"Humanity's Coming of Age"

 - The Last Days of Economic Growth -