Good news. Where is it?
The situation in Syria lurches from bad to worse and back again. I can’t see how it’s possible with so many combatant nations and organizations how anything can work. I think it also bears ill that the U.S. and Russia seem to be constantly berating each other for the latest error causing aid worker, so called friendly forces or civilian casualties. Of course, the military terms are friendly fire (I don’t see how any fire can be friendly) and collateral damage. It’s so much easier to step back from the blood, pain and death using these terms rather than what they actually mean.
There have been more terrorist attacks in the U.S. and in a tightening Presidential race these events may favour Donald Trump.
In Alberta, the NDP take a beating almost daily, sometimes quite nastily, which saddens me. Opposition, yes, bullying and threats, no. A harsh political truth is that even if a new governing party inherits a nasty economy the recession is on their watch therefore, often to the public, their fault. The Wildrose Party opposition is keen and quite proper as the opposition to point out flaws, throw verbal rocks and argue another way. But long in the journalistic toothers like myself remember that the PC Party had 40 odd years in power prior to the big change. One might argue that this crisis could have, should have even been foreseen and measures taken to diversify the economy. Should the Wildrose Party prevail next time with no experience in government I wonder how it will take to the rocks coming its way? What comes around, goes around.
Brexit means Brexit. Well not yet anyway. I have noted though that the world hasn’t ended and despite all the dire predictions of immediate catastrophe the UK is actually doing pretty well considering. Heavens to Betsy can that mean that all those experts were wrong? Surely that cannot be. I’ll be an expert mister. Just give me a chance. I’ll work cheap too and I don’t like Champagne.
No matter how much effort is put into talking up the price of oil, war, shortages, OPEC agreeing to freeze production (yeah right) the price is still in the mid forties per barrel and I can’t see
much of a shift north anytime soon. I will repeat though that Canada has no business importing ANY oil or refined products that it can’t or couldn’t produce itself and that should be a priority.
The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) has decided to keep rates the same. Well. I’ll go to the foot of our stairs. Who saw that coming? The speculators and commentators were practically foaming
at the mouth over a 25-point raise. What’s worse is some of the Fed’s Governors have been talking conflicting positions before the meeting and I reckon that’s stirred up the markets. I really think that the Governors should not be allowed to do that. One voice, at the right time, Janet Yellen. Do I think the Fed will raise rates? Yes. When? After the U.S. Presidential election. Why will the Fed do that? Honestly, to give it some wriggle room to
lower rates again. I don’t believe the U.S. economy is as good as a lot of the pundits say it is.
The big picture next time? I’m keeping an eye on North Korea, the Chinese economy and most particularly a five letter word derived from a four letter one BANKS. I think we could be heading into another financial crisis.