Market
fears Venezuela's socialist regime could default - (www.ft.com) Several years ago, Venezuela ran a tourism campaign under the slogan
“a country to love”. Promoters had in mind the country’s delicious climate,
beautiful beaches, traditions of good cuisine and affable people. Recently,
however, the socialist country dropped the slogan, a change perhaps reflecting
how Venezuela – with its accelerating inflation, shortages of basic goods, and
escalating crime rates – is no longer a place visitors would obviously love,
but rather one they struggle increasingly to understand. One of the hardest
questions foreign investors have to get their heads round is the following: Is
Venezuela about to default? On the face of it, the question is absurd.
Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, according to BP, and its
debt metrics do not suggest financial distress. For example, gross debt is less
than half the country’s $209bn annual economic output.
Illinois
Pension Debt Soars To $111 Billion - (www.zerohedge.com) Pension
debt in the Land of Lincoln is a big problem. So big, in fact, that it
would take three years of a complete government shutdown, during which the
entire general fund went toward pensions, just to break even. No funding
for schools, no money for public safety and nothing for health care and human
services. Illinois’ unfunded pension liability grew to more than $111 billion this
year, according to official estimates. That’s a $48 billion increase just
since 2009. That $111 billion pension shortfall means the state now has only 39 cents of
every dollar it should have in the bank today to pay for future benefits. In
the private sector, these funds would be deemed bankrupt.
State
Department E-Mail System Shut in Suspected Hacking - (www.bloomberg.com) The
State Department detected suspected hacking of its unclassified e-mail system
and shut it down for security improvements, a department official said. The
incident coincided with a similar attack that affected White House networks
late last month, said the official, who asked not to be identified because the
incident is still under review. Several government agencies and private
businesses have been hit in recent weeks with attacks that have been blamed on
Russian or Chinese hackers. The cases remain unresolved. A coalition of
technology companies last month said it had disrupted a hacking campaign linked
to Chinese intelligence. In the State Department incident, none of the
classified systems were compromised, the official said.
Shale
Drillers Keep Output High Despite Oil Price Decline - (www.bloomberg.com) Shale
drillers are planning on production growth with fewer rigsdespite
a worldwide glut that has sent crude prices to a four-year low. Companies
including Devon Energy Corp. (DVN),Continental Resources Inc. (CLR) and EOG Resources Inc. (EOG) said they expect to pump more from their
prime properties while cutting back in their least productive prospects. That
puts the onus on OPEC nations, led by Saudi Arabia, to cut output if they want
to stem the slide in global oil prices. “There’s a lot more production coming
online this year and in the first half of 2015,” said Jason Wangler, an analyst
at Wunderlich Securities Inc. in Houston. “This isn’t a machine that you can
turn on and off with a switch. It’s going to take months, if not quarters, to turn
it around.”
Thousands
of Greeks march against austerity to mark 1973 uprising - (www.reuters.com) Tens
of thousands of Greeks poured into the streets to march against austerity on
Monday in one of the biggest anniversary protests in recent years to mark a
bloody 1973 student revolt against the then-ruling military junta. About 40,000
students, workers and pensioners waving red flags and chanting "EU, IMF
out!" marched near parliament to the embassy of the United States, which
protesters accuse of backing the 1967-74 military dictatorship. Clashes broke
out as the march ended, and police fired teargas at groups of youths who hurled
stones and plastic bottles. The annual protest is a focal point for Greeks
protesting against government policies and in recent years has directed anger
at wage and pension cuts imposed under a 240-billion euro bailout by the
European Union and International Monetary Fund.
Russia, 2 European nations expel each others'
diplomats - (www.latimes.com)
Russia Seen as Biggest Threat in Poll Even as Oil Erodes Putin Power - (www.bloomberg.com)
Heavy shelling rocks rebel-held Donetsk in east Ukraine - (www.bloomberg.com)
Russia Seen as Biggest Threat in Poll Even as Oil Erodes Putin Power - (www.bloomberg.com)
Heavy shelling rocks rebel-held Donetsk in east Ukraine - (www.bloomberg.com)
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