Fracturing, or “fracking,” rocks deep in the Earth to release and harvest natural gas has made the U.S. an energy exporter, kept fuel prices low by pushing out more supply than there is demand, while hitting the domestic coal industry hard. But the fracked wells’ renowned bounteous productivity has left many gas producers facing bankruptcy....
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ARGENTINA: FLAT BROKE
It “is not economically nor politically feasible” for Argentina to fully repay its more than $100 billion foreign debt, according to the International Monetary Fund. Creditors will need to make a “meaningful contribution” to help end the country’s financial turmoil, the IMF added. Private creditors will be expected to write off some portion of what’s...
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WALMART’S WEAKER SALES MAY SIGNAL ECONOMIC TROUBLE
Walmart, the U.S.’s largest brick-and-mortar retailer, reported sales rose 1.9 percent in November, December, and January, compared with 4.2 percent during the same period a year earlier and 3.2 percent in 2019’s third quarter. Operating income dropped 3.7 percent in last year’s final three months. Holiday sales of clothing, toys, and video games were slow,...
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SHOPPERS SITTING ON THEIR WALLETS
U.S. consumer spending rose 0.3 percent from December to January. The increase came in sales by auto dealers, gas stations, restaurants, and home and garden supply stores. Outside of those categories, sales were flat from month to month. Analysts had expected an increase. Retail sales figures for last October and November have been revised downward,...
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PRESIDENTIAL REALITY SHOW®: BERNIE SHINES, MONEY TALKS
Senator Bernie Sanders, who tied for first in the Iowa Caucus and won the New Hampshire primary, scored impressively in the Nevada caucus last Saturday. He earned more than twice the votes of second place finisher Joe Biden, with Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren finishing third and fourth. Senator Sanders has by far the most...
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EASTERN LIBYA: LIFE UNDER EX-CIA AGENT HAFTAR
Oil-rich Libya, the African country with its strategically valuable coastline, has melted down to mayhem following Noble Peace Prize winner Barack Obama’s “Qaddafi has to go” 2011 U.S.-led war, supported by NATO, that led to the overthrow and murder of the country’s leader, Muammar Qaddafi. As reported in the Trends Journal, there has been an...
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AFGHANISTAN: PEACE AS PREDICTED
The U.S. war in Afghanistan, now in its 19th year, the longest in American history, may be coming to an end. In fact, Gerald Celente had forecast over a year ago that President Trump would have a peace deal with both Afghanistan and North Korea to help boost his 2020 re-election odds. Indeed, at his...
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SYRIA: TURKEY RAMPS UP WAR
As reported in last week’s Trends Journal, the northwest section of Syria, which borders Turkey, has been the scene of increasing warfare between Turkish forces crossing the border to clear out Kurdish fighters and the Syrian military backed by Russia and Iran. James F. Jeffrey, Special Representative for Syria Engagement and the Special Envoy for...
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NO EUROPEAN REBOUND: EURO SINKING
It was bad economic news before coronavirus fears took center stage this month. Europe’s fourth quarter 2019 growth rate of 0.1 percent has crushed hopes that some analysts held for an economic rebound. The rate was the slowest since early 2013. The sag deepened with retail sales falling 1.6 percent in December, the sector’s weakest...
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VENEZUELA: U.S. LOVES REGIME CHANGE
As reported last week in the Trends Journal, self-proclaimed Venezuelan president Juan Guaidó, after being applauded by the U.S. congress as an honored guest of President Trump at his State of the Union Address, returned to Venezuela to face condemnation as a traitor by angry citizens when he landed at the Caracas airport. Among the...