Help..

 

Social Security will soon announce the largest inflation adjustment to benefits in four decades a welcome development for millions of older Americans struggling to keep up with fast-rising living costs.

The cost-of-living adjustment for 2023 is likely to be around 8.7 percent, based on the latest government inflation figures. The final COLA, as the adjustment is known, will be released Thursday, when the federal government announces inflation figures for September. 

Medicare enrollees can anticipate some additional good news: The standard Part B premium, which is typically deducted from Social Security benefits, will decline next year. We have inflation which is ramped and basically caused by trillion of spending dollars, and attitude towards Energy companies and lastly the sanctions against Russia that caused terrible impact on Europe-USA- and poor countries.  

Just a thought.

Slash..

 

  

The US is the world's largest producer of oil, producing 18.9 million barrels of the fuel a day, per the Energy Information Administration. But the US is also the world's largest consumer of oil, so exports are limited.

By comparison, the de facto OPEC leader and major exporter Saudi Arabia produces 10.8 million barrels of oil a day but consumes just 3.2 million barrels daily, exporting the rest, the EIA said.

Dimon's comments came days after OPEC and its allies agreed to slash oil output, in response to a weaker global economy. The White House said US President Joe Biden was "disappointed by the shortsighted decision.

We really have no policy whatsoever. it is swinging back and forth depending. Oil production today replaced the Climate change- No drilling, No KeystoneXL pipeline last year.  The White house didn't care about the high prices of oil then. Now we want more oil, low prices as the elections are around the corner. Just a thought.

Tumbled...

 

The US dollar plays an outsized role in the global economy and international finance. And right now, it is stronger than it's been in two decades.

The simplest explanation comes back to the Fed.

The value of the UK pound, the euro, China's yuan and Japan's yen, among many others, has tumbled. That makes it more expensive for those nations to import essential items like food and fuel.

In response, central banks that are already fighting pandemic-induced inflation wind up raising rates higher and faster to shore up the value of their own currencies.

The dollar's strength also creates destabilizing effects for Wall Street, as many of the S&P 500 companies do business around the world. By one estimate from Morgan Stanley, each 1% rise in the dollar index has a negative 0.5% impact on S&P 500 earnings.

Astronomical..

 

Germany's economy minister accused the U.S. and other "friendly" gas supplier states of astronomical prices for their supplies, suggesting they were profiting from the fallout from the war in Ukraine.

"Some countries, including friendly ones, sometimes achieve astronomical prices [for their gas]. Of course, that brings with it problems that we have to talk about," Economy Minister Robert Habeck told regional German paper NOZ in an interview published Wednesday which was translated by NBC News. He called for more solidarity from the U.S. when it comes to assisting its energy-pressed allies in Europe.

Habeck, co-leader of Germany's Green Party, which is a part of Berlin's coalition government led by center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said the EU should also do more to address the region's gas crisis, with countries scrambling for alternative supplies which has pressured prices even more, that was brought about by the war in Ukraine and deteriorating relations with Russia.

Oil Cuts..

 

Energy market participants had expected OPEC+, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, to impose production cuts of somewhere between 500,000 barrels to 2 million barrels.

The move represents a major reversal in production policy for the alliance, which slashed output cuts by a record 10 million barrels per day in early 2020 when demand crashed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The oil cartel has since gradually unwound those record cuts, albeit with several OPEC+ countries struggling to fulfill their quotes.

Oil prices have fallen to roughly $80 a barrel from over $120 in early June amid growing fears about the prospect of a global economic recession.

The production cut for November is an attempt to reverse this slide, despite repeated pressure from U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration for the group to pump more to lower fuel prices ahead of midterm elections next month. However less oil production is better for Global Warming. But now we want the election. Just a "Powerful" thought.

Six Months..

 

Too much for a sleepy Columbus Day on Wall Street. Stocks weren't doing much Monday morning but took a nasty turn lower in the afternoon following stark comments from JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.

Dimon warned that the United States is likely to enter a recession within the next six to nine months.

Dimon made the comments in an exclusive interview with CNBC that aired Monday.

"You can't talk about the economy without talking about stuff in the future...and this is serious stuff," Dimon said in the CNBC interview. He added that he thinks Europe is in a recession already and that the US is probably next.  Just a thought.

Fraud..

 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has raised the flag on the precipitous rise in elder fraud scams in recent years. According to their 2021 Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) report, there were over 92,000 victims who lost $1.7 billion to elder fraud scams. The losses were a 74 percent increase over 2020’s. 

"Elder fraud is simply financial fraud that targets any individual, any citizen in the United States over the age of 60 years old," FBI Deputy Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigation Division Aaron Tapp said "… It could be romance based. It could be technology based. But any type of fraud scheme that’s targeting our elderly population."

Tapp said the technological divide that separates sexagenarians from younger generations is at the heart of the rise in elder fraud. Scammers key in on individuals who are not digitally savvy to bilk them out of thousands of dollars. 

 The most common types of fraud in the report are tech support, non-payment/non-delivery, identity theft and romance scams

Assassination..

 

United States intelligence agencies believe parts of the Ukrainian government authorized the car bomb attack near Moscow in August that killed Daria Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist, an element of a covert campaign that U.S. officials fear could widen the conflict.

The United States took no part in the attack, either by providing intelligence or other assistance, officials said. American officials also said they were not aware of the operation ahead of time and would have opposed the killing had they been consulted. Afterward, American officials admonished Ukrainian officials over the assassination, they said.

The closely held assessment of Ukrainian complicity, which has not been previously reported, was shared within the U.S. government last week.  

Also the weapons provided to the Ukrainians by the USA doesn't bring this war into peaceful resolution. Just a thought.

Slash..

 

OPEC+'s decision to slash oil production has set off fury in Washington directed at the Saudi Arabia-led group, raising calls for a hard-hitting US response.

Within minutes of the OPEC+ announcement, the White House warned it will "consult with Congress on additional tools and authorities" designed to curb OPEC's "control" over energy prices.

That vague statement appears to be a thinly veiled warning that President Joe Biden could consider a dramatic and risky step: Throwing his weight behind NOPEC legislation.

The action of this White House caused the oil prices to skyrocketed in 2021. Cancelled pipelines, keystone XL, Nord Stream 2, sanctions on Russia, Iran, Venezuela, etc. That would do it to the American people. Now the Intrest rate is going up to tame inflation, reduce economical activities in USA and Europe, however OPIC Plus wants their income to be steady since they struggled with low prices during Covid Epidemic.  Just a thought.

Pendulum...

 

 President Biden’s administration, after months of secret talks with Venezuelan officials, performed the largest swap by this administration. 

The president approved the exchange a few weeks ago.  Planes left from the United States and from Venezuela carrying the prisoners to an unnamed third country where the swap took place.

The exchange underscored efforts by the Biden administration since the February invasion of Ukraine by Russia to improve the tattered relationship with Venezuela as an alternative source of oil. In March, U.S. and Venezuelan officials discussed the possibility of easing sanctions on oil exports from Venezuela.

A senior administration official said Biden made “the difficult decision” to grant clemency to the two men.