Middle East Eye: Rising US interest rates may damage Gulf economies

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Some oil-rich Gulf States have barely recovered from the oil market slump, yet now they face a new potential threat to their economies. Rising US interest rates may crimp growth or worse, send some countries back into recessions from which they just emerged.

It is all happening because the countries in question have an unusual arrangement for their currencies: the value of their money is fixed against the US dollar. The situation has some significant benefits but also some downsides, such as right now when the cost of borrowing money is rising. Read more here.

P.J. Media: Job-Creation Gap Widens Economic Red State-Blue State Divide

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The U.S. isn’t just politically divided -- it’s also economically divided.

New research says the two go hand-in-glove together.

There are the haves and the have-nots. Increasingly, the red states, which tend to vote Republican, are trailing far behind the blue states, which tend to vote Democrat, according to a recently published study. Worse still, the divide is getting wider. Read more here.

Forbes: How The Sun's Activity Could Auger An Economic Change

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Once upon a time, people would worship the sun as a deity. It was with good reason that they did so for the sun provided much of what sustains life on our small planet, warmth and bountiful harvests. How would we survive if the sun stopped beating down on us? It was a real fear.

Then came science and industrialization. As the new era took over, we mostly forgot the sun and its importance to our existence. (Of course, most people occasionally complain that it is either too sunny or not sunny enough.)

But just because we stopped paying close attention doesn't mean that it lost any of its importance to our world. And neither does the fact that the life of the sun is far more complex than many people realize. Indeed, if we are to believe the experts, the sun's behavior is about to change in a way that could have dramatic consequences for the food we eat and the broader economy. Read more here.

P.J. Media: How Tillerson Could Push Gasoline Prices Higher

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Brace yourself! You could soon be paying more for gasoline.

The price you pay at the pump gets determined by a few different things, but unfortunately for consumers the risks mostly seem pointed in the wrong direction.

The key factors to watch are the supply of oil, demand for oil, and the availability of the refineries to convert crude oil into gasoline. Read more here.

Middle East Eye: Change to Saudi bankruptcy law should give economy a boost

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Saudi Arabia is changing its bankruptcy laws in a move that should help the country diversify its economy away from oil.

The change, which came from King Salman in February, will undoubtedly help boost much-needed foreign investment in the kingdom. That’s because, up until now, there has not been a satisfactory way to deal with an insolvent corporation. That’s a significant disincentive to foreign and domestic business people to set up shop in the country.

“The lack of bankruptcy legislation has acted as a key deterrent to entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia as well as to the willingness of local banks to provide financing to business start-ups,” states a recent report from Capital Economics. Read more here.

Joe Pispoco Show: Talking Steel Tariffs

By SIMON CONSTABLE



Listen here.

WSJ: What Are FROGs?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

There’s a new acronym out there that may have implications for investors. It’s FROGs, or frivolously related output gaps.

An output gap is the difference between an economy’s actual and potential gross domestic product. FROGs refer to output-gap estimates for certain eurozone countries that appear to be unusually small, according to a recently published analysis from the Institute of International Finance, based in Washington, D.C. Read more here.

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