News - Daily Summary

World: Border forces and separatists are still fighting along the border in Eastern Ukraine. Several casualties were reported. Russia and Ukraine are still talking about natural gas shipments and past due bills. Syrians go to the polls to vote for president. Is there any doubt of the outcome? There were no new major developments across the rest of the Middle East. Violence and tensions still continue in Libya as there is a power struggle over who will rule the country. In Venezuela they are not only running out of basic necessities, they are also starting to run out of drinking water. The government has started to ration tap water and electricity because of shortages. There is also a lack of bottled water due to price freezes causing manufacturers and retailers to stop producing and selling them. This is what happens when you attempt to centrally control prices and demand. it can't be done and chaos ensues. Tension has seemed to ease some across the East China Sea. China, Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines seem to have back off some. There were no other new major developments (other than the usual crimes and tragedies) across the world today.

U.S.: Stocks were mixed today, which was the first trading day in June. The DOW and S&P were up a bit and the NASDAQ was down. Gold continued to slide and oil finally was down. In an interesting move, the city of Seattle has raise the minimum wage to $15. So will this help the poor, or will it lead to greater unemployment and increased poverty as a result? I think it will lead to greater unemployment because outside manipulation of any market leads to negative results, not positive (just look at Venezuela). Raising the minimum wage will lead to greater layoffs and possible more business closures as business adjust to the new increased costs. When you can't raise your prices because of competition, then you lay people off or close down your business. No one runs a business at loss because they want to make a political statement (unless you are the government). Other than the usual crimes and tragedies, there were no other new major developments in the U.S. today.

It was another day in the calm before the storm (and it will continue to be calm until it's not).

What do you think?