Asia

Only in the new normal of manic algos and goal-seeked short-squeezes could actual news that Iran is undercutting OPEC by slashing prices to maintain market share be out-followed by hopefulness driven by upbeat comment from Janet Yellen (because she has nailed everyting so far) and more chatter about a production freeze (which makes no sense whatsoever given the Iran news). For now, WTI is trading above $39.50 ahead of today's rig count data, back at 2-week highs.

Submitted by Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com

Shocking Photo: Nearly 30 Oil Tankers in Traffic Jam Off Iraqi Coast

Oil tankers are caught in a traffic jam near the Iraqi port of Basra, causing delays in loading. According to Reuters, around 30 very large crude carriers (VLCCs) are sitting in the Persian Gulf, and the backlog could cost ship owners more than $75,000 per day. Some could be waiting for weeks to reach the port.

Check out this shocking satellite photo of the tanker traffic jam just off the coast of Iraq.

In the final day of the week, it has again been a story of currencies and commodities setting stock prices, however instead of yesterday's Yen surge which slammed the USDJPY as low as 107.67 and led to a global tumble in equities, and crude slide, today has been a mirror imoage after a modest FX short squeeze, which sent the Yen pair as high as 109.1, before easing back to the 108.80 range.

It didn't take long for the impact of the stronger yen, and the weak global economy, to manifest themselves on the company that is Asia largest clothing retailer.

A new virus that attacks both farmed and wild tilapia has been identified by a team of international researchers. Tilapia is one of the most widely consumed inexpensive proteins globally. The virus, called the Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV), is said by the researchers to be the cause of the mass die-offs of the fish which occurred in Israel and Ecuador in the last few years. A paper produced on the virus by the research team lays out a plan for developing a vaccine to protect the global tilapia supplies from contracting TiLV.