Politics

Late last week, we shared what may be the most concise summary of the ongoing political theater involving the impeachment process of Dilma Rousseff, who as is well known has already been impeached, but where virtually every other actor is just as guilty of corruption and/or kickbacks. To wit:

A Brazilian Supreme Court justice ruled on Thursday that the powerful lawmaker who orchestrated the effort to impeach President Dilma Rousseff must step down as he faces graft charges, ratcheting up tensions in the country.

 

For the fourth month in a row, Labor Market Conditions - according to The Fed - have contracted, the longest streak since the financial crisis. At the same time, despite having fallen from recent highs, the government's Labor Department proclaims non-farm payrolls continue to improve... because the narrative of consecutive monthly job gains must stand.  

The Government, of course, wants the appearance of economic recovery, job gains, and confidence inspiration - especially into the election.

On the heels of downward price momentum from positive headlines out of Alberta with regard the wildfires, Genscape has just reported a forecast 1.4 million barrel build at Cushing - significantly above expectations and recent activity. This has pushed WTI crude further below the pre-Saudi oil minister levels and back to a $43 handle...

Lee Jones explains why economic sanctions aren’t a very useful tool. Here he addresses whether sanctions helped produce the nuclear deal:

I’m late to the much-discussed New York Times Magazine profile of Ben Rhodes, the 38-year-old White House staffer who is President Obama’s “foreign policy guru.” This paragraph early in the piece lets you know (you might think) what an arrogant piece of work is Ben Rhodes. Emphasis mine: