Tuesday January 13, 2015

// January 13th, 2015 // Daily News

Oil falls below $45 as OPEC plays hardball

Oil prices continued their dramatic slump to near-six-year lows on Tuesday, as an oil minister from OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) reiterated that the group would not be changing its production strategy.
WTI crude for February delivery fell below $45 a barrel on Tuesday morning for the first time since April 2009 and was trading at $44.91 a barrel at midday GMT. Brent crude futures lost around 3 percent in the morning session and were trading at $46.04 a barrel. Both have crashed by around 60 percent since mid-June last year.
Weak global demand and booming U.S. shale oil production are seen as two key reasons behind the price plunge, as well as OPEC’s reluctance to cut its output.
This latter factor compounded oil’s fall further on Tuesday, following a speech by United Arab Emirates Oil Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui at an energy conference in Abu Dhabi.
“The strategy will not change,” he said, according to Reuters.
In a wide-ranging address, Mazroui added that oil producers needed to be rational and, like OPEC, needed to look at growth in international markets. He added that current oil prices weren’t justified, but that he did not expect any sudden rebound, with prices potentially stabilizing over the next two-to-three years.
OPEC, a group of 12 major oil producers, decided not to cut production at its meeting in November, further fueling sliding prices, and Mazroui stated that the organization had no intention to meet again until June.
“There’s clearly a price war going on,” Nitesh Shah, a research analyst at ETF Securities told CNBC Tuesday.

Freedom to Be Ourselves

by Joyce Meyer – posted January 13, 2015

Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, my Help and my God.
—Psalm 42:5

Ask twenty-first-century women, “How do you feel about yourself?” and many will confess, “I hate myself.” Or perhaps their opinion of themselves is not that severe, but they will admit they really don’t like themselves.

Our world has created a false, unrealistic image of what women are supposed to look like and act like. But the truth is that every woman was not created by God to be skinny, with a flawless complexion and long flowing hair. Not every woman was intended to juggle a career as well as all of the other duties of being a wife, mother, citizen, and daughter. Single women should not be made to feel they are missing something because they are not married. Married women should not be made to feel they must have a career to be complete. We must have the freedom to be our individual selves.

Many women hate themselves and have no self-confidence because they have been abused, rejected, abandoned, or in some way damaged emotionally. Women need to experience a revival of knowing their infinite worth and value.

Lord, You know exactly how I feel about myself. You know how deeply I’ve been influenced by the messages of our culture and how confusing it is. Help me to discover the truth of my worth and value in Your eyes. Amen.

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