My Writings. My Thoughts.

Friday December 19, 2014

// December 15th, 2014 // Comments Off on Friday December 19, 2014 // Daily News

Lower lobster catch in 2014 means higher price

Lobster fishermen say the 2014 season appears to have resulted in a lower catch than the previous two years. That would mean slightly higher prices for consumers.
But lobstermen say this was still a productive year. Maine’s lobster fishery topped 125 million pounds in 2012 and 2013. The 2012 catch of more than 127.2 million pounds was a record according to state data that go back to 1880.
Fishermen say this year’s catch was robust, but they don’t expect to touch those numbers. The state will provide 2014 data next year.
The season typically picks up after the bulk of lobsters shed shells and reach legal catch size. Fishermen say this year the shed happened in July, slightly later than in 2012 and 2013.

Today’s Inspiration

Make It Personal

by Joyce Meyer – posted December 15, 2014

You are My friends if you keep on doing the things which I command you to do.
—John 15:14

In today’s verse, Jesus tells us we are His friends if we obey Him. In the following verse, He says He no longer calls us His servants, but His friends. Clearly, He wants a personal relationship with us and He wants us to get personal with Him. He proves this by the fact that He lives in us. How much more personal can anyone get than to live inside another person?

If God had wanted a distant, businesslike, professional relationship with us, He would have lived far away. He might have visited occasionally, but He certainly would not have come to take up permanent residence in the same house with us. When Jesus died on the cross, He opened up a way for us to get personal with Almighty God. What an awesome thought!

Just think about it: God is our personal friend! If we know someone important, we love to have an opportunity to say, “Oh, yes, that person is a friend of mine. I go to his house all the time. We visit with one another often.” We can say the same about God if we do our part to fellowship with Him, listen to His voice and obey what He says, and stay in His presence every day.

Thursday December 11, 2014

// December 11th, 2014 // Comments Off on Thursday December 11, 2014 // Daily News

$60 oil will be norm for next 5 years: Economist

Oil prices will stay around $60 a barrel for the next five years as China’s economy cools down, economist Andy Xie told CNBC on Thursday.
Oil prices had risen so high because of China’s boom, the former Morgan Stanley and IMF senior economist said in a “Squawk Box” interview. China is now transitioning from a 15-year super cycle that built up a massive industrial machine, and the economy must cool down to digest overinvestment, which will drag down commodity prices, he said.
“When China goes into normal situation, I think that the oil price will become normal, too, so $60 would be the normal price for the next five years or so,” he said.
Xie predicted the oil price plunge to $60 in September as China’s energy demand tapered off. He said oil price declines are trailing the slide in coal, but he expects the gap to narrow.
“Coal is down 60 percent, so eventually I expect oil to come down 60 percent, too,” he said.
The price of U.S. crude oil has fallen about 43 percent from its high of $107.73 in June.
Over the next four to five years, China will experience deflation and sluggish demand, Xie said. Consumption will remain healthy, he added, with households continuing to spend and exports performing well.
As a result, Xie sees the China story hitting raw material and equipment providers such as Australia, Japan and Germany, while consumer products providers like France and Switzerland will feel much less impact.
The low-oil price market will also be a boon to the United States economy, with each sustainable $10 drop in the cost of crude adding two- to three-tenths of a percentage point to GDP, said Jeremy Zirin, chief equity strategist for Americas at UBS Wealth Management Research.

Today’s Inspiration

Start Something

by Joyce Meyer – posted December 11, 2014

[Let your] love be sincere (a real thing); hate what is evil [loathe all ungodliness, turn in horror from wickedness], but hold fast to that which is good. Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to one another. Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord.
—Romans 12:9–11

If all of us started having a godly attitude, it would catch hold and spread like a vi¬rus. Wouldn’t it be great if we could spread a good virus?

Imagine the whispers: “Have you heard? There’s something wonderful going around. Have you caught it? It is running rampant all over the place. Every¬where you look, people have a new attitude!”

Let’s start something today! Let’s decide to think like Christ. Let’s decide to love everyone we meet today, and pass the word so that everybody catches on to it.

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