Gulf Shock May Spark Shortage Of World's Most Critical Industrial Chemical, Used Heavily In Mining 

"Optimism Has Picked Up": Retail Operators See Consumer Relief After Gas Prices Tumble As soon as the national average for 87-octane gasoline at the pump dipped below the politically sensitive $4-a-gallon level early last week, we observed multiple institutional desks begin to forecast that the light at the end of the tunnel was beginning to materialize for consumers, especially working-class households that have been financially battered by surging fuel prices over the past several months. UBS analyst Mark Paski told clients about "early signs of a turn in U.S. consumer discretionary." Then,...

Utility Profits In The Crosshairs Amid Affordability Concerns By Herman Trabish of UtilityDive,Last month, protesters angry over high electricity costs disrupted a Las Vegas conference of executives for the nation’s biggest investor-owned utilities — a vivid example of growing public outrage that has forced the industry to again defend their legally guaranteed profit margins.  As affordability concerns increase political pressure, several states have taken steps to lower utilities’ return on equity, either through regulatory or legislative action. Consumer advocates say these measures are long overdue, while utilities say suppressing their ROE...

Spanberger And Dems Lie About Gerrymandering Scheme Authored by Ben Cline via RealClearPolitics, Once you burn your credibility, it’s hard to get back. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger deceived voters and concealed her true leftist agenda to win the Governor’s Mansion last year. Now she and her fellow Democrats are lying to Virginians about a new gerrymandered congressional district map they placed on the ballot as a constitutional amendment on April 21. It’s a naked attempt to make it impossible for Republicans to win election to Congress in most places in Virginia, and it’s...