Israeli Troops Attack Catholic Convent in Southern Lebanon Town of Yaroun

WTI Tops $101 As Strategic Petroleum Reserve Nears Record Low Following Brent's lead (which is following Shanghai's demand push), WTI topped $100 this morning for the first time since May, fueled by festering Middle East hostilities (with Saudi-Houthi attacks stealing the headlines) and the Saudis latest statement showing crude output at a 36-year low. That suggests the market is transitioning to a regime where $100 Brent is the new floor. "The economic dimension is crucial," said Andreas Krieg, a Gulf expert from King's College London. "Saudi Arabia is already contending with disruptions near...

Uncertainty Rules! By Elwin de Groot, head of macro strategy at Rabobank US Treasury yields drifted higher yesterday after the Financial Times reported, citing people close to Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, that he would be prepared to raise rates as early as September if incoming inflation data surprise to the upside and markets themselves begin pricing a more hawkish path. Yet the market reaction was not confined to the front end suggesting investors were not interpreting the story in a straightforwardly hawkish manner. That ambiguity is understandable. If markets push yields higher...

Kenyan Court Rejects Plan For US Ebola Quarantine Center Amid Growing Outbreak Authored by Brett Wilkins via Common Dreams A day after US officials said Kenya had approved a request to open a quarantine center for Americans exposed to a rare strain of the Ebola virus, a court in the East African nation on Friday temporarily blocked the plan amid a growing outbreak in neighboring Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The High Court prohibited the Kenyan government from establishing or operating any Ebola exposure, quarantine, isolation, or treatment facility in the country under any...