Morganton - What is going on up there?

 A story from a reliable confidential source relating to Morganton Shenanigans:

On Monday February 6, 2012, a lifelong resident of Morganton came to Morganton City Council to express his issues with what he described as a "False Arrest" on January 30, 2012. Mr. Roper began his comments saying he had been told he would have ten to fifteen minutes to speak but actually captivated those in the council chamber for almost twenty minutes.

Joe Eddy Roper lives on College Street in Morganton, about a mile from Morganton Public Safety Headquarters and next to a busy area of Morganton, Fleming Bypass. In his own words Mr. Roper described the events of January 30, where he was ordered out of his car at gunpoint by Morganton Public Safety Officer Kim Davis and immediately "slammed" onto the hood of the patrol car followed by being handcuffed so tightly he had severe injury to both wrists.

Mr. Roper demonstrated his rotator cuff injury saying he did not have full un-restricted use of his left arm, and still experienced numbness in his fingers. Mr. Roper is 75 years old and although he was a wrestler in his younger days he is not as "quick" and able to move as he was in his younger days. Joe Eddy demanded Morganton City Council fire officer Kim Davis and an unnamed backup officer for what he described as 'police brutality' on January 30th.

Mr. Roper stated that "50 years ago, if he had been treated as he was on January 30, he wouldn't have 'took it' off the officers and they may have been hurt and hurt bad." Mr. Roper further said "If Morganton cannot operate a reasonable and fair police department, maybe a new chief should be hired."

Joe Eddy spoke of his work and accomplishments during his life, stating he had twenty years in law enforcement and he would not ever have "jerked away" from an officer in a manner appearing to be resisting arrest and especially now that he is 75 years old. He told those at city council he had been asked to be a chief deputy at Burke County Sheriff's Department during the time David Oaks was sheriff in the 1960's and had been asked to accept the Chief of Police job at Drexel in the past, but did not work in those positions.

Joe Eddy has been a teacher and NC Driver's License Examiner in Burke County and continued to tell city council about threats against himself and his son by an individual he named as "Eric Nichols." Mr. Nichols reportedly has threatened to kill both Joe Eddy Roper and his son on multiple occasions and has "pulled a gun" on both of them more than once including in the parking lot of Mighty Dollar - a dollar store less than a mile from Joe Eddy's home. On Monday January 30, when confronted by Eric Nichols, Joe Eddy said he reached for a can of mace, but decided instead to get into his car and go home.

Joe Eddy told Morganton City Council, "There are two reasons most people do not come before this city council, one they fear retaliation from the establishment, this city council, or they have no money. Joe Eddy continued saying, "I don't fall into either of those categories."

When he left the store Public Safety was called to a report of a domestic disturbance in the parking lot of the dollar store. After arriving officers immediately went to Joe Eddy's home where he was forced from his car at gunpoint by officer Kim Davis. It is this reporters belief based on many citizens telling of incidents of excessive use of force that Morganton officers who are "cross trained" both as police and firefighters, leads to fatigue and shorter fuses as to how they respond to people in apparent criminal situations.

As Joe Eddy finished his comments, he stated "this is not going to go away tomorrow. Joe Eddy Roper will be here tomorrow and I will follow-up on this until I am satisfied it has been resolved, however long it takes."

Last summer, a 17 year old Freedom High student was shot and killed at his home when he answered the door and the officer stated "he saw a gun" and when the suspect was ordered to drop the weapon, he did not (according to the officer) and he was shot and killed. The mother still maintains Public Safety never announced themselves as "the police" but after knocking on the door and seeing the young man holding a BB gun started shooting, killing the young man.

That case was ultimately 'cleared' by the District Attorney's office, but the mother attempted to sue Morganton as she maintains they did not identify that they were "the police" and just killed her son without justification. Morganton has had several incidents recently such as this, and many citizens believe the fact that officers are required to do "two jobs" they are more stressed than just police officers who face similar circumstances.

Morganton is the only municipality in North Carolina (other than Butner, a prison near Raleigh) that has "Public Safety" in which officers are required to do two jobs and as such it seems Morganton is setting itself up for disaster by overextending the limits of 'one person' by requiring them to do two jobs. All other towns and cities that have been "public safety" now have 'switched back' to separate police and fire departments because of low morale and dangerous situations faced by people doing two dangerous jobs.

It has been said that Police Officers deal with people, and Fireman deal with things and the two should do only one job because of the nature of the work and to be able to provide citizens with the best protection possible.

I have been a critic of the "public safety" enforcement model for years, and as we continue to see people treated in a manner other than within "due process" Morganton will continue to become a less desirable place to live.

Help Bring Fair Representation Back to the City of Hickory

Will you print out and sign the attached petition and mail back to us? It will take you less than 5 minutes and will make a HUGE improvement in future elections.

I’m writing to tell you about a petition we’re circulating to get Hickory city council elections changed to a true ward system. It’s really important because:

• In a true ward system, voters in each ward choose their own representative; it’s more democratic because local voters have a bigger say in who represents their wards.
• A true ward system allows more citizens to consider running for office because it is less expensive to run an election in one ward than to run city-wide; we’ll get some new perspectives and fresh ideas on city council.
• A true ward system makes representatives more accountable because they live and work in the same community where their constituents live so they have daily contact with their voters.
• True ward system elections are less expensive for taxpayers because only half the polls have to be open each election year.

The City Council could make this change simply with their vote, but they are happy with the status quo. We think the voters should decide how they want their elections run, and that's where we need your help.

Will you print out and sign the attached petition and mail back to us? It will take you less than 5 minutes and will make a HUGE improvement in future elections.

Click here to download the petition.

Other registered voters in your house and neighborhood can also sign the petition. If you prefer, I can mail you a petition and a stamped envelope to return it in - just reply to my email (cjane@rayandcjane.com) with your request.

I know you believe in fair and representative government; if you have questions about how the true ward system will make that happen, please call me any time at 828-612-8448.

Thanks for your time.

C. Jane Johnson

City of Hickory Bits and Pieces - February 15, 2012

The following are three messages relating to meetings of specific groups of interest. These are opportunities to participate in the direction of the community, The first is a meeting of the Hickory Young Professionals group that will take place next week, the second is a meeting of the Future Economy Council of Catawba County that will take place this Thursday February 16, 2012, and the third is a follow-up to the Entrepreneurial summit that took place at the beginning of January; this event will take place at the auditorium at CVCC on March 6, 2012.

Hickory Young Professionals host an open forum

to discuss topics affecting young professionals and the Metro area

February 13, 2012 (Hickory, NC) – Once per quarter, the Hickory Young Professionals host an Inside the Metro Series event where HYP members are introduced to different community leaders in an intimate lunch-and-learn setting.  Much like Bravo TV’s, “Inside the Actors’ Studio,” a featured guest sits with an interviewer and answers questions about their career, the choices they made to get where they are, advice they have for young professionals, and what inspires them. 

On February 22, HYP will be hosting a Reverse Inside the Metro Series lunch event from 11:30am-1:00pm at Market on Main in Hickory.  Amy Powell, Senior Vice President of the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce, and Mandy Pitts, City of Hickory Communications Director and Brand Manager, will take the lead on interviewing the young professionals about a topic that has become a key priority and strategy as our county begins to develop a collaborative Competitiveness Plan for the future.  What needs to be done in order to attract and retain young professionals in Catawba County could very well be priority ONE.

Why has this become a key priority? According to the last census, 26.1% of people between the ages of 20 – 44 have left the Greater Hickory Metro between 2000 and 2010.  Some say this is caused by the lack of jobs, others say it is a quality of life issue.  During this event, the Hickory Young Professionals will have the opportunity to brainstorm solutions and present ideas on this topic for this chicken versus the egg scenario.

Other special guests have been invited to hear their ideas include: Danny Hearn, President & CEO of the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce; Kitty Barnes, Chairwoman of the Catawba County Commissioners; Scott Millar, President of the Catawba County Economic Development Corp; and possible attendee Mick Berry, Hickory City Manager.

Are you under 40 years of age? Do you live or work in Catawba County? You are invited to share your ideas concerning this important topic! To make your reservation, please visit www.hickoryhyp.com/calendar/. Click on Inside the Metro Series on the calendar date February 22.  Cost: $10.00 for HYP Members; Guest: $15.00   

Hickory Young Professionals (HYP) was established in 2008 to provide opportunities for young professionals in the Greater Hickory Metro Area to excel professionally, socially and economically. This initiative was a recommendation of the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce after they returned from an Inter-City Visit to Roanoke, Virginia in the fall of 2007. The Chamber recognized the economic impact of engaged, young professionals on the region, and the need to retain existing, and attract new, young professionals to the area.  Local business sponsors include Martin Starnes and Associates and Crouse Chiropractic.

Media Contacts:  
Dana Kaminske
Chair, Hickory Young Professionals 
P.O. Box 1968
Hickory, NC 28603-1968 
danakaminske@yahoo.com 
828-270-4153

 __________________________________________________________________________________________

 The following is information (2 messages) about the Future Economy Council meeting being held on February 16, 2012 at the Chamber of Commerce:

Good morning! We are ready to begin a new year with the Council and hope you can attend our meeting next Thursday at 8:00 am at the Chamber. We also want to bring you up to date on our post-Entrepreneur Summit strategies utilizing Ted Abernathy, Southern Growth Policies Board, over the next 6-8 months. Hope to see you next week

Danny Hearn,

I have arranged for Quint Redmond 

TSR Agristruction - Agriburbia

Matthew C. “Quint” Redmond

P.O. Box 17747

Golden, CO  80402-7747

p 888/303.458.8554 x11 
c 303.809.1536 
f  303.295.0664 
qredmond@tsrAgristruction.com

To speak with the group via Skype at 8:30.  I have also arranged with Mary George to speak about plans for encouraging gardens and agricultural production across the county.  We will need to make sure that your Internet connection can handle the Skype connection and that there is a computer set up and ready to go for the meeting.

Dear FEC Member,

Food and our food supply has been one of the topics brought up at the FEC.  Another topic, supporting the local economy.  Both are at the center of our very survival and I think we are now more aware than ever that we must not become too dependent on outside sources.

 

At Thursday’s meeting we have a special agenda planned for you.  Mary George, Assistant Planning Director is going to talk with you about county efforts to address locally grown. Jeff Carpenter, County Extension Director, is going to give you a picture of the agriculture community and their impact in Catawba County. And Quint Redmond, from Agriburbia is going to tell us about their efforts to incorporate agriculture into sustainable communities. Quint’s website is http://www.agriburbia.com/ .  You may want to review this before the meeting.

 

I look forward to seeing you on Thursday.

 

Thanks,

Terry 

___________________________________________________________________________________


The following is information related to a follow up meeting related to the Entrepreneurial Summit that was held on January 11, 2012.

Please note that the Entrepreneurship Speaker's Forum date has been changed.  It will now be held on Tuesday March 6th at 1PM (same time) on the CVCC main campus auditorium.  Sorry for any confusion.  Please call or Email if you have questions or need clarification.

Thank you!

In celebration of National Entrepreneurship Week, Catawba Valley Community College’s Business Department and the Catawba Valley Emerging Entrepreneurship Club are sponsoring a speaker’s forum on “Promoting Entrepreneurship in Our Community,” Tuesday March 6, at 1:00 p.m. in the Auditorium.

Guest panelists include Shane Cooper, founder and chief executive officer of DeFeet International, David Washco, founder of GoPriceDrive.com and ’11 Edison Prize Winner; Scott Millar, president of the Catawba County Economic Development Corporation; Danny Hearn, president of the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce; and Dr. Garrett Hinshaw, president of CVCC.

Startup companies are continuously cited as our economy’s most promising source of new jobs. In fact, a recent Kauffman Foundation study dispels the myth that the jobs created with business startups fail within five years.

Sponsored by CVCC, the Catawba Valley Emerging Entrepreneurship Club seeks ways to introduce members to individuals who have started their own businesses. Students participate in various activities that provide real-world exposure to the day-to-day operations of American businesses.

The public is invited to attend. There is no charge; however, seating is limited.

For more information, contact business faculty and club advisor Gary Muller, 828-327-7000, ext. 4672.

For more information about upcoming Small Business Center programs, please call the Small Business Center at 828-327-7000, ext. 4117 or visit our web site at http://sbc.cvcc.edu.

Jeff Neuville, Program Coordinator
828-327-7000, Ext 4102

Debbie Sawyer, Program Assistant
828-327-7000, Ext. 4117
E-mail: sbc@cvcc.edu
Web site: http://sbc.cvcc.edu
Office Location: CVCC East Campus, 2760 Hwy 70 SE, Hickory, 28602 behind Northern Tool & Equipment

Observing the Observer about Boosting Hickory's Growth

I'm not going to be overly critical of Ms. Dianne Straley's article from Sunday's Charlotte Observer entitled Boosting Hickory's growth. What I feel is fair to say from my point of view is that there never seems to be any point-counterpoint or opinion attached to articles such as these, from the Catawba Valley Neighbors or Hickory Daily Record. This makes them seem very ambiguous and the English teachers that I had in school certainly gave hell if I had no points of logical conclusion to subject matter. In my opinion, this article is pointless, because it just jumps around in an open ended manner with no context... just throw it up and see what sticks. Since the publication is an "Observer," I would like to make a few counter observations. I believe that these observations will be viewed as logical.

Ms. Straley writes about the visits to several regional cities . One such city was Chattanooga, Tennessee. That visit was reported on in The City Council Newsletter from January 3, 2012. Scott Millar spoke about the revitalization of Chattanooga at the Future Economy Council Meeting in November, which Hickory City Alder Jill Patton happened to attend. That meeting was reported on in this blog in an article entitled Scott Millar - The Future Economy Council - Catawba County Economics 101. You can listen to Scott talk about Chattanooga in Part 1 of his presentation. Logic: that is where the idea to visit Chattanooga came from. And I would like to say that it was nice to see a Hickory City Official of this stature at an FEC meeting.

(C-O) - The Mayor states, "...there is no quick fix to Hickory's problems... Council members don't know yet what they want to do, but they'll probably emphasize multiple improvements over five years... "What we want is a master plan that lays out where we want to be and how do we get there."

There have been a lot of us who have been solidly working on plans over the last several years. Plans that the County administration has wholeheartedly embraced, while the The City of Hickory has been reluctant to acknowledge, much less get on board with. In my opinion, the City of Hickory's two major mistakes; First, they seem bound and determined to go in their own personal direction. Second, this Mayor and City Council have waited on City Administration to direct city initiatives and action, while they sit back and wait for those initiatives and actions to be developed. The longer they wait, the further we fall behind and the longer it will take to fix the systemic flaws in Hickory's socioeconomic ecosystem.

(C-O) - "Change is coming. We can direct it, or sit back and let it happen," Wright said. "We're going to direct it."

This very statement was mentioned in our State of Hickory 2012 address and it comes from the words of Ted Abernathy spoken at the Entrepreneurial Summit forum held on January 11, 2012.

From The State of Hickory 2012 Address - Action speaks louder than words: Look at the way Hickory is laid out. Look at its old manufacturing structures. Hickory has not been strategically designed. It is a mess the way that Hickory has been laid out and there are people who want to keep moving forward in such a fashion. That is unreasonable. As we heard at the entrepreneurial summit a few weeks ago, there has never been a normal. We have to create the future. If we do not create the future, it will be created for us by external forces. We have so much to gain by joining together in a process of structured goals and development. Sure, these plans should be able to be reassessed, but to not have plans is to set yourself up to have others determine your future!

(C-O) - Hickory is currently debating a major land purchase for a mixed-use project that could be used for one of its future improvements, the mayor said. Wright would not discuss where the land's size or location because he said that information would drive up the price. The proposed purchase has been discussed in closed council meetings. The property, however, is not blighted, he said.

As those of you who have read this blog will understand, my ears perk up when I hear about economic development on the local level. What is bothersome to me in the above statement is that it is inferred that we aren't going to look to redevelop an area of the city that needs uplifting. I will patiently wait to see what this is all about, but we need to see revitalization in Hickory and it is a priority. Priorities: Numero Uno - Jobs, Dos - Revitalization.

(C-O) - Wright says he expects the city will emphasize: Recruiting more high-tech employers and data centers such as Apple, Google and Facebook, which have massive data storage complexes in the region. Improving recreation. Expanding higher education. Attracting more retirees. Encouraging more manufacturing.

It is further pointed out in the article that the area " ...is suffering with a stark loss of manufacturing jobs as many companies exported work overseas. The area has lost almost 60 percent of its furniture manufacturing jobs since 2000... The U.S. Census shows the Hickory metro area grew about 7 percent over the last decade, but most of that growth is in older residents - a 53 percent increase in ages 60 to 64. Couple that with the 18.6 percent loss of residents ages 25-34 and it is clear that Hickory is becoming grayer. One possibility is emphasizing and improving the city's parks along the Catawba River, Wright said."

The numbers don't lie. The loss of the younger generations in this community have been pointed out since the inception of this blog in 2008. The Mayor is still talking about retirees, when it is obvious to see that we have already had major growth in that demographic. My personal feeling is that the Mayor and Council better relate to people of their own age demographic and don't understand the younger generations, so they have chosen to ignore the needs of younger people and in essence have thrown them under the bus for their own personal agenda. What they don't understand is that this is having a very negative effect on the growth of this community. They have created their own conundrum.

(C-O) -  ..."We want Hickory to be known as a great place to raise a family, to work and a fun place to be," he said. "We want to control the impression we give people."

I would like to conclude with this. If you want to control something that is out of control what do you have to do? You have to slow it down. The more convoluted energy becomes, the harder it is going to be to control. The message and marketing that we have attempted to sell has been stacks of BS piled on top of stacks of BS. It is harder to keep up with contorted messages than honesty. The State motto of North Carolina is Esse Quam Videri, which means "To be rather than to seem."

We need to get back to the core of what this community used to be all about. We need to get back to the basics. We need to get down to the essence of the issues that we face in this community. Jobs, Revitalization of our Infrastructure, and the restoration of our young demographic are obvious conditions that need to be addressed. We have people trying to state that outsiders aren't viewing us correctly. Maybe, just maybe, we aren't viewing ourselves correctly. Maybe we have a big ole case of denial. In my opinion, the bigger issue isn't to control how we seem. The bigger issue is to control who we "Be," who we are.

Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- February 12, 2012

Obama Revises CBO Deficit Forecast, Predicts 110% Debt-To-GDP By End Of 2013, Worse Deficit In 2012 Than 2011 - Zero Hedge - Tyler Durden - February 10, 2012 - WSJ reports that "President Barack Obama's budget request to Congress on Monday will forecast a deficit of $1.33 trillion in fiscal year 2012 and will include hundreds of billions of dollars of proposed infrastructure spending, according to draft documents viewed by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. The projected deficit is higher than the $1.296 trillion deficit in 2011 and also slightly higher than a roughly $1.15 trillion projection released by the Congressional Budget Office last week. The budget, according to the documents, will forecast a $901 billion deficit for fiscal 2013, which would be equivalent to 5.5% of gross domestic product. That is up from the administration's September forecast of a deficit of $833 billion, or 5.1% of GDP."


Pepsico to cut 8,700 jobs; 4Q net rises - Wall Street Journal - AP - February 9, 2012 - PepsiCo is trying to put some fizz back into its business. The food and drinks maker announced a restructuring on Thursday that includes cutting 8,700 jobs globally and plowing money into advertising drinks like Pepsi and Mountain Dew in North America.             Pepsi announced its cost-cutting plan Thursday as it reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, but also forecast a decline in adjusted 2012 earnings. On the mixed news, the company's shares fell nearly 4 percent....                 Like many companies of all stripes, Pepsi is facing higher costs for materials it uses to make, package and transport its products, including sugar, corn and aluminum. Pepsi and many other food and beverage makers raised prices last year to offset the higher costs. But consumers are still cautious about spending in the uncertain economy, so some companies are moving on to Plan B: cost cutting.             Pepsi rival Coca-Cola Co. announced its own cost-cutting program on Tuesday, although Coke did not say it was reducing its workforce. For its part, Pepsi said "tough decisions" needed to be made because it expects 2012 will be the second year in a row that it will encounter higher-than-average costs for commodities....


Fed's Pianalto: Foreclosures Have Become A National Crisis - Wall Street Journal - Wall Street Journal - Dow Jones Wires - Cynthia Lin - February 10, 2012 - -Foreclosures in the housing market have become a national crisis, a regional Federal Reserve president said Friday, noting however that the drop in property value in her particular region is more deeply rooted. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Sandra Pianalto spoke before a housing services audience in Cleveland, encouraging the community to work together in improving the appeal of living in older, more industrial cities. These older cities have suffered housing foreclosures like the rest of the nation, but Pianalto says the high vacancy and abandonment rates are the more troubling issues. "Our challenges with vacant and abandoned housing are immediate, but they are the result of forces that have been at work long before the recent financial crisis and recession," she said...


The insiders are selling heavily - Commentary: July was last time insiders were equally as bearish - Market Watch - Mark Hulbert - February 11, 2012 - That’s a scary parallel indeed, since that late-July spike in selling came just days before one of the more painful two-week periods in the stock market in years.         In early August, as you may recall, the U.S. government lost its triple-A credit rating, and the bottom dropped out of the stock market. Between the last week of July and the second week of August, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2,000 points. To be sure, heavy insider selling doesn’t always lead to this much market weakness, or this immediately. And there were a lot of other things going on last summer that aren’t present today.           Still, on the theory that corporate insiders — officers, directors and largest shareholders — know more about their firms’ prospects than do the rest of us, it can’t be good news that they are selling at such a heavy pace.


Dependency Index Surges 23% Under President Obama - Investors Business Daily - John Merline - February 8, 2012 - The American public's dependence on the federal government shot up 23% in just two years under President Obama, with 67 million now relying on some federal program, according to a newly released study by the Heritage Foundation.           The conservative think tank's annual Index of Dependence on Government tracks money spent on housing, health, welfare, education subsidies and other federal programs that were "traditionally provided to needy people by local organizations and families."               The two-year increase under Obama is the biggest two-year jump since Jimmy Carter was president, the data show. The rise was driven mainly by increases in housing subsidies, an expansion in Medicaid and changes to the welfare system, along with a sharp rise in food stamps, the study found. "You can't get around the fact that policy decisions made over the past two years, on top of those made over the past several decades, are having a large effect on the pace of growth of the index," said William Beach, who authored the Heritage study.            Government dependence has climbed steadily since 1962, when the index stood at 19. By 1980, the index had risen to 100. It stood at 294 in 2010, the last year for which the data are available. D.C.-based Heritage has produced the index for nine years. The report also found that spending on "dependence programs" accounts for more than 70% of the federal budget. That, too, is up dramatically. In 1990, for example, the figure stood at 48.5%, and in 1962 just over a quarter of federal spending went to dependence programs. At the same time, fewer Americans pay income taxes, the report notes. Almost half (49.5%) didn't pay income taxes in 2009, the latest year for which the researchers have data. Back in the late 1960s, only 12% of Americans escaped the income tax burden.


Could High Gas Prices Hurt Obama's Reelection Campaign? - Pain at the pump could mean pain at the polls for President Obama - U.S. News and World Report - Meg Handley - February 6, 2012 - Thanks to tensions in the Middle East and refinery closures stateside, experts are projecting gasoline prices to jump 60 cents by Memorial Day. That's on top of an 11-cent spike over the past four weeks on the already sky-high gas prices Americans saw in January, the highest on record.           Experts say prices could even jump to $5 per gallon in cities such as New York and Chicago, and that pain at the pump could translate into some pain at the polls for Obama. Some GOP contenders have already keyed into the issue of gas prices and how acutely consumers feel upticks in fuel costs. When she was still campaigning for the GOP nomination, Michele Bachmann promised to bring back $2-a-gallon gasoline. That might sound crazy when looking at average gas prices today, which currently hover around $3.48, but take a trip down memory lane and prices weren't far away from the $2 mark... Over the past several years, gas prices have hit increasingly high starting points at the beginning of the year. On Dec. 31, 2008, average gas prices were around $1.61 per gallon, says Gregg Laskoski, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.com. On the same date in 2009, they were up to $2.64. Flash forward to last month, and prices hit $3.25 going into 2012.               Some of the price movements are expected in the run-up to the summer months, Laskoski says, primarily because refiners have to reformulate gasoline to include eco-friendly fuel additives. On average, the spread between prices from Dec. 31 to peak are around 93 cents, he says. Adding that to $1.61 per gallon might not feel too bad to consumers, but when tacking it on to $3.25, consumers can start to feel squeezed. Budget-constrained consumers stop spending, which can be disastrous for the United States, which relies heavily on consumer spending to fuel its economy.


Gas prices could spike 60 cents or more by May - USA Today - February 6, 2012 - Gary Strauss - After rising 19 cents a gallon in the past four weeks, regular unleaded gasoline now averages $3.48 a gallon, vs. $3.12 a year ago and $2.67 in February 2010. Prices could spike another 60 cents or more by May. "I think it's going to be a chaotic spring, with huge price increases in some places," says Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service. Kloza expects average prices to peak at $4.05, although he and other industry trackers say prices could be sharply higher in some markets. This year's earlier-than-usual run-up is more about anticipation than current supply and demand. Last week, the Energy Department reported anemic U.S. consumption — the lowest levels since September 2001. Domestic crude oil prices have fallen in six of the past seven trading sessions on the New York Mercantile Exchange and were about $98 a barrel Monday morning, near six-week lows... "The increase in gas prices last year sucked $100 billion out of the economy," she says. "We aren't going to get a break because there is no long-term grand strategy to keep prices down."


End of the Boom: The True State of the Shale Gas Industry - Oil Price.com - Kurt Cobb - February 7, 2012 -  Estimates for recoverable shale gas just keep falling. Last year, the Potential Gas Committee, an industry consortium that focuses on long-term projections, estimated that recoverable natural gas from shale deposits in the United States would amount to 687 trillion cubic feet (tcf). (This optimistic appraisal laid the groundwork for the oft-repeated notion that the United States has 100 years of natural gas supply at current rates of consumption. The estimate was also based on so-called "speculative resources" of another 615 tcf.).                But, in its early release of the Annual Energy Outlook for 2012, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) cut its estimate of technically recoverable resources of U.S. shale gas from 827 tcf to 482 tcf. (That says little about whether all those resources will be economically recoverable.) Much of the decline in the EIA estimate comes from a downgrading of the Marcellus Shale, by far the largest of the U.S. shale gas deposits spanning vast areas of New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia as well as sections of Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. The downgrade resulted from extensive drilling results now available as the rush to extract gas from the Marcellus Shale accelerates. The EIA cut its estimated technically recoverable resources from 410 tcf to 141 tcf. This estimate remains well in excess of last year's estimate from the U.S. Geological Survey which put those resources at 84 tcf.


Apple worth more than Google, Microsoft combined - Washington Post - Hayley Tsukayama - February 11, 2012 - Apple’s market cap is around $462 billion as of mid-Friday. Microsoft’s is about $257 billion and Google’s weighs in at about $197 billion. Tech bloggers have been coming up with all kinds of statistics to put Apple’s market cap in context. Fortune’s Philip Elmer-Dewitt pointed out that Apple’s now worth more than the gross domestic product of Sweden, which is $458 billion. — Retail sales of electricity in the United States, $350 billion — The worth of the global coffee industry, $70 billion — Two Apollo Space programs, $145 billion-$170 billion if adjusted for inflation.


"No Country For Old Men?" Bernanke Plan To Exterminate Savers Is Unsustainable - Zero Hedge - Tyler Durden - February 6, 2012 - Bernanke's recognition of his penalizing savers with low rates as an 'issue for people' sparked an interesting note from the WSJ on how sensible and stoic savers are being herded (unsafely) into risky investments. Bernanke's insistence that "our savers collectively have to hold all the assets of the economy and a strong economy produces much better returns in general" must be juxtaposed with comments from a money manager that "I don't think that's a fair-trade" for money intended to be invested safely.


Itchy Investors Ramp Up the Risk - With Rates Staying Low, Returns on Conservative Investments Don't Cut It Anymore for Some - Wall Street Journal - RUTH SIMON and BEN LEVISOHN - February 6, 2012 - The Federal Reserve is presenting a broad swath of conservative investors, from retirees and college savers to banks and insurance companies, with a tough choice: move into riskier investments or continue coming up short from low-risk investments that aren't even keeping pace with inflation.         The central bank has held short-term interest rates near zero since late 2008 to spur the economy and help the housing market. One side effect of that policy is lower returns on savings accounts and other low-risk investments.        When the Fed announced last week that it likely will keep rates at rock-bottom levels through 2014—almost three full years from now—some risk-averse investors began to abandon hopes that rates would rise soon.

John Williams of Shadow Stats "This is end of the world type stuff"