How low can it go? Goldman Sachs says $20 barrels may be possible

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Via: Source

There has been a LOT of movement in financial markets this summer. China, Greece, and geo-political instability across the world have all combined to send indexes swinging up and down intensely. And now, coming on the heels of a new report out of Goldman Sachs, another indicator of fundamental shifts in the market; this time in the commodities market, has come to the surface.

Earlier this week, Goldman Sachs has issued a statement basically saying that the global surplus of oil is even larger than they had previously predicted, and that the surplus could last into 2017, sending prices for crude oil as low as $20 dollars per barrel.

On first glance, this would appear to be a very good. This would send the price of a gallon of gas at the pump below $2 for the first time in years, and some analysts have speculated, sustained prices that incredibly low may actually spur an increase in American manufacturing; a sector of the economy which has famously (infamously?) been in decline for decades now.

However, when given a longer, more thoughtful glance, prices that low create a diminishing returns scenario. Prices this low would signal systemic weakness in the commodities market. One of the reasons we are seeing this weakness is because prices this low could create a systemic shift in the commodities field, permanently putting American shale oil businesses under. 1 and 2 year views on oil are all lower, with virtually no analysts predicting a return above around $60 per barrel. If oil stays at 30-40 dollars per barrel, economists like Erwat Prasad predict that could be the ideal set of supply and demand circumstances, keeping US production viable, but prices also low. The real problems of diminishing returns may begin if the value dips lower than that for a sustained period of time. This price level would put massive pressure on a number of governments all around the world which depend on their oil exports, like Saudi Arabia or Argentina. This would spur on central bank action, the ramifications of which are not yet known.

The commodities market is certainly one to keep an eye on in coming months.

A full one day old, the new NFL season sparks controversy

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Via: Source

It has been a tumultuous few years for the NFL. Not that any of their recent PR afflictions have hurt ratings, or the bottom line much or at all, there certainly has been no shortage of embarrassments for the largest American sport.

Last year, prominent players like Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice were suspended for lengthy amounts of time for violent indiscretions, and despite an amazing 2014 season and Super Bowl, literally the only thing talked about in relation to the NFL for the past 7 or so months was Deflategate; the-tongue-in-cheek term that the public and media had come to refer to the ball-deflating scandal that engulfed Tom Brady, and the rest of the NFL this offseason.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was less than pleased at the headphone situation last night. (Via: CBS Sports)

So, when actual football kicked off last night, I’m sure it was quite a relief to the NFL PR department and everyone else with more than a rooting interest in the sport. Or, at least it should have been.

Indeed, less than one full day into the new season, the league, even more ironic; the Patriots, are involved in a new controversy. This one centers around malfunctioning headphones. As most even casual NFL fans know, play calls are communicated to the players on the field via electronic headsets, which are inside the helmets for some players, and visibly worn by coaches on the sideline. Coaches also communicate with one another via these same helmets. Well, during the game last night it became apparent that the Steelers headphones were not working, and the coaches and players were hearing the Patriot’s radio broadcast of all things, instead of the vital information they were seeking to communicate. The implications of this are obvious, and pretty devastating. If one team can communicate on the fly, and the other is forced to use hand signals, or even forced to run a player from the sideline and back to the huddle every play, there is an obvious advantage on one side.

And of course, because its the Patriots, the most successful, and controversial NFL team of the past decade; other players have chimed in with their complaints as well. Jack Del Rio, ex-coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars has claimed he experienced similar issues while playing at the Patriot’s stadium, as has linebacker Karlos Dansby, ex-linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals.

In the opinion of this writer, only one thing can be said for certain about all this; football is BACK, baby!

Horror auteur Wes Craven dead at 76

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Horror represents perhaps the most intriguing, and likely, visceral genre of film we have today. Why do people subject themselves to massive surprises, disgusting gore, and disturbing imagery, all in the name of having fun? It is a question that psychologists have been kicking around for some time now, but whatever the answer may be, horror movies remain some of the most beloved today, mirroring the way it has been since the first version of Dracula was committed to film well over 100 years ago.

And yesterday, we lost one of the masters of that genre, Wes Craven. Known as one of the originators of the ‘slasher’ sub-genre of horror, the man has a huge number of directorial credits on his resume; the most notable of which include the ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ series, and the ‘Scream’ series. Truly a master of his craft, the Scream films, which he made later in his career in the 90’s, are remembered for being incredibly meta, willfully, and in a way that was made incredibly clear to the audience through dialogue, tearing through horror tropes that the man had undoubtedly grown a bit tired of. Truly a sign of how adept a filmmaker he was, the man successfully inverted many themes that he himself had invented in earlier films, and made them horrifying in entirely new ways in his later work, like Scream. He was 76, and died after a lengthy battle with brain cancer.

The clip below does a great job of showing how clever and meta Craven’s writing and directing were, even inserting some lines for Drew Berrymore about how bad some of the Elm Street sequels were. RIP.

Kanye announces presidential run at MTV Video Movie Awards

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Truly one of the most notable, progressive, and of course, controversial artists of our time, Kanye West was honored with a Video Vanguard award at the MTV VMA’s last night, the highest honor that the organization bestows upon any artist.

The award was notable for a number of reasons. First, a montage of Kanye’s many, many visuals was played, drawing attention to just how stylish and provocative the rapper’s music videos have been. Then, none other than Taylor Swift herself presented Kanye with his award, of course referencing the infamous ‘Imma let you finish…’ tirade from the VMA’s a number of years ago, when he famously interrupted her acceptance speech at the very same event. Then, Kanye himself took the mic for an 8-minute-long, somewhat-rambling, yet passionate, and ultimately pretty awesome acceptance speech. In it, he started off with an apology to Taylor Swift, providing really the first public commentary on that event from the man since it happened.

Then, things got really crazy. Kanye transitioned to a more thoughtful, more abstract speech; focusing on everything from the power of ideas, to how we need to teach children to love themselves, instead of compete with, or fear each other. He really touched on some nice points. But then, in the ultimate Kanye-being-Kanye moment, he did nothing less than declare a 2020 presidential run, immediately, and literally dropping the mic directly afterward. Kanye/Swift 2020? Time will tell. Either way it was a hell of a speech.

(Via Elite Daily)

Will Smith targets the NFL in new ‘Concussion’ trailer

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While he’s remained working hard behind the scenes on upcoming films like the ‘Suicide Squad’ and the highly anticipated ‘Bad Boys III‘, Will Smith has been relatively quiet the past few years; in comparison to his usual level of work, at least.

But that all changes today with the impressive looking new ‘Concussion’ trailer, featuring the legendary Fresh Prince in one of his most serious roles to date. Starring as Dr. Bennett Omalu, the man who first discovered the now infamous CTE brain disease, Smith puts the NFL squarely in his targets in this new film. The trailer is explosive, and this is one storyline that has largely been swept aside by both the sports media, and their counterparts at large. A timely film that looks sure to generate some controversy, this new trailer is intense, and looks like it contains the makings of a great film. Check it out below.

That feeling when you trip and punch a hole in a $1.5 million USD painting

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While it is a fear that very well may have never occurred to large portions of the population, for the more clumsy amongst us, a trip to the museum can induce intense fears. Knocking over a sculpture, ripping a painting, sneezing on the Mona Lisa; these are all long shots, but still, potentially expensive mistakes.

And, this exact, if obscure, fear of ruining expensive works of art was caught on tape this week. On a recent field in trip to a museumin Taiwan, an unidentified student took a digger straight into a painting by Pablo Porpora, which is valued at a cool million and a half dollars. Using his right hand, and the very center of the canvas to brace his fall, this young student found himself in quite the scenario, and, as the video below will show, he handles it pretty calmly.

Amazing. Fortunately for the student, he and his family will not be responsible for the damage, as it was clearly an accident. However, in a post on their Facebook page, the museum said that the ‘damage may not be able to be reversed.’

The Weeknd buries himself in high concept new video

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It’s rare for an artist as controversial as The Weeknd to gain as much mainstream recognition as the Canadian crooner has already accumulated. But, when you sound like Michael Jackson, have an attention-getting haircut, and are seriously, seriously talented; sometimes unlikely things happen.

And the stylish new video for the Kanye West-produced ‘Tell Your Friends’ song from the artist’s new album ‘Beauty Behind the Madness’, and helmed by filmmaker Grant Singer, seems to be very aware of the popular turn the artist’s career has taken. In the video, the singer appears to bury himself, or at least a side of himself, perhaps hinting that the popular tones he’s hit recently- the ones that have propelled him to serious popularity, might soon be abandoned in favor of a return to his darker, grittier roots. While it’s certainly open for interpretation, the song, and video are both very cool, and can be viewed below.

Markets shot downward on Monday, but there’s reason NOT to be worried

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Via: Forbes

Within minutes of the market’s opening yesterday (Monday) morning, the Dow Jones plunged nearly 1000 points, creating the pained hashtags (#BlackMonday), and anguished GIFs that accompany a market slide in 2015. It was the type of correction that is usually seen anywhere from 1-3 times per year, and although it was indeed painful while it lasted, it was not necessarily outside of the norm. Markets are already back up today, negating all but about 195 points of that drop, and none of the usual indicators that would precede an imminent bear market seem to be in place.

And while single day shocks like that are exactly that; shocking, of course long term trends are really what supplies the fundamentals of both investing, and the stock market in general. Despite some criticisms that the past six years’ gains are more due to Fed policy than real economic strength, the market has gained substantially in value over that time, only a tiny fraction which was erased yesterday. The graph below does a good job of illustrating this point.

See? Not so bad in context. (Via Forbes, YCharts)

There is no shortage of sources of possible instability in the markets heading forward, including China, a possible interest rate hike in September (although that looks slightly less likely on the heels of this instability), and more; but for now at least, there seems to be at least a bit of hopeful optimism.

New fan theory video casts some serious doubts on The Karate Kid plot

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Balancing right on the edge of ‘things too obscure to blog about’ and ‘we used to love this movie, we can’t not talk about this’, comes a really interesting fan theory video on the legendary Karate Kid movie from the mid-80s. And perhaps even more interestingly, it’s a fan theory Barney Stinson stipulates in more than one episode of How I Met Your Mother.

The video, which convincingly incorporates footage from the 1984 classic (we can’t believe how old the movie is, either), states that in fact Daniel (the main character) was the bully, and not the generally despised zealots from down the road at the Cobra Kai Dojo, as is the usual interpretation of the iconic martial arts drama. And the argument it lays out really isn’t bad. It’s basically the following; it is ACTUALLY Daniel who initiates all of the violent fights in the movie! Now obviously, the whole thing is more than a bit tongue-in-cheek, the video is really well made, and honestly, kind of hard to argue against. It’s gone seriously viral the past day or so, and for good reason too. Check out the hilarious video, below.

Super exclusive Yeezy Boost drops on Saturday

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The third in an on-going edition of super limited edition footwear designed by none other than the man himself, Kanye West, the brand new Yeezy Boost finally drops on Saturday.

The first two shoes sold out day-of, and its anticipated this one will go even faster. Despite criticism that the shoes ‘look like Uggs’ from some members of the sneakerhead community, the shoes are still selling for far beyond their $200 retail price on the after market.

Seriously on-trend, and boasting unique materials and construction techniques, the Yeezy series may not be for everyone, but it has absolutely captured the collective imagine of the street-fashion forward set. Also, it’s not only sneakerheads that are hoping for some luck on Saturday, as Adidas itself has placed a ton of emphasis on this relationship with Kanye, and the Yeezy series he designed, to recapture some of the market share that Nike has been dominating for close to a decade now. More recently, even newer brands like Under Armour have emerged as competitors to the legendary 3 Stripes brand as well, so creative partnerships and promotions such as this one have become a go-to marketing strategy for Adidas. So for the new Yeezy Boost, a huge emphasis was placed on athletic capability, in addition to its uniquely streetwear-focused style. Check out the video below for more details.

Because the Yeezy shoes themselves are so limited, Adidas hopes that not only will they generate serious demand in the aftermarket, and thus, serious buzz for the brand in entirety; but they also hope that this will lead people to buy other Adidas footwear as well. And if this article that surfaced on SneakerNews today is any indication, that plan may already be working.