News Factoids for Third Quarter 2015

On June 19th, flash floods caused collapse of two freeway bridges on I-10 near Desert Center, California; the two-way closure is longterm and traffic is being diverted; eastbound traffic goes south on Highway 86 at Indio to I-8, westbound traffic goes north on I-95 at Blythe to Highway 62 and thru High Desert. (The Federal Highway Administration lists 119 obsolete bridges and 79 structurally-deficient bridges in Riverside County, California – just another example of damage caused by Republican under-funding of infrastructure repairs for the last ten years.

Americans drank 10.9 billion gallons of bottled water in 2014, up 7.3% over 2013 (and likely to overtake sales of soda pop in 2015).

Eighteen of the 22 components in the Bloomberg Commodity Index have dropped at least 20 percent during August from recent highs, which means that there is now a bear market. The last time this happened was October 2008 {just prior to the G.O.P. Economic Meltdown}. The center of this commodity collapse is the energy market: Chevron's earnings were down a dramatic 90% from last year, and Exxon's earnings were down 51% year-over-year, the worst quarter since early 2009.
The collapse in energy shares alone adds up to $1.3 trillion and is expected to create a $4.4 trillion hole in energy company earnings over the next three years. This has caused the energy sector to be the leading sector for layoffs in the entire economy.

Billie's friend's Weed Killer Recipe
• 2 cups Epsom salts
• 1 gallon cider vinegar
• 1 cup dish soap
— cheap and non-toxic; it works best if you use a sprayer (like a handheld bug or weed sprayer)

Copyright 2015 by G.E. Nordell, all rights reserved