In The News: Financial Collapse, Gog-Magog Alliance, Quakes, Pestilence, (all in one day)

Today is one of those days - a day that gives us multiple headlines hitting on the "birth pains" of this generation: 

If You're Waiting For An Economic Collapse, Just Look Towards Europe

If you are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the "economic collapse", just open up your eyes and look at what is happening in Europe.  The entire continent is a giant economic mess right now.  Unemployment and poverty levels are setting record highs, car sales are setting record lows, and there is an ocean of bad loans and red ink everywhere you look.  Over the past several years, most of the attention has been on the economic struggles of Greece, Spain and Portugal and without a doubt things continue to get even worse in those nations. 

But in 2014 and 2015, Italy and France will start to take center stage.  France has the 5th largest economy on the planet, and Italy has the 9th largest economy on the planet, and at this point both of those economies are rapidly falling to pieces.  Expect both France and Italy to make major headlines throughout the rest of 2014.  I have always maintained that the next major wave of the economic collapse would begin in Europe, and that is exactly what is happening.  The following are just a few of the statistics that show that an "economic collapse" is happening in Europe right now...

Of course that should kind of remind you of what I wrote about yesterday.  We are starting to see this kind of intense competition for low paying jobs in the United States as well.

As global economic conditions continue to deteriorate, things are going to get even tougher for those on the low end of the economic food chain.  Poverty rates are going to soar, even in areas where you might not expect it to happen.  In fact, one new report discovered that poverty has already been rising steadily in Germany, which is supposed to be the strongest economy in the entire eurozone..

And this is just the beginning.  The extreme recklessness of European banks such as Deutsche Bank and U.S. banks such asJPMorgan Chase, Citibank and Goldman Sachs is eventually going to cause a financial catastrophe far worse than what we experienced back in 2008.

When that crisis arrives, the flow of credit is going to freeze up dramatically and economic activity will grind to a standstill.  Unemployment, poverty and all of our current economic problems will become much, much worse.

So as bad as things are right now, the truth is that this is nothingcompared to what is coming.

Exclusive: Iran, Russia Negotiating Big Oil-For-Goods Deal

Iran and Russia are negotiating an oil-for-goods swap worth $1.5 billion a month that would let Iran lift oil exports substantially, in defiance of Western sanctions that helped force Tehran to agree a preliminary deal to end its nuclear program.

Russian and Iranian sources close to the barter negotiations said final details were in discussion for a deal that would see Moscow buy up to 500,000 barrels a day of Iranian oil in exchange for Russian equipment and goods.

"Good progress is being made at the moment with strong chances of success," said a Russian source. "We are discussing the details and the date of signing a deal depends on those details." The Kremlin declined comment.

"Our desire is to sign the deal as soon as possible," said a senior Iranian official, who declined to be named. "Our officials are discussing the matter with the Russians and hopefully it will be inked soon, regardless of whether we can reach a (nuclear) agreement in Geneva."

Earthquake Rattles Cuba, South Florida

A 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck in the Straits of Florida off Cuba on Thursday, startling office workers in medium-rise buildings set swaying in Havana. There was no word of any damage or injuries.

The temblor occurred just before 4 p.m. about 106 miles (172 kilometers) east of Havana, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The closest city to the epicenter was Corralillo, 17 miles (28 kilometers) to the southwest.

The USGS initially reported a magnitude of 5.0, and later upgraded it to 5.1. The quake struck at a depth of six miles (10 kilometers).

The U.S. National Weather Service said there was no tsunami danger.

Locally, the NWS reported that the quake had been felt in the Davis Islands area. Others reported feeling it in the Carillon area.

Cuba is not as known for seismic activity as other parts of Latin America, especially countries along the Pacific Rim of Fire.

Disease Resistance To Antibiotics At Tipping Point, Expert Warns

The director of the Wellcome Trust has warned that resistance of disease to antibiotics has reached a tipping point at which it could creep into the UK almost without notice.

Prof Jeremy Farrar said the effects would be gradual and would be seen not just in resistant new infections but in everyday medical practice and the treatment of everything from diabetes to minor wounds at risk of turning septic.

Having worked in Vietnam for the past 18 years Farrar said he had already seen firsthand resistance to drugs in the shape of tuberculosis that had spread from patients' lungs to their brain.

"This is happening now," Farrar told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "It's been happening for the last decade or so or more and it will continue to happen. What we will see is people actually spending longer in hospital, patients getting sicker and having complications and dying and it will creep up on us almost without us noticing.

"No government can do this on its own because this is a truly global issue," he said. "This is getting to the tipping point where you will start to see this in you and your families and we will start to see this not in infections many, many miles away but here in London."

Beijing Strengthens Police Powers In South China Sea

The Chinese government has announced that it is strengthening the implementation of police powers in the South China Sea, demanding that all foreign fishermen acquire approval from its authorities prior to operating in regions "belonging to China," reports our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily.

The Jan. 7 declaration follows November's announcement of a new air defense identification zone (ADIZ) requiring foreign planes to notify Beijing of flights over a huge portion of the East China Sea, where China is locked in a bitter territorial dispute with Japan over the Diaoyutai islands (Diaoyu to China, Senkaku to Japan). Tensions have remained high since Japan, which administers the islands, "nationalized" three of the five islands through purchases from private owners in September 2012, sparking nationwide anti-Japanese protests across China.

China lays claim to 2 million square kilometers, or nearly two-thirds, of the South China Sea, including an area that includes island groups claimed by the Philippines and Vietnam.

The Associated Press said China's announcement prompts concerns that Chinese president Xi Jinping's push to assert his country's role as a regional power could spark a confrontation with neighbors.

"These sort of assertions of sovereignty, or territorial claims, will continue," said Joseph Cheng, a Hong Kong politics expert from the City University of Hong Kong, in an interview with the Associated Press, adding, "Xi believes he can't afford to be seen as soft."

U.S.: China's Fishing Restrictions 'Provocative And Potentially Dangerous'

The United States says Chinese moves to restrict fishing in contested waters of the South China Sea are a "potentially dangerous" escalation in the maritime dispute. Chinese authorities say the rules are well within their sovereign rights.

China's Hainan province is now demanding that all foreign fishing vessels ask permission to enter more than half of the 3.5-million-square-kilometer South China Sea, where China is facing rival territorial claims by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.

"The passing of these restrictions on other countries' fishing activities in disputed portions of the South China Sea is a provocative and potentially dangerous act," said Psaki.