Ian McAbeer

The recession ended two years ago but the unemployment rate has remained persistently high, currently at 9.1%. There is a fair amount of debate among analysts & economists - even within the Federal Reserve - as to the relative importance of structural unemployment factors that may be contributing to the low rate of job growth. "Structural unemployment" is the type of unemployment that results from a mismatch between the skills of the unemployed & the needs of those companies that are hiring.

The current vote on the debt limit itself is something of a non-issue for financial markets. Rather, what does matter to financial markets is the substance of the debate, the implementation of concrete near-term spending cuts, and the perception that our government is on a credible path toward resolution of the massive fiscal imbalances that we presently face.

Due to the extreme drought and flooding, I suspect that the recent price decline in agricultural commodity markets may be near its end, as the fundamentals of supply and demand once again move to the forefront.