The Peanut Gallery

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.The headquarters of the BRICS New Development Bank opened in Shanghai on July 21, Tass reported. The BRICS trade group — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — reached an agreement to launch the new bank a year ago, with a starting capitalization of some $50 billion. Beijing sees the BRICS bank as yet another tool, along with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, to pick away at the U.S.-dominated financial system. COMMENT: For the time being the USD is the king of currencies.

2.Russian authorities are planning on restoring civilian and defense infrastructure on the disputed Kuril Islands, which Japan also claims, Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev said July 23, Tass reported. The Kurils are key to protecting Russia's frontiers, said Medvedev, who plans to visit the islands at an undisclosed date and is encouraging other Cabinet ministers to do the same. COMMENT: The Chinese believe in economic power. The Russians believe in military power.

3.One in five Ottawa residents allegedly subscribed to adulterers' website Ashley Madison, making one of the world's coldest capitals among the hottest for extra-marital hookups. Some 189,810 Ashley Madison users were registered in Ottawa, a city with a population of about 883,000, making the capital No. 1 for philanderers in Canada and potentially the highest globally per capita, according to previously published figures from the Toronto-based company. COMMENT: Wow!

4.Tony Sagami: Xiaomi—pronounced SHOW-em—is a smartphone maker, and it happens to make the #1 bestselling smartphone in China. Yup, Xiaomi is even more popular than the Apple iPhone. The most recent market share numbers show that Xiaomi grabbed 15.9% of the mobile phone market in China during the second quarter of this year. In 2014, Xiaomi sold 420 million smartphones and pulled in $12 billion in revenues. COMMENT: This might explain the recent pressure on Apple shares.

5.The Russian economy shrank 4.6 percent in the second quarter of 2015, according to official government figures released Aug. 10, the Moscow Times reported. At the same time on Aug. 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a crackdown on violations of the Kremlin's food sanctions against the European Union and the United States, during which some illegally imported food was destroyed. COMMENT: Why wouldn't they gift this food to the poor? All of the above spells two words...Trouble ahead!

6.China’s central bank devalued the yuan on Aug. 11, sparking a wave of selling in foreign exchange markets, the Wall Street Journal reported. Beijing pushed the daily fixing rate against the dollar down 1.9 percent — its biggest single-day loss in two decades — and it vowed to allow market forces a greater degree of influence over the currency.  COMMENT: The currency wars continue - another flicking red light.

7.Despite the chilly relations in the diplomatic arena, Turkey has become the most active destination for flights from Israel, according to an Israel Airports Authority (IAA) summary of the month of July, which was released Monday. The United States, which has been the most active destination of direct flights from Israel for years, fell to the third place, while Greece went up to the second place. July 2015 was a record-breaking month for Israeli tourists departing on vacations, and it looks like August will see that record broken once more, with 2015 becoming an overall record year for outgoing Israeli tourism. COMMENT: The strong Israeli Shekel (stronger than both the USD and Euro) is sending Israelis abroad in droves, while incoming tourism is faltering.

If your horse dies get off - Old business axiom

Since life is growth and motion, a fixed point of view kills anybody who has one - Brooks Atkinson