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Some Common Cents for October 17th 2014

The Ebola virus or ISIS? You have to choose one. Which is it? Which of these two keeps you up at night? After all, if the Doomsday scenarios for both are accurate, they will both bring, well, Doomsday to our planet or at least our way of life.

Sort of lost in the headlines this week was what I would consider a somewhat disturbing story. On October 12, The Wall Street Journal reported a consortium of 50 donor countries met in Cairo, and pledged over $5 billion to the Palestinians in order to largely rebuild Gaza. For our part, the US promised $212 million, with various earmarks.

Now, $212 million from the US is but a drop in the bucket when it comes to the size and breadth of the US economy, or even the Federal budget. $5 billion in a huge global economy is basically peanuts. However, and this is what  bothered me, when UN General Secretary Bam Ki-moon pleaded with member countries for a ‘fast-track fund’ to help pay for doctors and supplies to combat Ebola in West Africa, the world yawned…Read On…

The opinions expressed within this report are those of John Norris as of the initial publication of this blog. They are subject to change without notice, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Oakworth Capital Bank, its directors, shareholders, and employees