BLOOMBERG

Oil Investors May Be Running Off a Cliff They Can't See

Climate: Now or Never

A major threat to fossil fuel companies has suddenly moved from the fringe to center stage with a dramatic announcement by Germany's biggest power company and an intriguing letter from the Bank of England.

A growing minority of investors and regulators are probing the possibility that untapped deposits of oil, gas and coal -- valued at trillions of dollars globally -- could become stranded assets as governments adopt stricter climate change policies.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-02/oil-investors-may-be-running-off-a-cliff-they-can-t-see.html

BLOOMBERG

Draghi Treads Path of ECB Powerlessness Toward QE Without Reform

Looking out from the top of the European Central Bank's new tower in Frankfurt, it's easy to find dark clouds on the horizon.

The view for policy makers is of a euro-zone populace so weary of years of economic turmoil that it's increasingly electing politicians who say no to pan-European cooperation, and spurn reforms that the ECB says are vital to revive the economy. Trapped by their mandate to prevent deflation, officials fret they might soon be forced to roll out quantitative easing that can never succeed by itself.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-02/draghi-treads-path-of-ecb-powerlessness-toward-qe-without-reform.html

REUTERS

Fed welcomes energy drop, shrugs off disinflation threat

(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve is welcoming the sharp drop in global energy prices, with two influential policymakers on Monday cheering the boost it should provide American pocketbooks and shrugging off any pressure on already low inflation.

Soft oil prices in particular, which hit a five-year low on Friday, will only temporarily dampen overall U.S. prices, Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer and New York Fed President William Dudley said at separate events. The pair painted a mostly rosy outlook for the world's largest economy, suggesting the central bank is not letting energy markets distract it from lifting rates some time next year.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/01/us-usa-fed-idUSKCN0JF39U20141201