Mark’s Musings – January 29, 2014

Mark Fortune

Oh my. The front page photo this week does not do justice to all of the men and women in our community that braved the elements to keep up with the heavy snowfall on Sunday or the bitter cold temperatures that hit our community on Monday afternoon and Tuesday of this week. Our appreciation needs to be expressed to all of these hard working folks.

While it is not quite the blizzard of ’78 and all that – the roads were treacherous and the crews did a good job keeping them passable.

The state of the city address by Honorable Coshocton City Mayor Steve Mercer and the State of the Union address by the President will be past tense when you receive your Beacon in the mail on Wednesday. That’s another group of folks we need to appreciate – the postal carriers. They get no respite from the snow, cold winds or the nasty temperatures. We do thank you.

The Buckeyes may be back on track but it looks like it could be a long season in the Big 10. The battle between Michigan and Michigan State Saturday night was fantastic to watch. The Wolverines went into Spartan land with a chip on their shoulder for sure. Beating State at their house is tough indeed. But I’m not counting the Buckeyes out. And of course, the Spartans had a couple of guys hurt that will be back in time for March Madness. Not good for their opponents. They are a final four team.

This week’s matchup of Syracuse and Duke is being hyped perhaps more than it should be – due to the incredible number of wins by both hall of fame coaches. I’ll take Syracuse by 15 in this one.

The IMF (International Monetary Fund) expects the U.S. economy – the worlds largest – to grow at a 2.8% rate this year while Britain will grow at 2.6% – the strongest in the European Union. China’s economy is expected to grow at 7.5%.

Mexico and India’s growth rates are expected to outpace the U.S. as well with Russia in between the U.K. and the U.S., helped no doubt by the Sochi Olympics.

Italy, Spain and France’s economies are expected to show very little growth in 2014, with several EU nations going backwards. We do live in a global economy and the ripple effect and impact of decisions is felt around the globe.

It has probably been this way for more years and decades than we might believe – as the ships that sailed the high seas centuries ago brought freight to and from the nations of the world for trade and consumption. Obviously, everything just moves a bit faster in today’s world.

Winter does not appear to be going anywhere soon. The good news – spring is fifty (that’s five zero) days away when you receive this copy of The Beacon in your mailbox. We are not quite at the halfway point of winter yet. But close. Hang in there my friends!

Category: Mark's Musings