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The Baltic Dry Shipping Index tracks the rates charged to ship dry commodities (coal, wheat, copper, lumber, etc.). That index has dropped to its lowest level in three years, which shows a slump in cargo shipments. Source: CBC/Radio-Canada While the Baltic Dry Index is obscure to your average retail investor, keen market watchers have long considered it a valuable leading indicator for the world economy, indicating shifting tides in demand for key industrial commodities. And its plunge comes at a time when the prices for many key commodities remain buoyant – a disconnect that would traditionally suggest that commodities are poised for a fall.

DHS Pumping Money into Drones for Domestic Surveillance, Hunting Immigrants and Seizing Pot AlterNet DHS has little to show for its drone spending spree other than stacks of seized marijuana and a few thousand immigrants who crossed the border without visas. January 16, 2012 Photo Credit: U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson LIKE THIS ARTICLE ?Join our mailing list:Sign up to stay up to date on the latest headlines via email. The Department of Homeland Security says it needs a fleet of two-dozen Predator and Guardian drones to protect the homeland adequately. Designed for military use, 10 of these unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are already patrolling U.S. borders in the hunt for unauthorized immigrants and illegal drugs