While you watch the violent clashes between the Chinese protesting COVID lockdowns and roving police squads, keep in mind that COVID-19 is spreading fast in China. And global COVID-19 testing is down about 90% from the height of the pandemic so we may only know it spread beyond China once it has already taken root, maybe near you.

The rumor mill is spreading unfounded fears that the U.S. is about to run out of diesel fuel, which would be a critical problem. But while supplies are tight, which forces prices to remain high, the tanks are not empty and there is no reason to think they will be in the foreseeable future. However, if unions call a national railroad strike in a couple of weeks, all bets are off and a diesel shortage would be just one of a multitude of problems.

The experts have issued competing predictions about how much you will be spending for the Christmas shopping season. Retailers expect a 6% to 8% growth in spending while other forecasters say spending will be, at best, flat from last year.