At a loss: Agriculture losses across Louisiana from the March and August floods totaled almost $367 million, according to an analysis by the LSU AgCenter. As The USA Today Network of Louisiana reports, soybeans and rice took the biggest hits, at $69 million each, followed by corn at $44 million and cotton at $27 million. But there were significant losses in virtually every crop as well as livestock. Most of the damage, $267 million, occurred during the August flood in southern Louisiana, but northern Louisiana producers lost about $90 million during the March flood. Read the full story.
Less confidence: Small business owners’ confidence about their economic situation declined in August, as expectations that the economy will improve weighed on sentiment. As Fox Business reports, the National Federation of Independent Business’ small business optimism index fell to 94.4 last month from July’s 94.6, the best level of the year. The NFIB survey, based on 730 respondents in August, is a monthly snapshot of America’s small businesses. Many economists look to the report for clues for hiring and wage trends in the broader economy and for a read on domestic demand. According to the report, 38% of business owners cited the political climate as a reason not to expand, 15% said that finding qualified workers was their biggest problem, and 30% said they had job openings that they couldn’t fill. Read the full story.
Too much: The International Energy Agency expects the surplus in global oil markets to persist into late 2017 as supply continues to outpace demand, Bloomberg reports. Consumption growth sagged to a two-year low in the third quarter as demand faltered in China and India, while record output from OPEC’s Gulf members is compounding the glut, the agency says. Last month, the IEA predicted the market would return to equilibrium this year. Production from OPEC’s 14 members rose slightly last month as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates pumped at or near record levels and as Iraq pushed output higher, the IEA says. Saudi Arabia has overtaken the U.S. as the world’s largest oil producer—a ranking America held since April 2014. Read the full story.
