Oil price experienced horrific bear run in the late 2014, losing half its value in the process. Although it is still uncertain if the price has reached its bottom, the decreasing output of crude oil in US is a positive sign. Another 24 oil rigs in US had to stop their production, making US oil rigs count of 679 the lowest since September 2010. Crude output shrank in the three out of the last five weeks. Analysts predict that if the amount of US rigs continues to decline at the same pace, WTI (West Texas Intermediate) price will reach its bottom in no time. A possible conclusion could be made that if US further decreases its production, OPEC might follow as well.

The article below gives a detailed explanation about the oil output situation in the USA.

Click here to read the full article

Since problems first arose post the GFC, the Greek bail-out saga has provided seductive opportunities for contrarian investors with their high appetites for risk. However, they are now faced with their biggest dilemma yet. On one hand, the returns of some heavily undervalued assets could deliver an opportunity of a life time. On the other, the possibility of Greece exiting the euro zone is seeming ever more likely, and so too the possibility of these contrarian investments being wiped out through government default.

The continuing argument has revolved around the effect of a Greek exit. Those in Greece's corner argue that the euro-zone will be worse off if Greece's peers eject it than continuing to bail Greece out, however some optimists argue that a possible exit will be better absorbed by the euro zone now than when it was first proposed in 2011.

The article below provides an in depth overview of the Greek situation and its influence on Europe.

Click here to read the full article.

There has been a lot of concern in the media lately about the slowdown of China’s growth figures. From this time last year, China recorded a 7% growth rate, which is the slowest in six years.

The article linked below addresses this concern and reveals that the pessimistic predictions for China’s growth may be substantiated.

However, for the world’s second largest economy, it is extremely difficult to sustain such high growth rates for long periods. The current rate is much more sustainable for the medium term, and comparatively with the rest of the world, it is still high.

Click here to read the full article.

April 7^th will prove to be an interesting day as the long awaited end to the six month moratorium between resource giants Rio Tinto and Glencore PLC  moves to spark renewed talks of merger.

Valued at over $US150 Billion, the merger would become the largest mining deal in history and result in a company with unprecedented exposure to a range of raw materials – a necessity in today's markets where key commodities such as iron ore crumble in value.

Learn more about the Glencore/Rio merger here

Last week Apple (APPL: NASDAQ) was officially added to the Dow Jones Industrial Index. The Dow is an average indexed to the stock market performance of thirty large American companies. The average was first calculated in 1896 and has fallen out of favour with market watchers. Detractors say companies are chosen arbitrarily, for example Google and Facebook are omitted at the expense of older, smaller companies (as measured by market cap) such a P&G and General Electric.

The Dow is weighted to changes in a company’s share price, rather than overall changes in market capitalisation. Effectively, this means expensive stocks have a disproportionate effect on the index. Historically, Apple’s stock could not be included in the Dow for this reason– its 7:1 stock split in June 2014 brought the share price of the company down to ~$US120 from US$700, much closer to the price of other stocks in the average.

You can hear more about the Dow Jones Industrial Average on this week's Planet Money podcast here