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A roundup of what The Globe and Mail's market strategist Scott Barlow is reading this morning on the World Wide Web.

A massive oil and gas find in the Russian Arctic is the final nail in the coffin for "peak oil" scaremongering, at least for a generation. In a joint venture with Exxon Mobil Corp., Russia's OAO Rosneft estimated that a newly-drilled oilfield 250 miles north of Siberia contains more oil and gas than the entire Gulf of Mexico.

It is unlikely that West Texas Intermediate crude prices will fall below $50 (U.S.) any time soon, but the combination of shale reserves, the increasing efficiency of solar power and technological advances allowing for profitable deep sea drilling should ensure ample reserves of oil for most of our lifetimes.

"Rosneft announces 'victory' in the Kara sea, huge discovery made " – gCaptain

"Why peak-oil predictions haven't come true " – Wall Street Journal (subscription may be required)

"Kurzweil: Solar energy will be unlimited and free in 20 years " – Business Insider

"A promising step toward round-the-clock solar power " – MIT Technology Review

The Geneva Reports on the World Economy are a series of studies by prominent academics sponsored by the International Center for Monetary and Banking Studies. The latest report suggests alarmingly that the global economy has yet to deleverage, is still awash in consumer, corporate and sovereign debt. Ominously, the authors conclude "China and the so-called 'fragile eight' could find themselves in the unwanted role of 'host' to the next phase of the global leverage crisis."

"Deleveraging, what deleveraging? The 16th Geneva Report on the World Economy" – VoxEu

"World risks new financial crisis amid 'poisonous' mix, major study warns" – Babad, Globe and Mail

As if China didn't have enough problems, the country's water shortage is becoming acute. I've yet to find an way for investors to benefit from the expected increase in global water treatment and irrigation investment (the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization estimates that 70 per cent of global water usage is agriculturally-related ) but I maintain a lot of conviction on the theme. General Electric Co.'s GE Water division is the closest I've found but it's hardly a pure play.

"Vast new waterways will not solve China's desperate water shortages" – The Economist

Twitter anointed Vox's "Hong Kong's unprecedented protests and police crackdown, explained" as the best summary of how the protests in Hong Kong arose. For me, the key component is a 1997 promise the mainland government made to Hong Kong as part of the handover of the island's governance from the U.K. to China:

"A big part of that deal was China's promise that, in 2017, Hong Kong's citizens would be allowed to democratically elect their top leader for the first time ever. .. But there have been disturbing signs throughout this year that the central Chinese government might renege on its promise. In July, the Chinese government issued a 'white paper' stating that it has 'comprehensive jurisdiction' over Hong Kong and that 'the high degree of autonomy of [Hong Kong] is not an inherent power.'"

Tweet of the Day is a doubleheader: "@endacurren Surreal Monday morning rush hour in Hong Kong. Eight lanes empty of traffic. pic.twitter.com/ucp3CtQKOy " and "@mayaj Just leaving the office and here's what I see right outside in Wanchai: #OccupyHongKong pic.twitter.com/tAFb6AzE2w

Diversion: "Booze, bonks, bodies: the various James Bonds differed more than you might think" #econarchive econ.st/1urNFpx pic.twitter.com/UCeYhcSU6K

Follow Scott Barlow on Twitter @SBarlow_ROB

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