December E-mini S&Ps (ESZ14 +0.50%) this morning are up +0.39% after the results of the mid-term elections showed Republicans won control of the U.S Senate in for the first time in 8 years, which is seen as business friendly.

Water and Gas Utilities have outperformed but Multi-Utilities gets the current nod technically While the Utility sector is on the low end of total returns over the previous 3-yrs and TTM, they generated respectable returns for YTD and first 6-months 2014.

For anyone covering the energy industry, it is often wise to take most production forecasts with a healthy dose of skepticism. The Marcellus shale gas production growth has turned out to be an exception to this rule.

Today's Financial Times reports about what will probably be the ultimate digital virtual currency, and it ain't bitcoin. It is a mobile-phone text-based payments system invented in sub-Saharan Africa called M-Pesa.