Here's what it was like to be Mansa Musa, thought to be the richest person in history-By Kathleen Elkins

 

Wikimedia Commons Mansa Musa, as depicted on a 1375 Catalan Atlas, one of the most important world maps of Medieval Europe.

African King Musa Keita I is thought to be the richest person of all time — "richer than anyone could describe," reports Time.
Literally. His fortune was incomprehensible, Time's Jacob Davidson writes: "There's really no way to put an accurate number on his wealth."
He ruled the Mali Empire in the 14th century and his land was laden with lucrative natural resources, most notably gold.
"His vast wealth was only one piece of his rich legacy," reports Jessica Smith in a TED-Ed original lesson. Read on to learn more about the legendary king and see what it was really like to be the richest person in history:

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Musa Keita I came into power in 1312. When he was crowned, he was given the name Mansa, meaning king. At the time, much of Europe was famished and in the middle of civil wars, but many African kingdoms were thriving.

Ted-ED

While in power, Mansa Musa expanded the borders of his empire tremendously. He annexed the city of Timbuktu and reestablished power over Gao. All in all, his empire stretched about 2,000 miles.

The New York Public Library

Mansa Musa was in charge of a lot of land. To put it into perspective, he ruled all (or parts) of modern day Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Chad.

The rest of the world caught wind of his great fortune in 1324, when he made the nearly 4,000 mile pilgrimage to Mecca. He didn't do it on the cheap.

Ted-Ed

"Not one to travel on a budget, he brought a caravan stretching as far as the eye could see," reports Smith. "Chroniclers describe an entourage of tens of thousands of soldiers, civilians and slaves, 500 heralds bearing gold staffs and dressed in fine silks, and many camels and horses bearing an abundance of gold bars."

Tinou Bao/flickr

On his stop in Cairo, he spent so much gold and donated so much money to the poor that he caused mass inflation! It would take years for the city to fully recover from the currency crisis.

Emad Raúf/flickr

Cairo, Egypt.

Source: BlackPast.org

The extravagant journey put Mansa Musa on the map — quite literally.

Wikimedia Commons

He was included on the 1375 Catalan Atlas (pictured above), one of the most important world maps of Medieval Europe.

"Material riches weren't the king's only concern," says Smith. "As a devout Muslim, he took a particular interest in Timbuktu." He urbanized the city of Timbuktu by building schools, mosques, and a major university.

Wikimedia Commons

He also built the legendary Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu, pictured below, which still stands.

Wikimedia Commons

After reigning for 25 years, Mansa Musa died in 1337. He was succeeded by his son, Maghan I. "The king's rich legacy persisted for generations and to this day, there are mausoleums, libraries, and mosques that stand as a testament to this golden age of Mali's history," says Smith.

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Source: BlackPast.org in Business Insider

Apple vs. the FBI: Here's where everyone stands-By Daniel Roberts

You might have heard: The U.S. government wants Apple to unlock an iPhone 5C that belonged to San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook. The order, handed down by a U.S. magistrate judge, demands Apple (AAPL) write new software that would help the FBI get around the passcode so it can search the phone for evidence. And Apple isn't playing ball.

The FBI was successful in getting the order issued thanks to a law from 1789 for just this kind of situation: A federal court asking a third party to help a different government entity. But that doesn't matter -- this fight has quickly become an ethical one, and both prominent individuals and corporations are making it clear where they fall based on such lines.
So: On which side of the dividing line do the power players in and around Corporate America stand?
With Apple:

ACLU: The civil rights group released a statement calling the order "an unprecedented, unwise, and unlawful move by the government."

Amnesty International: In a similar statement, Amnesty said that Apple is, "right to fight back in this case: the FBI's request... would set a very dangerous precedent. Such backdoors undermine everyone's security and threaten our right to privacy."
Anonymous: On its official Twitter feed, the hacker group has been retweeting Edward Snowden and others sharing concerns about the FBI's request. Anonymous also said the White House, "willfully misrepresents what govt is asking Apple to do in order to expand surveillance powers."
Edward Snowden: The privacy crusader said on Twitter that the FBI is "creating a world where citizens rely on Apple to defend their rights, rather than the other way around." He added: "This is the most important tech case in a decade."
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): This digital civil liberties group tweeted that, "Encryption backdoors would harm us all."
Google (GOOGL): CEO Sundar Pichai said on Twitter that "forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users' privacy" and it "could be a troubling precedent."
Information Technology Industry Council, a Washington advocacy group that represents the interests of the likes of Google, Facebook (FB), Microsoft (MSFT), and others, said in a statement that the fight against terrorism, "is actually strengthened by the security tools and technologies created by the technology sector, so we must tread carefully."

 

Microsoft: The company has not issued its own statement, but CEO Satya Nadella retweeted a statement from Reform Government Surveillance, a group in which Microsoft was a founding member. The statement reads, in part, "Technology companies should not be required to build in backdoors to the technologies that keep their users' information secure. RGS companies remain committed to providing law enforcement with the help it needs while protecting the security of their customers and their customers' information." The Verge called it "tepid support" by Microsoft so far.
Mozilla, the maker of Firefox: The company tweeted that it stands with Apple, because "we should not set a dangerous precedent."
WhatsApp: CEO Jan Koum wrote on Facebook, "I have always admired Tim Cook for his stance on privacy... We must not allow this dangerous precedent to be set. Today our freedom and our liberty is at stake."
Twitter and Square: Jack Dorsey, chief executive of both the social network and the payments platform, tweeted on Thursday evening, "We stand with Tim Cook and Apple (and thank him for his leadership)!"
Facebook (FB): The company released a statement on Thursday just after Jack Dorsey tweeted his support. The statement says: "We condemn terrorism and have total solidarity with victims of terror. Those who seek to praise, promote, or plan terrorist acts have no place on our services. We also appreciate the difficult and essential work of law enforcement to keep people safe. When we receive lawful requests from these authorities we comply. However, we will continue to fight aggressively against requirements for companies to weaken the security of their systems. These demands would create a chilling precedent and obstruct companies’ efforts to secure their products."

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FILE - In this April 30, 2015, file photo, Apple CEO Tim Cook responds to a question during a news  …

John McAfee: The anti-virus computer programmer wrote an entire Op-Ed at the International Business Times on Thursday. The headline declared, "An Apple backdoor is like giving our enemies nukes." He continued that if the government gets what it wants, "Our world, as we know it, is over. In spite of the FBI's claim that they would protect the backdoor we all know that that is impossible."
Against Apple:
China: Apple CEO Tim Cook writes in his open letter that, "in the wrong hands," software that could bypass the iPhone's passcode would be dangerous. As the New York Times writes, Apple and other tech companies have argued in the past that, "creating an opening in their products for government investigators would also create a vulnerability that Chinese, Iranian, Russian or North Korean hackers could exploit." Indeed, China, as a nation, is likely on the side of the U.S. in this case because it has proven, time and again, that its government does not place a premium on privacy rights and that it often takes its cues from what the U.S. does. If the FBI's order sets the precedent that even the U.S. believes there are moments when it can intervene and force technology companies to sacrifice privacy, China and other nations may follow.

National Security Agency: Last year, NSA director Mike Rogers joined FBI director James Comey in warning tech companies against employing encryption models that government and law enforcement cannot break when needed.

Donald Trump: In a Fox News appearance, Trump said that he agrees "100 percent" with the court order. "We should open it up," he said about the phone.

The White House: Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the FBI has the White House's full support in this fight, and defended the order based on its scope, saying the government is "simply asking for something that would have an impact on this one device."

So the U.S. government is going up against Apple. And the government's associated arms and entities are, understandably, on the side of the order. But technology companies, and civil rights groups, are almost across the board staunchly siding with Apple.

Culled from Yahoo Finance

Eurotunnel wants France, UK to pay migrant crisis bill

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An Eurotunnel freight shuttle exists the Channel Tunnel in Coquelles, near Calais, northern France, October …

PARIS (Reuters) - Channel tunnel operator Eurotunnel said on Thursday it had asked the French and British governments to reimburse it 29 million euros ($32 million) mostly for revenue lost last year due to a migrant crisis at the French port of Calais.

Eurotunnel made the request as it raised its 2015 dividend by 22 percent and forecast a further rise in profit this year and next, driven by an economic recovery in Europe.
"Business remains dynamic, led by growth in the British economy and signs of improvement in Europe," Chief Executive Jacques Gounon said in a statement.
"Despite an uncertain global environment, the group remains confident in its ability to generate sustainable growth both in cross-Channel and rail freight activities."
Eurotunnel carries Eurostar high-speed trains between Paris, Brussels and London, as well as shuttle trains containing passenger cars, coaches and freight trucks.
Thousands of migrants, fleeing war, political turmoil and poverty, are living in makeshift camps in and around Calais, making daily attempts to board lorries and trains heading to Britain where they hope to find work or claim asylum.
In mid-July, Eurotunnel had asked France and Britain for 10 million euros to cover costs tied to beefing up security to cope with the migrant crisis in the first-half of the year.. This sum is part of the 29 million euros in compensation Eurotunnel is asking for 2015.
Gounon however told reporters the migrant situation had improved since end-October thanks to quick government action with Britain funding fences and France increasing the police presence.
"Since Oct. 23, not a single migrant crossed the Channel tunnel," he said.
Eurotunnel forecast earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 560 million euros this year and 605 million in 2017 after it reached 542 million last year. This was slightly below the average estimate in a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll of 546 million for 2015.
Gounon said Eurotunnel had trimmed its forecast for 2016 EBITDA, which initially stood at 580 million, as it remained cautious due to persisting risks of terrorist attacks and migrant pressure.
Eurotunnel already reported a 5 percent rise in 2015 revenue to 1.222 billion euros.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Leigh Thomas)

Culled from Reuters

Read Apple CEO Tim Cook’s Letter Challenging Order to Unlock iPhone -Alex Fitzpatrick

Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images Apple CEO Timothy Cook returns from a break in his testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's Investigations Subcommittee about the company's offshore profit shifting and tax avoidance in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill May 21, 2013 in Washington, D.C.

"Opposing this order is not something we take lightly."

Apple CEO Tim Cook is challenging a federal court order demanding his company help investigators unlock an iPhone used by an assailant in a recent deadly attack. The Cupertino, Calif. firm’s response sets up a battle that could provide a high-profile stage for a long-simmering debate over technology companies’ role in assisting law enforcement groups.
The iPhone in question belonged to one of the attackers in December’s deadly shootings in San Bernardino, Calif, which left 14 people dead. The device is protected by a password, as well as a security feature which would delete the iPhone’s contents if the wrong code is entered more than 10 times.
The court order demands that Apple devise a way to bypass that mechanism, allowing investigators to guess passwords until the correct sequence is discovered.
Cook on Tuesday posted a letter to Apple’s website explaining his company’s decision to challenge the court order. In it, the chief executive argues creating such a workaround will make every other iPhone more vulnerable to hackers and thieves.
Read Cook’s letter in full below

February 16, 2016
A Message to Our Customers
The United States government has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers. We oppose this order, which has implications far beyond the legal case at hand.
This moment calls for public discussion, and we want our customers and people around the country to understand what is at stake.
The Need for Encryption
Smartphones, led by iPhone, have become an essential part of our lives. People use them to store an incredible amount of personal information, from our private conversations to our photos, our music, our notes, our calendars and contacts, our financial information and health data, even where we have been and where we are going.
All that information needs to be protected from hackers and criminals who want to access it, steal it, and use it without our knowledge or permission. Customers expect Apple and other technology companies to do everything in our power to protect their personal information, and at Apple we are deeply committed to safeguarding their data.
Compromising the security of our personal information can ultimately put our personal safety at risk. That is why encryption has become so important to all of us.
For many years, we have used encryption to protect our customers’ personal data because we believe it’s the only way to keep their information safe. We have even put that data out of our own reach, because we believe the contents of your iPhone are none of our business.
The San Bernardino Case
We were shocked and outraged by the deadly act of terrorism in San Bernardino last December. We mourn the loss of life and want justice for all those whose lives were affected. The FBI asked us for help in the days following the attack, and we have worked hard to support the government’s efforts to solve this horrible crime. We have no sympathy for terrorists.
When the FBI has requested data that’s in our possession, we have provided it. Apple complies with valid subpoenas and search warrants, as we have in the San Bernardino case. We have also made Apple engineers available to advise the FBI, and we’ve offered our best ideas on a number of investigative options at their disposal.
We have great respect for the professionals at the FBI, and we believe their intentions are good. Up to this point, we have done everything that is both within our power and within the law to help them. But now the U.S. government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create. They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone.
Specifically, the FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation. In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession.
The FBI may use different words to describe this tool, but make no mistake: Building a version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a backdoor. And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control.
The Threat to Data Security
Some would argue that building a backdoor for just one iPhone is a simple, clean-cut solution. But it ignores both the basics of digital security and the significance of what the government is demanding in this case.
In today’s digital world, the “key” to an encrypted system is a piece of information that unlocks the data, and it is only as secure as the protections around it. Once the information is known, or a way to bypass the code is revealed, the encryption can be defeated by anyone with that knowledge.
The government suggests this tool could only be used once, on one phone. But that’s simply not true. Once created, the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices. In the physical world, it would be the equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks — from restaurants and banks to stores and homes. No reasonable person would find that acceptable.
The government is asking Apple to hack our own users and undermine decades of security advancements that protect our customers — including tens of millions of American citizens — from sophisticated hackers and cybercriminals. The same engineers who built strong encryption into the iPhone to protect our users would, ironically, be ordered to weaken those protections and make our users less safe.
We can find no precedent for an American company being forced to expose its customers to a greater risk of attack. For years, cryptologists and national security experts have been warning against weakening encryption. Doing so would hurt only the well-meaning and law-abiding citizens who rely on companies like Apple to protect their data. Criminals and bad actors will still encrypt, using tools that are readily available to them.
A Dangerous Precedent
Rather than asking for legislative action through Congress, the FBI is proposing an unprecedented use of the All Writs Act of 1789 to justify an expansion of its authority.
The government would have us remove security features and add new capabilities to the operating system, allowing a passcode to be input electronically. This would make it easier to unlock an iPhone by “brute force,” trying thousands or millions of combinations with the speed of a modern computer.
The implications of the government’s demands are chilling. If the government can use the All Writs Act to make it easier to unlock your iPhone, it would have the power to reach into anyone’s device to capture their data. The government could extend this breach of privacy and demand that Apple build surveillance software to intercept your messages, access your health records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone’s microphone or camera without your knowledge.
Opposing this order is not something we take lightly. We feel we must speak up in the face of what we see as an overreach by the U.S. government.
We are challenging the FBI’s demands with the deepest respect for American democracy and a love of our country. We believe it would be in the best interest of everyone to step back and consider the implications.
While we believe the FBI’s intentions are good, it would be wrong for the government to force us to build a backdoor into our products. And ultimately, we fear that this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect.
Tim Cook

Culled from Times

4 ways to become the most charismatic person in the room -Faisal Hoque

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Flickr/meenakshi madhavan

Humans began speaking 50,000-100,000 years ago, and the “oral tradition” has molded societies for millennia.
That is a lot of time to perfect our influencing skills, but somehow all but the most accomplished still struggle at influencing the masses with their speech.
There are, of course, a fair few notable examples. Socrates, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Winston Churchill to name but a few.
They captivated their audiences with their every word. They had the most intangible of personality traits: charisma.
It didn’t matter how many people they were speaking to; their speeches were such that you felt that they were addressed to every single individual.
Their effortless style was underpinned by a finely-tuned (and barely perceptible) technique that allowed them to put their audience under their spell.
Their every movement acted in tandem with their words and every appearance was a multi-dimensional feast for the senses of the audience.
In my view, there are four aspects of every charismatic speaker. With lots of practice and a bit of initial self-confidence, any one of us can become one.

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Flickr/Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design

They create an emotional connection.

The perception of the audience is all that matters. It doesn’t matter how many times you have practiced the speech on front of the mirror or what your colleagues think of the message. Unless you create an emotional connection with your audience, the message will fall short.

The audience is naturally sympathetic — they are there to learn, to be inspired, or to join you on your journey. They are open to building a relationship with you, so it is vital that you connect with them from the moment you enter the room.

A warm smile is usually a good place to start!

The best speakers use the emotional range of their voice to take the audience on a journey with them. When they express joy, surprise, pride, concern, fear, hope or any other emotion, they seek to elicit the same emotional response from their listeners.

Flickr/Official GDC

They perfect the mechanics of speech.

Speaking well is about pacing your words and ideas, being expressive with your tone at the right moments, and learning to breathe properly to have the power to deliver your message.

Allowing your audience to pause at the right moments in any speech is crucial. The best orators vary the pace of their speech and give the audience time to digest their ideas while anticipating what might be next.

Few people can listen and think at the same time. The power of truly impactful speaking comes from your silences.

The tone of your voice has subtleties you don’t even realize. Being able to control your voice and insert the right hints of emotion at the right times will ensure that your audience is in no doubt as to your message. When your body language is congruent with your speech, you will naturally find the right tone.

When you speak, you require a greater volume of air to deliver your message. How many times have you heard people trail off at the end of the sentence when they should actually be emphasizing their point? It is often the case that the most important words and concepts come at the end of sentences. Breathe deeply with your diaphragm and you will have the “puff” to deliver those lines with aplomb.

Flickr/Caitlin Regan

The speaker's body matches his or her words.

When there is a disconnect between what someone is saying and how he or she is saying it, we automatically feel uncomfortable.

When positive language meets defensive body language, alarm bells start to ring — is the speaker being sincere? When passionate language is accompanied by a static pose, we wonder if the speaker is truly that excited.

When you speak to an audience, move when your language compels you to move. Use gestures to accentuate your language rather than draw attention from it. Give your audience hints as to how they will be feeling with your facial expressions, and they will soon get onto your wavelength.

Flickr/open hardware summit

Lastly, their content is truly compelling.

Telling personal and authentic stories allows the audience to relate to the speaker. The speaker is no longer a distant voice on a far away platform; he or she is sitting right next to you, sharing his or her unique journey.

There is something very special when you feel that someone is confiding in you — when an audience of hundreds feels that way, your story has won the crowd.

The best speakers give their messages a logical structure and build them around a central theme. Then they weave their stories around the basic foundations. They speak from a place of credibility, and the audience accepts their words because they believe in them.

Culled from Business Insider

Saudis and Russia speak, but oil goes lower? By Denise Garcia

 

The oil market rallied on Tuesday morning as chatter emerged that Qatar, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Russia met to freeze output of oil at January levels. After the brief rally, oil resumed its bearish position as none of the oil producing countries bit the bullet and cut production.

"They're freezing levels at record levels, so that's not really a less bearish scenario," Kyle Cooper, Criterion Research managing director of oil and energy, told CNBC's " Power Lunch " on Tuesday. "Iran hasn't chimed in at all, and they're still actually claiming for increased output."
In the same vein, the oversupplied oil market has witnessed no catalyst that has increase demand. Meanwhile, oil prices have continued to flirt within the upper $20 range. Due to no reduction in current output levels, Cooper anticipates that oil prices could still go lower.
"I think there's at least a 50/50 chance that we test the $26.05 from last week," he said. "Then I think you got something in the $22, $23 type range."
Low oil prices raise the question of the possible investment risks for energy investors.
In a low oil price environment, "all stocks have become oil stocks," Jerry Castellini, CastleArk Management president and CIO, told CNBC.
"When Deutsche Bank and Nomura (big banks in Germany and Japan that are net importers of energy) are down at all-time lows, that suggests that the whole global economy is exposed to this mid-20s oil price scenario," he said.
Castellini foresees that the current dialogue between the oil producers will precede "a much bigger agreement."
In this light, the chief investment officer suggests that market watchers start investing in exploration and production oil companies. Castellini's top picks are Pioneer Natural, Concho Resources, EOG Resources and Devon Energy. These four companies have "solid balance sheets" and substantial positions in the Permian Basin horizontal oil play, the investor told CNBC. The trader and his firm currently own these stocks.
"The Saudis and Russians haven't talked since the fall of 2014," he said. "The fact that they sat and had a very cheery hour conversation today about a freeze is a huge, huge watershed event."
Cooper argues that the market will remain oversupplied given that the talks are of a production freeze, not a cut. "Freezing at levels that are still way oversupplied, still says you don't have a rebalance coming anytime soon," Cooper said.
Castellini, however, told "Power Lunch" that the next event would be Iran joining in the conversation. Castellini claims that Iran has "every bit of upside" to join Russia, their "allies." He predicts production cuts in the near future, and payoffs from exploration and production companies at about a year from now.
"The fact is everyone is a winner with the 5 percent production cut that is supposedly on the table," he said. "Expect that to happen here, over the next five to six months."
On the other hand, Brenda Shaffer, senior global fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center, told CNBC's " Closing Bell " the meeting was a tactical and genius move from Saudi Arabia and Russia.

"No matter what, just by talking about it they've gained a lot financially," she said. "Also, this puts the blame on Iran. It makes it look like Russia and Saudi Arabia are really trying to be very productive and helpful in the market."

Culled from CNBC

A couple who retired in their 30s with 'multi-millions' explain how much they had to save-Kathleen Elkins

 

 

Jeremy Jacobson and Winnie Tseng Jeremy Jacobson and Winnie Tseng.

About 13 years ago, Jeremy Jacobson and Winnie Tseng decided to get serious about their savings goals.
"At that time we had this epiphany that the path we were on wasn't going to be a long-term path to happiness," Jacobson told Farnoosh Torabi on her personal-finance podcast, "So Money."
They changed their lifestyle immediately in order to accelerate their retirement track.
Exactly 10 years and one day later they were submitting their resignations.
For the past three years, they've been enjoying 52 weeks of vacation and traveling the world, from Mexico and Guatemala to Taiwan, Belize, and all over the US.
The husband-and-wife team, who are still in their 30s and recently had their first child, clearly figured something out — and they share tips and strategies on their personal blog, "Go Curry Cracker!" — but just how much sacrifice did it take to retire comfortably well before the age of 40?
How much of their combined $135,000 salary was going to savings?
More than 70%, they explain on their blog.
They also spent five to six years paying off student loans prior to their 10-year stretch of diligent saving, and "another three years of being retired during a bull stock market to get there," Jacobson explains in a recent blog post.
"To get to a high savings rate, we cut spending in the areas that are typically the largest money drains: transportation (a car), housing, food, and entertainment," they write. "By using a bicycle and the bus for transportation, living in a comfortably sized apartment in a walkable neighborhood, and finding joy in home-cooked meals and nature instead of consumerism, we eliminated, or significantly reduced, our cost of living."
Thanks to ten years of living well below their means, Jacobson and Tseng's net worth is "multi-millions," they told Torabi, and live on about $4,000 a month.
Their lifestyle is feasible for anyone, the two — who both came from lower-income families and dealt with paying off student loans — encourage.
"Many assume that you have to work 40 or more years to retire, or that long term international travel is only for college drop-outs and dirty hippies living on rice and beans," they write. "It doesn't require winning the lottery, inheriting a windfall, or getting lucky on some penny stocks. There is really only one thing that determines how quickly you could join us on the road: savings rate."

Culled from Your Money in Business Insider

Oil rises on chance of output cuts as producers to meet

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View photo

A pump jack is seen at sunrise near Bakersfield, California October 14, 2014. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

By Osamu Tsukimori and Aaron Sheldrick

TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices surged to their highest levels in more than a week as news of a meeting of top officials from the world's biggest oil producers spurred speculation of an eventual deal to tackle a deep supply glut.
U.S. crude was up $1.30 at $30.74 by 0600 GMT. The contract rose by as much as $1.50, or 5.1 percent, to $30.94, the highest since February 8, building on Friday's more than 12 percent surge.
Brent crude for April delivery was up $1.36 at $34.75 a barrel. It rose as far as $34.80, the highest level since February 5, on top of 11-percent gains over the past two days.
Top oil officials from Saudi Arabia, Russia and several key OPEC members will meet on Tuesday for their highest-level discussion in months, a potentially pivotal sign that producers are at last preparing to tackle a devastating supply glut.
The talks in the Qatari capital Doha, which had been kept under wraps until recent days, involve powerful Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi and his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak, sources said, two figures who must reach an accord for any coordinated global action to hold any hope of success.
They will be joined by Venezuela's Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino, who has in recent weeks been visiting major oil producers to rally support for the idea of "freezing" production at current levels in an effort to halt a downward spiral in prices, sources have said.
But analysts remain cautious on whether the meeting will result in an agreement.
"As much as we continue to believe that this is yet another meeting that would yield nothing, the markets remain wary of any sudden agreement that major oil producers could come to," said Daniel Ang, an analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
A market source who declined to be named due to company policy said: "I am not optimistic about any agreement because it will probably be about exchanging views because quotas are decided at OPEC."
Still, U.S. crude prices may come under pressure as oil inventories remain close to record levels and U.S. refiners are cutting back their processing runs on falling profit margins.

WTI may fall to below $20 a barrel as a drop in U.S. crude demand outweighs cutbacks in production as domestic producers shut wells, BMI Research said in a note.

(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori and Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Joseph Radford)

Culled from Reuters

Student Loan Debt May Be More Dangerous Than Ever for New Grads

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Paying for a good education can be costly. Some new grads are in so much student loan debt that they’re unable to afford major purchases like a home or car, and many are having trouble keeping up with their bills. Roughly 43% of college graduates with more than $25,000 in student loan debt said they had to put off a home purchase because of debt, according to a Gallup survey.
Credible, an online marketplace for student loan refinancing, recently conducted a study showing the depth of the impact of educational debt on the financial lives of new grads. The Cheat Sheet spoke with Credible’s founder and CEO, Stephen Dash, for more on the survey findings. Here’s a peek into our chat.
The Cheat Sheet: Why did Credible decide to conduct this study?
Stephen Dash: Credible helps borrowers in two ways: by connecting borrowers with lenders who are able to save them money by refinancing their student loans at lower rates, and by providing borrowers with information that helps them understand their options for managing their student loan debt. Based on anonymized data we receive, we draw insights about trends in student loans that give us—and consumers—a better understanding of the issues student loan borrowers face.
CS: What were some findings from this report that surprised you?
SD: We created an interactive chart that illustrates how degrees that are associated with greater earnings potential can make it easier for graduates to take on additional debt like a home mortgage or car payment, even if they also carry greater student loan debt. But if you have a degree that creates a lot of student loan debt without a corresponding increase in earnings potential, your ability to take on additional debt is more restricted.

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CS: This report takes a look at different debt to income ratios by major. What is generally a healthy debt-to-income ratio and why does it matter?
SD: The National Foundation for Credit Counseling recommends shooting for a DTI of 36% or lower and that lower is always better. If your DTI is too high, you often won’t be able to get a loan, no matter how good your credit score. Mortgage lenders like borrowers with DTIs of 36% or lower because that’s a soft cutoff for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Borrowers with good credit may be able to take out a mortgage with a DTI as high as 45%, but they’re often required to make a larger down payment or take out mortgage insurance.
Remember, DTI is calculated by dividing all of your monthly debt obligations by your monthly income. Our analysis shows that the DTI associated with the student loan payments for an undergraduate nutrition degree, for example, was quite low (7.37%). But adding a mortgage, car payment, and credit card debt pushed the DTI of someone with an undergraduate nutrition degree to levels that could be problematic. A pharmacy degree is associated with much more student loan debt, but also greater earnings potential. While the DTI associated with the student loan payments made by the holder of a pharmacy degree was higher (11.22%), pharmacists were able to take on a mortgage, car payment, and credit card debt while still maintaining a favorable DTI.
CS: What are some things students should take into consideration when choosing a major?
SD: While you should obviously be passionate about your chosen field, you also need to be aware of the income you can expect to earn in that field and how much student loan debt you can justify taking out to pay for that degree.

Culled from cheatsheet