"A reversal of the sun's magnetic field is, literally, a big event," said Nasa’s Dr Tony Phillips. "The domain of the sun's magnetic influence (also known as the 'heliosphere') extends billions of kilometers beyond Pluto. Changes to the field's polarity ripple all the way out to the Voyager probes, on the doorstep of interstellar space."

"At the height of each magnetic flip, the sun goes through periods of more solar activity, during which there are more sunspots, and more eruptive events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections," said Nasa’s Karen C Fox. "Cosmic rays are also affected," added Dr Phillips. "These are high-energy particles accelerated to nearly light speed by supernova explosions and other violent events in the galaxy."

"What is going wrong with the world is vastly outweighed by what is going right. And the run of depressing news stories can actually blind us to the greatest story of our age: we really are on our way to making poverty history."

Fraser's conservatism is the kind that uplifts. Bruce Anderson's, by contrast, is a real downer. Writing for the Telegraph, he warns that we are on the brink of nuclear catastrophe. With the end of the Cold War there is suddenly nothing to hold radical Islam back; madmen define the course of events. Palestine and Pakistan are ready to blow.

Last year was a year of near-misses. The West nearly went to war in Syria, which would have put us on the side of an alliance that includes the kind of Islamists we've been fighting in Afghanistan. North Korea declared hypothetical war on the United States, or at least to obliterate its capitalist lackeys that run South Korea. All of this was presumably for domestic consumption: Kim Jong-un was still working on building his brand in Pyongyang. China on that occasion did the right thing and urged caution. But over the Senkakus islands it went a little postal itself, threatening to spark World War III for the sake of some fishing huts.

Here's the rub: the peace and democracy that the West has enjoyed since 1945 is not the End of History but an exceptional moment that proves the rule that, for most people throughout most of history, life has been nasty, brutish and short. And our party in Europe may well end soon, too. The self-destructors of the Middle East may wage war on us. China might decide to call in its debts. Russia might try to prove its might with a confrontation.

And the end needn't come from without if the ongoing economic crisis erodes the material comfort that has kept us living in a consumer dream for so long. According to opinion polls, the Front National is likely to sweep the French elections in 2014 thanks to joblessness and immigration. We could be on the verge of witnessing a second Hitler.

Even though the stock market has been setting record high after record high, the amount of anger and frustration boiling just under the surface in our nation grows with each passing day. And now extended unemployment benefits have been cut off for 1.3 million unemployed Americans, and it is being projected that a total of 5 million unemployed Americans will lose their benefits by the end of 2014.

In addition, as I have written about previously, 47 million Americans recently had their food stamp benefits reduced. The conditions for a "perfect storm" are certainly being created. So how much longer will it be until we see all of this anger and frustration boil over in the streets of our major cities? Is America about to reach a breaking point?

Are there any solutions that could get us out of this mess?

Of course there are. But don't hold your breath waiting for any of them to be adopted. In fact, the American people continue to express great support for the very people that got us into this mess in the first place. For example, according to a Gallup survey that was just released, Barack Obama is the most admired man in America by a very wide margin and Hillary Clinton is the most admired woman in America by a very wide margin.

And the mainstream media will continue to tell all of us that "leaders" like Obama, Clinton, Reid, Boehner, McConnell and Pelosi can be trusted to get us out of this mess. If you believe that, there is a bridge that I would like to sell you.

Up against a gathering credit crunch, the Chinese economy will slow to almost stall-speed; the price of Brent crude will sink below $80 a barrel; Germany will slide back into recession; the United Kingdom will remain intact and the internet will begin to Balkanise, leading to a boom in encryption technology but problems for the big global online brands.

What does the future hold for the economy and markets? Normal health and wealth warnings apply. My big prediction is for $80 oil, from which much of the rest of my outlook for the coming year flows. It’s hard to overstate the significance of a much lower oil price – Brent at, say, $80 a barrel, or perhaps lower still – yet this is a surprisingly likely prospect, the implications of which have been largely missed by mainstream economic forecasters.

In Thomas Mann’s metaphysical novel The Magic Mountain, the chief protagonist, Hans Castorp, eventually descends from a life of quiet contemplation and philosophical discussion high up in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos to the brutal reality and mass slaughter of the First World War. With the centenary year of this catastrophe now upon us, it’s worth remembering just how close to fracture the world always is and just how hard these destructive forces must continually be fought.

The US premise was, Israel should do this as a gesture for peace. It was a curious concept because no such ‘gesture’ was required of the Palestinian Authority (PA). No one required the PA to condemn the killing of Jews. No one demanded that the PA condemn all attacks against Jews. Even as the number of attacks against Jews jumped from 87 in July to 167 in November, no one demanded that the PA condemn such attacks.

But everyone — the US, the EU and the PA — demanded that Israel stick to its release schedule - 26 prisoners every couple of months until all 104 would go free. Jewish bloodshed meant nothing. The ‘gesture’ was a ‘requirement’. Jewish blood is that cheap: the Jews must free killers even as Jews are attacked. But the Arabs must not be pressured, reprimanded or warned, even as they incite against Jews.

Israel seems to be the only country in the West to release unrepentant killers. The US, by contrast, holds 158 ‘detainees’ in Guantanamo Bay who have not killed Americans on US soil. These detainees have never received the benefit of trial in a US court. Some have been tortured. The US has not closed this prison. It won’t close it even as the United Nations wants it closed. The current 158 detainees do not appear to be ‘release-able’ any time soon.

Funny thing about Israel today: it may be the most anti-Jewish country in the world. We’ve got work to do. We are Jews. Israel is our homeland. Israel is the homeland G-d gave to us—and to us alone. It is our only homeland. We have no place else to go. If we don’t protect Israel, no one else will protect it for us. If we want Israel, we will have to fight for it.

Pulling out of the European Convention on Human Rights to give the UK more control over human rights laws was also being considered by the party. The comments suggest the Conservatives will go into the 2015 general election in Britain on a ticket of major reforms to the Human Rights Act. Mr Grayling said the final proposals would emerge shortly. He said: “We have to make our Supreme Court supreme. I do not believe decisions about the way this country is governed - we are a democracy after all - should be taken elsewhere.”

Mr Grayling was speaking after the former head of Britain’s judiciary said European judges are creating a ‘serious problem’ by undermining Parliament’s sovereignty. Lord Judge, who was the Lord Chief Justice until September, has repeatedly stated that the unelected European Court of Human Rights should not impose rulings on the UK.

Infowars continues: While the media has concentrated on the threat such groups pose to February’s Winter Olympics in Sochi, no scrutiny has been given to a warning issued by Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan back in August when he told Vladimir Putin that Saudi Arabia would activate the Chechen terrorist groups it controls to target Russia if Moscow refused to abandon its support for Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.

As we reported at the time, the threat was made during a closed-door meeting between Prince Bandar and Putin at the beginning of August. According to a transcript of the comments made during the meeting by Middle Eastern news agency Al Monitor, Bandar made a series of promises and threats to Putin in return for Moscow withdrawing its support for Assad in Syria.

“I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics next year,” Bandar allegedly stated, adding, “The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us.” Bandar made it clear that his position was supported by the US government. This “guarantee” to stop the Chechens from attacking the Sochi Olympics was also obviously a veiled threat that if Russia did not abandon Assad, terrorist attacks would be given the green light.

Given that Russia did not abandon Assad and indeed virtually single-handedly prevented a US military strike on Syria, much to the chagrin of Saudi Arabia which is the primary supplier of anti-Assad rebel jihadists, are we to believe that the Volgograd bombings are evidence of Bandar following through on his threat?

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman revealed the Saudi gift on Lebanese national television Sunday, calling it the largest aid package ever to the country's defense bodies. The Saudi pledge compares with Lebanon's 2012 defense budget, which the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute put at $1.7 billion.

The Saudi move was announced hours after thousands of Lebanese turned out for the funerals of former cabinet minister Mohamad Chatah and some of the other victims killed Friday in a bombing in downtown Beirut. The bomb was believed to have targeted Mr Chatah, an outspoken critic of Hezbollah's dominance of Lebanese affairs and security. No group has claimed responsibility. Saudi Arabia on Friday responded to the assassination by calling for Lebanon to build up the government and armed forces "to stop this tampering with the security of Lebanon and the Lebanese."

Surprisingly, the biggest winner here may be none other than France: "Lebanon would use the Saudi grant to buy "newer and more modern weapons," from France, said Mr Sleiman, an independent who has become increasingly critical of Hezbollah. It followed what he called "decades of unsuccessful efforts to build a credible Lebanese national defense force."

But Germany faces significant economic challenges and risks. The nation's economic power and financial strength may be overstated. German economic strength relies on its export prowess. The assumption is that the country can decouple from the eurozone, increasing its focus on emerging markets. But German exports to European countries account for around 69% of the total exports, including 57% to member states of the EU.

Germany's overall global trade surpluses are reliant on exports to the eurozone. Continued weakness in these troubled countries will affect Germany's economic prospects. Germany's export performance also depends on the value of the euro. High energy prices and increasing problems in emerging markets will exacerbate its problems. A slowdown in Germany's exports will have secondary effects. The recovery in economies like Spain is dependent on exporting intermediate goods to Germany that are then re-exported as part of finished products. Reduction in Germany's exports will decrease economic activity in these countries, in turn, reducing demand for German exports within Europe.

Germany's infrastructure is ageing, needing investment. Energy costs remain high, some 30% above that of the rest of Europe and double that of the US, reducing competitiveness. High natural gas costs — four times the US cost — disadvantage its petrochemical industry. Germany's demographics, with an ageing population, compound its problems.

Germany also remains vulnerable to continuing problems in Europe. The minimum wage and retirement benefit changes also are inconsistent with Chancellor Merkel's austerity and restraint message to many troubled European nations. This will make it difficult for Germany to insist on further sacrifices from these countries. This time, Chancellor Merkel may have been handed a poisoned chalice.

The once-soaring bridges are sagging. Some trains’ switching equipment, once top-of-the-line, haven’t been updated since the time of the Kaisers. Well-engineered canal locks are succumbing to silt and neglect. Germany’s network of roads and railroads is one of the densest and most developed in the world. But the bottlenecks are starting to crimp Germany’s export-driven economy, experts say.

Even maintaining the status quo will require nearly doubling current levels of spending, according to a recent report issued by a government commission. Peter Osse, a shipper in the port of Hamburg, says he increasingly reaches not for a timetable but a prayer book when he makes transportation plans.

“Germany is the second-largest of the world’s exporting nations, but only if our transport system is functioning. If not, our economy will be in a dangerous situation,” said Kurt Bodewig, a former transportation minister who led a federal commission that recently recommended that Germany needs to spend $9.7 billion a year more on infrastructure just to maintain its current network. Merkel’s new coalition agreement increases spending by a fifth that much.

Germany has led much of Europe with ‘Energiewende’ or the renewable energy transition. Germany’s headlong pursuit of an all-renewable energy future has, however, left the county in desperate need of affordable energy. German consumers already pay the highest electricity prices in Europe, and practically overnight the country has seen a dramatic about-face when it comes to energy policy. Electricity is now a luxury good in Germany.

The latest report predicts that the renewable energy surcharge added to every consumer’s electricity bill will increase from 5.3 cents to between 6.2 and 6.5 cents per kilowatt hour — a 20-percent price hike. These prices have taken their toll upon the middle class, creating chaotic supply challenges and have directly contributed to nationwide job losses. Massive subsidies for renewable energy are harming the economy, imposing significant regressive costs on poor and working class energy consumers.

In order to move the program forward, Germany’s leadership is now grappling to balance renewable energy subsidies with affordable energy. In an unexpected move, Germany approved its first coal-fired power plant in eight years, which is now up and running. The German energy company Steag says its 725-megawatt coal plant is just the beginning of coal’s German comeback, as the country has actually approved a total of ten new hard-coal plants. These facilities are scheduled to come online in the next two years, boosting the country’s coal capacity by 33 percent.

Unlike environmentalists in America who seem driven to squash any further development of hydrocarbons, Germans have been far more practical, suggesting that ultimately environmental goals must take a backseat to the economy.

Jang Sung-taek, Kim Jong-un’s uncle and a powerbroker behind the scenes, was dramatically stripped of his official position and executed in early December. The motivations behind this decision remain predictably hazy, with some claiming that the purge came in response to Jang’s attempts to monopolize the country’s coal export business.

Either way, the string of executions surrounding Jang and his inner circle has opened a power vacuum where once there was a staunch supporter of Kim Jong-un. In the aftermath of these events, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the young leader default to the time-tested strategy of military brinkmanship as: A) a way to shore up support within the armed forces, or B) a reflection of the fact that military hardliners are now in the ascendance in North Korean politics.

According to one unnamed senior South Korean government official, the odds of a North Korean military attack are “100%” and it will happen sometime before April.

The nation has barely got over celebrating the birth of Jesus, while Easter, where Christians remember the crucifixion and resurrection, does not fall until April 20. The decision to put Easter egg products on shelves has triggered a backlash from shoppers on Twitter and other social network sites.

The Waitrose at the Membury Services on the M4 is offering an Easter collection which includes ‘Malt-Easters’, Cadbury Crème Eggs and the new Cadbury ‘Egg n Spoon’ packs. One Twitter user commented: ‘Sad really. We’ve barely got his birth out of the way and we’re already preparing to celebrate his death.’

The Next boss is part of a group of more than 50 European business leaders backing calls from think tank Open Europe to reform the EU ahead of a referendum in the UK, which is scheduled for 2017. Lord Wolfson is close to George Osborne, the Chancellor, and has already backed the Government's attempts to renegotiate Britain’s role in the EU.

However, leading business organisations such as the CBI have stressed the importance to Britain’s economy of the country remaining part of the EU. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Lord Wolfson said: “The question about whether we stay in or out depends on whether it changes enough.”

The Next boss said that the EU was an “enormous advantage to business” and Britain’s future role on the continent is “enormously important” for the “everyday life of everybody”. But he added: “I think the most important thing is the principal – what is the EU there for. Is it a vehicle for greater freedom in Europe – free movement of capital, free movement of good, free movement of services, free movement of people?”

“Or is it a government of governments, a government above governments, a government without democratic licence, but the right to interfere in every aspect of our lives? I think that is what it is becoming. I think over the last thirty years it has slowly changed itself and become ever more hungry for power.”

Borrowers who have failed to pay down their mortgages when interest rates have been at record low levels now face being overwhelmed by "perilous levels of debt" when the inevitable hike comes. Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, warned of a "financial ticking timebomb": "The rising cost of energy, food and travel has been absorbing any spare income people may have. This means that in some cases there is little or nothing left to cope with larger mortgage repayments."

According to a new report from an influential thinktank, the Resolution Foundation, even in the most optimistic scenario – in which interest rates rise slowly to 3% by 2018 and economic growth is strong and well-distributed between the rich and poor – 1.12 million homeowners will be spending more than half of their take-home pay on mortgage repayments – this is a widely accepted indicator of over-indebtedness.

If the Bank of England were to raise interest rates more quickly, to 5% by 2018, and growth continues to be slow, around two million households would be plunged into financial trouble – and around half of these would be families with children.

The thinktank's analysis, based on official Office for Budget Responsibility projections, warns: "Far from being resolved, Britain's personal debt problem remains a cause for real concern. While record low interest rates have reduced current repayment costs, fewer people than we hoped have used this breathing space to pay off their debts."