Many think that the sharp drop in oil and other commodities cannot be explained away as over-supply in an otherwise healthy global economy. There is another school of thought that says lower commodity pricing indicates a broad-based drop in consumer demand that hasn't yet revealed itself in other indices. I think the recent market volatility is driven by these competing viewpoints about the cause and effect of lower commodity prices, especially oil, and how this plays out in the coming months and years. So, for now, it's just the typical volatility as the markets try to figure out their new trajectory based on this new information. Personally, I have no idea when or which direction, nor will I take any drastic action as a result.
Regarding wages, someone mentioned in another thread that we are in the early/middle stages of a global wage equalization process that could take decades to complete. I agree with this. When Megacorp can't find the engineers they need in the U.S., they will open "engineering design centers" in India and China, where supply is high and wages are low, but increasing 15% per year. Offshoring is no longer limited to manufacturing and call centers. Eventually, wages will be based on education, skill, productivity, creativity, results, etc... not what country you live in. So, hopefully I'm wrong, but I don't realistically expect major corporations in the U.S. and Europe to start increasing real wages for a very long time.
