OPEC nations, reports the Financial Times, earned as much in the first half of this year as they did in the whole of 2007.

According to the report, member nations pocketed a staggering $645 billion in the first six months of 2008, just under the record $671 billion they earned last year. This puts OPEC nations on track to earn a record $1,245 billion this year, despite the recent 20 percent drop in oil prices, as any price drop will be offset by an increase in demand.

Profit Hunter’s Manraaj Singh calls it the “biggest transfer in history.”

If Fed chief Ben Bernanke thinks raising interest rates will be a cure all for the US economy, then he can return his diploma from Princeton as “unused”, says Chuck Butler.

Wells Fargo Bank (NYSE:WFC) may have temporarily raised the market’s spirits, but since when did one swallow make a summer?

Raising interest rates in the current economic environment would be nothing less than madness…

The U.S. economy is on the way out, says Dave Gonigam in The Daily Reckoning’s blog, Desidooru Saloon. Dave has picked up on a report from the Financial Times that says an anonymous Gulf sovereign wealth fund has slashed its dollar-based holdings. China’s biggest holder of dollar reserves, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, is also reducing its dollar exposure…

At Contrarian Profits we’re always on the lookout for hidden value opportunities. That’s why the following piece by Taipan Daily’s emerging markets expert Irwin Greenstein has got us really excited.

Irwin says the decision by China Investment Corp (CIC), the country’s $200-billion sovereign wealth fund (SWF) to allocate $250 million in emerging markets means Latin ETFs could receive a big boost.

Irwin says China needs to diversify out the diving dollar and gain greater control of energy reserves – and Latin America serves both purposes best…

Editor’s Note: Bill Bonner in The Daily Reckoning says the recent slide in the dollar is nothing compared to the all-out collapse that could be on its way. Central banks throughout the world are holding $5 trillion, and some are getting worried about the greenback’s decline. Meanwhile, the euro and gold are become increasingly attractive holdings. If global central banks start dumping their dollars, it could mean the end of the global financial system as we know it…

The State of Qatar will invest about $8 billion in Libyan companies across various sectors, officials told the Financial Times.

The investment is one of many made by large, national sovereign wealth funds, or global cash barons, and will help Libya diversify its economy away from a reliance on hydro carbons.

According to the FT, Barwa Real Estate Co., an affiliate of the Qatar Investment Authority’s $40 billion property wing, agreed to invest $2 billion in state-owned Libyan Development and Investment Co to develop commercial, residential and leisure facilities.

Starving for capital and hell-bent on retaining its handsome dividend, Barclays PLC (ADR: BCS) plans to raise $8.9 billion (4.5 billion pounds) by selling shares to investment banks and sovereign wealth funds around the world.

As much as 1.58 million shares will be sold to existing investors China Investment Bank and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd., as well as new investors Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Qatar Investment Authority and Challenger – a fund that represents “the beneficial interests” of Qatar’s royal family.

Somebody out there is making money, despite all the doom-and-gloom news about the global economy.

The Financial Times reports that British art auctioneers Sotheby’s and Christie’s are predictiung a bumper sale of artworks this month. Together they estimate they will sell about $790m in artworks over 10 days at the sales of Impressionist, Modern and contemporary art.

The FT puts the rise in art sales down to the boom in oil and other commodities — money-laden oil barons, it seems, love nothing more than spending ludicrous amounts of cash on old paintings.

We all know the U.S. government is in debt up to its eyeballs. Moody’s is already threatening to downgrade the country’s debt rating due to unfunded liabilities for Medicare and Social Security.

There’s an old Wall Street adage that tells us that “the trend is your friend.” And there’s a witty bit of wisdom we’ve developed here at Money Morning to help guide our readers and us that says: “Go global or go home.”