Her photographic and digitally-altered photographs are filled with anthropomorphized animals, peacefully surreal settings and a lack of physical and gravitational limitations. The portraits, part real-world representation and part imaginative adaptation are all possible because of the creativity, passion, and artistry of Karen Alsop, a Melbourne, Australia-based teacher/photographer/digital artist. Composed of bits and pieces of photographs (oftentimes just lighting, an angle, or a fraction of an image), brushes she’s created in Photoshop, repeated visits to ideal locations, and stand-ins for subjects who aren’t available, every image has one thing in common: It begins with a story.

There's something terribly wrong with the buyer-and-seller relationship in the B2B world. Sixty-five percent of B2B buyers rank salespeople as “average” or “poor”, according to a new study by Discover.org and sales linguist Steve W. Martin. As the study's blog post notes, there's already a lot of distrust and skepticism associated with salespeople — in-depth RFPs and product demos are evidence of that. However, the study shows that the 35% of respondents who held “good” or “excellent” views were willing to take more risks, like adopt a new product or experiment with a new trend.

Oil rose on Tuesday as demand soaked up some of the surplus supplies from OPEC and the United States, but traders said the market was trading in a tight range and showed few signs of big short term moves. Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 was up 70 cents at $49.12 a barrel by 1150 GMT, while U.S. light crude oil CLc1 was 65 cents higher at $46.67.

The Diplomat, a venerable outpost on the South Florida coast, has been refreshed and relaunched with the help of the Korn Design team. Principal Denise Korn says that her primary goal was to bring back the mystique and ethos of a bygone era, and reintroduce it as a vibrant hub and destination. Her solution is to a combination of “owning the beach” in the new name, The Diplomat Beach Resort, and reinjecting the entire property with a sense of “something new under the sun.”

Recently opened with great fanfare, City Point is the largest food, shopping and entertainment destination in the center of downtown Brooklyn. The 1.8 million square foot mixed-use development is poised to dramatically transform the area. Pentagram’s Michael Gericke and his team designed a bold Brooklyn identity for the project, including its brand positioning, advertising, signage and large-scale environmental graphics.

Oil edged up to about $49 a barrel on Monday as fewer drilling rigs were added in the United States, helping ease concerns that surging shale supplies will undermine OPEC-led production cuts. U.S. drillers added two oil rigs in the week to July 14, bringing the total to 765, Baker Hughes (BHGE.N) said on Friday. RIG-OL-USA-BHI Rig additions in the past four weeks averaged five, the slowest pace since November. Expectations that a long-awaited crude market rebalancing was under way was also bolstered by the sharp drop in U.S. crude inventories in the week to July 7.

National Average Price for Regular – Current: $2.255; Month Ago: $2.324; Year Ago: $2.217. National Average Price for Diesel – Current: $2.444; Month Ago: $2.488; Year Ago: $2.360.

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.785689; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.147444; American Dollar to Euro = 1.141532; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.008840; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.056564.

Authorities say nobody has been hurt after a contractor accidentally cut an underground crude oil pipeline in Central Texas and caused about 50,000 gallons (189,265 liters) to spill. A spokesman with Magellan Midstream Partners of Tulsa, Oklahoma, says cleanup has begun at the rural site near Bastrop, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Austin. Emergency responders ordered a 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) area evacuated around the spill location, as a precaution. Nearby Farm-to-Market 20 was closed in both directions. Click Read More below for more of the story.

Oil remains in a bear market on concern rising global supply will offset curbs by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners including Russia. OPEC’s first assessment of world markets in 2018 suggested that its current output of 32.6 million barrels a day -- swollen by a recovery in Libya and Nigeria that are exempt from the cuts -- will be too high. “Given how the rebalancing process appears to be taking its time, it will be difficult to avoid having the discussion with Libya and Nigeria of eventually capping their output, provided of course the gains in the two countries are sustained,” said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity markets strategy at BNP Paribas SA in London. Click Read More below for more of the story.

OPEC's oil production rose again in June, driven by increases in Libya and Nigeria and as top exporter Saudi Arabia reported it pumped more than it agreed to last year. The producer group's total output jumped by about 393,500 barrels a day to a total of 32.6 million barrels a day last month, according to independent assessments cited by OPEC in a monthly report. The increases came despite the producer group extending a deal to limit production in May. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Futures slid 0.5 percent after advancing 1.2 percent earlier. Oil may slip below $40 unless there are sustained inventory declines and a drop in the rig count, according to Goldman Sachs. U.S. crude stockpiles probably fell by 2.85 million barrels last week, a Bloomberg survey showed before an Energy Information Administration report Wednesday. “The market is still searching for a new equilibrium, and in particular for a lower band for the oil-price range,” said Jan Edelmann, an analyst at HSH Nordbank AG in Hamburg. Investor sentiment is “close to its lows,” which may cause a “renewed downswing in prices to sub-$40.” Click Read More below for additional detail.

Futures were down 1 percent in New York, extending last week’s 3.9 percent drop. The two African producers, who were exempt from supply cuts because of internal strife but are now recovering, have been invited to a July 24 meeting in Russia to discuss whether their production has stabilized, Kuwait’s Oil Minister Issam Almarzooq said in Istanbul. BNP Paribas SA sharply reduced its price forecasts for this year and next because supply growth elsewhere is diluting the impact of the OPEC-led curbs. Oil in New York and London remains in a bear market amid concerns elevated global oil inventories and rising supply will offset curbs by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners including Russia. Libya and Nigeria together added 440,000 barrels a day of production in May and June as fields restarted, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It’s premature to talk about deepening output cuts, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said in Istanbul. Click Read More below for more of the story.

National Average Price for Regular – Current: $2.259; Month Ago: $2.364; Year Ago: $2.258. National Average Price for Diesel – Current: $2.446; Month Ago: $2.508; Year Ago: $2.372.

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.770086; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.147079; American Dollar to Euro = 1.141497; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.008792; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.054932.

Futures dropped as much as 2.8 percent even after U.S. data on Thursday showed the nation’s crude stockpiles dropped by 6.3 million barrels, three times as much as expected. Investors remain doubtful that OPEC-led production cuts will clear a global glut, after Russia ruled out deepening the measures and Saudi Arabia showed less commitment than earlier in the year. “Oil remains volatile, unable to hold onto gains even after strong inventory draws in the U.S.,” said Jan Edelmann, an analyst at HSH Nordbank AG in Hamburg. “While the strong draws are a step in the right direction, multiple weeks of the same are now needed for the rebalancing.” Click Read More below for additional detail.

All TNT depots, hubs and facilities around the globe are open, operational and working to quickly clear any backlogs, and most TNT services are now available. TNT continues to make significant progress in resuming full services and bringing critical systems back online. These remediation efforts are being carried out methodically to ensure the integrity of TNT’s information systems and operations. Contingency plans that make use of both FedEx Express and TNT networks will remain in place to minimize impacts to customers, including offering the full range of FedEx Express services as alternatives. Some customers may continue to experience delays in service and access to package information. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Futures climbed as much as 1.7 percent in New York, paring Wednesday’s 4.1 percent loss. Crude and gasoline inventories both dropped by more than by 5.5 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report. Government data Thursday is also forecast to show supplies fell. Oil remains in a bear market amid concerns that rising supply from Libya to the U.S. will counter production cuts from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners including Russia. American crude stockpiles are more than 100 million barrels above the five-year average. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Continuing the pioneering trend; first to market with new technology and breakthrough sheetfed ink formulations, Flint Group today announces the global launch of its latest version UV LED process inks, XCURA EVO. ““EVO” is short for evolutionary,” explains Trevor Amps, Global Product Management Director for Energy Curing inks. “This signals a step change from our world renowned XCURA formulations which, for the past four years, have served our customers very well as an industry leader. XCURA EVO is our next generation offer to the UV LED and low energy sheetfed market, and we are very pleased to announce its global launch today.” “More and more sheetfed press manufacturers are heading their technology development with LED and low energy curing, and we see growing numbers of retro-fit conversions from lamp providers and OEMs as well,” stated Mr Amps. “Some of the main drivers encouraging commercial printers to switch to UV LED are improved efficiency, reduced energy costs and the ability to break into new markets. XCURA EVO helps to maximise all of these with its excellent flow characteristic, superb transfer and high gloss.” Click Read More below for additional detail.

Futures dropped 1.7 percent in New York, snapping eight straight sessions of gains. Russia wants to continue with the current deal and any further supply curbs would send the wrong message to the market, according to government officials. The U.S. dollar gained, reducing the appeal of commodities denominated in that currency. While prices have surged during the past week, oil remains in a bear market after concerns that rising global supply will offset output cuts from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners. Libya and Nigeria, exempt from the OPEC-led curbs, accounted for half of the group’s production boost last month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Click Read More below for more of the story.

Futures were little changed in New York after rising 8.3 percent the previous seven sessions. U.S. drillers targeting crude reduced the number of active rigs for the first time in 24 weeks, according to Baker Hughes Inc. data on Friday. Libya’s oil production climbed to more than 1 million barrels a day for the first time in four years, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation. While prices surged last week, oil in New York and London still posted a monthly loss in June after tumbling into a bear market on concerns that rising global supply will counter cuts from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners. There are signs of a slowdown in the U.S., but Libya is adding more oil to the market as it restarts fields that are exempt from OPEC’s production curbs. Click Read More below for more of the story.