Yes, Russia already has some monopoly powers, and its position is like to strengthen further. Analysis by Veritas Global shows that Russia is likely to already have monopoly power across several EU markets. For 11 of the 27 EU members, Russian natural gas consisted of over 60% of all imports. For 7 of the 27 EU members, Russian natural gas was over 90% of all imports.

©2015 Bloomberg News NQH7YM6JTSEB (Bloomberg Business) — Figuring out where an economy’s going to go can be tricky. You could look at GDP growth trends, home sales, company earnings forecasts — and still have only a vague idea. But there’s another gauge that is perhaps a more accurate indicator: beer