It's getting eerily quiet out there. Ah yes, that'll be August slipping into view.

We've not had a great deal to feed off in the past seven days, although we have continued to see a smattering of results news. There have been some good showings, notably from LVMH Champagne and Danone's bottled water division.

That said, caution still hangs in the stagnant economic air. Everything was supposed to be better by now, wasn't it? Granted, the world economy had one hell of a blip, but it was supposed to be a blip all the same. Yet, here we are in mid-2011 and we have just come within days of the world's premier debtor, the US, defaulting on its loans. Commodity prices, meanwhile, remain stubbornly high and consumer confidence is fragile.

There's a cheery thought to take with you on your Summer holiday.

Meanwhile, back on just-drinks last week...

Richard Corbett turned his monthly spotlight to the travails facing orange juice producers, via a somewhat spurious link to one of my favourite films of the 1980s, while Pete Brown vented his spleen at the spouting of hot air by beer marketers.

Last week also saw us release our latest monthly briefing for just-drinks members. The report is a preview of an extended report on the rising importance of social media. Take a look here for details on the report and, if you're not yet a member of just-drinks, now's a very good time to get on board.

Finally, if you're already au fait with social media, you're probably following just-drinks on Twitter. For a look at the stories behind the stories, though, as well as general moaning and groaning about the issues that affect our industry, you'd do far worse than follow yours truly.

Mind you, I would say that.

Until next time...

Olly Wehring
Managing Editor
Web: http://www.just-drinks.com
Email: editor@just-drinks.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/just_drinks