1.  Trade has been severely disrupted coming from the Moonsea.  This is no doubt due to the ongoing fighting between the cities of the Moonsea.  They do not even seem to be following traditional alliances, and all cities view the others with suspicion if not all out hostility.  Privateering is rampant on the Moonsea and many ships have been sunk or siezed by their rivals.

2.  Piracy on the Sea of Fallen Stars has been particularly vicious this season, and several fat merchant vessels from Selgaunt have been sacked.  The Merchant Council is furious and has expended coin from their deep vaults to patrol father afield with their warships and have taken to hiring sea going mages to travel with some merchant ships for defense (A few fireballs should settle the issue). 

3.  Ties with Cormyr are continuing to be strained.  This has increased in the last ten-day as Cormyr has accused Sembia of piracy and potentially an all out act of war at the sinking of one of their trade envoy vessels by a Sembian Freesail, which is hotly denied by the Merchant Council.  Tensions have greatly increased in Daerlun, on the border of the two nations.

4.  The days are getting shorter.  In the northern regions of the Moonsea and further north it is as dark as midwinter already.  This seems like dark sorcery coming out of Zhentil Keep, and the Zhentarim are no doubt behind this.

5.  Adding to the low crop yield this season, the blight continues to get worse.  Cormyr is hardest hit with a complete loss of crops in their tubers and a seperate blight seems to be hitting their leafy vegetables as well.  Their vegetable exports have collapsed and they are importing more and more from other nations and city states around the Inner Sea.  Sembian merchants have taken advantage of this situation and increased their prices accordingly.  Some of this blight has been seen in the Dales and Sembia, but the epicenter seems to be Cormyr. 

7.  The High Council of Merchants has levied all mercenary companies in Selgaunt (If not all of Sembia), so that a percentage of their mercenaries must stay in Selgaunt and cannot be hired out.  This has left the various Mercenary Companies quite unhappy with potential revenue losses.  In the end, they know that to operate in Sembia, they must comply.  The Council is up to something. 

8. Chondath and Sespech are on the brink of war, as Sespech has been actively hunting Chondathian patrols and ships.  General Vandemar Cordwin is calling for open warfare. 

9. Magic is on the decline.  Due to the increasing darkness magic has become less reliable as well. Sembians seem to be the first to have noticed it and it might be centred here. 

10. The Days are getting shorter as winter seems to be coming early. By the end of Elient, the northern Inner Sea is seeing the first of early snow.