December 2014

Map Saudi Arabia

Driving Down Oil Prices Just to Hurt Russia is “Simplistic”

In the global chess game of energy politics every move affects more than a single opponent and the effects of low oil prices are not equally distributed. Some countries will be hurt by low prices more than others. Who will lower oil prices hurt more, Russia, Syria, Iran, Venezuela… the U.S. ? In today’s article, Andrew Topf of Oilprice.com looks at some of the background and cause and effect of lower energy prices.

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Russian Oil

Why Russia is Unfazed by Falling Oil Prices

In recent posts we’ve told you about Russia Eying Crimea’s Oil and Gas Reserves and about the Total War over the Petrodollar and More on the PetroDollar and we’ve considered why the recent OPEC meeting maintained production in spite of declining prices rather than cutting production to keep prices up as they’ve done in the past. There has been some speculation that falling oil prices would hurt Russia (and a variety of other energy producers like U.S. natural producers, wild-catters, small production companies, etc.).

But in today’s article Marin Katusa takes a look at the flip side of falling oil prices and Russia’s resilience. ~Tim McMahon, editor.

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Falling Oil Prices

Oil Price Tumbles After OPEC Releases 2015 Forecast

Oil prices are falling and that is good for consumers as their daily heating and transportation costs fall. It also benefits producers as a small company could easily save $100,000 a year in energy costs. If you multiply that by the number of businesses in the country you can see the staggering effect lower energy prices can have on the economy. But not everyone is happy about falling energy prices. Many conventional energy and alternative energy producers require oil prices to be above $70/ barrel in order for their business models to remain in the black. And all of the OPEC countries except two require higher oil prices in order for them to balance their countries budgets. So although oil prices are low now it may not last.

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Could The Fed Trigger A Deflationary Slide In Stocks?

Most economists and stock market participants believe that FED policy can exhibit a tremendous amount of power over the movement of the markets and market participants perception of the future of that policy can affect the market in the short run. The major exception is Robert Prechter who believes that “monetary policy doesn’t have a reliable effect on the stock market.” He recommends that you Don’t Get Ruined by This Popular Investment Myth. But in today’s post Chris Ciovacco of Ciovacco Capital Management looks at whether the FED could trigger a slide in the stock market. ~Tim McMahon, editor.

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