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Posts Tagged ‘Oil Prices’

People Of Earth: Prepare For Economic Disaster

March 9, 2011 Comments off

theeconomiccollapseblog

It is not just the United States that is headed for an economic collapse.  The truth is that the entire world is heading for a massive economic meltdown and the people of earth need to be warned about the coming economic disaster that is going to sweep the globe.  The current world financial system is based on debt, and there are alarming signs that the gigantic global debt bubble is getting ready to burst.  In addition, global prices for the key resources that the major economies of the planet depend on are rising very rapidly.  Despite all of our advanced technology, the truth is that human civilization simply cannot function without oil and food.  But now the price of oil and the price of food are both increasing dramatically.  So how is the current global economy supposed to keep functioning properly if it soon costs much more to ship products between continents?  How are the billions of people that are just barely surviving today supposed to feed themselves if the price of food goes up another 30 or 40 percent?  For decades, most of the major economies around the globe have been able to Read more…

If You Think This Oil Spike Is Temporary, Check Out This Chart

March 4, 2011 1 comment
This oil price spike is going to be anything but short lived, if you believe this chart from Morgan Stanley. 

It details how by the year 2013, there’s not going to be any excess supply in the system. That means, even if the Saudis aren’t lying about being able to ramp up production like Jim Rogers says, they’ve only got two more years to do so before that spare capacity evaporates.

So beyond the Middle East instability trend, there’s a much bigger problem lurking.


From Morgan Stanley (they clearly mean “spare” not “space” in the headline):


Middle East Meltdown Could Mean Oil at $300 a Barrel, Pump Prices of $9.57 a Gallon

March 3, 2011 Comments off

moneymorning.com [Editor’s Note: U.S. oil prices yesterday (Tuesday) hit their highest levels since September 2008 as investors reacted to fears that Middle East tumult would spread from Libya to such key Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as Iran and Saudi Arabia. But never fear: Even if the Middle East melts down and oil prices soar, there are moves you can make to hedge away your risk. We have two suggestions for you here.] By Martin Hutchinson, Contributing Editor, Money Morning The unrest in the Middle East oil patch is roiling the global oil markets on an almost daily basis. The events in Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Oman and other countries are also forcing us to ask that long-dreaded question: What happens if the countries throughout the Middle East region fall to radical governments? The answer is both stunning and surprising. In an absolute worst-case scenario – if the entire Middle East falls under radical control – we could be looking at $300-a-barrel oil and pump prices of $9.57 a gallon. Definitely a stunner. Here’s the surprise: Even such a worst-case outcome would Read more…

Lindsey Williams: MI6 Funded Muslim Brotherhood and Their “Day of Rage” Coming!

March 3, 2011 Comments off

Mar 1, 2011 | Alex welcomes back to the show Lindsey Williams, the pastor with an inside track to the elite who correctly predicted a significant rise in global oil prices and the collapse of the american currency.

U.S. Job Cuts Rose 20% From Year Ago, Challenger Says

March 3, 2011 1 comment

bloomberg.com

Employers in the U.S. announced more job cuts in February than in the same month last year, led by a surge at government agencies.

Planned firings increased 20 percent to 50,702 last month from February 2010, the first year-over-year gain since May 2009, according to a report today from Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Announcements at federal, state and local government offices almost tripled from last year.

“More job cuts at the federal level are expected in the months ahead as pressure mounts to cut costs and rein in the soaring national debt,” John A. Challenger, the outplacement company’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Dismissals of government workers may contribute to a slowdown in consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy. Combined with the highest gasoline prices in two years, the threat of a pause in purchases may already be causing retailers, which had the second-biggest number of announcements last month, to pare payrolls, said Challenger.

“If gasoline tops $4 per gallon in the coming weeks, consumers may be forced to make significant changes to their spending habits,” said Challenger. “At this stage of the recovery, that could be an extremely damaging setback.”

Compared with last month, which saw the fewest firings for any January since record-keeping began in 1993, job-cut announcements climbed 32 percent. Because the figures Read more…

Will $200 oil kill the economy?

March 2, 2011 Comments off

money.msn.com

Unrest in key oil-producing nations opens the door to price spikes that could push gas to $7 a gallon and spin the world back into recession. Here’s how we’d get there, and how to protect your portfolio.

Image: Oil drums © Kevin Phillips, Digital Vision, age fotostock


Are your pocketbook and portfolio ready for $200-a-barrel oil?

This kind of dramatic price spike may seem less likely now than a few days ago, with oil markets calming down a bit and the price slipping below $100. But given the instability and unrest rolling through the Middle East and North Africa, it’s a definitely a viable scenario.

For the moment, most oil sector analysts have gone off high alert because of a Saudi Arabian pledge to increase production to make up for any shortfalls sparked by unrest. But that ignores a key angle in all this: There’s simply not enough spare capacity to make up for the production losses we’d see if the rolling crises in the region hit just two or three major producers at once.

This could easily happen, given the heightened Read more…

Food prices to skyrocket, riots could follow, suggests USDA

March 2, 2011 Comments off

http://www.naturalnews.com/031545_USDA_food_prices.html

(NaturalNews) When the upswing in commodity prices eventually makes its way throughout the food system in mid-to-late 2011, food prices are sure to spike with levels potentially reaching those of 2008, announced U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) economist Ephraim Leibtag at the agency’s annual Outlook Forum. And if conditions escalate rapidly, there is also the potential for food riots and other civil unrest.

The USDA is predicting a 3.5 percent increase in food prices in 2011, which is about twice the overall inflation rate but less than the 2008 increase, according to a recent Reuters report. In 2008, food prices rose 5.5 percent, which represents the highest increase since 1990. But the possibility of food prices dramatically rising in 2011 like they did in 2008 is a definite possibility.

“Given that it’s still earlier in the year, I’m prone to be conservative on the side of the forecast,” said Leibtag. “It’s a possibility,” he added, concerning the likelihood of massive inflation in Read more…

Bernanke warns on oil price ‘threat’

March 2, 2011 Comments off

news.yahoo.com

Bernanke warns on oil price 'threat' AFP – US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks during a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban …
by Andrew Beatty Andrew Beatty

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday warned a “sustained” rise in oil prices could threaten US growth and spark dangerous price rises, as he eyed turmoil in Libya.

Bernanke told Congress he believed unrest in the oil-rich Middle East would result in “temporary” and “modest” increase in US prices, but acknowledged greater risks remain.

“The most likely outcome is that the recent rise in commodity prices will lead to Read more…

Need Versus Greed

March 1, 2011 Comments off

project-syndicate.org

NEW YORK – India’s great moral leader Mohandas Gandhi famously said that there is enough on Earth for everybody’s need, but not enough for everybody’s greed. Today, Gandhi’s insight is being put to the test as never before.

The world is hitting global limits in its use of resources. We are feeling the shocks each day in catastrophic floods, droughts, and storms – and in the resulting surge in prices in the marketplace. Our fate now depends on whether we cooperate or fall victim to self-defeating greed.

The limits to the global economy are new, resulting from the unprecedented size of the world’s population and the unprecedented spread of economic growth to nearly the entire world. There are now seven billion people on the planet, compared to just three billion a half-century ago. Today, average per capita income is $10,000, with the rich world averaging around $40,000 and the developing world around $4,000. That means that the world economy is now producing around $70 trillion in total annual output, compared to around $10 trillion in 1960.

China’s economy is growing at around 10% annually. India’s is growing at Read more…

Gadhafi’s $30 Billion In US Assets Blocked By Treasury

March 1, 2011 Comments off

forbes.com

By AGUSTINO FONTEVECCHIA
BENGHAZI, LIBYA - FEBRUARY 26:  Mothers mourn ...Libya’s people have taken most of the country, Gadhafi still controls Tripoli – Getty Images via @daylife

In addition to having his assets frozen by the Swiss and British governments, Colonel Muammar al-Gadhafi’s holdings in the United States have been blocked by the Department of the Treasury, which claims to have located at least $30 billion in Libyan assets.

After an executive order signed by President Barack Obama on Friday declared the “actions of Colonel Muammar Qadhafi [sic], his government, and close associates, […] an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the U.S. Treasury began to track down Libyan assets in Read more…