Markets Shudder as Saudis, Russia Clash Over Oil

DAVID McHUGH / The Associated Press Mar 9, 2020 Prices fall, with wide-ranging implications for consumers and oil companies, including those in the No. 1 producing country, the U.S. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Paul Volcker’s Long Shadow

Ellen Brown / Truthdig Dec 11, 2019 The former Fed chairman’s obituaries leave out how his policies devastated lives in the 1980s and underwrote the 2008 financial crisis. Dig deeper ( 8 Min. Read )

Ecuador’s Indigenous Leaders Willing to Talk After Fuel-Price Protests

MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN and GONZALO SOLANO / The Associated Press Oct 12, 2019 The demonstrations have paralyzed Ecuador's economy for nearly a week. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Mideast Tensions Escalate, Rocket Explodes in Baghdad Green Zone

AYA BATRAWY and FAY ABUELGASIM / The Associated Press May 19, 2019 Saudis say they don't want war; Trump threatens Iran with destruction if it seeks a fight; U.S. Navy conducts Arabian Sea exercises. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

The Plot to Overthrow Venezuela Is Decades in the Making

Vijay Prashad / Independent Media Institute May 14, 2019 Washington has wanted to crush the Bolivarian Revolution since Hugo Chavez assumed power, and its sanctions have killed tens of thousands. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Trump Weighs Drastic Measure to Lower Gas Prices Ahead of Midterms

Jacob Sugarman / Truthdig Jul 13, 2018 According to a Bloomberg report, the administration is considering tapping the country's crude oil reserve. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

U.S. Soon to Leapfrog Saudis, Russia as Top Oil Producer

DAVID KOENIG / The Associated Press Jul 11, 2018 Output is predicted to grow next year to 11.8 million barrels a day, making the U.S. the world's leading oil producer for the first time since the 1970s. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Iran: Trump’s Tweets Have Added $10 a Barrel to Cost of Oil

Juan Cole / Informed Comment Jul 8, 2018 Iran’s official for the Organization of Petroleum Countries says the president's Twitter activity is roiling the oil markets. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

The Shrinking Oil Industry

By Paul Brown / Climate News Network May 16, 2017 Many of the oil services companies employed when new fields are developed have been laying off workers, and oil companies have been taking write-downs of their assets. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Iran Has Been on a Roll Since International Sanctions Were Lifted

By Juan Cole / Informed Comment Apr 2, 2017 The country's Asian trading partners seem delighted to ramp up imports, and Vladimir Putin makes friendly gestures. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Goodbye to the Old Oil Order

By Michael T. Klare / TomDispatch May 2, 2016 Replacing the petroleum-fueled world we’ve known for decades is an anemic, possibly even declining, demand that is likely to force suppliers to fight over a diminishing market. Dig deeper ( 11 Min. Read )

Are the Fracking Vampires Going Bust?

By Joshua Frank / CounterPunch Oct 29, 2015 Oil is crashing, and gas prices at the pump keep sliding lower and lower. As of October, a barrel of Brent crude (the global standard) is selling for less than $50—nearly half of what a barrel cost last year at this time. What does all of this mean? You wouldn’t think that a significant drop in oil prices could actually be a good thing for the environment and a bad thing for Big Oil and dirty frackers, yet it may well be. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )