News
Ethanol Fuel Inventory Soaring Food Prices
Written by Erik Thorsen Monday, 22 October 2012 15:22
Earlier this year we talked about the failure of the courts to knock down the increasing demands of this administration for more ethanol in gasoline. (And Erika followed up on it last month.) In addition to the risk of damage to the current fleet of vehicles, these policies have also been driving up the cost of corn to farmers. How bad has it gotten? Some dairy farms are closing up shop because they just can’t afford to feed their herds.
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Germany Stays Afloat, But Will Her Citizens?
Written by Erik Thorsen Tuesday, 27 March 2012 14:40
Consumer confidence is decisive for keeping the macro economics humming at a time of crisis. Especially when the crisis is looming for years and won't go away.
Unlike the forces of nature, those of finance enjoy the atmosphere of a tense and stormy status quo. Detente would bring more movement, more traffic, hence more pollution -- a good excuse to rob the average citizen at the gas station and to cram the shuttle trains with workers. For those having to drive a distance to the workplace, sooner or later, if not already, the Autobahn can't be an option any more because one can't spend too much of a wage on fuel.
A wall of Tankers to Keep Crude Prices at Bay
Written by Erik Thorsen Wednesday, 21 March 2012 12:14
Saudi Arabia has announced that it is about to send a wall of supertankers towards the US in order to bring down the artificially inflated oil prices. Whatever the local political moves of the backstage, a stable and healthy global economy relies on reasonable energy prices -- and the patience is running low. At least we can applaud the maritime wall, even if it's a metaphor, let's hope that more oil infused in the US economy will make it just a bit easier...
The Iran-Crude Waltzer
Last Updated on Thursday, 05 January 2012 17:45 Written by Erik Thorsen Thursday, 05 January 2012 17:29
First the excerpt from latest news of today, then bits of analysis.
"EU member states have agreed in principle to ban imports of Iranian crude oil to put pressure on the country over its nuclear programme. ... The US, which recently imposed fresh sanctions on Iran, welcomed the news. ... The Iranian state gets more than half of its revenue through the export of crude oil, says the BBC's James Reynolds. If Europe does stop buying, Iran will have to turn to countries in Asia to replace its lost trade, who will demand a discount, he adds."
It's an expected measure which possibly could turn effective, at least if other crude oil consumer markets will follow suit. Consider that China and Japan, South Korea will ban imports of crude oil from Iran. That's a far stretch.
China is unlikely to ban Iranian oil. Their generals write books on asymmetrical warfare while a couple shipments of C4 mysteriously wind up in a bunch of insurgent hands in Afghanistan. China is more than happy to keep the US stuck on fighting in various countries.
Fracking Mild Earthquake in Ohio
Written by Erik Thorsen Monday, 02 January 2012 16:18
Mild earthquake linked to fracking oil extraction activities:
