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U.N. finds growing signs of Russian involvement in Ukraine war

GENEVA A separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine is revealing increasing evidence, but not yet conclusive legal proof, of Russian state involvement, senior United Nations human rights officials said on Monday. "We are speaking about increasing inflow of (unofficial) fighters and increasing evidence that there are also some (Russian) servicemen involved in fighting," Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic told a news conference in Geneva. Russia denies Western accusations that it is backing pro-Russian rebels with arms and troops. On May 21, U.N. officials interviewed two Russians captured in eastern Ukraine. The two men believe they should be treated as captured servicemen, but Russia says they are former soldiers who had left the military. The pair were charged with terrorism by Ukrainian authorities, putting them "between a rock and a hard place", Simonovic said. "It is very difficult to prove whether they are servicemen or not. That is why […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Is Peak Oil Behind Economic Disintegration?

Something is wrong with the economy. No kidding, you might reply, but what is the underlying cause? Is it Peak Oil? Or is capitalism just a system that doesn’t work and is destined to failure? Are we just stuck with inevitable deterioration in living standards for the majority, or is there at least theoretically something we can do about it? Would political decisions help or are we just doomed to watch the disintegration of civilization as the oil runs out? In an interview a few weeks back with Tom O’Brien of the From Alpha to Omega podcast , KMO asked him about the predictions of Peak Oil collapse and why they seem to have not come to pass the way some people thought they would: Tom O’Brien: “Think if we lived in Syria or Egypt. We might think [about] things slightly differently. I don’t know about yourself KMO, but […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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4 reasons oil will stay this cheap for years

Producers around the world—from embattled drillers in war-torn Iraq, to shale concerns in the U.S.—aren’t being scared off by cheap prices. Leaders from some of the world’s most productive oil-exporting nations will meet this week in Vienna, just as oil prices have begun to stabilize at around $60 per barrel. As we near peak summer driving season, American consumers would have worried a generation ago that such a meeting would be an impetus for a pullback in production, with oil exporters aiming to raise prices by limiting supply. But the world has changed a great deal since the height of OPEC’s power in 1979, when member nations accounted for 50% of global oil production , compared with less than one-third today. When Fortune published its report on the collapse of oil prices in February, investors like Jeremy Grantham told us that oil would be heading back to a price […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil prices fall as OPEC output seen staying high

SINGAPORE Crude oil prices dropped on Monday on expectations that OPEC output would remain high after rising in May, stoking worries of oversupply despite declining U.S. rig operations. Crude oil prices jumped almost 5 percent on Friday, their biggest rally in over a month, as a bigger than expected fall in U.S. oil rigs in operation set off a renewed rush of bullish bets. But prices eased on Monday due to near-record production in most oil-producing regions, especially the Middle East. Front-month Brent crude futures LCOc1 had declined 35 cents to $65.21 per barrel at 1.23 a.m. ET on Monday. U.S. crude futures CLc1 were down 45 cents at $59.85 a barrel. Oil output by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) likely hit a two-and-a-half year high of 31.22 million barrels per day (bpd) in May and production is not expected to be cut during a meeting […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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OPEC likely to keep output unchanged at June 5 meeting: delegates

VIENNA OPEC is likely to keep its output target unchanged when it meets on Friday because the global oil market appears to be in good shape and prices are expected to firm up from current levels, a senior Gulf OPEC delegate told Reuters. Two more OPEC delegates said they expect no change in policy on June 5 when oil ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are scheduled to meet in Vienna. Oil prices have rallied after falling to a near six-year low close to $45 a barrel in January due to a global glut. Brent crude settled at $65.56 on Friday, up $2.98, or 4.8 percent, on the day. [O/R] "It is unlikely that OPEC will make a decision regarding its production ceiling for two reasons: the first one that Russia and other non-OPEC producers have expressed their non-desire to cooperate in any idea of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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OPEC’s Pricing Leverage Is Weakening

This week’s meeting of the world’s oil cartel will show how much its power has diminished amid sweeping changes in the global energy market. Oil prices have plummeted in the past eight months because of a half-decade surge in U.S. production and weak international demand. Brent crude for July delivery ended Friday near $65 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange, far below the $100 needed by several members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to balance their budgets. In the past, OPEC forced prices higher by cutting production , or it steadied them by flooding the market during crisis, war or when it wanted to make a point about its collective might. The 12-country group’s meeting in Vienna on Friday is likely to result in a very different response: doing nothing. OPEC delegates expect the group to keep its current production ceiling of 30 million barrels […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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ISIS Gains Syrian Area Near Border

AMMAN, Jordan — The Islamic State advanced against rival insurgents in northern Syria on Sunday, capturing areas close to a border crossing with Turkey and threatening their supply route to the city of Aleppo, fighters and a group monitoring the war said. The Islamic State captured the town of Soran Azaz and two nearby villages, giving it the ability to move along a road leading north to the Bab al-Salam crossing between the Syrian province of Aleppo and the Turkish province of Kilis, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group based in Britain that tracks the war through a network of contacts in Syria. The loss of Soran Azaz is a blow to northern rebels in the Levant Front because it sits on an important weapons supply route, two alliance fighters said. “The main supply line between Turkey and Aleppo will be severely affected,” Abu […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Prices Are Down, but Saudis Keep Oil Flowing

Photo Construction in the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh. Oil production has surged in Saudi Arabia, which is trying to keep up with its own growing demand. Credit Tomas Munita for The New York Times HOUSTON — The international cartel of oil producers has long followed the same basic strategy. When the market was soft, the group slashed production to raise prices. But Saudi Arabia, the heavyweight of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has a new agenda. It is now less concerned about the price of crude oil in the global markets and more concerned about delivering fuel to its growing economy. The shift is upending the traditional market dynamics that have influenced the direction of oil prices for decades. While American producers are pulling back in the face of the current weak prices, Saudi Arabia, the largest OPEC producer by far, has been pumping more […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Middle East funds negative on Saudi after oil slides: Reuters survey

DUBAI Middle East fund managers have on balance become bearish on the region’s biggest stock market, Saudi Arabia, after oil’s rally ran out of steam and the kingdom confirmed strict rules on foreign investment, a monthly Reuters survey shows. The survey of 15 leading investment firms, conducted over the past 10 days, shows none expects to raise its equity allocation to the Middle East in the next three months – the first time this has been recorded since the survey was launched in September 2013. Last month, 33 percent of respondents said they planned to increase their equity allocations. The proportion intending to cut equity allocations has risen to 20 percent from 7 percent. Oil prices, which are a major driver of economic performance in the region, are headed for a monthly loss after rebounding in April, and their longer-term outlook remains uncertain. Also, falling trading volumes and thin […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple