As analysts slash their oil forecasts for 2016, will prices fall to $20 per barrel this year? January 13, 2016 David Morrison, senior market strategist at Spread Co, says Yes. The oil selloff began over 18 months ago. The trigger was the US dollar turnaround as the Federal Reserve prepared to end QE. The dollar rally continued as divergent policies between the worlds’ major central banks became ever more apparent. Last month, the Fed hiked and [...]
The FTSE crash is not Armageddon – but investors should still be light on their feet January 23, 2016 We all know that "hindsight" is the most successful trader in the world. Its performance has always been exemplary since time immemorial. However, alarm bells should have started ringing after the Shanghai Composite had added 150 per cent in value between June 2014 and June 2015, just when it was becoming decidedly obvious that China’s economy [...]
Netanyahu wants to kill the US-Iran nuclear deal: Obama must not let him March 9, 2015 For all the clouds of controversy that perpetually swirl around him, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu possesses two great qualities that wholly elude the timid and colourless European leaders I am fated to spend so much of my time writing about: he has a gambler’s heart and he is eloquent. Both these admirable traits were [...]
Will oil prices fall below zero? Fear more than fundamentals is driving markets lower January 22, 2016 Reporting by Clive Crude… How low can it go? This is the question every oil analyst is asking. First they thought $100 was the floor, then $70, then it was $50, then $25 and even $10 has been mooted. Yesterday, we read that “petrol is to be cheaper than water”. Today, leading energy expert Oli [...]
President Trump would mean the end of the western alliance March 7, 2016 Super Tuesday fulfilled its traditional role of determining the two nominees for the US presidency. While Hillary Clinton’s dreary coronation is all too scripted, astoundingly, Donald Trump must be considered the odds-on favourite for the Republican nomination. Yes, if senator Marco Rubio of Florida and governor John Kasich of Ohio were to win their home [...]
Saudi Arabia set to come under fire at OPEC meeting but not expected to back down over production levels December 3, 2015 Smaller nations are expected to put further pressure on Saudi Arabia to reduce oil production levels later today when cartel members meeting in Vienna. OPEC made the historic decision to maintained its production levels last year despite a more than 50 per cent fall in price over the past 18 months. City A.M. understands Saudi Arabia [...]
Oil prices: Is the age of oil coming to a close? Some say Saudi Arabia’s pumping out black gold because it knows its days are numbered February 18, 2016 It's the conspiracy theories around why Saudi Arabia is keeping oil prices low that make the saga so intriguing. Data shows the Saudis have raised their monthly production levels throughout this spell of cheap oil. The desert kingdom has been blessed with abundant, easy to access reserves of black gold, which are believed to cost around [...]
Iran nuclear talks: Obama says he would “walk away” from a bad deal March 8, 2015 Amid mounting criticism from the Republicans over his approach to Iran's nuclear programme, US President Barack Obama has insisted he would “walk away” before agreeing to a bad deal. In an interview with CBS News today, he said any agreement would have to satisfy Washington's demands and ensure Iran had no way of making an [...]
Fourth industrial revolution? Davos 2016 faces the same old problems January 19, 2016 As if the third week of January wasn’t depressing enough, it is time for us to haul ourselves back to the snowy mountain town of Davos and the World Economic Forum (WEF). This year, WEF founder Klaus Schwab wants us to think about “Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution”. Fourth industrial revolution? For me, any mention of “industrial [...]
Iran nuclear programme: Here’s why the US and Israel clash so much over a deal March 3, 2015 Both the US and Israel want to curb Iran's nuclear programme and prevent it from having the resources to build a nuclear weapon, but the two countries have clashed over what Iran should have to agree to. While the US wants it to freeze its nuclear programme for a decade, Israel does not believe this [...]