Nuclear deal brings Iran in from the cold November 25, 2013 OIL PRICES fell sharply overnight after Iran agreed to give up some of its nuclear ambitions and key world powers pledged to suspend certain sanctions. Brent crude oil shed $2.29 to $108.69 (£66.94) a barrel, its biggest daily drop in a month, while US oil dived $1.09 to $93.75 a barrel after the deal, which [...]
BNP Paribas offers guilty plea to US for violating sanctions July 9, 2014 BNP Paribas last night pleaded guilty in a New York court to charges that it conspired to violate US international sanctions against Sudan, Cuba and Iran. The admission was part of a deal by the French bank, including a whopping $8.97bn (£5.23bn) charge for breaking sanctions against several countries for an eight- year period. US [...]
Letters to the Editor – 18/06 – Intervention risks, The Bank’s babies, Best of Twitter June 17, 2014 Intervention risks [Re: Should the West cooperate with Iran to defeat ISIS in Iraq? yesterday] I agree with Michael Rubin – the West should refrain from assisting Iran with its intervention in Iraq. The Iranian leadership’s version of Shiism has proven to be just as ruthless and authoritarian when it comes to the minorities among [...]
Brent crude and petrol prices fall as oversupply offsets global risks August 6, 2014 The price of brent crude hovered around a nine-month low yesterday, with plentiful supplies offsetting concerns of geopolitical risk in key oil producing countries. The industry benchmark fell below $105 (£62) a barrel due to oversupply, weak seasonal demand and the possibility of a deal between Russia and Iran, which would put more oil on [...]
Russian giant Rosneft pleads for $42bn state aid as sanctions bite August 14, 2014 OIL GIANT Rosneft announced yesterday that it was seeking a $42bn (£25.15bn) loan from a fund earmarked for Russian pensions to help it weather Western sanctions imposed after the crisis in Ukraine. Rosneft, one-fifth owned by BP and run by a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, produces more oil than Iraq or Iran and [...]
Global oil and gas firms gear up for re-entry into Iranian market June 16, 2014 INTERNATIONAL energy firms are poised to re-enter the Iranian market later this month, when the EU is expected to ease trade sanctions on the oil-rich country. In January, the EU granted “limited, temporary, and targeted relief” from embargoes targeting Iran’s key energy and financial sectors, which were originally imposed to deter the country from developing [...]
US markets surge as Iran deal fuels hope of trade November 25, 2013 BRENT crude prices fell only slightly yesterday as traders began to question how soon a nuclear deal between world powers and Iran could translate into higher supplies to global markets. The price of the international benchmark see-sawed during the day, trading down as much as $3 a barrel before closing at $111 a barrel, just [...]
BNP Paribas fined $9bn June 30, 2014 BNP Paribas has pleaded guilty to charges of falsifying records and of conspiracy as part of an $9bn (£5.3bn) settlement with US regulators. The French bank broke US sanctions in place against countries including Cuba, Iran and Sudan. It had been in negotiations for months with the Department of Justice, and the bill is far [...]
FireChat: What is it and how does it work? June 23, 2014 FireChat, a messaging app designed to work without internet or cellular connections, is becoming increasingly popular in Iraq as the government continues to restrict internet usage. According to the Financial Times, there were 40,000 downloads of the app in Iraq last week, despite the fact the country has no iTunes store. User numbers in Iran [...]
Can the Islamic State be defeated without the West ramping up military intervention? August 18, 2014 Professor Michael Kerr, director of the Middle East & Mediterranean studies programme at King’s College London, says Yes. Islamic State (IS) can be contained without Western ground troops playing a central role in the present crisis. Following the West’s withdrawal from Iraq, Arab uprisings, and the outbreak of civil war in Syria and Iraq, a [...]