Lance Roberts: The Oil Price Crash Was Inevitable
"Each job created in energy-related areas has had a “ripple effect” of creating 2.8 jobs elsewhere in the economy from piping to coatings, trucking and transportation, restaurants, and retail."
"Each job created in energy-related areas has had a “ripple effect” of creating 2.8 jobs elsewhere in the economy from piping to coatings, trucking and transportation, restaurants, and retail."
"... yesterday oil traders who owned oil derivatives realized that if they continued to hold these derivatives, they (the traders) would have to actually take delivery on the physical oil they owned."
"Pricey shut-ins or even bankruptcies could now be cheaper for some operators, instead of paying tens of dollars to get rid of what they produce."
"... a multipronged approach designed to maximise fuel variety and availability; to facilitate necessary infrastructure changes; and, to encourage research and development makes much more sense as a policy approach than a crude ban."
"... when you owe the bank a thousand dollars it’s your problem. When you owe the bank a few billion, it’s the bank’s problem."
"The DJIA briefly slumped to 19.4% of February 2020 high as fears of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic grow."
"The Achilles’ heel of the U.S. empire is the debt."
"The stock market, however, is a strong leading indicator of investor expectations of growth over the next 12-months. Historically, stock market returns are typically favorable until about 6-months prior to the start of a recession."
Nordstream 2 is "a logical development stemming from the facts that Russia wants to provide gas and Germany wants to buy it, which led to a mutually acceptable agreement and commitment of many billions of dollars, largely by the firms Uniper and Wintershall of Germany, Royal Dutch Shell, Austria’s OMV and Engie of France in association with Russia’s Gazprom — an impressive example of European pragmatism."
"There are three main routes through which the coronavirus epidemic has the potential to disrupt the economies of China’s trading partners, even if the public health crisis itself remains confined to China."
"Given that oil prices are a reflection of global economic demand, falling oil prices have a negative feedback loop in the economy as a whole. The longer oil prices remain suppressed, the negative impacts of loss of employment, reductions in capital expenditures, and declines in corporate profitability will begin to outstrip any small economic benefit gained through consumption."
"Under this transformational and ambitious scenario, fossil fuel use would plummet. Coal consumption would drop by roughly 60%, oil consumption by 30%, and the role of natural gas in the energy mix would remain stagnant."
And although the broad commodity market finished up 17.6% on the year, the performances of individual commodities were all over the map. For those familiar with the sector, that’s pretty much par for the course.
Certain sectors saw almost ubiquitously positive or negative returns.
Will 2020 provide additional evidence towards a global sea change in coal dependence, or is 2019 just a blip on the radar?
The anti-Russia hysteria in the United States is tying the hands of Donald Trump to act responsibly to protect America.
For all of 2019, December has been a magnet.
Between 2009 and 2015, solar PV module prices fell by 80%, ushering in a new era of affordability. Solar powered mini-grids don’t just have the potential to bring electricity to new markets, it can also replace the diesel-powered generators commonly used in Africa.
In a world working towards reducing its dependence on fossil fuels, what will happen to countries that depend on oil wealth when demand begins to dwindle? Countries can no longer assume their oil and gas resources will translate into reliable wealth — instead, it is how you manage what you have now that counts.
According to most accounts, even if questionable, the US checked with Russian partners about Russian forces being present there before engaging in the firefight at the Conoco oil plant. If true, the most probable solution to this mystery is that the Russian military did not know that Russian contractors were present near the plant that day.
Once there’s a warning that a storm is inbound and likely to take out the power in your area, it’ll be too late. Stock up throughout the year, when things go on sale. Not only will you save money, but you will also already be prepared for the power outage and won’t have to rush to the store.
In recent years, Indian coal mines have suffered from several flood water inundations affecting production and causing considerable harm to water quality.
Utility companies are pretty jazzed about this, too. Knowing exactly when their customers use their gas and electric 24/7 and what for gives them the opportunity to try to sell their customers additional products and services. Utility companies can also sell this private data to third parties and then they can also try to sell these utility customers other products.
It is quite likely that a “proportionate response” is coming, and that could set off a chain of events that nobody will be able to control.