Commodities
WTI Crude prices dropped for a ninth consecutive session on Thursday, essentially falling into a bear market, and it could get worse. In fact, the U.S. oil prices have plunged over the last 5 weeks since early October. And if the U.S. oil benchmark continues to drop like a rock in a “ferocious” bear market, […]
... written on Nov 09 2018By the end of the trading session on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) had travelled more than 900 points. The Dow fell 245.39 points to 24,442.92, erasing a 352-point gain. The NASDAQ Composite Index plunges to its lowest since April. It was so bad that Amazon.com Inc. founder – Jeff Bezos – lost a staggering US$8.2 […]
... written on Oct 30 2018Had journalist Jamal Khashoggi been an ordinary Saudi critic, very few would care about his disappearance. After all, U.S. President Trump has publicly made it know his anti-Muslim stance even before his 2016 Presidential Election. Donald Trump has also made it know that he doesn’t really care about human rights, let alone climate change or […]
... written on Oct 15 2018Emboldened by America’s economic strength and China’s economic slowdown, President Donald Trump has thrown his challenge again by declaring that his administration will impose 10% tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese imports, scheduled to go into effect on September 24th (next Monday). The tax will then skyrocket to 25% beginning January 1st, 2019. […]
... written on Sep 18 2018Beggars can’t be choosers. If you understand that then you’ll understand why leaders from 53 African countries happily jetting to Beijing on Monday for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). Beijing is considered the Santa Claus, having pumped a staggering US$124 billion into Africa since 2000. And on Monday, China splashed another US$60 billion for the […]
... written on Sep 04 2018OPEC reported on Monday that Saudi Arabia cut its oil production in July, a surprise move after Riyadh had pledged to ramp up output following the June meeting in Vienna. Additionally, President Donald Trump has been threatening all and sundry to stop buying Iranian oil, as part of U.S. sanctions against the country. Theoretically, the oil prices […]
... written on Aug 16 2018Beijing’s unusual silence over Donald Trump’s latest US$505 billion trade war threat has been mind-boggling. Has President Trump pressed the right button and was right when he declared that trade wars were good and easy to win? It appears so, judging by the lack of retaliation from the Chinese after Trump’s massive US$505 billion tariffs […]
... written on Jul 23 2018Earlier this month, the United States imposed tariffs on US$34 billion worth of Chinese imports. President Trump it was a punishment for Chinese theft of IP (intellectual property) and other unfair trade practices. Amusingly, Trump warned China not to retaliate. Immediately on the same day, China did exactly that – slapping taxes on the same […]
... written on Jul 21 2018There were two big declines in crude prices – last week and on Monday – despite analysts forecast of a decline of 3.622 million barrels in U.S. inventories for the week through July 13. Turns out, a surprise crude oil oversupply of 629,000 barrels in U.S. crude stockpiles occurred, as reported by the American Petroleum […]
... written on Jul 18 2018Get ready for a spike in crude oil prices. Shortly after the U.S. State reaffirmed the Trump administration’s goal of reducing Iran’s oil exports to zero by November 4th, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned Tehran could retaliate – by disrupting oil shipments to neighbouring countries. Although Iran didn’t elaborate on such plans, it isn’t hard to […]
... written on Jul 06 2018
