Canadian Inflation Spikes As Natural Gas, Meat Prices Soar

The country’s annual inflation rate climbed higher than economists’ expectations last month, accelerating to 2.4 per cent, Statistics Canada said Friday. The October increase follows a 2.0 per cent rise in September. The federal agency says the consumer price index climbed as prices rose in all of the categories it tracks in the 12 months […]

Here’s What The New Era Of Cheap Oil Means For The World’s Major Economies

Brent crude oil prices hit a four-year low in November of $77.83, and Credit Suisse believes sub-$100 prices are here to stay for at least the next three years. What does the sudden and sharp decline portend for the world economy? Generally speaking, falling crude oil prices are an importing economy’s paradise and an exporter’s inferno. But […]

Plunging Crude Oil Prices Boon for Indian Economy

Plunging global crude oil prices are turning out to be a boon for India, a country which is heavily dependent on oil imports. Cheaper oil is boosting the government’s efforts to lift the economy from a deep slump. For decades, subsidies on energy in India have been a huge drag on government finances, but efforts […]

Falling oil prices cloud the forecast for Houston economy

The recent sharp drop in oil prices is clouding the region’s economic forecast, potentially threatening to curtail employment growth across industries and perhaps even slow down the multifamily real estate segment, a prominent local economist said Thursday. The sudden change in winds caught Bill Gilmer, director of the Institute for Regional Forecasting at the University […]

Russia has little to offer in oil price war

* Russia needs oil price of $100 to balance budget * Oil prices at four-year low of $78 * Rosneft CEO, Energy Minister to Vienna before OPEC meeting * Russia can’t cut output, has no storage to limit exports Russia can do little to shore up slumping global prices even if OPEC wants it to. […]

Youth could unleash rapid economic growth

The record number of young people in the world today could unlock fast economic growth in many developing countries unless lack of access to health care and education hinder progress, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said on Tuesday. A window of economic and social growth occurs when the working age population becomes larger than […]

The Coming Blackout Epidemic

Industrialized countries face a future of increasingly severe blackouts, a new study warns, due to the proliferation of extreme weather events, the transition to unconventional fossil fuels, and fragile national grids that cannot keep up with rocketing energy demand. “We need a fundamental re-think about how electricity is generated and distributed and who controls this,” […]

Kunstler: The Instability Express

T he mentally-challenged kibitzers “out there” — in the hills and hollows of the commentary universe, cable news, the blogosphere, and the pathetic vestige of newspaperdom — are all jumping up and down in a rapture over cheap gasoline prices. Overlay on this picture the fairy tale of coming US energy independence, stir in the […]

A Beginners Guide to Blackouts

Anticipating blackouts has become a new national sport in the UK. I can recall blackouts as a child. I’m guessing this was during the first 1974 oil shock when OPEC first flexed its muscles and Britain had a lot more oil fired power generation then than it does now. But a quick check shows that […]

Frugal Value: Desigining Business for a Crowded Planet

Much has already been written on the subject of business growth. But while business manuals explain how to grow your business – how to attract new customers, gain market share, fend off competitors, develop new products and reach new markets – few consider the desirability or indeed feasibility of business growth. To grow is assumed […]

And The Biggest Winner From The Oil Price Plunge Is…

“The Chinese, among others, seem to be responding to the lower oil price with additional demand,” notes one tanker executive as Bloomberg reports the number of supertankers sailing toward China’s ports matched a record on Oct. 17 and is still close to that level now. The plunge in price has enabled China to add 35 […]

Peak Chocolate?

Chocolate manufacturers have announced what may be the greatest fear of chocolate-lovers around the globe — the world is running out of chocolate. In fact, the chocolate deficit, whereby farmers produce less cocoa than the world eats, are becoming the norm. The Washington Post reports that the problem has been compounding for some time. Last […]

Peak Turkey?

Turkey production is at its lowest level in nearly three decades and wholesale prices are at an all-time high, but Thanksgiving cooks probably won’t see much difference in the price they pay at the stores for their frozen birds. This year’s anticipated stock is 235 million, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural […]

Russia and China’s new gas agreement will starve EU of natural gas

China continues to siphon cheap Russian gas that once went to Europe. Without a plentiful supply of affordable natural gas, Europe faces a looming crisis Russia inked a second blockbuster deal with China that will starve Europe for natural gas in just a few short years. It’s now increasingly clear that 2018 will mark the […]

Welcome To The NEW Era Of Cheap Oil

The world runs on oil. That goes without saying. And for much of the 20th century, the world ran on cheap oil. In the early 21st century, however, that briefly changed. When I moved to Los Angeles from New York in 2004, I could find gas for about $1.25 a gallon. The joke at the […]

A brief history of contemporary “consumerism” and anti-consumerism

History books usually study social movements of the second half of the nineteenth century from the point of view of the split between anarchists and Marxists. Both theories played an important role in debates of the great workers’ movements of the following century, and for a long time, no one seemed to question the root […]

Creating Regional Resilience in New England

New England has a long tradition of radical communitarian culture. The colonists came here as congregations or communities rather than as individuals. Communities banded together into state parliaments here and laid the groundwork for the American Revolution. The region has a tradition of social change, moral crusades and entrepreneurial invention which provides its unique character. […]

Cheap Gas?: EIA Projects Natural Gas Prices to Double by 2035

The U.S. Energy Information Agency projects that the price of natural gas will more than double by 2035 measured in constant 2012 dollars. Meanwhile, the same survey projects that steam coal prices will increase by less than 15 percent. The chart at right was included in the EIA’s Annual Energy Report. Following are key sections […]

US Oil Consumption and the US Tight Oil Boom

In part 1 of a series of articles on the impact of US tight (shale) oil we examine the impact on US oil consumption. Fig 1: US crude oil production with tight oil from Texas and North Dakota  Data from: http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_crd_crpdn_adc_mbbl_a.htm In 2013, an additional 2.3 mb/d of tight oil was produced from wells in Texas […]

The Hummer is back. Thank falling oil prices

The military-style Hummer H1, more tank than truck, disappeared from the new car lots long ago, killed off by General Motors for the sin of guzzling a gallon of gas every 10 to 12 miles. And as the cost of gas hung above $3.50 for four years, even used Hummers languished on used lots, too. […]

Efficiency as a Vise

In modern economic thought, efficiency is paramount. The goal of economic systems, and entities within those systems, is to maximize efficiency. Policymakers are supposed to remove impediments that are making markets inefficient, and cut government inefficiency. Even those that claim not to buy into such thinking often still do without realizing it. There have been […]

Russian primary industry cannot withstand this roller coaster.

Katarina Lagervall DN called me last Friday and we had a long and interesting conversation about oil and the global economy. A summary of our conversation is now available at dn.se [in Swedish] under “Russian primary industry cannot withstand this roller coaster.” (I have added some clarifications with parentheses) (Published 2014-11-07 13:17) Falling oil prices […]

U.S. Oil Exports Hit 57 Year High

The accelerating United States energy boom allowed America to record its highest level of oil exports in 57 years and its second highest level since 1920 in the month of July. After becoming the world’s largest producer of natural gas in 2010, the United States also became the world’s largest producer of petroleum last month. […]

Peak Cheap Oil

Energy is the lifeblood of any economy.  But when an economy is based on an exponential debt-based money system and that is based on exponentially increasing energy supplies, the supply of that energy therefore deserves our very highest attention. But we need to be careful here because it’s a mistake to lump all types of energy together because they […]

Qatar’s investment programme sustainable $67 a barrel

Qatar has the capacity to finance its infrastructure investment programme although the oil price has fallen 30% since June, QNB has said in a report. Based on the 2013 data, QNB estimates that the fiscal breakeven price—the oil price at which government expenditure would equal government revenue—was $67 a barrel. The bank’s estimates are based […]

Can natural gas feed the world?

Natural gas — namely its primary component, methane — can be gobbled up by protein-producing microbes. The protein biomass is converted into things like food for farmed salmon or chemicals or other products, according to Shaw, CEO of Calysta Inc., and Silverman, the chief scientific officer. That salmon, of course, is an important source of […]

The case against US oil abundance

The swift decline in oil prices has the media buzzing about an oil supply glut, Cobb writes. But can oil – which now trades at eight times its price during 1998’s glut – be said to be experiencing an oil glut now? Back in March 1999 “The Economist” magazine carried a cover photo of two men drenched in […]

Perennial Polyculture Prevails over Peak Oil

KrisCan visits Eric Toensmeier in his Holyoke, Massachusetts home garden that was transformed from a bleakly barren backyard into a thriving oasis of year-round, productive perennial fruits and vegetables. Eric talks about how waste heat from factories and power plants can be utilized for greenhouse gardening; urban food security and self-reliance in the face of […]

Saudi Cut In Oil Price For US May Lead To Price War

Saudi Arabia’s move to cut the cost of its oil to US customers has injected fear into the oil markets, bringing the price of OPEC crude below $80 and suggesting to some observers that the cartel is preparing for a global price war. OPEC production has remained level despite worldwide demand, and as a result, […]

OPEC Officials Don’t Expect Oil Price Below $75 a Barrel This Year

As oil prices slid further downward Thursday, OPEC signaled that it isn’t ready to hit the panic button—yet. Oil’s more-than-25% decline since the summer has led to speculation that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries—whose crude accounts for around a third of global oil supply—would cut its output to try to support prices, especially […]

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