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The selloff in global oil markets showed little signs of slowing in the new year, falling as much as 6 percent on Monday to their lowest since spring of 2009 as fears of a supply glut that vexed the market for the past six months deepened. U.S crude closed down $2.65, or 5 percent, at $50.04 a barrel—its lowest settlement since April 2009. The contract fell further in extended trading.

The oil price drop is really gutting Obama’s green agenda The latest falling oil prices to $55.96 (West Texas Intermediate), dropping from a high of $105 per barrel in June 2014, as a result of increased domestic oil production from fracking, is making the price of $150 per barrel of renewables look ridiculously expensive, not counting the wasted government subsidies in bankrupt solar power companies. The green agenda, which has become a climate change industry, is very lucrative for wealthy climate alarmists and for the United Nations. Dick Morris said, “The oil price drop is really gutting Obama’s green agenda.”...

So you think you are finally getting one over on the gas stations as you pay well under $3 a gallon for the first time in four years? Guess again. Gas stations love low prices too—and not just because customers are nicer when they are paying less. “We’re in the same shoes as the consumer, the cost of fuel is less for us,” says Kevin Beyer, who owns Performance Fuels, a filling station and convenience store in Smithtown, NY. That means profits for Beyer and the nation’s 127,000 filling stations are rising. Before they sell gas to you, station owners...

Venezuela is really feeling the pinch from sliding oil prices. Now its bonds are in such bad shape that some investors are treating the country’s default as a near certainty. And they are taking action. How? Well certain banks have started to offer swap contracts that allow investors to fix the amount they can recover on insurance bought against a restructuring of the country’s debt, according to investors. If CDS contracts are triggered, the cheapest Venezuelan bonds trading in the market at that time will be used to determine payouts to protection holders. Those not wanting to take any chances...

Could rapidly falling oil prices trigger a nightmare scenario for the commodity derivatives market? The big Wall Street banks did not expect plunging home prices to cause a mortgage-backed securities implosion back in 2008, and their models did not anticipate a decline in the price of oil by more than 40 dollars in less than six months this time either. If the price of oil stays at this level or goes down even more, someone out there is going to have to absorb some absolutely massive losses. In some cases, the losses will be absorbed by oil producers, but many...

Just how wrongheaded can someone be about America's energy situation? Take a look at President Obama's long history of false claims about oil. If the president has a mantra, it has to be "We can't drill our way out of this problem." Any time he talks about energy, he trots out that phrase. Whatever the problem, increasing domestic oil supply is never the solution.

President Nicolas Maduro is ordering a cut in government spending as Venezuela grapples with a plunge in world oil prices that threatens to bring more hardship for the petroleum-dependent economy. ... More than 95 percent of Venezuela's export earnings come from crude oil exports, and economists say the recent decline in prices will reduce the amount of dollars available for imports when Venezuelans are already suffering from widespread shortages and the world's highest inflation.

Those low gas prices on station signs aren’t going away soon, the government says. In a dramatic shift from previous forecasts, the Energy Department predicted Wednesday that the average price of gasoline in the U.S. will be below $2.94 a gallon in 2015. That a 44-cent drop from an outlook issued just a month ago. If the sharply lower estimate holds true, U.S. consumers will save $61 billion on gas compared with this year. Rising oil production, particularly in the U.S., and weak spots in the global economy have led to a sharp reduction in oil prices over the past...

Struggling Russian ruble falls to all-time low as central bank decides to reduce support Russia's ruble hit an all-time low on Wednesday after the country's central bank said it would dial back its support for the struggling currency in international markets. The announcement is a step toward freely floating the currency, which the central bank currently tries to support in foreign exchange markets. As confidence in the Russian economy wanes, supporting the ruble is proving increasingly difficult — and expensive. The ruble has lost more than 25 percent this year amid concern over economic sanctions from the United States and...

Technological advances in hydraulic fracturing have fueled what some call the Great American Shale Boom. Oil and natural gas extracted from shale basins have left the US flush with energy. It's been a boon for US energy-related jobs and equipment suppliers. But it's not cheap to tap these so-called unconventional plays. In other words, crashing oil prices will soon make many of these energy sources money-losing projects. Morgan Stanley estimates the average breakeven oil price for these US plays to be about $76 to $77 per barrel. Goldman Sachs puts that number at closer to $75. If the price of...

U.S. benchmark crude prices will fall to $70 per barrel next year, according to a new forecast published by Goldman Sachs Monday, suggesting that the recent and pronounced slide in oil prices isn’t a temporary phenomenon. The decline is due to oil production growing at a faster pace than demand, leading to global oil market that’s oversupplied. The report called the change inevitable, noting that “getting to a point where the market shifted back into surplus was only a matter of time.” The report predicts that West Texas Intermediate will fall to $70 per barrel in the second quarter of...

Despite an administration that has no energy policy, free market forces in the United States are finding a way to provide relief from high prices for an economy that greatly needs the respite. Oil prices are heading the right way for consumers even if the wrong way for the wildcatters, explorers and developers of domestic energy. It’s been planned that way.Now that the worldwide economy is slowing, Saudi Arabia is intent on testing American resolve to become energy independent. The oil-rich kingdom has decided on a price war—a method that would be illegal in the United States—to see if American...

The collapse in oil prices is already a major cause of concern for countries heavily reliant on exports of the commodity. For some, it could be a matter of avoiding a severe recession. Here's why: For governments in oil-exporting countries to meet their spending commitments they need oil to remain above a certain price. With oil prices under $87 a barrel, countries that rely on high oil prices, including Venezuela, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, may have a reason to be concerned. This chart shows the price per barrel that the six most exposed countries need to meet their national budgets....

For folks who are trying to ignite inflation, this sure isn’t working out very well. It’s been hoped by the country’s central bankers that the massive quantitative easing program along with near-zero interest rates will touch off a wave of inflation that if not exactly the same thing as boom times, will at least give the appearance of a strengthening economy. However, month after month inflation in the goods that the Fed cares about seems muted. Now this month we had the horrid news that official inflation numbers are falling not rising.

Why Food Prices Are Surging Matthew Boesler Mar. 25, 2014, 12:06 PM Since the beginning of the year, food prices have been on a tear. In a new report, Morgan Stanley commodities analysts led by Adam Longson attribute the surge in prices to a number of factors, "from weather (in the case of sugar, soybeans and coffee) to disease (in the case of hogs) to geopolitics (wheat and corn)." The Morgan Stanley analysts don't believe this will continue. "To date, weather concerns in South America have proven overstated, as evidenced in the recent declines in sugar prices," they say. "Tensions...

Royal Dutch Shell Plc., Europe’s biggest oil company, said crude prices would on average probably remain at current levels or rise steadily for the next two decades, with periods of volatility.

At the beginning of this year, many Americans opened their paychecks to find that their take-home pay was suddenly less than it had been the previous month. The payroll tax cut had expired, resulting in the average American worker owing an additional $700 in payroll taxes this year compared to last. For a two-parent household, that’s $1,400 less with which to pay the bills, put food on the table, and fill up the gas tank. But it’s far from the only added expense straining family budgets. Oil prices, in particular, have skyrocketed over the past decade, imposing higher direct and...

Oil prices have fallen after Iran agreed a deal to curb some of its nuclear activities in return for an easing of international sanctions. Iran holds the world's fourth-largest oil reserves, but its exports have been hurt by the tough sanctions against it. Though Iran will not be allowed to increase its oil sales for six months, the deal has eased tensions in the Middle East -a key oil-producing area. Brent crude fell more than 2% in early Asian trade on Monday.

Oil prices are likely to drop, analysts said, as the nuclear accord between Iran and six world powers potentially paves the way for more crude oil to reach the global market.

The eurozone is still a mess. Instead of improvements, I just see more troubles. Economic slowdown in the region’s debt-infested nations is already staggering, but even those that were able to fight it are now experiencing huge problems. Around this time last year, the European Central Bank (ECB) was very clear about its plan for the eurozone crisis. It said that it’s “ready to do whatever it takes.” Back then it was the greatest relief to the market—the announcement calmed the rising debt rates in the eurozone and sent a wave of optimism toward the key stock indices. But it...