energy

We are now facing the potential for a severe financial crisis, with all asset markets showing major moves toward safe haven assets. What has precipitated panic is the Saudi oil price cut at the weekend because it has caused oil prices to…

This post is going to be about the tightening of financial conditions as evidenced by a rush to safe haven assets and bond market spread-widening. But I want to start with how I am thinking about the economic impact of the Covid-19 virus…

I think we need to follow this issue. It is a perfect intersection of energy security, foreign policy and financial issues that are very important for Europe and the US.

Last week, the high yield market seized up, in part due to jitters surrounding a high profile freeze of funds at the Third Avenue Focus Credit fund. The big problem for Third Avenue was energy high yield credit and the contagion from that…

A month ago, I wrote a piece on zero rates, resource misallocation, and shale oil that warned of the potential negative impact that low oil prices could have on the funding for shale drillers and the potential contagion this drying up in…

The Russian economy is barely growing. The Russian central bank has no intention of supporting the ruble. We are also seeing some spillover from the Ukrainian mess.

Central banks of several nations who are experiencing sharp currency declines are taking action to stabilize the situation. But not the Russians. The nation's central bank likes the weak ruble because the currency decline boosts the…

We've had a number of questions on energy sources in the United States - particularly with respect to the generation of electricity. Here are a few interesting facts about recent trends that hopefully help clarify some of the confusion…

Scarcity is a powerful force and it leaves those in control of limited resources wielding great power. We think a scarcity of uranium will increase Russia's power; control over some of the last big, easy oil deposits has earned Saudi Arabia…

There is some evidence that recently discovered shale oil fields cannot be successfully exploited at prices under $100 a barrel.