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We are at a time when there seems to be far more conflict than in the past. At least part of the problem is that slowing growth in the world economy is making it more difficult to repay debt with interest, especially for governments. A related issue is that government promises for pensions and healthcare costs are becoming more difficult to pay. Donald Trump is trying to make numerous changes that are distasteful both to other countries and to many people living within the US. What is going wrong with the economy? In my view, major cracks are developing…
Ecuador’s oil industry is caught in a death spiral. Decades of corruption, dwindling private investment, corroded infrastructure and environmental disasters are all weighing on production and reserves growth. Environmentally damaging oil spills are a common occurrence, with evidence suggesting that the national government in Quito is failing to prevent these harmful events. President Daniel Noboa’s commitment to reviving the economically crucial oil industry risks serious pollution, especially with cocaine related violence distracting…
The Dallas Federal Reserve’s latest Energy Survey, which tracks activity across Texas, northern Louisiana, and southern New Mexico, shows a clear cooling in the U.S. oil sector. After years of relentless growth driven by the shale boom, responses this quarter point to a sector that is slowing down and recalibrating in the face of new pressures. For the second consecutive quarter, drilling and completion activity declined. Operators are scaling back exploration budgets, and the aggressive growth that defined shale’s early years has given…
Markets carried their momentum into the third quarter of 2025, even as political uncertainty and softer labor data kept investors cautious. The S&P 500 advanced 7.8% in Q3, a solid showing that reflected both moderating inflation and rising expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts. For income and defensive investors, the period was constructive: dividend-paying sectors once again demonstrated resilience, while more cyclical industries delivered some of the strongest gains. Across sectors, the rotation toward cyclical and commodity-linked…
Bloomberg’s Javier Blas warned on Monday that the next oil glut will be harder and costlier to finance than any in recent memory, describing a “cartoonish” surplus forming as new barrels from Guyana, Brazil, the United States and the Middle East converge with slower demand growth and sharply higher borrowing costs. In a column for EnergyNow, Blas argues that the most dangerous element of the coming oversupply is not the scale of production but the price of money. In previous downturns, cheap credit allowed traders to hold…
