The Coming Oil Conflict In Iran -01/19/10 at 12:12 PM CSTby Reggie Abaca

Newsmakers and even the oil markets (USO, X, USL) have learned to get used to tensions between the West and Iran.  Last week, an Iranian physics professor linked to the country’s nuclear program was assassinated.  Iran blamed Israel and the United States for the remote control bombing of the man’s car.  Iran, for once, was proba...

United States Oil Fund Rises As Evidence Suggests The United States i... -10/13/09 at 10:41 AM CDTby Reggie Abaca

The United States Oil Fund and several other oil ETFs (USO, USL) may be benefiting from a report that was out last week highlighting Pentagon approval for a funding request with the following statement: "The Department has an Urgent Operational Need (UON) for the capability to strike hard and deeply buried targets in high threat environments. The MOP is t...

Peak Oil Driving Crude Prices -08/07/09 at 10:09 AM CDTby Reggie Abaca

With better than expected unemployment numbers today, one would think that the supply and demand spread for crude oil (OIL) would begin to narrow in upcoming months.  After all, economic improvement means more demand for oil, right? But while the market celebrates the jobs report this morning, crude oil prices are dropping.  Oil traders do not a...

The Case For American Intervention in Iran -07/10/09 at 12:46 AM CDTby Perry Rod

Iranian-Americans voices have been heard in the United States.  Yes, America did support the Shah of Iran and even undermined democracy there.  Yes, America may be largely responsible for the current radical Islamic regime in Iran. However, American foreign policy as it relates to Iran has been an even bigger failure since 1979, when Iranians sh...

Talk of An Oil Worker Strike In Iran -06/22/09 at 2:23 PM CDTby Perry Rod

Reports are coming in from social networking websites that Iranians are attempting to organize a national strike in reaction to the country's disputed election.  A similar event happened in 1979, when Iranian citizens organized against the Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi. Many writers are suggesting that the next move by defeated presidential candidate Mi...

Hopes For Democracy In Iran Dashed By Colossal Failure of American Fo... -06/16/09 at 4:44 PM CDTby Perry Rod

It began on July 8th, 1999 with a peaceful demonstration in Tehran, Iran.  But by the end of the week, the Islamic Republic was responsible for the killing of several students, the disappearance of dozens of others, and thousands of arrests.  There was mass rioting in the streets and Iran was thought to be on the brink of some kind of new st...

The Crushing of False Hope in Iran -06/12/09 at 10:12 PM CDTby Perry Rod

It is a moment of truth for Iran, and truth can oftentimes be painful for the young at heart. The question will quickly transform from “who won?” to “what will Mr. Mousavi do?”  The so-called reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi is now in a position to do what no other man has done in Iran since the Iranian rev...

Peak Oil & Mainstream Attention Reveals A New Economic Pattern -06/11/09 at 7:49 PM CDTby Reggie Abaca

Look out everybody.  Suddenly, the mainstream media is talking about peak oil, as if they've been just as concerned all along.  This spells trouble for the world economy as it is a significant change in behavior from the mainstream outlets. It is absolutely true and we've been saying it for years - oil production has hit its peak in most of the ...

The Inevitable Future: Peak Oil and Socialism -04/21/09 at 3:13 AM CDTby Reggie Abaca

The current economic malaise was triggered by falling home prices and aggressive lending practices, they say. The other part of the story – where oil (OIL, USO, USL) prices shot up to $150 a barrel - has been largely ignored, for now.  But it happened. Worldwide peak oil is not a theory.  It has already occurred and the 2008 oil price shoc...

Religious Fanatics and Peak Oil: A Match Made In Hell -03/22/09 at 2:22 PM CDTby Peter York

We already knew that Iran is controlled by religious extremists.  Iran's real leader in ultimate power is not a president, but a "supreme" religious leader who punishes anybody who criticizes him or his authority.  That included the current supreme leader's younger brother, who was severely beaten for criticizing his authority years ago, along w...

Dennis Ross and What He Means for Iran and the Price of Oil -03/17/09 at 5:20 AM CDTby Reggie Abaca

Investors in oil (OIL, USO, USL) ought to pay special attention to last month's appointment for the office of "special advisor" on Middle East affairs to the United States Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton. Is this person a thoughtful middle of the road academic scholar?  No. This person is Dennis Ross, a former foreign affairs analyst for the ...