The United States of America, in global strategic terms, is tumbling down a series of misadventures, declining in a “step of sighs” through frustrating economic and military endeavours as it…
China was the savior of commodities the past year. And a particularly hot spot today. China's customs agency released some impressive trade numbers. December exports were up 17.7% year-on-year. Imports…
There still seems to be a deplorable uncertainty about the future price of the most important commodity in the world. A few months ago Philip Verleger – now apparently guest…
One nagging question that the industrial world has been asking itself since the discovery of the first oil well is what happens when the wells begin to run dry. The…
2010 is starting with a decision that faced heated debates: Kazakhstan will hold the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) for one year, despite what…
Yesterday I visited the nicest public pool I've ever set trunks in. The place was airplane hangar-sized. Giant hot tub. Towering waterslides. A float-along river for the kids. All this…
The next big thing is here in the Canadian oil patch. I wrote a few weeks ago that a number of new Alberta and Saskatchewan petroleum plays are being poked…
Very senior officials in several Persian Gulf states have confirmed to GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs a growing volume of whispers coming from Tehran since mid-December 2009 which identify Iranian Ayatollah…
Climate Change is having a great impact on global perspectives, which is leading Governments and Businesses to take a serious look at Carbon Sequestration (CCS.) This means that instead of…
It's been awhile since we heard the phrase "liquidity problems". In October 2008, you couldn't set browser on internet without hearing about liquidity problems somewhere. During the financial crisis, cash…
Despite the lingering demonstrations and disorder in Tehran, Iran’s ruling mullahs are confident anew in their country’s ability to surge to a hegemonic position in the Middle East without a…
Is the term “clean coal” an oxymoron? That’s a hot question for politicians, the energy industry and environmentalists, alike. While the words seem intuitively clear, the meaning of the term,…
The financial crisis changed the way people think. At least some people. In North America, the bursting of the housing bubble dispelled the myth you could get rich simply by…
The coming year: 2010, will see a growing clash of conflicting mega-trends in the Afghanistan-Pakistan theater; trends which will ultimately have long-term impact not only on the region, but on…
ExxonMobil's buyout of XTO Energy was the story of December. It might be the story of 2009. But equally important are the details now emerging about the deal. Particularly the…
Baghdad is coming of age in its own backyard with the awarding of contracts for developing its oil reserves while taking care of its assets as evident from its tough…
Both solar and wind power are creative ideas that may one day prove to be of value, but sadly, after 40 years of concerted efforts, they’ve thus far not delivered…
While energy-strapped India is scouring the globe for oil and gas - a bid that recently took it to Sudan and Russia where India signed two memoranda of understanding, and…
That question has been on the minds of leaders and financial thinkers worldwide, since the financial crisis broke last fall. In response to falling asset prices, governments around the globe…
In order to survive revolutions must continue to propagate themselves or else they die; that was true of revolutions on the left that saw their golden years in the late…