Saturday 28 February 2015

Holding out hope for progress but no swift return to $100 oil | GulfNews.com

Holding out hope for progress but no swift return to $100 oil | GulfNews.com:



"It is something over forty years since US president Nixon announced that we were “all Keynesians now”. The unfortunate experience of the 1970s went on to prove the point, as governments tried in vain to offset the effects on the rest of the world of the twin, Opec-induced oil shocks of 1973/4 and 1978/9, producing the stagflationary conditions of unemployment and inflation together. Many deleterious effects have followed since that time, as today much of the West struggles again, now almost hopelessly, with deficits and compounded debt.



That’s history for you, and somehow it never goes away, as the Mayor of London Boris Johnson revelled in sharing with attendees at the Telegraph’s Middle East Congress last week in his stint marketing the event’s host city.



Warming to the theme of the benefits of openness towards talent and ideas, he treated the audience to the tale of how the same attitude ensured the longevity of Athens since its ancient rivalry with Sparta, the former striding forward with democracy and a formidable cultural legacy, the latter virtually disappearing without trace. Some listeners might also have reflected momentarily on a certain, current state of indebtedness, but that’s another story."



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Libya – proxy war for the Middle East? - YouTube

Libya – proxy war for the Middle East? - YouTube: ""



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Indian economic growth in 90 seconds - YouTube

Indian economic growth in 90 seconds - YouTube: ""



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Saudis’ Oil Price War Is Paying Off - Bloomberg Business

Saudis’ Oil Price War Is Paying Off - Bloomberg Business:



"Three months after Saudi Arabia made clear it was going to let oil prices keep tumbling, the strategy is showing signs of working.



U.S. drillers are idling rigs at a record pace, gutting investment plans and laying off thousands of workers.



Those steps highlight how the Saudi-led OPEC decision on Nov. 27 to maintain output levels and protect its market share is having the desired effect -- pushing prices down so far that they threaten to curb output in the U.S. and other non-OPEC countries. Saudi Arabia, the most powerful member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, will maintain that tack when the group next meets in June, according to some of the world’s biggest banks."



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