Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande’s push for peace in Moscow has helped fuel optimism about the prospects for Russia’s spluttering economy. On the morning of the meeting, the rouble had strengthened…
Saudi workers have been given a pay bonus by their new king, but unless oil prices rebound the country will find itself eating into its US$750 billion sovereign nest egg.
EPA/Ali Haider
In his first royal decree, Saudi Arabia’s newly crowned King Salman announced two-month bonuses for state employees, pensioners, students, and recipients of social service programs (that is, everyone in…
When airlines fill up, it’s not always easy to work out the cost.
Patrick Lauke/Flickr
With oil prices on the decline, and analysts predicting record profits for the 2014/15 financial year, Qantas and Virgin Australia are under increasing pressure to abolish fuel surcharges and lower their…
Cooking on gas could be unpalatable when the bill arrives.
CCat82/Shutterstock.com
During Melbourne’s recent spell of hot weather, my air conditioner got a workout after a long hiatus. Technically it’s a split system that also could have been used during winter, but like many Melbourne…
Prices of gas are approaching $2 a gallon. Does that make it a good time to raise the gas tax?
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
It is well known that the US has a major infrastructure problem with our national highway system. Many of our bridges are in a very poor state of repair and highway maintenance is not keeping up with needs…
Motorists in the United States and elsewhere have been treated to low prices. Whether they will bounce back is another question.
EPA/CJ Gunther/AAP
Late in 2014, we saw iron ore and coal prices fall. Now we are seeing oil prices tumble, dipping to less than US$50 a barrel, half the price of a year ago. In all cases, these price collapses reflect the…
Predicting oil price movements is as risky as exploring for oil itself. The average price for crude fell 10.3% from the start of 2014 to the date of the Scottish independence referendum on September 18…
The sands of time will turn against the desert oil states.
iceink
Steffen Hertog, London School of Economics and Political Science
Oil prices have now almost halved in six months to below $60/barrel thanks to OPEC’s refusal to cut production. This means all the member countries are revising their government spending policies. While…
The first casualty of the Russian rouble crisis. Hint: it’s not Bruce Willis.
www.trustbank.ru
The dramatic slide in the value of the rouble has claimed its first banking casualty. Trust Bank is being bailed out by the Russian Central Bank to the tune of US$530m. The emergency liquidity line is…
The falling oil price might take some time to translate to lower prices at the bowser.
Julian Smith/AAP
While this year’s relative stability in crude oil prices appears to have lulled us into a false sense of security, the dramatic fall over the last few weeks reminds us just how volatile these prices can…
Could tough talk, lead to tough action?
EPA/Sergei Chirikov
Vladimir Putin has delivered his annual press conference and at the top of the agenda was the Russian economy, reflecting that the turmoil buffeting the Russian rouble has reached critical levels. After…
Will it put Russia in the black or red?
Nata789 via Shutterstock
Russia’s Central Bank has raised its key interest rate from 10.5% to 17% in an emergency move that is designed to halt the ongoing collapse of the rouble, which has accelerated in recent weeks. The dramatic…
Oil prices have dropped to levels not seen in years. It’s not all good news.
Reuters
The recent drop in crude oil and gasoline prices in the United States is a nice stocking stuffer for consumers this holiday season, but it could turn into a lump of coal. A global oil glut has caused the…
In the 1970s, refineries in the Middle East controlled the world’s flow of oil. Not any more.
National Iranian Oil Company/Wikimedia Commons
With oil prices on the slide, members of the once-dominant Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided last week not to attempt to rally them by cutting production, leaving the Brent…
All bark no bite? Green shoots of growth hide risks as well as opportunities.
Sharon Mollerus
Not too long ago, cynics were wondering if David Cameron’s fears over the global economy were a ploy to shift blame for any flaws in the UK’s performance as we near the May 2015 general election. However…
A common topic of discussion in Iran is oil and the mixed blessing it represents. The country’s recent history has been intertwined with that of international oil politics since 1908, when William Knox…
We’re using less petrol – there’s a recession on, you know …
Antony
Readers of the Financial Times would have recently encountered a story that encompasses the paper’s version of bad/good news when it comes to the oil business. According to the author Daniel Yergin, the…
Oil prices have fallen dramatically since August – and, rather counter-intuitively, this could be a bad thing. As of late October, the price of oil has fallen from US$110 per barrel (bbl) to below US$85…
Obstacles in the pipeline? A general view of the South Pars gas field, Iran.
Abedin Taherkenareh
In recent months, Iranian and foreign media have been abuzz with reports that a new generation of petroleum contracts aimed at foreign investors will be unveiled by the Iranian Oil Ministry later this…
Professor in Transport and Supply Chain Management and Deputy Director, Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), University of Sydney Business School, University of Sydney