Hedge Funds shifted their strategies last week by grabbing up WTI crude following the previous week’s record selling. Also Market Neutral and Equity Long/ Short funds trimmed their net long positions, while Macro hedge funds increased their long exposures to key indexes, 10-year Treasuries and the U.S. dollar Big speculative hedge funds raise short … Continue reading
A number of recent major international developments suggests that Washington has recognized Moscow as an equal partner. US officials sat down at the negotiating table with their Russian counterparts. This is evidenced by the statement from the chief of the Russian Airborne Troops about possible assistance to Syria. What are they negotiating? Western sources say … Continue reading
Saudi Arabia plans to raise $27 billion on the bond market by the end of 2015, according to the Financial Times. The country needs a $106 per barrel crude price to balance the budget. The bond sale is an attempt to mitigate the 47 percent decline in oil. Riyadh is planning to issue $5.3 billion in bonds … Continue reading
President Barack Obama has warned that without the Iran nuclear deal, there will be another war in the Middle East. He said that those who voted for the War in Iraq are now opposing diplomacy with Iran. Many of the same people who argued for the war in Iraq are now making the case against … Continue reading
“Russia made a new bid Tuesday for a huge swath of Arctic territory — including the North Pole — putting Canada in the position of potentially having to negotiate with the country to settle overlapping claims,” Montreal Gazette reports. According to the news agency: Canada, Russia, the U.S., Denmark and Norway have all been trying to … Continue reading
While the stalemate against the Islamic State, or ISIS, sits just a few hundred miles away and oil receipts dropping by the day, the glittering skyscrapers and perennially superlative-laced cities of the United Arab Emirates are filled with citizens and expatriates sitting by brand-new pools, sipping cocktails, and checking their swelling bank accounts. Even these … Continue reading
Just as the international community embraces the prodigal Iran back into the fold, Saudi Arabia is trying to reverse the return to grace of its nemesis. Intent on protecting its legacy, is there anything the kingdom won’t do to paint Iran as the enemy? By Catherine Shakdam The grand hegemon of the Middle East, Saudi … Continue reading
The World Bank is nudging up its 2015 forecast for crude oil prices from $53 in April to $57 per barrel after oil prices rose 17 percent in the Apr-Jun quarter, according to the Bank’s latest Commodity Markets Outlook, a quarterly update on the state of the international commodity markets. The Bank reports that energy … Continue reading
The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has cut the key interest rate from 11.5% to 11.0% citing growth as a priority. The rate cut is already the 5th consecutive one this year. Last Friday, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) said in a statement the following: Major macroeconomic indicators demonstrate further economy cooling. The Bank of Russia estimates GDP decrease … Continue reading
Originally posted on Eyes on Europe & Middle East News:
Libya has become a major headache for European oil companies as a four-year conflict forced BP to join Total in writing off millions of dollars in investments in the North African country. BP on Tuesday the 28th of July said it had taken an impairment…