oil

Authored by Chris Martenson via PeakProsperity.com,

Energy is everything. 

This is an amazingly important concept. Yet it's almost universally overlooked.

Global markets are stuck in a holding pattern with S&P futures up modestly after fluctuating overnight, as European and Asian shares rise with oil while the dollar has dipped lower ahead of the biggest central bank event of the year: the Fed's Jackson Hole symposium where Janet Yellen and Mario Draghi will speak at 10am and 3pm ET, respectively. Meanwhile, world stocks drifted toward their best week in six on Friday, as a near three-year high in emerging markets shares and a roaring rally in industrial metals bolstered the year’s global bull run.

Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,

The pro-government constitutional assembly loyal to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro seized the powers of the opposition-led congress today, in a move that necessarily has Big Oil nervous that Trump will make good on his economic sanctions threat.

Submitted by Charles and Louis-Vincent Gave of Gavekal Research

Carthago Est Delenda

A tanker loaded with 1 million barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude has been stranded for over a month off the coast of Louisiana, not because it can't sail but as a result of Venezuela's imploding economy, and its inability to obtain a bank letter of credit to deliver its expensive cargo. It's the latest sign of the financial troubles plaguing state-run oil company PDVSA in the aftermath of the latest US sanctions against the Maduro regime, and evidence that banks are slashing exposure to Venezuela across the board as the Latin American nation spirals into chaos.