oil

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.

Authored by Gail Tverberg via Our Finite World blog,

World GDP in current US dollars is in some sense the simplest world GDP calculation that a person might make. It is calculated by taking the GDP for each year for each country in the local currency (for example, yen) and converting these GDP amounts to US dollars using the then-current relativity between the local currency and the US dollar.

Authored by Steve H. Hanke of the Johns Hopkins University. Follow him on Twitter @Steve_Hanke.

Andy Hall, the “Oil God,” acquired that attribution after making flawless, bullish calls on oil and loads of cash for his clients at Astenbeck Capital Management. Of late, the markets have failed to cooperate with Hall. So, he has renounced his bullish faith. Indeed, the Oil God has thrown in the towel on what had been his perma-bullish position on oil. 

Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

The dramatic declines in the costs of oil production will be boosting supply at the very moment that demand is falling.

It took stocks only a few minute to "price in" the latest political shock out of Washington, and as of this morning Emini futures no longer care that Mueller has a grand jury, trading 0.08% in the green with European stocks and Asian shares all little changed as investors await the looming July jobs report, which is expected to show a slowdown in hiring from 222K to 180K but will have little impact on either the Fed's thinking or the market.