From Israel, there is good news and bad news. The good news – and it is huge – is that Israel will soon be awash in natural gas. Gas discovered…
Honestly, oil prices have been moored to around $90 for so long, we're kind of giving up on the whole $100 barrel idea, but obviously a lot of folks think…
Lifetime followers of the monthly nonfarm payroll report were more than a little amused by the Friday numbers, which could not have been more contradictory, conflicting, and confusing. The headline…
Following a series of symbolic votes by the newly reenergized Republican Party, including one to “repeal” the health care law, this week saw a GOP-led effort to roll back the…
A serious lack of rare earth elements is endemically afflicting the world body politic. It has been brought on by a chronic combination of American short sightedness and Chinese need…
According to my old friend, Rick Sopher, chairman of LCH Investments in London, the top ten hedge funds have earned $153 billion for their investors since inception. John Paulson’s fund…
In booming South America, oil-rich Venezuela is the exception: the continent's only shrinking economy in 2010. Officials are rationing hard currency. Government takeovers of private businesses are increasing. One prominent…
Three US corporate giants have committed $300 million to an energy technology investment company to fund “potentially game-changing technologies”. GE Capital, the investment arm of GE, power generator NRG Energy…
Seaweed biofuel farms have come a step closer to reality with an improvement in the way seaweed sugars can be converted to ethanol. Dried seaweed can be fermented to produce…
The French government’s plans to launch a €10 billion ($13.8 billion) tender for offshore wind developments signals a shift away from solar energy toward large-scale wind projects. However, questions remain…
As most readers of this short paper probably know, Dr Steven Chu is the energy secretary of the United States, a physicist, and a Nobel Laureate. Discovery Magazine, in its…
The latest issue of Chemistry World warns that a looming shortage of Rare Earth Elements (REE) could hurt the production of REE-rich green technologies, like wind turbines or electric car…
Over the last decade investors and home-owners experienced a series of brutal beatings in what was historically a very short period of time. Many investors took heavy losses in the…
Even as developed countries close, or limit construction of, coal-fired power plants out of concern over pollution and climate-warming emissions, coal has found a rapidly expanding market elsewhere: Asia, particularly…
Bernanke responds today to the accusation that the commodity price boom is being caused by U.S. monetary policy: Supply and demand abroad for commodities, not U.S. monetary policy, are…
North America contains a huge portion of global hydrocarbons, when unconventionals are taken into account. As the price of oil creeps ever higher over time, engineers and technologists are developing…
If I bake a batch of cookies and the recipe calls for two cups of flour, but I have only one, it is pretty clear that I can’t bake a…
BP plans to invest $1 billion in 2011 in its renewable energy business, roughly the same amount it invested last year. During the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, BP CEO Bob…
The small Gulf state of Qatar has translated economic assets and creative diplomacy into extraordinary global influence. But the eclipse of regional giants such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia is…
Last week I warned of a flare-up in Egypt and a reversal in oil and gold. The media are transmitting pictures of street scenes in Egypt that for the most…