The oil price rally has reversed again thanks to unrelenting short-selling by money managers. Brent crude futures for December delivery were trading at $77.24/barrel at 11.40 am ET on Thursday, while WTI crude was changing hands at $73.72/barrel.  That marks a sharp fall from last Monday’s 2-month high of $81.12 for Brent and $77.91 for WTI crude.  The rally was triggered by Washington’s indication that Israel could strike Iran’s oil facilities.  Short sellers increased their bearish bets against S&P 500 oil…

China has just unveiled what it claims is the biggest and most powerful floating offshore wind turbine in the only segment of renewable energy where it is not the global leader. China’s leading train maker, CRRC Corporation Limited (CRRC), has said that the new turbine, with a power generating capacity of 20 megawatts (MW), has rolled off the production line in Yancheng city, news agency Xinhua reports. To compare, the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm currently in operation, Hywind Tampen in the Norwegian part of the North…

African countries are planning to launch their own financing vehicle for oil and gas projects in the face of growing pressure from Western financial institutions to abandon the development of these resources. The group of 18 states needs $5 billion to kickstart what it calls an energy bank. They call themselves the African Petroleum Producers Organization, according to a recent report in the Financial Times that said African resource-rich countries have grown frustrated with Western banks' refusal to lend money for the development of oil and gas…

Baiju Bhatt, one of the co-founders of the investing app Robinhood, has debuted the space solar power company Aetherflux. The startup plans to build a constellation of Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites that will use infrared lasers to transmit power to small ground stations on Earth. However, the company has not divulged the specifics about its satellite plans.  “Space solar power can revolutionize energy distribution, especially where delivering power is expensive, challenging, or dangerous. Powering hard-to-reach places like remote…

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has suggested that Elon Musk was not invited to the government’s international investment summit due to his tendency to avoid such events.  Previous reports suggested Musk, the owner of X and Tesla, was omitted from the guest list following controversial social media comments he made regarding Britain’s summer riots, where he controversially claimed civil war was “inevitable.” In response to the snub, Musk recently said on X: “I don’t think anyone should go to the…

The oil price rally has reversed again thanks to a bearish economic report coming from China. China’s inflation data for September showed that consumer prices increased by a modest 0.4%, falling short of economist expectations of 0.6%. This marked the slowest price increase in three months, Reuters noted in its report. Whereas lower consumer prices are normally considered bullish for oil prices, the experts are interpreting China’s slowing inflation as a reflection of weaker demand that will continue to weaken as inflation slows. “China…

The oil price rally has reversed again thanks to a bearish economic report coming from China. China’s inflation data for September showed that consumer prices increased by a modest 0.4%, falling short of economist expectations of 0.6%. This marked the slowest price increase in three months, Reuters noted in its report. Whereas lower consumer prices are normally considered bullish for oil prices, the experts are interpreting China’s slowing inflation as a reflection of weaker demand that will continue to weaken as inflation slows. “China…

The oil price rally has reversed again thanks to a bearish economic report coming from China. China’s inflation data for September showed that consumer prices increased by a modest 0.4%, falling short of economist expectations of 0.6%. This marked the slowest price increase in three months, Reuters noted in its report. Whereas lower consumer prices are normally considered bullish for oil prices, the experts are interpreting China’s slowing inflation as a reflection of weaker demand that will continue to weaken as inflation slows. “China…

Investors have poured billions into AI-related companies, but adoption is moving slowly across American firms. According to the Census Bureau, just 5% of American businesses have used AI to produce goods and services over the last two weeks, highlighting that market enthusiasm is not yet matching the real economy. Despite this slow progress, AI has the potential to boost productivity across a wide scope of industries, from energy to transportation. This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, shows AI’s effect on industry margins…

Brazil’s state-owned oil and gas multinational Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE:PBR), aka Petrobras, has lowered capital expenditure (capex) for 2025 to $17 billion from an earlier estimate of $21 billion. According to the company, the lower capex is more realistic and in-line with its financial wherewithal. In its latest strategic plan, Petrobras plans to invest $102 billion in the 2024-2028 period, good for a 31% increase over the previous plan amid pressure from Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for the firm to ramp up…

Brazil’s state-owned oil and gas multinational Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE:PBR), aka Petrobras, has lowered capital expenditure (capex) for 2025 to $17 billion from an earlier estimate of $21 billion. According to the company, the lower capex is more realistic and in-line with its financial wherewithal. In its latest strategic plan, Petrobras plans to invest $102 billion in the 2024-2028 period, good for a 31% increase over the previous plan amid pressure from Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for the firm to ramp up…

Brazil’s state-owned oil and gas multinational Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE:PBR), aka Petrobras, has lowered capital expenditure (capex) for 2025 to $17 billion from an earlier estimate of $21 billion. According to the company, the lower capex is more realistic and in-line with its financial wherewithal. In its latest strategic plan, Petrobras plans to invest $102 billion in the 2024-2028 period, good for a 31% increase over the previous plan amid pressure from Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for the firm to ramp up…

Investors have poured billions into AI-related companies, but adoption is moving slowly across American firms. According to the Census Bureau, just 5% of American businesses have used AI to produce goods and services over the last two weeks, highlighting that market enthusiasm is not yet matching the real economy. Despite this slow progress, AI has the potential to boost productivity across a wide scope of industries, from energy to transportation. This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, shows AI’s effect…

After three years of shutdown over rampant theft and related damage, Nigerian independent producer Belemaoil Producing has resumed operations at Oil Mining Lease 55, Reuters reported on Monday, citing the company. Located about 40 km west of the Bonny oil export terminal, Belemaoil acquired OML 55 from Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) in 2015. However, the company was forced to suspend operations in 2021 due to persistent oil theft.  According to the company, the block contains five oil fields that produce about 14,000 bpd as well as more than 70…

Bosses at five of the world’s biggest banks, along with a host of insurers, private equity firms and tech giants, have backed a push to invest in the UK ahead of the government’s flagship investment summit today. More than a dozen executives signed a letter stating that they were optimistic about the future of the British economy in the Times today, stating that it was “time to invest in Britain”. Banking signatories included Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon, Bank of America international president Bernard Mensah,…

In the latest geopolitical escalation this month, China began military drills in the Taiwan Strait on Monday, dispatching army, navy, air force, and rocket force troops to the democratically-governed Taiwan, drawing rebukes from the U.S. and the EU. The joint drills of the various forces of China’s military focused on “sea-air combat-readiness patrol, blockade on key ports and areas, assault on maritime and ground targets, as well as joint seizure of comprehensive superiority, so as to test the joint operations capabilities of the theater…

In the latest geopolitical escalation this month, China began military drills in the Taiwan Strait on Monday, dispatching army, navy, air force, and rocket force troops to the democratically-governed Taiwan, drawing rebukes from the U.S. and the EU. The joint drills of the various forces of China’s military focused on “sea-air combat-readiness patrol, blockade on key ports and areas, assault on maritime and ground targets, as well as joint seizure of comprehensive superiority, so as to test the joint operations capabilities of the theater…

In the latest geopolitical escalation this month, China began military drills in the Taiwan Strait on Monday, dispatching army, navy, air force, and rocket force troops to the democratically-governed Taiwan, drawing rebukes from the U.S. and the EU. The joint drills of the various forces of China’s military focused on “sea-air combat-readiness patrol, blockade on key ports and areas, assault on maritime and ground targets, as well as joint seizure of comprehensive superiority, so as to test the joint operations capabilities of the theater…

Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, warned Friday that “treacherous” geopolitical conditions might have a profound impact on the global economy and “the course of history.” “There is significant human suffering, and the outcome of these situations could have far-reaching effects on both short-term economic outcomes and more importantly on the course of history,” Dimon said in the bank’s third-quarter results release. He said his bank has been “closely monitoring the geopolitical situation…

OPEC’s crude oil production slumped by 604,000 barrels per day (bpd) in September compared to August, as Libya’s output was largely halted amid a political standoff and Iraq moved to improve compliance with the OPEC+ cuts. All 12 OPEC producers pumped on average 26.04 million bpd of crude last month, down by 604,000 bpd from August, due to a 410,000 bpd plunge in Libyan output, OPEC’s Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) showed on Monday. Libya, which is exempted from the OPEC+ agreement, saw its average production slump to 540,000…