Colombia’s Controversial Oil And Gas Exploration Ban Explained

When left-wing Colombian President Gustavo Petro came into power at the beginning of the year, he pledged that he would bring an end to new oil and gas exploration. But as the months go by, some believe he should rethink this approach, putting Colombia’s economy ahead of the green transition. Petro announced in January that he would not be approving any new oil and gas exploration projects and aimed to move Colombia away from its reliance on fossil fuels in favour of clean energy. Irene Vélez, the minister for mines, stated at…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Colombias-Controversial-Oil-And-Gas-Exploration-Ban-Explained.html

U.S. Shale Oil Production Growth Getting Increasingly Difficult: Report

The average U.S. shale output per well may have doubled over the past decade, but those crazy growth days are now behind us, according to a new report released on Tuesday by Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR), a subsidiary of Enverus. “The U.S. shale industry has been massively successful, roughly doubling the production out of the average oil well over the last decade, but that trend has slowed in recent years,” said Dane Gregoris, the reports author and managing director at EIR. The production decline curves—or the rate at…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-Shale-Oil-Production-Growth-Getting-Increasingly-Difficult-Report.html

Black Sea Trade Nexus Could Boost Georgia’s Geopolitical Position

In the 20 years that Data Gabelia has worked at the Hotel Anaklia, he’s seen the fortunes of the Black Sea resort town of 1,500 people rise and fall.In the 2000s, he saw money pour into Anaklia as then-President Mikheil Saakashvili sought to turn it into a top vacation destination as part of a development push.After Saakashvili lost power in 2012, the new government abandoned the bold plans for Anaklia, leaving behind a string of half-built structures and abandoned beachside hotels and restaurants.Since then, the town has toyed with transforming…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/International/Black-Sea-Trade-Nexus-Could-Boost-Georgias-Geopolitical-Position.html

U.S. Pipeline Gas Exports To Mexico Hit A Record-High

The United States exported record-high volumes of natural gas via pipelines to Mexico in June 2023, beating the previous record from June 2021, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday. America’s pipeline gas exports to Mexico averaged a record high of 6.8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) for June 2023, per data from Wood Mackenzie cited by the EIA. This was 0.1 Bcf/d higher than the previous record set in June 2021, due to increased demand in Mexico’s power sector. On nine days in June 2023, U.S.…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-Pipeline-Gas-Exports-To-Mexico-Hit-A-Record-High.html

New Mexico Looks To Become A Renewable Powerhouse

New Mexico is naturally endowed with several clean energy sources including wind and solar, as well as geothermal resources, which makes it highly attractive for renewable energy projects. The state ranks second in the U.S. for potential solar energy production and tenth in wind energy potential. The government of New Mexico hopes to advance the region’s role in clean energy and expects renewable energy leasing to be significant in the coming years.  This month, President Joe Biden visited the site of a former Solo cup factory…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Renewable-Energy/New-Mexico-Looks-To-Become-A-Renewable-Powerhouse.html

Robotaxis Clog Streets Of San Francisco In Major Traffic Jam

Turns out that driverless robotaxis still may not be ready for primetime. A shining example of this revelation came from California this week where, one day after the state implemented a massive expansion of the robotaxis, it was faced with a 10-car driverless traffic jam in San Francisco.  The 10 taxies “blocked two narrow streets in the center of the city’s lively North Beach bar and restaurant district”, according to a report from Yahoo Finance, which said the robotaxis “might as well have been boulders” because nobody knew how to…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Robotaxis-Clog-Streets-Of-San-Francisco-In-Major-Traffic-Jam.html

Russia And Ukraine Trade Blame Over Outages At Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant

The fate of the massive nuclear power plant in the crosshairs of Europe’s largest war in decades has made for worrisome headlines since Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly 18 months ago. As fighting intensifies not far from the plant, fears of a disaster have not abated. On August 10, the main power line delivering electricity to the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant was disconnected twice, forcing it to rely on its last remaining off-site power line. The main line was reconnected by evening. In the meantime, though, Ukraine’s…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Russia-And-Ukraine-Trade-Blame-Over-Outages-At-Zaporizhzhya-Nuclear-Plant.html

Russia To Raise Oil Export Duty To Highest This Year

Russia’s Finance Ministry has set its oil export levy at $21.40 per ton starting in September—the highest level this year—as the state tries to lift oil-derived income as oil prices rise, Bloomberg stated on Tuesday. That works out to about $2.92 per barrel. Russia’s budget relies in no small part on money derived from taxes from crude oil. And now more than ever, Russia’s budget is being sapped by its long-running “special military operation” in Ukraine, as well as by Western sanctions, price caps, and…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Russia-To-Raise-Oil-Export-Duty-To-Highest-This-Year.html

Recycling Breakthrough Makes Plastic Waste A High-Value Commodity

The world is awash in waste plastic. Wind blows it across everyone’s property. Its value is so low that no good program exists to drive the recycling effort past 10%. Although many Americans dutifully deposit their plastic trash into the appropriate bins each week, many of those materials, including flexible films, multilayer materials and a lot of colored plastics, are not recyclable using conventional mechanical recycling methods. In the end, only about 9 percent of plastic in the United States is ever reused, often in low-value products.…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Recycling-Breakthrough-Makes-Plastic-Waste-A-High-Value-Commodity.html

Premier Claims Alberta Will Never Comply With Canada’s Clean Power Proposal

The oil and gas-rich province of Alberta will never comply with a plan by the federal government of Canada to achieve net-zero emissions from the electricity grid by 2035, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said. Last week, Canada’s federal government proposed clean electricity regulations which were developed under three principles: maximize greenhouse gas reductions to achieve net-zero emissions from the electricity grid by 2035; maintain electricity affordability for Canadians and businesses; and maintain grid reliability to support a…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Premier-Claims-Alberta-Will-Never-Comply-With-Canadas-Clean-Power-Proposal.html

Macro Concerns Kill Off Oil Price Rally

Weaker-than-expected economic data out of China is depressing sentiment on the oil market at the beginning of this week, offsetting growing optimism that the U.S. economy would pull off a soft landing after all the rate hikes from the Fed.   Analysts and forecasting agencies expect a tightening market ahead with record global oil demand and curtailed supply from OPEC+ and Saudi Arabia. Macroeconomic concerns about the world’s largest and second-largest economies, the U.S. and China, respectively, persist. But fundamentals are turning more…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Macro-Concerns-Kill-Off-Oil-Price-Rally.html

Libya’s Oil Output Threatened As Intense Fighting Breaks Out In Tripoli

Libya saw overnight its worst clashes in the capital Tripoli so far this year, sparking concerns about battles spilling over to the OPEC member’s oil-producing and exporting infrastructure.   The most powerful and heavily armed factions in Tripoli fought in several districts of the Libyan capital on Monday evening and Tuesday morning local time, with casualties reported.   Following months of almost no incidents and clashes in Tripoli, one of the factions, the Special Deterrence Force, seized the commander Mahmoud Hamza from…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Libyas-Oil-Output-Threatened-As-Intense-Fighting-Breaks-Out-In-Tripoli.html

Russia’s Rouble Crisis: Central Bank Hikes Rates To 12%

Russia’s central bank unexpectedly hiked its key interest rate by 350 basis points to 12% on Tuesday, an emergency move to try and halt the rouble’s recent plunge after a public call from the Kremlin for tighter monetary policy. This was the second straight increase and the sharpest since the start of the of Ukraine war almost 18 months ago. The emergency meeting came after the rouble tumbled past the 100 threshold against the dollar on Monday, dragged down by the impact of Western sanctions on Russia’s balance of trade and as military spending…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Finance/the-Economy/Russias-Rouble-Crisis-Central-Bank-Hikes-Rates-To-12.html

APA In Talks About Floating LNG Site Offshore Guyana-Suriname

APA Corp, which has made several oil discoveries offshore Suriname, is in discussions about the possibility to install an LNG platform offshore Suriname and neighboring Guyana, APA Vice President Gary Clark said at an energy conference this week. APA seeks to re-inject the natural gas, the byproduct of oil offshore Suriname, under the surface in the medium term, and could look to export it as LNG in the long term, Clark said at the conference in Denver, as carried by Bloomberg. APA Corp. partners with French supermajor TotalEnergies in Suriname,…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/APA-In-Talks-About-Floating-LNG-Site-Offshore-Guyana-Suriname.html

Oil Prices Under Pressure As China’s Economic Woes Worsen

Disappointing economic data out of China weighed on oil prices on Tuesday morning, with markets unsure if current government intervention is enough to rejuvenate the country’s economy.Chart of the Week- In the three months since Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu scrapped the country’s $10 billion fuel subsidy, the African country’s gasoline demand has halved to 35-40 million liters amidst tripling gas prices.- With this, one of the key gasoline export outlets of European gasoline has greatly shrunk in volume and the upcoming launch…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Oil-Prices-Under-Pressure-As-Chinas-Economic-Woes-Worsen.html

Dow slides more than 300 points, breaking a 3-day win streak, as bank names tumble: Live updates

U.S. stocks fell Tuesday, as concerns on the financial sector and weak Chinese economic data weighed on the market.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/14/stock-market-today-live-updates.html

Regional banks slide after Fed’s Kashkari advocates ‘significantly further’ capital regulation

The Minneapolis Fed president favors getting tougher on regional banks, following a crisis earlier this year that he said may not be over.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/15/regional-banks-slide-after-feds-kashkari-advocates-significantly-further-capital-regulation.html

Hindenburg Research targets $4.6 billion Kazakh brokerage for allegedly helping Russian oligarchs evade sanctions

Kazakhstan’s Freedom Holding is helping Russian oligarchs evade sanctions and launder funds, according to a report from short seller Hindenburg Research.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/15/hindenburg-research-says-freedom-holding-helps-russians-evade-sanction.html

Trump indictment live updates: Ex-president faces 20 years in prison for racketeering charge

Fulton County DA Fani Willis opened the probe in February 2021, weeks after it was revealed that Trump urged Georgia’s secretary of state to “find” votes.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/14/live-updates-trump-indicted-on-rico-charges-in-georgia-election-probe.html

A.I. startup founder charged with defrauding investors, manipulating documents

Michael Brackett defrauded an investor and manipulated financials to raise money for his artificial intelligence startup, Manhattan prosecutors alleged.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/15/tech-founder-pumped-revenue-to-defraud-venture-investors-prosecutors.html

Poseidon Dynamic Cannabis ETF to close as investors lose interest in marijuana industry

The Poseidon Dynamic Cannabis ETF is closing up shop and cashing out to its shareholders nearly two years after it launched and following a sharp drop.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/15/poseidon-dynamic-cannabis-etf-to-close-as-investor-interest-wanes.html

Jana Partners loaded up on little-known defense stocks in second quarter

Barry Rosenstein’s investment firm placed new bets on two little-known defense stocks in the second quarter and also added to a home health services holding.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/15/jana-partners-snapped-up-little-known-defense-stock-in-second-quarter-.html

Fitch warns it may be forced to downgrade dozens of banks, including JPMorgan Chase

Fitch Ratings warned that U.S. banks have inched closer to sweeping rating downgrades on dozens of lenders, including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/15/fitch-warns-it-may-be-forced-to-downgrade-dozens-of-banks.html

Sam Bankman-Fried faces new campaign finance charge: CNBC Crypto World

CNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what’s ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today’s show, Arca CIO Jeff Dorman weighs in on what’s currently driving crypto prices.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/08/15/sam-bankman-fried-faces-new-campaign-finance-charge-cnbc-crypto-world.html

Traditional TV usage drops below 50% for first time ever

Broadcast and cable TV usage dropped below 50% for the first time ever, according to recent findings from Nielsen.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/15/traditional-tv-usage-drops-below-50percent-for-first-time-ever.html

Sage Steele departs ESPN following lawsuit settlement

Longtime ESPN SportsCenter anchor Sage Steele is exiting the network after a lawsuit settlement.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/15/sage-steele-departs-espn-following-lawsuit-settlement-.html

Your iPhone battery life is probably getting worse. Here’s what to do.

There’s an easy way to check to see how much capacity your iPhone battery has lost.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/15/iphone-battery-life-worse-than-when-you-bought-it-what-to-do.html

Homebuilder sentiment drops sharply, as mortgage rates surge over 7%

A recent jump in mortgage rates has taken the steam out of recent gains in homebuilder sentiment.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/15/homebuilder-sentiment-drops-mortgage-rates-surge.html

Silver Price Inexcusably Low Given The Market Dynamics

Authored by Michael Maharrey via SchiffGold.com,

Silver is significantly undervalued right now. One analyst called the current price in the $22 an ounce range “inexcusably low.”

But many analysts are bullish on silver in the medium term with projections of prices climbing to $50 to $100 an ounce over the next two to five years.

The question is when will we finally start to see this correction?

Silver has languished in 2023. While gold is up over 4% on the year, the price of silver has declined by over 5%.

We can see the growing spread between silver and gold in the silver-gold ratio, currently running at over 84-1. That means it takes over 84 ounces of silver to buy one ounce of gold. To put the current ratio into perspective, the average in the modern era has been between 40:1 and 50:1.

Historically, the ratio has always returned to that mean. And when it doe …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/silver-price-inexcusably-low-given-market-dynamics

“They Are Lying Every Day”: Backlash As China Stops Releasing Data On Soaring Youth Unemployment

As we reported in July, China’s youth unemployment in prior months reached new record highs against a backdrop of disappointing second quarter GDP growth. China’s jobless rate for 16-to-24-year-olds surpassed 20% in June for the first time (at 21.3%, compare this to 12% just before the pandemic), with the next round of data out this week showing the official national figures had risen to 5.3% in July.

But now it seems in classic CCP fashion the “solution” is to simply make these troublesome figures disappear.

And so, the overseers of the world’s second-largest economy are taking firm steps to do more to shore up confidence the only way they know how – Beijing will now stop releasing youth unemployment figures altogether.

AFP/Getty ImagesA government …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/they-are-lying-every-day-backlash-china-stops-releasing-data-soaring-youth-unemployment

DOJ Says Hunter Biden’s Lawyers Lying About ‘Valid And Binding’ Plea Deal

Update (1425ET): The Justice Department refuted Hunter Biden’s legal team on Tuesday, denying that the First Son’s plea deal and pretrial diversion agreement are in effect.

Contained within a footnote of a Monday filing, Hunter’s legal team claimed that his plea deal and diversion agreement were “largely dictated” by DOJ prosecutors, and that it’s still “valid and binding,” and that the government said in court that the agreement was “in effect,” and stands apart from Hunter’s now-dead plea deal.

The DOJ denies this, writing in a Tuesday filing reported by the Daily Caller: “The Government never said the proposed diversion agreement was in effect because it is not,” accor …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/hunter-bidens-lead-criminal-defense-attorney-asks-withdraw-case

Turley: The Fourth Indictment Of Donald Trump & The Criminalization Of Election Controversies

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

Below is my column in The Messenger on the Georgia indictment. As expected, the indictment is a sweeping racketeering based prosecution involving former president Donald Trump and the 18 other defendants. The scope of the alleged conspiracy is massive.  “The call” is one of those steps but the famous line that has occupied hours of coverage (and led to the investigation) is not the central allegation. Indeed, every call, speech, and tweet appears a criminal step in the conspiracy.

District Attorney Fani Willis appears to have elected to charge everything and everyone and let God sort them out.

Here is the column from yesterday before the release of the indictment:

“Oh Georgia, no peace I find (no peace I find).”

…

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/turley-fourth-indictment-donald-trump-criminalization-election-controversies

Rail fares in England to rise below inflation again in 2024

Fare increases in 2024 will again be held below the rate of inflation, says government.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66514022?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Interest-only mortgages: Warning against over-optimism in clearing debts

Some people do not realise they might not be able to clear their final debt, research suggests.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66510157?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Wage surge raises prospect of further interest rate hike

Regular pay grew at 7.8% but the data has increased the possibility of another interest rate rise.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66501937?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Breakout Stocks: Motilal Oswal, Aurobindo Pharma and ESAB India rise 15-25% in a month. How should you trade on Wednesday?

Stocks that were in focus include names like Motilal Oswal which closed with gains of over 3%, Aurobindo Pharma which rose over 1% to a fresh 52-week high and ESAB India which settled 3% higher on Monday.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/breakout-stocks-motilal-oswal-aurobindo-pharma-and-esab-india-rise-15-25-in-a-month-how-should-you-trade-on-wednesday/articleshow/102746466.cms

From Gen Z to senior citizens, Nilesh Shah’s guide for creating the right portfolio

“Sourav Ganguly was Maharaja of the off side but not necessarily that great a player on the on side. But he developed that onside in order to become a successful player. If he had remained Maharaja of the off side, then he would not have been as successful cricketer as he was. We need to be mimicking Sourav Ganguly in mastering the on side.”

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/expert-view/from-gen-z-to-senior-citizens-nilesh-shahs-guide-for-creating-the-right-portfolio/articleshow/102740063.cms

These 10 companies have zero promoter pledges. Do you own any?

​While pledging of securities by promoters is a way of accessing funds, past experiences have created a negative sentiment around the instrument.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/these-10-companies-have-zero-promoter-pledges-do-you-own-any/articleshow/102741465.cms

The Ratings Game: Why is Palo Alto Networks reporting earnings Friday afternoon? The strange timing draws speculation.

Wall Street wonders why the cybersecurity company decided to report earnings and hold its conference call after the close of markets on a Friday.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-724A-61C55E78D93A%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Futures Movers: U.S. oil price ends nearly 2% lower on China worries

Oil futures end lower Tuesday, feeling pressure after another round of weak economic data out of China.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7249-BB79A2EF8563%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

MarketWatch: On the streets of San Francisco, will robotaxis run amok or aground?

Last week, state regulators voted to allow Cruise and Waymo to operate an unlimited number of driverless cars on San Franciso’s streets.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-724A-231E9C914E0E%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1