Oil climbs back over $60. Ruble stable at 50 to 1?

[KevinNYC]

Fighting has picked up in Libya leading to uncertainty about Libyan supply. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-29/oil-climbs-as-libyan-output-threatened-by-fire-at-storage-tanks.html)

Russia has ordered its main oil and gas companies to sell rubles to stabilize the ruble. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-23/ruble-gains-3rd-day-on-report-exporters-ordered-to-sell-revenue.html)

So far it seems to have worked as the ruble is about 53 to the dollar down from almost 80 to the dollar.

[dunksby]

Fighting has picked up in Libya leading to uncertainty about Libyan supply. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-29/oil-climbs-as-libyan-output-threatened-by-fire-at-storage-tanks.html)

Russia has ordered its main oil and gas companies to sell rubles to stabilize the ruble. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-23/ruble-gains-3rd-day-on-report-exporters-ordered-to-sell-revenue.html)

So far it seems to have worked as the ruble is about 53 to the dollar down from almost 80 to the dollar.
Arab spring messing up NATO plans for Russia, Saudis are the ones with most to lose though.

[KevinNYC]

Arab spring messing up NATO plans for Russia, Saudis are the ones with most to lose though.
What plans?

Arab spring?

[KevinNYC]

Here's the prediction of 50 to 1. (http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2014/12/27/russian-ruble-to-stabilize-in-january-govt-official-predicts/) [QUOTE][B]Russia

[dunksby]

What plans?

Arab spring?
Libya insurgency and NATO trying to bring down Russian economy?

[KevinNYC]

Falling trends continue. (http://www.businessinsider.com/wti-breaks-50-a-barrel-january-5-2015-1#ixzz3NxwcglAp) US oil hits $50 a barrel! 2009 financial crisis levels


West Texas Intermediate crude oil just broke $50 for the first time since April 2009.

In late morning trade on Monday, WTI briefly cracked $50, falling to as low as $49.95 for the first time in more than five and a half years.

Brent crude oil, used as the international benchmark, also cracked $53 a barrel, a new multi-year low.

On Monday alone, WTI crude prices are down nearly 5% as crude cannot seem to find a bottom after declining about 25% in December.

From its highs hit back in June 2014, WTI is now down more than 50% as crude has been in a bear market for the last several months.

Ruble is back up to 60 rubles to the dollar. I think Russia is going to have a bad month. If oil keeps dropping, the ruble probably will. They did a lot to prop it up in December and if it keeps dropping, yikes! The ratings on their debt will probably be cut again soon.

[KevinNYC]

Saudi Arabia vs Canada?
http://www.businessinsider.com/canada-and-saudi-arabia-are-in-an-oil-showdown-2015-1


Canada And Saudi Arabia Are In An Oil Showdown

As a test of wills between OPEC nations and US shale drillers fuels a global oil market slump, a brewing battle between Canadian and Saudi Arabia heavy crudes for America's Gulf Coast refinery market threatens to drive prices even lower.

Apparently, even without keystone XL a lot of pipelines have come online.
Large volumes of foreign heavy oil reaching the Gulf Coast will give many US refiners more choice after they have upgraded their systems to process cheaper, heavier crudes. The new supply also marks a breakthrough in Canada's years-long effort to bring its growing Alberta oil sands crude output to new markets.

Enbridge Inc's 600,000-bpd Flanagan South pipeline, which runs from Illinois down to the Cushing, Oklahoma, oil hub, began commercial service on Dec. 1; Enterprise Product Partner announced that its 450,000-bpd Seaway Twin pipeline from Oklahoma to Freeport, Texas, shipped its first volumes on Dec. 21.

That promises another quantum leap for Canadian crude after its US Gulf Coast sales already hit a record 274,000 bpd in October, nearly three times as much as a year earlier, according to US data.

The new flows will compete with other crudes as well. Some refiners see Saudi's medium crude as a more direct substitute for Mexican and Venezuelan crudes.

However, some refiners are likely to blend oil sands crude with overabundant super-light US condensate, creating medium blends that may rival Saudi Arabia's main grade, said Citi global commodities strategist Ed Morse. He warns the clash could set up another tumble in global prices.

The growing pressure on the Gulf market is already showing up in pricing and inventories.

[KobesFinger]

idk what any of this means so

The price of oil dropped and the Ruble (Russian currency) tanked because oil and energy accounts for around 1/5th of the Russian economy. Now that oil prices are climbing, the Ruble is stabilising.

[Godzuki]

they're all pretty fukked in the long run, especially countries like Russia and Venezuela. high oil prices for so long sealed their fate with the push towards alternative fuel sources. electric and hydrogen cars are the future even with low oil prices....natural gas > oil heaters....there was such a push towards alternative energy investment when oil prices were so high they fukked themselves. even competing car makers are collaborating to further electric/hydrogen tech and practicality.

that said oil will go back up IMO, not to over $100 but $80~ seems more reasonable. After that it will gradually decline after the market overreaction/correction in the long run. its going to be like cigarette companies.

[KevinNYC]

The price of oil dropped and the Ruble (Russian currency) tanked because oil and energy accounts for around 1/5th of the Russian economy. Now that oil prices are climbing, the Ruble is stabilising.

Actually that's not true yet. Oil and the Ruble had a slight uptick before the end of the year, but so far this, year, they are head down. The Ruble is not yet stable. it's 63 to 1 right now

Oil is stilling dropping like crazy. It's $49 a barrell as I type this.

A lot of people think that Russia bought a ton of rubles before New Year's to keep the price under $60 before the holiday, but with oil going down, the ruble probably will as well.

[longhornfan1234]

Putin says don't call it come back. :bowdown: :bowdown:

[KevinNYC]

How crazy are things? We are seeing headlines like this

Investors Freak As Saudi Inaction Could Sink Oil To $20 A Barrel. Time To Buy?

It used to be that OPEC controlled the world oil market while Saudi Arabia was the designated swing producer. But with the rise of new American oil, that has changed. Henceforth, it will be American oil producers that supply the world’s marginal, high-priced barrels, and American producers that will need to have the discipline (without collusion of course!) to keep from over drilling.

This reality hasn’t quite been accepted by oil companies still waiting for OPEC to take action and cut its own production. Which is why oil prices (and stocks) likely have another big leg down from here.

How far? At least $40. Maybe even $20.

[KevinNYC]

Putin says don't call it come back. :bowdown: :bowdown:
You may want to read my previous post. The ruble is not in the 50's and it's not stable.

[longhornfan1234]

You may want to read my previous post. The ruble is not in the 50's and it's not stable.


Oops... I didn't know your oringinal post is a week old.

[Droid101]

Oops... I didn't know your oringinal post is a week old.
Of course not. Why read and be informed when you can knee-jerk react to supporting a Communist Dictator.

[longhornfan1234]

Of course not. Why read and be informed when you can knee-jerk react to supporting a Communist Dictator.

I don't suppot Putin at all. I just wish Obama had Putin's toughness. World leaders are not scared of Obama and seem him as a weak man.

[Droid101]

I don't suppot Putin at all.
And yet any time he does anything, you cheer him on, and put down the President of the United States of America.

You're a traitor at worst, and just sort of a sleazy person at best.

[rufuspaul]

And yet any time he does anything, you cheer him on, and put down the President of the United States of America.

You're a traitor at worst, and just sort of a sleazy person at best.


Well you gotta admit he's a pretty hot dictator, especially with his shirt off.

[dunksby]

I don't suppot Putin at all. I just wish Obama had Putin's toughness. World leaders are not scared of Obama and seem him as a weak man.
Only Americans would think of their own president this way, Obama is considered a powerful man and is respected more than Bush.

[magic chiongson]

good time to get a V8?

[nightprowler10]

Nah man, time to get a hummer.

[rezznor]

Putin says don't call it come back. :bowdown: :bowdown:
you are a traitorous piece of shit

[Dresta]

Of course not. Why read and be informed when you can knee-jerk react to supporting a Communist Dictator.
Communist? :lol

You really know nothing about Russia right now, do you? And the unintended irony of you suggesting someone else take the time to inform themselves, oh dear!

What's funny is that as Western nations have become progressively undermined by Marxian dogma and childish conceptions of 'equality' and 'rights', Russia has actually gone back in the other direction, and is a hell of a lot more 'capitalist' than the United States currently is. They have a 13% income tax rate for example, and actually value the family as an institution, generally leaving child-rearing to parents rather than the state as we presently do. Sounds like the opposite of Communism to me. You should actually read Marx and some of his followers, then listen to contemporary political and socio-economic discourse, and you may realise how strongly the opinions and sentiments of the time have been fixed by the moralisers (and thus superficial thinkers) of the past.

Funny that none of you idiots care that this international criminality will be costing jobs and livelihoods around the world, including the US? Guess that's just more on welfare, eh? I know that's a good thing in the mind's of some deluded people. Dependency is good because it makes their own purposeless lives appear more meaningful (i.e. no purpose can be found in their own lives, so they find meaning in the lives of others, in 'helping' them - which actually means helping themselves through the medium of power and control). I can understand how this makes nobodies feel important and valuable, but come on, it's damn counterproductive and incompatible with the concept of democracy, where each man must stand on his own, lest it become nothing except the domination of the herd.

edit: also notice how no one appreciates that Russia was capable of raising its interest rates to 16% to combat this clandestine and coordinated international attack on their economy and currency. No one talks about this, why? Because Russia (unlike us) was actually running a sustainable model, didn't have to bail out its banking sector, hasn't socialised the losses of its citizens (again, unlike us). With the economic mess the US is currently in, imagine if they were attacked in such a way: they wouldn't even be able to raise interest rates above 1% to protect the dollar without defaulting on debt payments. This collusion is also an attempt to make Western powers appear in a less vulnerable than their moronic economic policies have made them.

It's also pretty amusing how people don't even see NATO and EU expansion as an imperial project, and jump up to support it as if it were some great democratic and humanistic expansion where concepts such as power and the annexation of territory have been struck from the dictionary. Every time Empire has been repudiated as a moral barbarism, it has mutated into a new form of Empire and a new expression of power, but is again blindly accepted by the credulous and unthinking masses.

[KevinNYC]

The price of Brent crude oil has fallen, further taking it to a new six-year low.

The price of a barrel of the North Sea benchmark dropped by 5.6% to $47.27, its lowest level since Spring 2009.

US crude oil was also at its lowest level since that time, down by 4.8% to $46.01 a barrel.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30775577

Russia just got a lousy credit report from Fitch. Bonds cut to one step above junk with further downgrades possible. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11337044/Russia-has-deteriorated-significantly-as-Fitch-cuts-credit-rating.html)
Fitch has downgraded Russia's credit rating and painted a horrific picture of a struggling economy rocked by a collapsing rouble, falling oil prices, high inflation and declining international reserves.
The ratings agency cut the country to BBB- from BBB with a negative outlook, meaning further downgrades are possible.
But it was the language Fitch used in its reasoning that was most shocking.
Russia's economic outlook "has deteriorated significantly" in just six months, Fitch stated. Gross Domestic Product will shrink 4pc this year, the agency added, far worse than the 1.5pc contraction it previously expected. "Growth may not return until 2017," Fitch said.

[KevinNYC]

http://zenrus.ru/

Oil is $48 a barrel.
Ruble is almost 65 to the Dollar.

The central Bank of Russia is shaking things up (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-14/bank-of-russia-picks-new-monetary-policy-chief-as-ruble-plunges.html)

Oil layoffs hitting Texas and elsewhere (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-14/gravy-train-derails-for-oil-patch-workers-laid-off-in-downturn.html)

Venezuela is just about in a crisis
http://i.guim.co.uk/media/w-860/h--/q-95/1c5e2cf56b8dc08cfea8af1c309388857ff5c35a/0_463_4104_2461/1000.jpg

Lines at supermarkets have gotten so bad, Venezuela has just made lining up at a supermarket after dark illegal.
[QUOTE]Governors in three Venezuelan states have banned overnight queuing amid huge and sometimes rowdy lines around shops across the scarcity-plagued country.

Shortages of basic consumer products from milk to toilet paper have worsened since a lull in distribution over the Christmas and New Year holidays, prompting many to wait from the early hours on foot - or in hammocks - before shops open.

The ubiquitous lines and frequent jostling for places when shop doors finally open are an embarrassment and irritation to Venezuelans across the political spectrum.

There have also been scattered protests and arrests.

[KevinNYC]

Venezuela not looking too good

There's a booming new profession in Venezuela: standing in line.

The job usually involves starting before dawn, enduring long hours under the Caribbean sun, dodging or bribing police, and then selling a coveted spot at the front of huge shopping lines.

As Venezuela's ailing economy spawns unprecedented shortages of basic goods, panic-buying and a rush to snap up subsidized food, demand is high and the pay is reasonable.

"It's boring but not a bad way to make a living," said a 23-year-old man, who only gave his first name Luis, as he held a spot near the front of a line of hundreds outside a state supermarket just after sunrise in Caracas.

Ukraine
The Ukraine war has just gotten real hot again with one of its bloodiest days. The Ukrainian President says there are 9,000 Russian troops within the Ukraine. There are fierce battles happening over the airport at Donetsk and then someone blew up a bus in Donestk. (http://news.yahoo.com/bus-shelling-ukraines-donetsk-kills-13-075026210.html)



Moscow and Kiev trade bitter blame for a trolleybus shelling in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk that killed 13 mostly elderly passengers.

Moscow called the incident a "crime against humanity" orchestrated by Kiev's pro-Western government, whose rise to power 11 months ago infuriated the Kremlin and prompted separatists to launch a revolt across the Russian-speaking industrial east.

Kiev for its part blamed the bus attack on "Russian terrorists" while monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe who raced to the site said all they could say for certain was that "the weapon used was most likely either a mortar or an artillery piece."

Monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) who raced to the site said all they could say for certain was that "the weapon used was most likely either a mortar or an artillery piece."

[KevinNYC]

BBC two days ago

Barely a week ago, there were hopes of an international peace summit for eastern Ukraine. Now, with fighting around Donetsk reaching an intensity not seen for a long time, the chances of such a breakthrough look increasingly slim.

Russia's deputy foreign minister talked on Monday of "serious consequences for Ukrainian statehood" following a surge in violence that has claimed increasing numbers of casualties.

[KevinNYC]

https://news.vice.com/article/shell-kills-at-least-13-civilians-in-donetsk-on-ukrainian-unity-day
Footage released on a pro-rebel television station NovoRossiya shows what appears to be a Ukrainian prisoner war being brought to the bloody scene of the bus shelling and surrounded by an angry crowd. Escorted by armed men and handcuffed the prisoner has a bruised face and remains silent as television crews and shouting locals surround him. Eventually he is bundled into a car and escorted away from the scene with his head bowed as enraged locals start kicking and punching him in the back and head.

Another 18 military prisoners were reportedly also taken to the scene, accompanied by the head of the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk Alexander Zakharchenko.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6TbpeZkwtI

[KevinNYC]

Christopher Miller @ChristopherJM

[Rodmantheman]

No one cares about Ukraine.

[KevinNYC]

More trouble for Russia.
[QUOTE]Russia

[KevinNYC]

So if Putin starts having problems at home, what actions will he take?

The Ukraine War just got real hot.
The Donetsk airport was the scene of heavy fighting last week.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/10/08/1412782277407_wps_41_The_main_terminal_of_Done.jpg

Civilians were shelled in the port city of Maripol. Check out the dashcam footage at the Wasington Post. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/ukraine-accuses-pro-russia-rebels-of-deadly-shelling-in-port-city-of-mariupol/2015/01/24/f33a574e-dbaf-4ebc-bff8-b71686dc77ad_story.html)

In Ukraine, pro-Russia rebels launch new offensive in port city of Mariupol

The key port city of Mariupol became the latest flash point of rapidly intensifying hostilities in eastern Ukraine on Saturday, as a barrage of rocket fire struck the area, killing dozens of civilians, and pro-Russian rebels announced a push toward the strategic coastal city that serves as Ukraine's last bastion of control in the region.

The onslaught on Mariupol, which separates Russia from its newly annexed territory of Crimea, comes just a day after pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk rejected an existing cease-fire agreement and pledged to press their offensive all the way to the borders of the region.

Saturday’s shelling sparked a fresh wave of outrage in Kiev and among its allies, who blame the rebels and Russia for the bloody event and warned that if Moscow did not withdraw support for the separatists, the West would step up already punishing pressure against Russia.

But the quick and dramatic escalation of hostilities and the silence from the Kremlin Saturday as at the death toll climbed — at least 30 civilians, according to city officials — suggests that neither sanctions, nor low oil prices, nor other economic difficulties are likely to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to heed Western demands to help end the conflict.

This shelling of civilians has led to calls for more sanctions (http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-europe-threaten-new-sanctions-against-moscow-1422210935) (which in addition to the credit cut was why the ruble has fallen.
U.S. and European leaders threatened new sanctions against Moscow after a missile attack blamed on pro-Russian separatists killed 30 civilians in the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the latest escalation in violence that has brought Kiev’s fight with rebels back toward full-scale war.

Russia reacted with defiance, blaming Kiev and its Western backers for the surge in fighting, but it also called for urgent talks on implementing a September cease-fire. Separatists backed off earlier threats of a broad offensive on Mariupol and other targets, but shelling along the contact line between the two sides was extremely heavy over the weekend, Ukrainian military officials said.

U.S. President Barack Obama said he was deeply concerned about the latest break in the cease-fire and escalating separatist aggression, saying he would continue to ratchet up pressure on Russia. “I will look at all additional options that are available to us short of a military confrontation in trying to address this issue,” the president said at a Sunday news conference in New Delhi.

The European Union, saying the rebels “bluntly refuse to observe” the cease-fire, called an emergency meeting of foreign ministers for Thursday to discuss a response.

Diplomats said it isn’t yet clear whether the West is unified enough to agree on substantial new sanctions against Russia. The latest explosion in violence came as a surprise, just as the EU had begun considering the conditions under which it could start to ease some limits on Russia. The U.S., meanwhile, is wary of taking major new steps without Europe’s support.

[KevinNYC]

off topic, but the FBI just arrested 3 men as Russian spies in NY.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/27/nyregion/3-charged-with-working-as-agents-for-russia-in-new-york.html

[KobesFinger]

[dunksby]

So if Putin starts having problems at home, what actions will he take?

The Ukraine War just got real hot.
The Donetsk airport was the scene of heavy fighting last week.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/10/08/1412782277407_wps_41_The_main_terminal_of_Done.jpg

Civilians were shelled in the port city of Maripol. Check out the dashcam footage at the Wasington Post. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/ukraine-accuses-pro-russia-rebels-of-deadly-shelling-in-port-city-of-mariupol/2015/01/24/f33a574e-dbaf-4ebc-bff8-b71686dc77ad_story.html)


This shelling of civilians has led to calls for more sanctions (http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-europe-threaten-new-sanctions-against-moscow-1422210935) (which in addition to the credit cut was why the ruble has fallen.
Man I have been to that airport when visiting Ukraine with my brother a few years ago, I was watching BBC air footage of it last week, shocking and depressing scene. And it was named after a musician too, you can still make out the name in that photo "Prokofiev".

[KevinNYC]

Oh nooooooooo the evil Russians again! Quick everyone hide under the table :oldlol: :oldlol:

Meanwhile unmanned American drones just killed a bunch of civilians in Pakistan and Yemen, and American trained and financed ISIS Islamists just chopped off the heads of 12 Iraqi teenagers who dared watch a football game on tv.

The world knows who the real evil empire is. The one with hundreds of military bases around the world. The one who spends more on defense then the rest of the world combined. The ones supporting a puppet Fascist Neo-Nazi government in Western Ukraine while they bomb their own cities and civilians.
So how does this work? Do you submit an invoice afterwards or you have a flat rate?

[nathanjizzle]

Communist? :lol

You really know nothing about Russia right now, do you? And the unintended irony of you suggesting someone else take the time to inform themselves, oh dear!

What's funny is that as Western nations have become progressively undermined by Marxian dogma and childish conceptions of 'equality' and 'rights', Russia has actually gone back in the other direction, and is a hell of a lot more 'capitalist' than the United States currently is. They have a 13% income tax rate for example, and actually value the family as an institution, generally leaving child-rearing to parents rather than the state as we presently do. Sounds like the opposite of Communism to me. You should actually read Marx and some of his followers, then listen to contemporary political and socio-economic discourse, and you may realise how strongly the opinions and sentiments of the time have been fixed by the moralisers (and thus superficial thinkers) of the past.

Funny that none of you idiots care that this international criminality will be costing jobs and livelihoods around the world, including the US? Guess that's just more on welfare, eh? I know that's a good thing in the mind's of some deluded people. Dependency is good because it makes their own purposeless lives appear more meaningful (i.e. no purpose can be found in their own lives, so they find meaning in the lives of others, in 'helping' them - which actually means helping themselves through the medium of power and control). I can understand how this makes nobodies feel important and valuable, but come on, it's damn counterproductive and incompatible with the concept of democracy, where each man must stand on his own, lest it become nothing except the domination of the herd.

edit: also notice how no one appreciates that Russia was capable of raising its interest rates to 16% to combat this clandestine and coordinated international attack on their economy and currency. No one talks about this, why? Because Russia (unlike us) was actually running a sustainable model, didn't have to bail out its banking sector, hasn't socialised the losses of its citizens (again, unlike us). With the economic mess the US is currently in, imagine if they were attacked in such a way: they wouldn't even be able to raise interest rates above 1% to protect the dollar without defaulting on debt payments. This collusion is also an attempt to make Western powers appear in a less vulnerable than their moronic economic policies have made them.

It's also pretty amusing how people don't even see NATO and EU expansion as an imperial project, and jump up to support it as if it were some great democratic and humanistic expansion where concepts such as power and the annexation of territory have been struck from the dictionary. Every time Empire has been repudiated as a moral barbarism, it has mutated into a new form of Empire and a new expression of power, but is again blindly accepted by the credulous and unthinking masses.


nobody read this, its for your own good.

[Andrew Wiggins]

Oh nooooooooo the evil Russians again! Quick everyone hide under the table :oldlol: :oldlol:

Meanwhile unmanned American drones just killed a bunch of civilians in Pakistan and Yemen, and American trained and financed ISIS Islamists just chopped off the heads of 12 Iraqi teenagers who dared watch a football game on tv.

The world knows who the real evil empire is. The one with hundreds of military bases around the world. The one who spends more on defense then the rest of the world combined. The ones supporting a puppet Fascist Neo-Nazi government in Western Ukraine while they bomb their own cities and civilians.

:roll: :wtf:

[rezznor]

Oh nooooooooo the evil Russians again! Quick everyone hide under the table :oldlol: :oldlol:

Meanwhile unmanned American drones just killed a bunch of civilians in Pakistan and Yemen, and American trained and financed ISIS Islamists just chopped off the heads of 12 Iraqi teenagers who dared watch a football game on tv.

The world knows who the real evil empire is. The one with hundreds of military bases around the world. The one who spends more on defense then the rest of the world combined. The ones supporting a puppet Fascist Neo-Nazi government in Western Ukraine while they bomb their own cities and civilians.


have you ever written a post that didn't bash the US? why are you even on ish? i'm sure there are plenty of eastern european forums that would be more receptive to your beliefs.

[SexSymbol]

LPG dropped to 47 euro cents per liter in Lithuania, which is down like 40 percent from what it was before all this and my ****ing LPG system stopped working. Somebody up there doesn't love me

[KevinNYC]

Oil keeps falling
(http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-28/oil-falls-on-estimates-u-s-inventories-rose-to-3-decade-high)
Oil tumbled to the lowest in almost six years after a government report showed that U.S. crude inventories advanced to the highest level in data going back more than three decades.

Speculators are buying oil and just storing in tankers, hoping to sell it when the price rises.

Ruble keeps falling too. It's 69 to the dollar right now. Oil is a cause, but also politics as the EU is about to debate new sanctions on Russia (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31033924)

EU foreign ministers are due to meet in Brussels to discuss imposing further sanctions on Russia following an upsurge in fighting in east Ukraine.

The meeting was called after pro-Russian rebels attacked the port of Mariupol at the weekend.

The EU and the US have already slapped asset freezes and travel bans on Russian individuals and businesses as well as Ukrainian separatist leaders.

Nato says hundreds of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles are in east Ukraine.

Moscow denies direct involvement but says some Russian volunteers are fighting alongside the rebels.

BBC Europe Correspondent Damian Grammaticas says EU ministers will discuss fresh sanctions as well as extending the duration of existing measures.

EU leaders meeting on 12 February will have to confirm any new measures. They may also discuss possible new financial sanctions on Russia, co-ordinated with the US, our correspondent adds.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius told the BBC that European values were under attack in Ukraine.

[KevinNYC]

The BBC has an article on "maskirovka - the hallmark of Russian warfare and a word which translates as "something masked" or "a little masquerade"."



How Russia outfoxes it enemies (http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31020283)

In August Russian TV showed footage of water and baby food being loaded on to lorries heading for Ukraine's war zone. The Russian government called this humanitarian aid but many were more than a little suspicious. Nato already had plenty of intelligence about Russian air defence and artillery forces moving into Ukraine.

Maj Gen Davis calls the first convoy "a wonderful example of maskirovka" because it created something of a media storm. TV crews breathlessly followed the convoy, trying to find out what was really inside the green army trucks which had been hastily repainted white. Was this a classic Trojan horse operation to smuggle weapons to rebel militias? And would the Ukrainian authorities allow the convoy in?
"All the while at other border crossing points controlled by the Russians - not by the Ukrainians - equipment, personnel and troops were passing into Eastern Ukraine," says Davis. He sees the convoy as a clever "diversion or distraction".

The fog of war isn't something which just happens - it's something which can be manufactured. In this case the Western media were bamboozled, but the compliant Russian media has also worked hard to generate fog.

Ukrainian novelist Andrei Kurkov says he is constantly amazed by what he calls "the fantasy and imagination of Russian journalists". One of the most lurid stories broadcast on a Moscow TV channel claimed that a three-year-old boy in Sloviansk - a town in eastern Ukraine with a mostly Russian-speaking population - was crucified... for speaking Russian.

The TV report is still online. A blonde woman, her voice choked with emotion, tells a serious-looking Russian news reporter that the three-year-old child was nailed to a wooden notice board in front of his mother and died in agony. The mother she alleges, was then tied to a tank and dragged through the streets until she died. She adds that she is risking her life by talking but wants to protect children against Ukrainian soldiers who behave like beasts and fascists.

"The lady claimed she'd witnessed this horrible story in Sloviansk," says Kurkov. "But then she mentioned the name of the square where it happened and this square doesn't exist in Sloviansk. There's no such place."

As Kurkov says, the story doesn't stand up. It emerged that the woman eyewitness had a history of filing false police reports and her own parents said they thought she'd given the interview for money.
Peter Pomerantsev, who recently spent several years working on documentaries and reality shows for Russian TV, argues that Russian state media are not just distorting truth in Ukraine, they go much further, promoting a seductive nihilism.

"The Russian strategy, both at home and abroad, is to say there is no such thing as truth," he says.

"I mean, you know, 'The Americans are bad, we're bad, and everyone's bad, so what's the big deal about us being a bit corrupt? You know our democracy's a sham, their democracy's a sham.'

"It's a sort of cynicism that actually resonates very powerfully in the West nowadays with this lack of self-confidence after the Iraq War, after the financial crash - and that's what the Russians are hoping for, just to take that cynicism and then use that in a military environment."

[GimmeThat]

and Ben Affleck is Batman.

I'm dead serious.

[KevinNYC]

So Russian strategy is get news agencies distracted, set up a "humanitarian convoy" for the media to focus on while infiltrating your troops into the Ukraine from where the convoy and the media is. Or post, fake stories about children being crucified in the Ukraine.

Russian lawmakers are thinking of passing a resolution condemning an illegal annexation? Are they talking about Crimea in 2014? No, Germany in 1990.
Russia mulls censuring 'annexation' of East Germany, some 25 years late
Lawmakers in Russia are considering a proposal to condemn Germany's 1990 reunification, labeling it an "annexation" of the East by the West. ....

The speaker of the Russian parliament's lower house, Sergei Naryshkin, ordered lawmakers from its foreign affairs committee to consider the appeal arguing that the absorption of the post World War II communist state of East Germany - officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR) - into a reunified Germany in October 1990 was illegal.
"Unlike Crimea, a referendum was not conducted in the German Democratic Republic," said Nikolai Ivanov, who suggested the appeal.

From the BBC article above


Peter Pomerantsev, who recently spent several years working on documentaries and reality shows for Russian TV, argues that Russian state media are not just distorting truth in Ukraine, they go much further, promoting a seductive nihilism.

"The Russian strategy, both at home and abroad, is to say there is no such thing as truth," he says.

"I mean, you know, 'The Americans are bad, we're bad, and everyone's bad, so what's the big deal about us being a bit corrupt? You know our democracy's a sham, their democracy's a sham.'

"It's a sort of cynicism that actually resonates very powerfully in the West nowadays with this lack of self-confidence after the Iraq War, after the financial crash - and that's what the Russians are hoping for, just to take that cynicism and then use that in a military environment."

[KevinNYC]

Russia cut its Central Bank interest rate and the ruble spiked to 71 to the dollar. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-30/russia-unexpectedly-cuts-key-rate-as-economy-eclipses-ruble-pain) This was a surprise move and has the effect of giving less support to the ruble.

I think 70 to the dollar was the highest it was in December when there was a sense of crisis, so they have not found the bottom yet in this crisis.
Today’s “decision will bring more negatives than positives,” Vladimir Tikhomirov, chief economist at BCS Financial Group in Moscow, said by phone. “The rate cut is counterproductive because it goes counter to market expectations. So it’s only increasing pressure on the ruble and will provoke further acceleration of price growth.”


So the reason for the move is that Russia is now more worried about inflation that a weak ruble. (http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2015/01/30/russian-official-west-aims-to-turn-business-against-kremlin)
The central bank explained its decision to cut the rate from 17 percent to 15 percent by saying that the risks of an economic slowdown are now higher than the risks associated with the ruble's drop. The currency's 50 percent drop since the summer has caused a spike in inflation.

Higher interest rates can help a currency but also hurt economic growth by making loans more expensive.

Analysts said Friday's move was likely due to pressure by government officials and Russian businesses, which are suffering from the high rates.

The central bank said it expected inflation, currently at an annual 13 percent, to peak in the middle of the year and fall below 10 percent next year as the economy adjusts to the weaker ruble.

"Inflation and inflation expectations are expected to decrease," the bank said in a statement.

[KevinNYC]

Oil still under $50. This could be the longest decline in oil prices ever. (http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/30/us-markets-oil-idUSKBN0L305Q20150130)

Oil rose above $49 a barrel on Friday, supported by renewed violence in Iraq but with a persistent global supply glut keeping the market on course for a seventh straight month of declines, its longest bear run on record.

Benchmark Brent crude prices have kept within a band of $45-$50 a barrel since hitting a six-year low on Jan. 13, but analysts have not ruled out further declines as global inventories continue to rise.

Data this week showed U.S. crude oil inventories had reached their highest levels since the 1930s.

Effects are being felt everywhere. The situation is Venezuela is horrible.


Oil Cash Waning, Venezuelan Shelves Lie Bare (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/30/world/americas/strict-rationing-in-venezuela-as-plunging-oil-prices-hurt-economy.html?_r=0)

Even before oil prices tumbled, Venezuela was in the throes of a deep recession, with one of the world’s highest inflation rates and chronic shortages of basic items.

One of the nation’s most prestigious public hospitals shut down its heart surgery unit for weeks because of shortages of medical supplies. Some drugs have been out of stock for months, and at least one clinic performed heart operations only by smuggling in a vital drug from the United States. Diapers are so coveted that some shoppers carry the birth certificates of their children in case stores demand them.

Now economists predict that shortages will get even more acute and inflation, already 64 percent, will climb further. The price of Venezuelan oil dropped this month to $38 a barrel, down from $96 in September.

“Things are going to be even worse because oil keeps Venezuela going,” said Luis Castro, 42, a nurse, standing in line with hundreds of others at a grocery store. He had arrived with his wife and 6-year-old son at 6 a.m., but by 11:30 a.m., they had still not entered. “We’re getting used to standing on line,” he said, “and when you get used to something, they give you only crumbs.”

[KevinNYC]

Bankers See $1 Trillion of Zombie Investments Stranded in the Oil Fields (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-12-18/bankers-see-1-trillion-of-investments-stranded-in-the-oil-fields)


There are zombies in the oil fields.

After crude prices dropped 49 percent in six months, oil projects planned for next year are the undead -- still standing upright, but with little hope of a productive future. These zombie projects proliferate in expensive Arctic oil, deepwater-drilling regions and tar sands from Canada to Venezuela.
In a stunning analysis this week, Goldman Sachs found almost $1 trillion in investments in future oil projects at risk. They looked at 400 of the world’s largest new oil and gas fields -- excluding U.S. shale -- and found projects representing $930 billion of future investment that are no longer profitable with Brent crude at $70. In the U.S., the shale-oil party isn’t over yet, but zombies are beginning to crash it.
The chart below shows the break-even points for the top 400 new fields and how much future oil production they represent. Less than a third of projects are still profitable with oil at $70. If the unprofitable projects were scuttled, it would mean a loss of 7.5 million barrels per day of production in 2025, equivalent to 8 percent of current global demand.

http://media.gotraffic.net/images/iI6HCDorQkLo/v6/-1x-1.jpg

[Dresta]

So Russian strategy is get news agencies distracted, set up a "humanitarian convoy" for the media to focus on while infiltrating your troops into the Ukraine from where the convoy and the media is. Or post, fake stories about children being crucified in the Ukraine.

Russian lawmakers are thinking of passing a resolution condemning an illegal annexation? Are they talking about Crimea in 2014? No, Germany in 1990.

From the BBC article above
Jesus, looks like the BBC has thrown all pretences of objectivity overboard now. Why are you simply reposting mindless speculative propaganda about Russia's use of propaganda?

You're a mouthpiece of government propaganda tbh.

[zoom17]

Thousands of Ukrainian troops surrounded in Donbass.

http://i.gyazo.com/fba88773a9bc5191a3e6dbe8e581d39c.png

[Balla_Status]

I was all set up for a sweet job back in Texas (two weeks on/two weeks off) then got told due to the current market, they can't move forward with the position. Fortunately it was with a big company and they want me to work with them but can't currently hire me so it's good to have a contact like that for the future.

Layoffs are definitely happening in my part of the world and getting really bad in the USA. Getting really slow in Houston.

Schlumberger cutting 9k jobs, Baker Hughes cutting 7k and Halliburton cut 1k in the Eastern Hemisphere plus countless other jobs in the USA.

The easy oilfield money will no longer be had and you'll see tons of lifted pickups trucks in America for sale/repo'd. I'm still hanging around and I don't think I'll get laid off since I'm an engineer but I may be redeployed which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Tons of companies cutting the fat/unimportant jobs like environmental/safety guys. Lots of north american commuters to Australia are being told not to come back. Admin positions are being cut which means more work for engineers that isn't engineering.

Wouldn't mind it being slow since that means my job is more chill. If I get laid off, oh well. I got probably over a years money saved up. I can travel Central America for cheap and use my parents place as a day off. It's probably a good thing I'm working overseas as I'm away from the USA.

It's fun to play the, "who should get laid off" game. I already know of a couple. The # of petroleum engineering majors will now start to decrease.

[KevinNYC]

Getting really slow in Houston.

1/6 of all office space under construction is in Houston. It's about to grind to a halt. (http://www.wsj.com/articles/falling-oil-prices-threaten-houston-building-boom-1423594984)
[QUOTE]By the end of 2014, construction had started on about 80 buildings with about 18 million square feet of office space in the greater Houston area, according to CoStar. Many of the buildings were planned or started when oil was above $100 a barrel. On Tuesday, oil futures traded around $50. The amount under construction is equal to Kansas City, Mo.

[KevinNYC]

Venezeula has just eased up currency controls (http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/10/venezuela-economy-idUSL1N0VK17120150210)and will probably devalue their currency.


Venezuela on Tuesday launched a new foreign exchange platform that will likely devalue the bolivar heavily in efforts to bolster state coffers amid tumbling oil revenue, but risk a spike in already soaring inflation.

The change amounts to an easing of 12-year-old currency controls and marks a small step toward market economics as the state-led model created by late socialist leader Hugo Chavez struggles with shortages, swelling grocery lines and recession.

However, the changes by Nicolas Maduro's government do not eliminate the unwieldy three-tiered exchange structure seen by investors as the country's principal stumbling block to economic growth.

The change will likely lead to billions of dollars in write-downs by foreign corporations with exposure to Venezuela including General Motors Co, household goods maker Procter & Gamble Co and drugmaker Merck & Co Inc.

[boozehound]

I was all set up for a sweet job back in Texas (two weeks on/two weeks off) then got told due to the current market, they can't move forward with the position. Fortunately it was with a big company and they want me to work with them but can't currently hire me so it's good to have a contact like that for the future.

Layoffs are definitely happening in my part of the world and getting really bad in the USA. Getting really slow in Houston.

Schlumberger cutting 9k jobs, Baker Hughes cutting 7k and Halliburton cut 1k in the Eastern Hemisphere plus countless other jobs in the USA.

The easy oilfield money will no longer be had and you'll see tons of lifted pickups trucks in America for sale/repo'd. I'm still hanging around and I don't think I'll get laid off since I'm an engineer but I may be redeployed which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Tons of companies cutting the fat/unimportant jobs like environmental/safety guys. Lots of north american commuters to Australia are being told not to come back. Admin positions are being cut which means more work for engineers that isn't engineering.

Wouldn't mind it being slow since that means my job is more chill. If I get laid off, oh well. I got probably over a years money saved up. I can travel Central America for cheap and use my parents place as a day off. It's probably a good thing I'm working overseas as I'm away from the USA.

It's fun to play the, "who should get laid off" game. I already know of a couple. The # of petroleum engineering majors will now start to decrease.
yep. definitely a good time to buy ridiculous trucks out here in utah. I do not get the mindset of the oil/gasfield/miners in this area. It has always been a boom and bust cycle (coal has gone from ~7k jobs to ~700 in this area in the last 25 years), but when they have the jobs, they waste all their money on high-end trucks they can barely make payments on and toys like atvs/rvs. Then, they get laid off, and get all their shit repossessed or sell it at a loss. Very limited foresight (granted, most of them are not very educated and dont think about the future).

Its interesting seeing your very different attitude compared to when you were in CS (and shortly after that). Glad you are doing ok. As you say, as an engineer, you will probably weather this just fine.

[KevinNYC]

yep. definitely a good time to buy ridiculous trucks out here in utah. I do not get the mindset of the oil/gasfield/miners in this area. It has always been a boom and bust cycle (coal has gone from ~7k jobs to ~700 in this area in the last 25 years), but when they have the jobs, they waste all their money on high-end trucks they can barely make payments on and toys like atvs/rvs. Then, they get laid off, and get all their shit repossessed or sell it at a loss. Very limited foresight (granted, most of them are not very educated and dont think about the future).

Its interesting seeing your very different attitude compared to when you were in CS (and shortly after that). Glad you are doing ok. As you say, as an engineer, you will probably weather this just fine.
I work the rigs from three to midnight
on Corpus Crispi Bay
I get off I drink to daylight
sleep the morning away

I had a plan to take my wages
leave the rigs behind for good
but that life it contagious
and it gets down in your blood

I lived in Corpus with my Brother
we were on always on the run
We were bad for one another
we were good at having fun.

We got stoned along the seawall
We got drunk and rolled a car
We knew the girls at every dancehall
had a tab at every bar

If I had to live my life all over
It wouldn't matter anyway
because I could never stay sober
on the Corpus Cristi Bay.

[boozehound]

I work the rigs from three to midnight
on Corpus Crispi Bay
I get off I drink to daylight
sleep the morning away

I had a plan to take my wages
leave the rigs behind for good
but that life it contagious
and it gets down in your blood

I lived in Corpus with my Brother
we were on always on the run
We were bad for one another
we were good at having fun.

We got stoned along the seawall
We got drunk and rolled a car
We knew the girls at every dancehall
had a tab at every bar

If I had to live my life all over
It wouldn't matter anyway
because I could never stay sober
on the Corpus Cristi Bay.
Though I dont like REKjr as much as I used to, I still love this song!

[KevinNYC]

Though I dont like REKjr as much as I used to, I still love this song!

He's playing Brooklyn tonight. Just bought my ticket. He's touring behind a bluegrass album. Playing Imus's show tomorrow morning.

[boozehound]

He's playing Brooklyn tonight. Just bought my ticket. He's touring behind a bluegrass album. Playing Imus's show tomorrow morning.
sounds like fun. I saw him play with Danny Barnes (Bad Livers, sorta crazy punk folk) back in TX. Wasnt really bluegrass, but I know his songs translate well (having played lots of them with bluegrass instrumentation).

[KevinNYC]

sounds like fun. I saw him play with Danny Barnes (Bad Livers, sorta crazy punk folk) back in TX. Wasnt really bluegrass, but I know his songs translate well (having played lots of them with bluegrass instrumentation). It was real fun show, I'd never seen him before.

He didn't play Corpus Cristi Bay.

[KevinNYC]

A ceasefire agreement in the Ukraine has been reached. It starts Feb 15th. so two more days of heavy fighting.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/12/europe/ukraine-conflict/
Marathon peace talks aimed at ending the bloody crisis in eastern Ukraine concluded Thursday in a breakthrough: A ceasefire that's due to start Sunday and an agreement for both sides to pull back heavy weapons.

If the ceasefire holds -- which is far from certain -- it could end a 10-month conflict that has claimed more than 5,000 lives, many of them civilians, and plunged East-West relations to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.

"We had just two options: bad, and worse. So we decided at this particular period of time to get the bad option. Probably this option will save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers, and I hope this option will save lives of Ukrainian civilians, of innocent people, who are under a constant shelling of Russian-led terrorists," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.

"It's better to have this new deal rather than not to have (it). But we do not trust any words or any papers. We are to trust only actions and deeds," he said.

The White House issued a statement with a tone of guarded optimism. "The United States welcomes the agreement reached today in Minsk. ..." it said. "The agreement represents a potentially significant step toward a peaceful resolution of the conflict and the restoration of Ukraine's sovereignty."The statement urged that all parties take "immediate, concrete steps" to fulfill their commitments. "Heavy weapons must be withdrawn from the conflict zone, and Russia must end its support for the separatists and withdraw its soldiers and military equipment from eastern Ukraine," the statement said.

Addressing reporters after the four-way overnight talks in Minsk, Belarus, Russian President Vladimir Putin said all parties had agreed to the ceasefire starting February 15 and called for restraint in the interim.

"I call on both sides to end the bloodshed as soon as possible" and come to a real political solution to the conflict, he said.

Putin said both sides have agreed to pull back heavy weapons. The talks between Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany took so long, he said, because authorities in Kiev still refuse to have direct contact with separatists.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking alongside French President Francois Hollande, said more work remained to be done, but "what we have on the table gives us great hope."

The agreement may not be perfect, she said, but it has provided a chance to improve matters in eastern Ukraine and is "clearly preferable to the situation if we had done nothing."

[KevinNYC]

This is going to help the ruble since, it's less likely there will be more sanctions.
it's at 63 to the dollar now.

[KevinNYC]

A ceasefire agreement in the Ukraine has been reached. It starts Feb 15th. so two more days of heavy fighting.
Well that was fun while it lasted.

Ukraine: pro-Russia forces seize strategic Debaltseve railway hub despite truce (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/17/ukraine-pro-russia-forces-seize-parts-of-debaltseve-railway-despite-truce)



Pro-Russia forces seized parts of the strategic railway hub of Debaltseve in intense street fighting, ignoring a shaky ceasefire agreement, as a deadline for removing heavy weapons from the frontlines went unheeded.

The rest of the conflict zone appeared calm on Tuesday, three days after a halt in hostilities, negotiated by Russian, Ukrainian, French and German leaders, came into effect. But in Kiev, a senior official warned that “the hopes of the world for peace are being destroyed”.

Rebels who claimed a moral imperative to fight for the town closed in on government soldiers, trapped in bombed-out ruins and running out of food and supplies after more than a week under siege.

Separatist troops have been shelling any government forces that tried to move in or out from the main Ukrainian lines 10 miles away.

The size of Debaltseve – it was home to around 25,000 people before the war emptied its streets – belies its importance to rebels as the site of a rail junction connecting their strongholds of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Vladimir Putin sought to delay the ceasefire by 10 days because he wanted to give separatists time to capture the town, an EU summit was told last week.

Now leaders of pro-Russia forces appear to be gambling that the ceasefire can wait while they battle for Debaltseve, and have effectively put the provisions of the deal on hold.

The rebels have been trying to take the town for weeks, and on Tuesday Kiev’s forces appeared to be losing their grip on the bombed-out remains of its streets, and the crucial train junction.

“The railway station is partially under the control of the terrorist fighters,” said Ilya Kiva, deputy head of the Donetsk regional police. “Active fighting is going on inside the city, there’s essentially a struggle for every block and every street,” he told television channel 112 Ukraine.

[Dresta]

What kind of ****ing idiot gets their news from The Guardian?

[KevinNYC]

Oil is back up over $60 as oil companies start cutting back on active rigs.

Oil prices have risen more than 35 percent since hitting an almost six-year low of $45.19 in January, in an ascent fueled by industry spending cutbacks and falling U.S. rig counts.

Ruble is at about 62/dollar.

[KevinNYC]

Ukraine: pro-Russia forces seize strategic Debaltseve railway hub despite truce (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/17/ukraine-pro-russia-forces-seize-parts-of-debaltseve-railway-despite-truce)
link (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/world/europe/ukraine-conflict-debaltseve.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news)


President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine said on Wednesday that Ukrainian forces were withdrawing from the embattled town of Debaltseve, a strategically important transportation hub where intense fighting has raged in recent days despite a cease-fire agreement signed last week.

Mr. Poroshenko sought to cast the retreat in a positive light, but it was clearly a devastating defeat at the hands of Russian-backed separatists.

[KevinNYC]

Venezuela is just about in a crisis

Venezuela not looking too good
Caracas Mayor Who Opposed Government Violently Arrested (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/02/19/world/americas/ap-lt-venezuela-mayor-arrestad.html)
Police in camouflaged uniforms smashed into the office of Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma on Thursday and carried the opposition leader away in a move heightening political tensions in the socialist-run South American country.

President Nicolas Maduro announced that Ledezma, one of his most vocal critics, would be punished for his efforts to sow unrest.

Reports of the detention set off protests around the city, where people spontaneously banged pots from their windows or tapped rhythms on their car horns amid rush hour traffic. As night fell, a few dozen gathered to vent their anger in front of the headquarters of the intelligence service police where Ledezma is believed to be held.

"He'll be held accountable for all his crimes," Maduro said in comments that TV and radio stations across the country were required to carry.

Last week, Maduro named Ledezma among government critics and Western powers he accused of plotting a coup to bring down his socialist government, one of more than a dozen such denunciations Maduro has made since taking power in 2013. Ledezma mocked the accusation in multiple interviews, saying the real destabilizing force in Venezuela was the government's corruption.

[KevinNYC]

Venezuela on edge after Caracas mayor arrested on ‘coup plot’ (http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/venezuela-on-edge-after-caracas-mayor-arrested-on-coup-plot-claims/2015/02/20/47647515-2198-4419-b686-317f124c8d91_story.html)claims
Venezuela braced for anti-government protests Friday after intelligence agents arrested Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma on allegations of taking part in a coup plot backed by the United States.

The commando-style raid late Thursday touched off demonstrations by Ledezma’s backers, and the country’s opposition leader called for more protests Friday as Venezuela struggles with deepening political rifts and a slumping economy.

The State Department called the coup allegations “baseless and false.”

Hours after the arrest — which drew swift condemnation from international rights groups — President Nicolas Maduro took to the airwaves to accuse Ledezma and others of conspiring in an alleged coup plot.

"He was captured and he will face Venezuelan justice," Maduro said, charging the 59-year-old mayor of Venezuela's capital with "crimes against the country, national security and the Constitution."

Calling the twice-elected Ledezma "a vampire," Maduro vowed an "iron fist" response to the alleged coup plot.

According to Maduro, Ledezma and other leading opposition figures joined in a sprawling international plot to topple his socialist government with backing from Washington.

.......Images of Ledezma's arrest circulating on social media, showing him being removed by heavily armed government agents who smashed through his door. The mayor's wife posted messages late Thursday claiming her husband had been beaten and that his whereabouts were unknown.

[KevinNYC]

Wow. Last week, Maduro claimed that US backed a plot against him. A plot that involved the Venezuelan Air Force bombing the presidential palace (http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/12/americas/venezuela-coup-attempt-foiled/)or a public demonstration. Subtle! Did anyone hear this one?
Maduro said the plot centered around a plan to commandeer a Super Tucano jet and attack the presidential palace this week, or a public demonstration that he was attending.

Other buildings were on the target list, he said, including the teleSUR network's headquarters and Venezuela's Defense Ministry.

U.S. officials, he said, provided visas to those involved in the plot and paid them in dollars.

It's not the first time the Venezuelan leader has lobbed serious accusations against the United States.

Shortly after former President Hugo Chavez's death, he suggested that the United States might have poisoned the socialist leader to cause the cancer that killed him.

He expelled a group of U.S. diplomats from the country last year and accused the Pentagon and CIA of conspiring against him.

The State Department has repeatedly rejected such accusations. Last year, it said Maduro's claim that U.S. officials had conspired against the Venezuelan government was "baseless and false."

On the day of his election in 2013, Maduro vowed to use an "iron fist" against any coup attempts against his government.

On Thursday, Maduro said the latest coup plot was tied to a coup attempt last year that involved several Venezuelan air force generals.

The accusations come as opposition protesters mark the one-year anniversary of a wave of anti-government demonstrations that rocked Venezuela last year and led to the arrest of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez.

[KevinNYC]

Damn that was a big news day last week in Venezuela.
1 year anniversary of anti-government protests
Currency devaluated 70%
Transit price raised 40%
and oh yeah, the US is going to lead an air attack on Venezuela.


President Nicolas Maduro's announced an alleged coup on the same day as a devaluation of the Bolivar . (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-31464248)


This time, his announcement came on the day the opposition were commemorating the anniversary of mass anti-government protests that took over the country for months.

It also coincided with the publication of a new new exchange rate system, which will lead to a 69% devaluation of the Venezuelan currency, the Bolivar.

The authorities had also just increased the price of public transport by 40% in an effort to increase revenues.

Many Venezuelans opposed to the government see the announcement of a coup d'etat as government spin intended to distract them from unpopular measures and economic problems.

[Balla_Status]

yep. definitely a good time to buy ridiculous trucks out here in utah. I do not get the mindset of the oil/gasfield/miners in this area. It has always been a boom and bust cycle (coal has gone from ~7k jobs to ~700 in this area in the last 25 years), but when they have the jobs, they waste all their money on high-end trucks they can barely make payments on and toys like atvs/rvs. Then, they get laid off, and get all their shit repossessed or sell it at a loss. Very limited foresight (granted, most of them are not very educated and dont think about the future).

Its interesting seeing your very different attitude compared to when you were in CS (and shortly after that). Glad you are doing ok. As you say, as an engineer, you will probably weather this just fine.

I think there's definitely a market for companies to hire financial advisor (as a consultant) for major, mid level and minor O&G service companies and their clients, specifically for the lesser educated, "school of hard knocks" type employees. This won't happen because these companies love these employees since they have to work, work and work some more to pay off those loans.

As far as my attitude, I feel like it's been the same but I've just chilled out way more. I would say I no longer care whether or not O&G is the major fuel . Life doesn't end when I no longer have an O&G job due to whatever may happen in the future (too expensive, government intervention, supply runs out, w/e). And I really dislike my job at the moment and I've had to think about why I'm in this industry in the first place, why I thought it looked interesting. So I went back to my 17 year old self and remember that I joined this industry to work in the field, travel as much as possible (with the time off and freedom that often comes with working in the field) and the money that allowed me to do nice things on my time off. I'm not out to make a name for myself or make as much money as possible for a large company who really doesn't care about me (we're all replaceable). When I die, I'm going to remember the awesome people I've met and the experiences I've had. I won't really care about a great sale I made to a customer. Right now I'm primarily in the office and work with absolute pricks who ignore my experience and make it extremely difficult to do my job or make changes. It's really demotivating...and Australians aren't open to suggestions from Americans even though we have significantly more experience, no matter the way I approach it. Plus, it's just not a good fit and my personality doesn't blend with what they want me to do.

I didn't care about O&G being the #1 fuel forever. I still thought solar, wind and alternative energies were cool. If the shit works better, why knock it? I still believe there are a lot of uneducated and hypocritical people out there with how they view O&G. All the anti-frack documentaries out there are extremely biased. The way I see it, as long as the general public continues to use oil and gas, I'll continue to work in oil and gas. And you can't hate on me for it. After all, it allows you to travel, get to work, go to the grocery store, etc.

I've got a decent amount of coin saved up as I don't spend money on bullshit like houses, toys and bought a cheap practical subaru and paid with cash. I only spend money on travel thus why I'm not worried if I get laid off. I'm fortunate to have good, financially sound parents to be in this situation as well.

Just concentrating on bettering myself....got back from a two week New Zealand trip and feeling pretty good.

[KevinNYC]

Right now I'm primarily in the office and work with absolute pricks who ignore my experience and make it extremely difficult to do my job or make changes. It's really demotivating...and Australians aren't open to suggestions from Americans even though we have significantly more experience, no matter the way I approach it. Plus, it's just not a good fit and my personality doesn't blend with what they want me to do.
Have you looked into any business books on persuasion?
http://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Revised-Edition/dp/006124189X/ref=pd_sim_b_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=1G6WMV6P1Y6Q9BE1XN5N

[KevinNYC]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-26/ruble-poised-for-record-month-as-oil-gains-trump-ukraine-concern

Oil and the ruble are having a pretty good Feb, both about at 60

[KevinNYC]

Venezuela: protests against the government. A 14 year old protester was shot and killed.

https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/MGqCDu3tTsGoiWNfY0_1cXMDmKI=/1400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3450260/GettyImages_470192345.0.jpg

[KevinNYC]

All sorts of crazy Putin rumors on twitter.

He hasn't been seen in public in a week

Putin, Said to Be ‘Perfectly Healthy,’ Is Also Nowhere to Be Seen
Is Putin in Switzerland for Birth Of Secret Love Child?
Others saying he had a stroke or is dead

Other folks say the head of Rosneft, the government oil company is being pushed out

Amid these rumors, the Kremlin apparently told reporters not to take off for the weekend and that a major announcement will come soon.

[KevinNYC]

I predict that Putin will reappear and marry his girlfriend

[Balla_Status]

Oil is gonna drop even more.

[KevinNYC]

[QUOTE=KevinNYC]All sorts of crazy Putin rumors on twitter.

He hasn't been seen in public in a week

[I]Putin, Said to Be

[~primetime~]

Oil is gonna drop even more.
yep

Oil plunges to a 6-year low. Is $30 a barrel next? (http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/16/investing/oil-prices-gas-6-year-low/index.html)


gasoline gonna be free pretty soon

[Balla_Status]

Three engineers in another department got laid off last week.

A salesman in another department as well got laid off today. He was the coolest guy in the office.

Nobody from my team has been laid off yet. We have nine. I suspect 1-2 will be culled unfortunately.

[Balla_Status]

Three engineers in another department got laid off last week.

A salesman in another department as well got laid off today. He was the coolest guy in the office.

Nobody from my team has been laid off yet. We have nine. I suspect 1-2 will be culled unfortunately.

Well got the email last week that layoffs are for sure coming to our team. I expect it to happen some time next week.

:(

[Dresta]

Many condolences fella. It's another unfortunate example of politicians hurting people's lives just to flex their geopolitical braggadocio, to conduct economic warfare without the slightest thought or care or concern as to the massive consequences felt by many around the world. It's all rather typical, and it's why everyone increasingly hates America.

And it's all in response to what, the loss of Crimea? A place more Russian than it is Ukrainian, a vital interest for Russia in a destabilised region, the location of a naval military base at the centre of Russian power (and its only access to the Mediterranean), and something that was only given to Ukraine by a Soviet Premier in Nikita Khrushchev as a token of good-faith, a throwaway. That's what large countries do in these situations: see Reagan's invasion of panama (it was called operation 'Just Cause' :lol) to secure the canal, and Guantanamo Bay, for example. Putin does the same thing (in one of the most peaceful annexations in history), and it sparks an international crisis! Virtuous American politicians line up to denounce the 'evil' Putin (Nuland, McCain, Powers, Kerry, McCain, Clinton, Obama - arrogant fools or cynics to the last), despite their astounding ignorance in regard to the history of the region, and the long-simmering structural imbalances that led to the crisis in Ukraine. This has all been ignored by fanatical American politicians, convinced they are on some grand moral crusade against the evil empire, and dragging their European partners by the hair through a sanctions war that they don't want (Europe doesn't have money and jobs to lose and waste - neither does the US really, but the US has far fewer trade links with Russia and doesn't mind weakening the economies of its allies).

Question: why was the US spending billions funding 'democracy building' in Ukraine? It's on the other side of the world and has nothing to do with it, whereas Russia has a shared culture and history with Ukraine, and rightly sees this as a Western attempt to marginalise and exclude Russia, and to separate it from its cultural centre (their religion originated there, it was a hub of Russian nationalism, even - to pretend there aren't pro-Russian citizens in Ukraine is a gross and perverted lie). Americans literally cannot give up and count their losses - they must be seen as glorious crusaders and liberationists at all costs! Thus why, after repeated failures, and leaving a trail of wastelands in their wake (Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.), they can chastise Russia on the rights and wrongs of world politics (and reclaim their moral certitude), because Russia is an easy target, a return to old convictions and old certainties which no longer apply (i.e. a manipulation of the sentiments of the populace, who have had their perceptions of Russia distorted by a century of negative propaganda and stereotyping).

[KevinNYC]

The ruble is now about 52 to 1, rebounding after ending 2014 as the worst performing currency.

The 14% interest rate is helping to stabilize the ruble by bringing in foreign investors. Also you can make money doing a "carry" trade. You borrow money in dollars and you buy ruble debt. That has paid off at about 9% so far this year.

[MightyWhitey]

Many condolences fella. It's another unfortunate example of politicians hurting people's lives just to flex their geopolitical braggadocio, to conduct economic warfare without the slightest thought or care or concern as to the massive consequences felt by many around the world. It's all rather typical, and it's why everyone increasingly hates America.

And it's all in response to what, the loss of Crimea? A place more Russian than it is Ukrainian, a vital interest for Russia in a destabilised region, the location of a naval military base at the centre of Russian power (and its only access to the Mediterranean), and something that was only given to Ukraine by a Soviet Premier in Nikita Khrushchev as a token of good-faith, a throwaway. That's what large countries do in these situations: see Reagan's invasion of panama (it was called operation 'Just Cause' :lol) to secure the canal, and Guantanamo Bay, for example. Putin does the same thing (in one of the most peaceful annexations in history), and it sparks an international crisis! Virtuous American politicians line up to denounce the 'evil' Putin (Nuland, McCain, Powers, Kerry, McCain, Clinton, Obama - arrogant fools or cynics to the last), despite their astounding ignorance in regard to the history of the region, and the long-simmering structural imbalances that led to the crisis in Ukraine. This has all been ignored by fanatical American politicians, convinced they are on some grand moral crusade against the evil empire, and dragging their European partners by the hair through a sanctions war that they don't want (Europe doesn't have money and jobs to lose and waste - neither does the US really, but the US has far fewer trade links with Russia and doesn't mind weakening the economies of its allies).

Question: why was the US spending billions funding 'democracy building' in Ukraine? It's on the other side of the world and has nothing to do with it, whereas Russia has a shared culture and history with Ukraine, and rightly sees this as a Western attempt to marginalise and exclude Russia, and to separate it from its cultural centre (their religion originated there, it was a hub of Russian nationalism, even - to pretend there aren't pro-Russian citizens in Ukraine is a gross and perverted lie). Americans literally cannot give up and count their losses - they must be seen as glorious crusaders and liberationists at all costs! Thus why, after repeated failures, and leaving a trail of wastelands in their wake (Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.), they can chastise Russia on the rights and wrongs of world politics (and reclaim their moral certitude), because Russia is an easy target, a return to old convictions and old certainties which no longer apply (i.e. a manipulation of the sentiments of the populace, who have had their perceptions of Russia distorted by a century of negative propaganda and stereotyping).
You obviously have no idea what you are talking about. It's called the Free Market. Market fluctuations occur all the time. The US dollar index is at a high so far this year and it may tank by 2016. The mean reversion of the market has nothing to do with some conspiracy against Russia. If Russia actually had a free market and actually had a free country they could compete then maybe they would be on par with America. Instead they are part of BRIC and their currency and market flucuations are to unstable.

[MightyWhitey]

The ruble is now about 52 to 1, rebounding after ending 2014 as the worst performing currency.

The 14% interest rate is helping to stabilize the ruble by bringing in foreign investors. Also you can make money doing a "carry" trade. You borrow money in dollars and you buy ruble debt. That has paid off at about 9% so far this year.
Ruble is a garbage currency. And the Euro is as well. Kind Dollar is on the up. If you want to make money short the Euro and go long the dollar. And dump your socialist ways and become a patriot Kev.

[dunksby]

Ruble is a garbage currency. And the Euro is as well. Kind Dollar is on the up. If you want to make money short the Euro and go long the dollar. And dump your socialist ways and become a patriot Kev.
:oldlol:

[Dresta]

You obviously have no idea what you are talking about. It's called the Free Market. Market fluctuations occur all the time. The US dollar index is at a high so far this year and it may tank by 2016. The mean reversion of the market has nothing to do with some conspiracy against Russia. If Russia actually had a free market and actually had a free country they could compete then maybe they would be on par with America. Instead they are part of BRIC and their currency and market flucuations are to unstable.
What the hell are you talking about you silly little man? None of this has anything to do with what i said, nor does it explain away anything i have said. It is a plain fact that the US has been waging economic warfare against Russia, and this has taken its toll on the Russian economy and Russian business (and obviously, around the world as well).


'market fluctuations happen all the time'

well, gee, thanks for that one genius. Thanks for stating a ****ing platitude while thinking you actually said something knowledgeable. Do you know what doesn't happen 'all the time' - 5 years and counting of 0% interest rates (unprecedented actually) - so stop blabbering about a 'free-market' you evidently know nothing about.

[MightyWhitey]

What the hell are you talking about you silly little man? None of this has anything to do with what i said, nor does it explain away anything i have said. It is a plain fact that the US has been waging economic warfare against Russia, and this has taken its toll on the Russian economy and Russian business (and obviously, around the world as well).


'market fluctuations happen all the time'

well, gee, thanks for that one genius. Thanks for stating a ****ing platitude while thinking you actually said something knowledgeable. Do you know what doesn't happen 'all the time' - 5 years and counting of 0% interest rates (unprecedented actually) - so stop blabbering about a 'free-market' you evidently know nothing about.you obviously have no idea what you're blathering about communist. The Russian economy was in the tank well before any 'economic war' was supposedly waged. To blame America, which is typical, for the absolute crap market Russia had is too easy. Russia's main export is at a low due to the market mean reversion which will eventually gain momentum and rise again. Supply and demand. Somehow you write these long winded posts and think you're smart when you obviously need to continue your education. Blaming America for someone else's mistakes is plain stupid.

[KevinNYC]

So far it seems to have worked as the ruble is about 53 to the dollar down from almost 80 to the dollar.
Oil back up over $60 and Ruble went under 50 this week. Ruble doing very well in 2015.

[Godzuki]

a Goldman Sachs dude is predicting oil to drop to $35/barrel or something like that. i don't really believe him but it did affect stocks.

[Dresta]

you obviously have no idea what you're blathering about communist. The Russian economy was in the tank well before any 'economic war' was supposedly waged. To blame America, which is typical, for the absolute crap market Russia had is too easy. Russia's main export is at a low due to the market mean reversion which will eventually gain momentum and rise again. Supply and demand. Somehow you write these long winded posts and think you're smart when you obviously need to continue your education. Blaming America for someone else's mistakes is plain stupid.
:facepalm

Did this clown really just call me a Communist?

The Russian economy is showing itself to be resilient in the face of concerted attacks against it. I'd like to see the American economy survive such a hike in interest rates (they can't even raise them half a percent :roll:).

Don't talk to me about Supply & Demand - this was not a normal fluctuation, and that can be seen now by the fact oil is shooting back up (and it will continue to do so). The Saudi's and US could easily have reduced their production when the price was tanking, yet unsurprisingly, they did not. And who did it hurt most (big surprise)? America and SA's biggest enemies, Russia and Iran, whose actions embarrassed them both over Syria and Assad, no less.

That's a lot of coincidences to ignore. I'm not 'blaming America' - i just think this the most likely scenario to explain such a dramatic and convenient market fluctuation.


a Goldman Sachs dude is predicting oil to drop to $35/barrel or something like that. i don't really believe him but it did affect stocks.
That's as good a sign as any that it's going in the other direction. When have these ***** not lied?