“And he’s going to get reelected.” Not a day goes by without several friends — Republicans as well as Democrats — saying that to me. It’s the blunt coda to a bloated recitation of Donald Trump’s failures during this pandemic. It’s a whimper of surrender following a scream of disbelief. Tens of thousands of Americans… Read more »
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US oil consumption stabilises but stockpiles continue to swell
US petroleum consumption has fallen by a third since the economy went into lockdown in March but showed signs of stabilising last week, according to the latest weekly figures from the US Energy Information Administration. Lockdown has caused the biggest economic interruption since the depression of the 1930s and the largest interruption in oil consumption… Read more »
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Two parents. Two kids. Two jobs. No child care
Things are starting to break down. I don’t just mean psyche and soul and social bonds and sense of self. I mean ordinary, overworked things around the house: the dishwasher, the garage-door opener, the fridge door, the faucet in the kids’ bathroom, the towel hanger in the kids’ bathroom, the toilet in the kids’ bathroom…. Read more »
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This pandemic is bringing another with it
Another pandemic is looming on the heels of the coronavirus: a pandemic of starvation, illiteracy and poverty. “We are not only facing a global health pandemic but also a global humanitarian catastrophe,” David Beasley, a former South Carolina governor who is executive director of the United Nations World Food Program, warned the Security Council this… Read more »
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Price plunge casts doubt over future of US crude futures
The plunge in US crude futures prices for May delivery the day before the contract’s expiry this week will revive questions about the contract’s design and whether it can continue to serve as a useful benchmark. The US light sweet crude oil futures contract has already been relegated to a regional benchmark, with most pricing… Read more »
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What the negative price of oil is telling us
The coronavirus pandemic has caused a series of mind-bending distortions across world financial markets, but Monday featured the most bizarre one yet: The benchmark price for crude oil in the United States fell to negative $37.63. That means that if you happened to be in a position to take delivery of 1,000 barrels of oil… Read more »