Free Republic

Every failing city in America follows the old Detroit playbook. The only thing better than learning from your own mistakes is learning from someone else’s. Unfortunately, today’s urban leaders haven’t been paying attention. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Chicago, New York, and other cities could have avoided their current dire conditions if only they had heeded the lessons of Detroit. In 1950 the Motor City was home to nearly two million people and built half the cars in the world. Today two-thirds of those people are gone and its auto industry is a shell of its former self. After decades...

Russia's oil price in roubles has fallen to a two-year low below the 4,000 rouble per barrel mark and some 40% lower than planned in the federal budget, data showed, piling pressure on the Kremlin, already saddled with a burgeoning budget deficit. -snip- According to Reuters calculations, the average price of Russia's mix of Urals and ESPO blends dipped on May 2 to $48.92 per barrel, or 3,987 roubles, which is more than 40% below the 6,726 roubles the government had originally planned for this year. That's the lowest since May 2023, according to Reuters data. It is also still...

Oil producing countries are bracing for a bumpy ride this year, with a precipitous drop in prices to the lowest levels in four years seen as the initial, alarming sign of looming turmoil. A price drop benefits any country seeking to cut its fuel bill. But in oil producing nations, lower prices can feed economic troubles, and sometimes political unrest, as governments slash spending. Analysts who had already been predicting lower oil prices because of softening demand amid increased global production said the possibility of a tariff trade war and the overall climate of uncertainty could well deepen producers’ woes....

The European Union on Friday threatened to target US steel and textile exports in retaliation for Washington's restrictions on steel imports, unless the Bush administration agree to its demands for compensation. In an aggressive riposte to last week's White House decision to levy duties of up to 30 per cent on steel imports, the European Commission confirmed it was drawing up a list of US goods worth about $2bn which could face increased EU tariffs. The $2bn relates to the value of EU steel exports affected by the US tariffs. "The overall amount we'll be looking for is close to...

As the Line gigaproject continues to grow in the Saudi desert, some new construction details have been announced that highlight the mind-boggling challenge of turning a huge tract of rugged landscape into a futuristic megacity, including its reported use of one fifth of the entire world's currently available steel.To recap, the Line is the key part of Saudi Arabia's Neom project, which is itself part of a larger push to transform the country's predominantly oil-based economy into a tourism-focused one as fossil fuel use is inevitably reduced in the coming years.The plan is for the Line to eventually have a...

---Down 7.35% as I post this--- Eight key OPEC+ producers on Thuesday agreed to raise combined crude oil output by 411,000 barrels per day, speeding up the pace of their scheduled hikes and pushing down oil prices...The group was widely expected to implement an increase of just under 140,000 barrels per day next month.

Oil prices barely moved on Tuesday as investors weighed the impact of U.S. tariffs on countries buying oil and gas from Venezuela against the effect of tariffs on industries such as automobiles on the global economy and oil demand. Brent crude futures were up 1 cent at $73.01 a barrel by 0121 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1 cent to $69.12. Both benchmarks gained more than 1 per cent on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on countries importing oil and gas from Venezuela. "Investors fear Trump's various tariffs could slow the...

The Trump administration on Tuesday gave Chevron 30 days to stop oil production in Venezuela after Washington accused President Nicolas Maduro of not making progress on electoral reforms and migrant returns. President Trump reversed a Biden-era license that allowed the oil giant to operate in Venezuela despite US sanctions – a U-turn from January when the White House appeared to be making progress with Maduro. The Treasury Department gave the US-based oil giant an April 3 deadline to pull up stakes, much quicker than the usual six-month wind-down period. “Closing down Chevron’s operations in a month is an almost impossible...

EPA boss Lee Zeldin’s push to rescind the White House’s 2009 finding on greenhouse gases marks another great milestone on President Trump’s climate course correction. But it’s long past time for the entire West to admit it: The whole anti-carbon crusade declared in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement has proved a disaster — wrecking economies and worsening lives without making a real difference on climate change. Here at home, the 2009 (Obama-era) “finding” declared that greenhouse gases endanger public health, and so provided a legal pretext for destructive “climate agenda” mandates on everything from power plants to cars to gas...

One of the most prominent and politically active left-wing think tanks in the United States, the Center for American Progress, has announced that it will no longer accept funding from the United Arab Emirates, the Guardian reported Friday. “With a rising undemocratic tide around the world, and serious questions about which side of that struggle our own president stands on, it seemed clear that all Americans should take extra steps and leave no doubt where they stand,” a spokesperson for the liberal organization told the Guardian. The spokesperson added, “This funding never impacted any CAP position or policy, but everybody...

President Trump said after meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday that India will increase its purchases of American oil and military hardware, culminating in India’s purchase of the advanced F-35 fighter jet. “We’ll be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars. We’re also paving the way to ultimately provide India with the F-35 stealth fighters,” Trump said at a joint press conference with Modi. Trump also said the U.S. will become “a leading supplier of oil and gas to India” under a new agreement that will help reduce America’s trade deficit with India. The...

China and India have stopped buying Russian oil due to increased freight costs for tankers not subject to US sanctions. A representative from India's Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd stated that the company has not received new supply offers for March, as is usually the case, and expects the volume of cargoes offered for the first month of spring to decrease compared to January and December. Typically, India receives offers for Russian oil supplies in the middle of each month. Traders noted that the premium for Russian ESPO crude oil has increased by $3-5 per barrel compared to ICE Brent, while...

Last month, during the thick of the holidays, I found myself in a rare though not totally unprecedented predicament: I wasn’t sure which way to bet on the stock market in the year ahead. In my December column, I told you there were three possible 2025 outcomes – all of them seemingly likely, and to a vexingly similar degree. I also told you that I’d come back to you when I could conclude which is, in fact, the most likely. Well, I’m back – and with an answer that has surprised me in more ways than one. Recall the three...

President Donald Trump attacked Bank of America for failing to lend to conservatives during a sudden attack during a livestream speech to execs and elites in Davos. The sudden blast came in an angry speech where Trump vowed to slap tariffs on countries that don't manufacture inside the U.S. and demanded OPEC lower oil prices. During a question-and-answer period, the bank's CEO Brian Moynihan asked a softball question about how his executive orders would impact his push for economic growth and market growth. Trump responded, then told him: 'I hope you start opening your bank to conservatives … they don’t...

A group of Republican-led states filed a lawsuit on Friday challenging a ban announced by outgoing Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden earlier this month on new offshore oil and gas development along most U.S. coastlines. The lawsuit seeks a reversal of Biden’s ban with declaratory and injunctive relief, according to a court filing that argued Biden did not have the authority to impose such a ban and that the power to do so rests with the U.S. Congress.

Iran International reports that Iran is trying to liquidate millions of barrels of oil stored in Chinese ports to prevent economic damage from anticipated sanctions under the incoming Trump administration. Sanctions have already significantly impacted Iran's ability to sell oil, as the USA has begun sanctioning a fleet of 'dark tankers' that formed a significant link in the Iranian supply chain. These vessels would engage in various illegitimate practices, including falsifying documents, changing their own identification beacons, and exchanging cargos on the high seas to conceal the Iranian origin of the oil. Although Iran intends to purchase additional, unsanctioned tankers...

Rising U.S. production and internal OPEC+ pressure limit the kingdom’s sway over prices. Trump is a new wild card.Saudi Arabia’s sway over the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries long meant unquestioned dominance of the global oil market. Those days are over, at least for now. The kingdom is struggling to execute its plan to keep prices elevated. Higher prices would help pay for Saudi’s infrastructure-spending spree, including $1 trillion of projects designed to rapidly pivot the economy away from oil. It would also pinch drivers at the pump and contribute to risks that inflation could stage a global comeback.

This YouTube video was sponsored by Uranium Royalty Corp (NASDAQ: UROY) and was funded by Outside The Box Capital Inc. and/or affiliates after CaspianReport was engaged by Outside The Box Capital Inc. to advertise for Uranium Royalty Corp (NASDAQ: UROY).

Saudi Arabia condemns “in the strongest terms” Israel’s decision to turn the Jerusalem headquarters of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency into apartments. Last week, the Israel Land Authority said it was preparing plans to turn the Ma’alot Dafna complex into 1,440 housing units, after telling UNRWA it must evacuate the premises. The Saudi Foreign Ministry notes in an English-language statement “the Kingdom’s rejection of the continued blatant Israeli violations of international laws and resolutions…and its systematic political and military targeting of the United Nations agencies and its relief organizations. “The Kingdom also rejects the continued endangerment of the lives of...

The Biden-Harris administration openly admitted in early October that Iran has become enriched under its policies and leadership.... The Biden-Harris administration has seemingly eased sanctions against Iran in recent years, allowing the Islamic regime to rake in billions from oil revenues — and a new report from the administration itself published in October outlines exactly how much the regime has made.... During the Trump administration’s tenure and “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign against Iran, Tehran’s oil revenues fell from roughly $65 billion in 2018 to $28 billion in 2019, and even lower at $16 billion in 2020... When President Joe Biden...