Free Republic

Damage to a critical Qatari facility is threatening to keep energy prices high around the world even if the war in Iran ends soon in what some analysts are calling an “Armageddon” situation. Qatar’s Las Raffan plant supplies a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas, which is used for electricity, heating and cooking – but Iranian strikes have damaged the facility, worsening what is already the largest-ever energy supply disruption. “I woke up this morning and thought, ‘No, please no,’” Anne-Sophie Corbeau, former head of gas analysis at BP now at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, told...

Oil pumping operations are expected to begin imminently off the coast of California after President Trump issued an executive order Friday to resume oil drilling operations near Santa Barbara, The Post has learned. Officials for Sable Offshore Corp. informed local fire officials of their intent to “resume pumping operations within 24 hours.” The notification is a standard protocol for industrial activities involving hazardous materials pipelines. “This coordination allows the department to maintain readiness for potential emergency response, including resource staging, personnel alerting, and collaboration with other agencies, in the event of any incident such as a leak, spill, or fire,”...

MIAMI — President Trump said Monday that he’s brought prices down so much that Democrats have stopped using the word “affordability.” “They also gave us very high prices and then they said the word, ‘affordability.’ That’s first time I ever heard it,” Trump said at the annual House Republican retreat in Miami. “My first day in office, they said, ‘affordability,’ They’re the ones that caused the problem,” he continued. “But we’re really bringing down prices big. “Do you notice you don’t hear that word anymore? … They don’t say it anymore because we brought down prices so much.” Trump said...

Military action in Iran is starting to impact prices at the pump as Americans have seen gas prices rise since strikes began in the Middle East on Saturday. We're keeping track of gas prices in California. The Get the Facts Data Team put together a map that shows what prices look like in your area using data provided by AAA. The map updates once a day early in the morning. You can view the map below. Crude oil prices in the U.S. have spike since Feb. 26 when it was tracked at about $65 per barrel. Want to see how...

Russia has a question for the European countries that have shunned its energy exports: Do you miss us now? The Kremlin is enjoying a sudden resurgence of its importance as a global supplier of oil and gas, as the conflict in Iran disrupts energy production and shipment across the Middle East and sends global energy prices soaring. “Now other markets are opening up, and perhaps it’s more advantageous for us to stop supplying the European market right now,” Mr. Putin said on Wednesday to a state television reporter, Pavel Zarubin, who chronicles the Russian leader. “We are seeing an increase...

These are draining times for your bank account at the gas pump. California gas prices have jumped up to 40 cents in two weeks, as refinery closures tighten fuel supplies across the state. The statewide average now stands at $4.582 per gallon, up from $4.463 a week ago and $4.182 just 14 days ago, according to the American Automobile Association. Energy experts say the spike is tied directly to shrinking refinery capacity. Specifically, Valero’s Benicia refinery — a key Northern California supplier — is in the process of idling operations. The move follows other major pullbacks, including Phillips 66’s Los...

HISTORIC LAUNCH TO LOWER DRUG PRICES FOR AMERICAN PATIENTS: Today, President Donald J. Trump announced the launch of TrumpRx.gov. Through the website, patients will be able to access large discounts on many of the most popular and highest-priced medicines in the country, paying prices in line with the lowest paid by other developed nations (known as the most-favored-nation, or MFN, price). Today’s launch features drugs made by the first five manufacturers to reach MFN pricing deals with the Trump Administration: AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer. Additional drugs from other companies that have signed MFN pricing deals...

I’ve covered Washington government for years. I understand rounding errors. I get that numbers shift, estimates change, projections don’t always pan out. That’s bureaucracy. That’s life. And then the Department of Commerce dropped a bombshell. Washington drivers are paying billions more at the pump. For what, exactly? The national average for gas is $2.82 a gallon. Idaho is $2.80. Oregon is $3.39. Washington? We’re at $3.82 statewide. In Seattle, it’s $4.12. We have the third-highest gas prices in the entire country. Washington families have paid billions more at the pump since the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) took effect. Before the...

The gas pump has emerged as a rare source of relief for Americans drowning in higher prices — and that positive trend is expected to continue in 2026, regardless of the uncertainty in Venezuela. Gas prices are projected to average just $2.97 a gallon nationally this year, according to forecasts from fuel savings platform GasBuddy. If that forecast, shared first with CNN, proves accurate, 2026 will be the fourth straight year of falling prices at the pump and the first with the annual average below $3 a gallon since 2020. It’s a far cry from 2022, when the gas pump...

The last time gasoline was this cheap, 4% inflation seemed alarming, JD Vance was still a private citizen and the United States had only just begun its messy withdrawal from Afghanistan. Gas prices dropped below an average of $3 a gallon in the United States on Tuesday for the first time in four-and-a-half years, according to AAA. The milestone represents a rare feel-good story in a years-long affordability crisis marked by high prices for necessities. The national average for regular gas dipped to $2.998 a gallon, compared with $3.001 on Monday. Pump prices are down about six cents in just...

It was, by any measure, a lot of red ink. When Volkswagen announced its third-quarter profits at the end of October, the German auto giant said it anticipated heavy losses for this year. The reason? It is taking a 5 billion euro hit from tariffs imposed in the American market. Likewise, the German sportswear manufacturer Adidas warned of a 120 million euro hit to its earnings, in part because the levies its trainers now face in the United States, while Toyota warned of a $9 billion hit from tariffs. For anyone following the corporate earnings season over the last month,...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. grocers and food companies ranging from Walmart (WMT) to Smithfield Foods (SFD) are bracing for a dip in November sales if federal food aid benefits lapse for the first time due to the ongoing government shutdown. The shutdown has imperiled next month's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, which serves nearly 42 million people.

Last Thursday, EMD Serono became the latest pharmaceutical company, after Pfizer and AstraZeneca, to agree to a deal with the Trump Administration to reduce the prices of its drugs. Under these deals the companies must sell their drugs to the federal government at the “Most Favored Nation” price. Under the Most Favored Nation system, the price pharmaceutical companies can charge for a drug is equal to the lowest price among selected high-income countries. Many of those countries are in Europe, where they have lower drug prices because they impose price controls. The Trump Administration is trying to address public frustration...

As of Tuesday, the average price of regular unleaded gas in Missouri was $2.72 per gallon. On Oct. 20, 2024, the price was $2.85 per gallon, and it was $3.25 per gallon in 2023, $3.44 per gallon in 2022 and $3.03 in 2021.

Few social media sites are as big a swamp as Reddit.Leftists use the platform to call for attacks on ICE facilities and agents, and the site is populated by lunatics who think January 6 is worse than 9/11 and the Holocaust.They are driven by a deep hatred of President Trump and conservatism, which is why one Reddit user is upset that prices at Costco are coming down.No, really.[snip]The post reads:Costco is quietly slashing prices. This feels wrong.I go to costco every week. it’s probably the only thing i do consistently. i’ve been doing it for years, i know how the...

PHOENIX – A massive fire at a Southern California oil refinery is bad news for Arizona drivers, who could see gas prices soar well over $4 per gallon.

Key Points Novo Nordisk said it now offers cash-paying U.S. patients its blockbuster diabetes treatment Ozempic for less than half its monthly list price through multiple platforms. Patients can pay $499 in cash per month for three dose sizes of Ozempic through the drug’s official website, Novo Nordisk’s patient assistance program, the company’s recently launched direct-to-consumer online pharmacy and drug savings company GoodRx, among other platforms. It comes after Trump in July sent separate letters to Novo Nordisk and 16 other drugmakers, calling on them to take steps to lower medication prices in the U.S.

Home prices are being slashed across the US as the housing market cools — with one city seeing them plunge almost seven percent. In July, prices dropped year-over-year in 14 of the 50 most populous US cities — with Florida, California and Texas hit hard, reports Redfin. 'Sellers need to come to terms with two things,' said Redfin agent James Gulden. 'Homes are going to sit longer, and buyers are gaining the upper hand.' Homes are lingering for weeks or months — a stark contrast to the days of bidding wars and same-day offers... the lower prices combined with a...

On Tuesday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury surged nearly 10 basis points in a few hours, rising above 4.49 percent. The rising yield came after the release of new price-inflation data showing that CPI growth had hit a five-month high and remained well above the Federal Reserve’s two-percent target for price inflation. Rising yields often indicate that bond investors believe price inflation will continue to grow, so it was probably no coincidence that bond yields—especially on longer-term bonds—jumped following the report’s release. Whatever the reason behind the rising yield, this is bad news for those who were looking for...

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) drew widespread mockery Thursday over a since-deleted social media post that showed how the cost of groceries skyrocketed under former President Joe Biden. The X post included a graph of soaring cheese, alcohol, dairy, grocery, produce and meat prices dating back to October 2019, with the major inflection point being near the start of the Biden administration in 2021. “Trump’s America,” read the tweet shared by @TheDemocrats. “Prices are higher today than they were on July 2024 all in major categories listed below,” read the caption on the graphic, which did not note the source...