Free Republic

ladimir Putin's military campaign in Syria is stirring up trouble in the Middle East -- and jacking up oil prices in the process. T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire oil man, believes that's exactly what Putin was hoping for. "He wants a higher price for oil," Pickens told CNNMoney's Cristina Alesci. "A lack of leadership in the United States has allowed Putin to walk into the Middle East and be right there." Energy-reliant Russia has been slammed by the crash in world oil prices. The Russian economy is in recession and the ruble has collapsed against the dollar. But last week...

DAVOS, Switzerland (FORTUNE) - Be afraid. Be very afraid. That's the message from two of the world's most successful investors on the topic of high oil prices. One of them, Hermitage Capital's Bill Browder, has outlined six scenarios that could take oil up to a downright terrifying $262 a barrel. The other, billionaire investor George Soros, wouldn't make any specific predictions about prices. But as a legendary commodities player, it's worth paying heed to the words of the man who once took on the Bank of England -- and won. "I'm very worried about the supply-demand balance, which is very...