Astronomical..

 

Germany's economy minister accused the U.S. and other "friendly" gas supplier states of astronomical prices for their supplies, suggesting they were profiting from the fallout from the war in Ukraine.

"Some countries, including friendly ones, sometimes achieve astronomical prices [for their gas]. Of course, that brings with it problems that we have to talk about," Economy Minister Robert Habeck told regional German paper NOZ in an interview published Wednesday which was translated by NBC News. He called for more solidarity from the U.S. when it comes to assisting its energy-pressed allies in Europe.

Habeck, co-leader of Germany's Green Party, which is a part of Berlin's coalition government led by center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said the EU should also do more to address the region's gas crisis, with countries scrambling for alternative supplies which has pressured prices even more, that was brought about by the war in Ukraine and deteriorating relations with Russia.

Oil Cuts..

 

Energy market participants had expected OPEC+, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, to impose production cuts of somewhere between 500,000 barrels to 2 million barrels.

The move represents a major reversal in production policy for the alliance, which slashed output cuts by a record 10 million barrels per day in early 2020 when demand crashed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The oil cartel has since gradually unwound those record cuts, albeit with several OPEC+ countries struggling to fulfill their quotes.

Oil prices have fallen to roughly $80 a barrel from over $120 in early June amid growing fears about the prospect of a global economic recession.

The production cut for November is an attempt to reverse this slide, despite repeated pressure from U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration for the group to pump more to lower fuel prices ahead of midterm elections next month. However less oil production is better for Global Warming. But now we want the election. Just a "Powerful" thought.

Six Months..

 

Too much for a sleepy Columbus Day on Wall Street. Stocks weren't doing much Monday morning but took a nasty turn lower in the afternoon following stark comments from JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.

Dimon warned that the United States is likely to enter a recession within the next six to nine months.

Dimon made the comments in an exclusive interview with CNBC that aired Monday.

"You can't talk about the economy without talking about stuff in the future...and this is serious stuff," Dimon said in the CNBC interview. He added that he thinks Europe is in a recession already and that the US is probably next.  Just a thought.

Fraud..

 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has raised the flag on the precipitous rise in elder fraud scams in recent years. According to their 2021 Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) report, there were over 92,000 victims who lost $1.7 billion to elder fraud scams. The losses were a 74 percent increase over 2020’s. 

"Elder fraud is simply financial fraud that targets any individual, any citizen in the United States over the age of 60 years old," FBI Deputy Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigation Division Aaron Tapp said "… It could be romance based. It could be technology based. But any type of fraud scheme that’s targeting our elderly population."

Tapp said the technological divide that separates sexagenarians from younger generations is at the heart of the rise in elder fraud. Scammers key in on individuals who are not digitally savvy to bilk them out of thousands of dollars. 

 The most common types of fraud in the report are tech support, non-payment/non-delivery, identity theft and romance scams

Assassination..

 

United States intelligence agencies believe parts of the Ukrainian government authorized the car bomb attack near Moscow in August that killed Daria Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist, an element of a covert campaign that U.S. officials fear could widen the conflict.

The United States took no part in the attack, either by providing intelligence or other assistance, officials said. American officials also said they were not aware of the operation ahead of time and would have opposed the killing had they been consulted. Afterward, American officials admonished Ukrainian officials over the assassination, they said.

The closely held assessment of Ukrainian complicity, which has not been previously reported, was shared within the U.S. government last week.  

Also the weapons provided to the Ukrainians by the USA doesn't bring this war into peaceful resolution. Just a thought.

Slash..

 

OPEC+'s decision to slash oil production has set off fury in Washington directed at the Saudi Arabia-led group, raising calls for a hard-hitting US response.

Within minutes of the OPEC+ announcement, the White House warned it will "consult with Congress on additional tools and authorities" designed to curb OPEC's "control" over energy prices.

That vague statement appears to be a thinly veiled warning that President Joe Biden could consider a dramatic and risky step: Throwing his weight behind NOPEC legislation.

The action of this White House caused the oil prices to skyrocketed in 2021. Cancelled pipelines, keystone XL, Nord Stream 2, sanctions on Russia, Iran, Venezuela, etc. That would do it to the American people. Now the Intrest rate is going up to tame inflation, reduce economical activities in USA and Europe, however OPIC Plus wants their income to be steady since they struggled with low prices during Covid Epidemic.  Just a thought.

Pendulum...

 

 President Biden’s administration, after months of secret talks with Venezuelan officials, performed the largest swap by this administration. 

The president approved the exchange a few weeks ago.  Planes left from the United States and from Venezuela carrying the prisoners to an unnamed third country where the swap took place.

The exchange underscored efforts by the Biden administration since the February invasion of Ukraine by Russia to improve the tattered relationship with Venezuela as an alternative source of oil. In March, U.S. and Venezuelan officials discussed the possibility of easing sanctions on oil exports from Venezuela.

A senior administration official said Biden made “the difficult decision” to grant clemency to the two men.

Blame..

 

"We know that families are still struggling with higher prices," Biden said. "Let's be absolutely clear about why prices are high now or high for two reasons." 

The first, Biden said, is due to "the way the global economy works."

"And now, a second big reason for inflation is Vladimir Putin," Biden said. 

He added: "Make no mistake, the current spike in gas prices is largely the fault of Vladimir Putin it has nothing to do with the American Rescue Plan."

Biden last week announced a ban on all imports of Russian oil, gas and energy to the United States, targeting the "main artery" of Russia's economy amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. Biden warned that the ban would cost American families.

The idea here is to blame everything happening in US on Climate Change, National Security, Putin, Saudi Arabia, Big oil companies, Trump, MAGA people etc., and nothing about this Administration executive orders.  Just a thought. 

Villains..

 

President Biden needs to unite voters, whom should he unite them against? He could wage war on poverty. He could battle division and the forces trying to divide Americans.  The president has zeroed in on the corporate greed of the oil and gas companies who are trying to raise their prices for nothing more than profit.” The Biden blame Putin, Trump, Saudi, etc  nothing fooled the public yet.

“As of now the White House does not have good story tellers. Good stories need villains.”  

Now Biden needs to remind Americans of what he’s trying to achieve, rescuing democracy from hid imaginary threat of authoritarianism, both at home and abroad.

The election is around the corner, we need an enemy quickly.  Just a thought.

Unite..