Here is an interesting notion: The Iran nuclear talks in Istanbul were not a “failure”, but globally crippling sanctions could be. Trigger happy Israelis and a US election campaign season that requires the illusion of immediate action effectively hijacked the talks, which opened on Saturday and concluded with a deal to meet again on 23 May in Baghdad. Mainstream media outlets can hardly be blamed for portraying the talks as a failure. They require black and white scenarios accessible to the masses, and headline space is too short and…

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First, the bad news. On 15 April, insurgent forces in Afghanistan began unexpected attacks on embassies, a supermarket, a hotel and the parliament in the capital Kabul. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters, “These attacks are the beginning of the spring offensive and we had planned them for months.” At least eight policemen and five civilians were killed in the assaults, which spread across in four provinces of the country, killing 74, including 32 security forces. According to the government, roughly 36 Taliban insurgents, many with…

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Spanish energy company Repsol said its exploration campaign off the Cuban coast was moving pretty slowly. Started in February despite a backlash from U.S. lawmakers, the Cuban government said the drilling campaign could break its reliance on Venezuelan reserves. After a false start in 2004, Repsol said geological conditions were impeding Cuban developments. Perhaps the slow pace for Repsol provides time for a strategic reset for Washington if it’s savvy enough. Repsol began its drilling campaign off the Cuban coast in February despite calls…

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Recently many commentators have worried that rising gasoline prices will derail the fragile recovery of the U.S. economy. The latest inflation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows little sign that any such thing is happening yet. The headline all-items CPI for urban consumers rose at a 3.54 percent annual rate in March, down from 5.03 percent in February. (I base these rates on the unrounded CPI data supplied by the Cleveland Fed and state monthly data as annual rates.) There are two parts to the concern that gasoline prices could harm…

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Some people seem to have a knack for hopping aboard a trend just before it ends. Cheniere Energy Inc., owner of the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility in the United States, appears to be a case in point. In the world of finance, Cheniere would be what is called a contrary indicator, one that suggests that a trend is about to reverse. In late 2004 when Cheniere received federal approval to construct a new LNG import facility at Cameron Parish, Louisiana, most experts believed U.S. natural gas production was already entering a long-term…

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Electric cars are the cleanest form of transport. Obviously more environmentally friendly than any petrol or diesel cars out there…that’s a given fact…isn’t it? Well not necessarily. According to a new report by the Union of Concerned Scientists titled ‘State of Charge: Electric Vehicles’ Global Warming Emissions and Fuel Cost Savings Across the United States’, the amount of greenhouse gases released by as a result of charging the battery packs, varies greatly from State to State. In the report, a hypothetical…

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India has finally overtaken China as the largest importer of Iranian oil during the first quarter of this year. They achieved this due to a surge in buying ahead of the EU sanctions, due to take effect in July, which could severely reduce supply, and the fact that China has reduced its own purchases in a conflict over new contract negotiations. During the first quarter of 2012 Indian imports were up by 23 percent from 2011 levels of 351,00 barrels per day (bpd) to 433,000 bpd, and more than China’s 256,000 bpd. In fact whilst India’s…

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