Slowly but surely ramping up against Iran. And Old LardAss is going to need a nuclear war to retain power. He's losing on too many fronts. This isn't going to help:The State Department said Friday that it will close a U.S. consulate in Basrah, Iraq, citing increased security threats from Iran and Iranian-backed militant groups in the region.
In a statement Friday, spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had ordered the consulate temporarily shuttered, providing little other details.
"U.S. Embassy Baghdad will continue to provide full consular services to for those in and around Basrah," Nauert said in the statement. "We remain strongly committed to supporting Iraqis in the southern provinces and throughout the country."
The Hill
But it doesn't sound like their track record for predicting has been all that good.Brent oil, the world standard, relentlessly climbed from a low of $30 per barrel early in 2016 to above $80 per barrel today. A year ago, when Brent was around $55 barrel, some pundits foresaw a return to the 2016 lows; others saw the price languishing in the $50-$60 per barrel range.
Bearish forecasts reflected a tepid outlook for the world economy and expectations of fracking on an ever-larger scale coupled with new finds from deep-water drilling. Few observers reckoned that Brent might again exceed $100 per barrel, as it did between 2011 and 2014, or even reach $80.
The Hill
NO COLLUSION!Several factors combined to upset these bearish forecasts. On the demand side, massive tax cuts, taking effect in 2018, sparked the U.S. economy with global spillovers. Meanwhile, easy monetary policy in all advanced countries further promoted global growth.
[...]
President Trump’s renewed sanctions may reduce Iranian oil exports by as much as 1 million barrels a day as European buyers reluctantly cut their purchases. This shock gives Russia and Saudi Arabia even stronger control of world oil supply.
...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.
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