Political and financial crisis deepens with pressure on president Nicolas Maduro to stand down
Venezuela on the brink of collapse
The political and economic crisis in Venezuela is continuing to deepen, with protesters taking to the streets of Caracas to demand that socialist president Nicolas Maduro resign.
"A large, seemingly wealthy, apparently modern and resource-rich country is on the brink of collapse, financial default and, potentially, a humanitarian crisis," says the Financial Times.
There has been little intervention from foreign powers, which should have "every interest" in encouraging a stable outcome in a country with the world's largest oil reserves, the newspaper reports.
Desperation
Venezuela's crumbling economy has been hit hard by plummeting oil prices, with the country suffering triple-digit inflation, as well as chronic medicine and food shortages that have sparked riots.
This “statistically significant” death cross has only happened twice is the past two decades, Laidi points out. The first took place in 2001 and was followed by a 37 percent decline in the index, while the second pattern occurred in 2008 and preceded a 48 percent drop.
As we pulled back into the showroom (or whatever Texas’ insane dealership protection laws demand Tesla call the places it’s not allowed to sell or service vehicles), I told the rep that I was driving to Austin soon; Autopilot would be just the thing for the long stretches of empty road out on I-10 and TX-71. Without missing a beat, she offered me a loaner Model S.
Countries around Europe are building increasing amounts of renewable capacity in order to reduce their carbon emissions and boost supply security. Last year Denmark’s wind farms supplied 140 percent of demand, while the U.K. had no coal-fired power stations meeting electricity demand for about four hours on May 10 as a result of plant breakdowns
Predictions for the Change in Oil Price Through to 2017
After a dismal start to the year, oil prices staged a partial recovery, with dated Brent Blend, the global benchmark, rising by almost 70% from a 13-year low of US$26/barrel in January to US$44/b on May 10th. The rally was driven in part by stronger economic data from China and robust gasoline demand in the US: Economist Intelligence Unit . On the supply side successive supply disruptions (in Nigeria, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya and Canada) have also provided support, as has falling US output. The broad recovery in wider financial markets, coupled with a modest weakening of the US dollar, has also boosted sentiment towards oil. In April oil futures prices also pointed towards a nearing rebalancing of the oil market, as the contango (a situation where the oil price for future delivery is higher than the spot price) narrowed across all maturities. Although recent price developments have tilted risks […]
