Saudis end their war against U.S. frackers

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said that since the worldwide oil glut has vanished, Saudi’s strategy of flooding the global market to try to put American drillers out of business is no longer necessary.

“We are out of it,” Falih told the Houston Chronicle. “The oversupply has disappeared. We just have to carry the overhang of inventory for a while until the system works it out.”

The U.S.’ New Trade War with China

China decried a decision by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce yesterday to impose steep duties on the country’s cold-rolled flat steel, which is primarily used for car manufacturing.

The United States imposed a new 522% fee on steel products, reported CNN. New China tariffs also include a 266% anti-dumping duty and a 256% anti-subsidy duty.

U.S. To Undermine Russia’s Gas Monopoly In Europe

The first U.S. LNG shipment will soon arrive in Europe, marking a new era for energy on the continent. Cheniere Energy’s newly completed Sabine Pass facility on the U.S. Gulf Coast recently sent a shipment of American liquefied natural gas, which should arrive in Portugal within a few days.

“LNG coming out of the U.S. is probably the single most important thing that will transform the future LNG market,” Melissa Stark, energy managing director at Accenture, told Bloomberg. “It heralds the arrival of a global market.”

Bank of America sees $50 oil as Opec dies

“Our biggest worry is the end of the liquidity cycle. The Fed is done. The reach for yield that we have seen since 2009 is going into reverse”, said Bank of America.

The Opec oil cartel no longer exists in any meaningful sense and crude prices will slump to $50 a barrel over coming months as market forces shake out the weakest producers, Bank of America has warned.

Revolutionary changes sweeping the world’s energy industry will drive down the price of liquefied natural gas (LNG), creating a “multi-year” glut and a mucher cheaper source of gas for Europe.

Francisco Blanch, the bank’s commodity chief, said Opec is “effectively dissolved” after it failed to stabilize prices at its last meeting. “The consequences are profound and long-lasting,“ he said.

China’s State-Funded Company Looks to Profit Off US Patents

Company founded to blackmail US innovators could damage US economy

The Chinese regime is getting into the patent trolling business, having set up a company that will start suing American companies for patent fraud. Experts believe the new Chinese company, which the regime seeded with $50 billion in fluff patents, could be detrimental to American innovation.

Patent trolls, officially called patent assertion entities, are companies that produce no goods. They make their profits by buying vague and outdated patents, then suing other companies for violating their patents. According to a press release from the nonprofit Citizen Outreach, patent trolls cost the U.S. economy $29 billion a year and destroy jobs.

China’s shiny new patent troll is a company called Ruichuan IPR Funds. The company is based in China’s main technology hub in Zhongguancun, Beijing.

Russia can switch to payments with India, China in national currencies crushing dollar amid sanctions – experts

Experts believe that the wish of the West to restrict Moscow’s cooperation with Brussels and Washington will play into the hands of the Russian economy. Wisdom and presence of mind are two components that will guarantee success for a new spiral of Russia’s cooperation with eastern countries. Also, this will allow us to counter-balance the risks that the European market is exposed to.

…

Russia has decided to develop cooperation with Asian countries. India, for example is our partner in issues of the military-industrial complex, in the high-tech segment. Cooperation with China is based on the raw materials sector, engineering, military technology. Recall that the Russian president’s visit is due in May.

Most likely, agreements on natural gas will be signed. Actually, bearing in mind that China will become the world’s largest economy in the near future, the development of the eastern vector will guarantee that a considerable part of extra profits and the growth of the home market will be generated in the South-East Asia.

Europe Needs to Wean Itself From Russian Oil and Gas…and Fast

With tensions in Ukraine nearing a breaking point, the world is collectively looking to the Western powers for resolution. But, not surprisingly, the response so far has consisted of little more than a wag of the finger, with NATO and other world leaders unanimously condemning Russia’s military action in the Crimea.

While the reasons for this muted response are manifold, it’s difficult to ignore the leverage the Russians hold in this standoff. For starters, the U.S. and other Western powers have little to gain from bringing the Crimean conflict to a head; Russia, on the other hand, greatly benefits from controlling the region, with its strategic access to the Black Sea and concentration of Russian-speaking peoples.