Although the European Commission has turned off the slapping machine (using sanctions against Hungary in its excess deficit procedure), it is not taking it out of the room, to let Hungary know where it stands.
Chart of the week: a regional comparison of government budget deficit forecasts, from…
Thanks to their high per capita oil revenues, certain Middle Eastern countries were able to evade the Arab Spring through higher social spending – so far, that is. But with both break-even oil prices and geopolitical tensions on the rise, simply buying the silence of their citizens with generous…
The tender for one or two new nuclear blocks at the Paks site will be announced by early next year at the latest – at least according to the most recent news. This is a bit like calling a design competition for the Hungarian euro coins. But it costs much, much more. There are several reasons…
The national anthem of South Sudan (chosen in a televised competition in 2010) calls upon the “land of great abundance to uphold us united in peace and harmony”. Let’s be polite and say that this is more of an aspiration than reflecting current realities.
Subscribe to our newsletter to…
...and it's easier to do if you are a woman in a crisis-hit Mediterranean country.
OK, it’s quiz time. Which of the following statements are true?
Life expectancy in Mexico is higher than in Washington DC.
Life expectancy in Shanghai is higher than in Sweden.
Life expectancy in Hungary…
The worse drought in the US in 50 years and sky-rocketing corn and food prices have called attention to the irrationality of biofuels again. But the truth is that ethanol and biodiesel have always been prohibitively expensive even without a drought, and not a good way to reduce CO2 emissions. Now…
Finally the EU has woken up to something that has long been obvious. Another sign that the (market) power of Gazprom is waning.
By István Zsoldos and Péter Simon Vargha
The European Commission has just launched a formal investigation into whether Gazprom breached antitrust rules in its…
We always suspected that Russia was taking unconventional gas more seriously than it said it did. Now the government, even if at low level, is talking about the risks to Gazprom. In this piece we are looking at the potential political consequences of unconventional gas.
The relative political…
So here we are: the Gold Standard was discredited in the 1930s and the paper money regime by the recent economic crisis (and also the inflationary periods in many countries), so the world is looking for new (or old) solutions. Hence the renewed interest in the Gold Standard. Of course it does not…
Dominant position on the most dynamic motor fuel market of Europe, efficient operations and of course the political background provided by the Koc family – these are the ingredients of the success of Tüpras, a Turkish refiner.
From time to time we are going to invite external authors as a…
Solar power has been a booming business recently, thanks in part to fast declining costs, but more importantly governments that sprinkled it with lavish subsidies. And the curious thing was that the governments that could afford it the least were among the most generous. In 2011, almost a third of…
No, it is not the EU emission trading system, or more of costly wind farm subsidies in troubled Europe. It is not a strict global climate deal, which has a close to zero chance. It is Chinese public anger and protests –not against CO2 emissions, but against local pollution, later on potentially…
Buy ambitious experts from majors, distressed assets from small companies and have lots of luck. This was the recipe of COVE Energy, a junior that started exploring oil and gas only three years ago. It increased its market capitalization over 700-fold and recently was a subject of a bidding war. The…
Unconventional gas impacts, emissions edition, in a single shocking graph. US energy related CO2-emissions are back to 1990 levels in 2012, thanks mainly to (unconventional) gas substituting for coal.
The data are from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The chart…
Oil prices are down 30% from recent highs (and could fall further). Those who say it’s time to celebrate simply miss the point: the cause has been slowing demand, in turn a result of a global macroeconomic slowdown. What they also miss is that at current prices, the world still pays twice as much…
If Real-Barca matches are called ’El Clasico’, then certainly tonight’s Euro Champs quarterfinal between Germany and Greece, at the two extremes of the current Euro-crisis, certainly deserves the name ’El politico’.
Merkel will be there. They moved forward a meeting with Italian,…
Gas is more abundant and cheaper than oil, and possibly even than coal. It will spread in heating and electricity production. Whether the same happens in transportation is more questionable – electricity may push out oil first. But if not, we may have a “methane economy” in a few decades.…
“Banking union” is a backdoor to fiscal union. That is why it will not come any time soon. The Eurozone crisis is potentially worse than the Great Depression for peripheral countries (including Spain and Italy). Policymakers still underestimate the risks, to put it mildly.
The Eurozone crisis…
The Opel Ampera plug-in hybrid is coming. There is no good reason to buy it, even if you are a devoted Green. Buy a traditional car - and one for your neighbor too. Or insulate someone's house.
“What would Jesus drive?” is a serious question in some part of the US. In a similar vein, we…
The energy company is one of the largest local investors, and speaks the same language; sure it can manage country risk. Except when not.
By Péter Simon Vargha and Réka Sarolta Torma:
As Repsol, the Spanish oil and gas company had to learn it the hard way in Argentina. Last month Argentina’s…
Currently natural gas in the US is cheaper than the subsidized domestic gas price level in Russia. Even if this is unlikely to last, gas will be cheap, significantly cheaper than oil, eventually everywhere. This is going to be a truly enermous global supply shock. But the US will enjoy a cost…
At least the International Energy Agency has been saying: “U.S. international oil security attention may not be as strong as today because U.S. will import much less oil than today”. Do we really have to start worrying then?
Or, the same message in a single…
It is good to clear up some things at the beginning, and people working for gas/oil/energy companies especially should come clean about their views regarding climate change. We think global warming is real, and uncertainty strengthens the case for action, not weaken it.
So here we…
