Mike Norman Economics

If the U.S. government’s view is correct, spot prices and the backwardation should both fall as oil and gas continues to flow, easing some of the fear about a recessionary spike in prices.If traders are correct, the disruption of oil and gas supplies (actual or threatened), possibly as a result of a miscalculation about the escalation ladder, will worsen inflation and increase the risk of a recession.But given the contradiction between where prices are trading and the U.S. government’s...

Excerpts from Putin and analysis in terms of conditions on the ground.Gilbert Doctorow — International relations, Russian affairsDay Two of the Russian ‘Military Operation’ in UkraineGilbert Doctorowhttps://gilbertdoctorow.com/2022/02/25/day-two-of-the-russian-military-operation-in-ukraine/

Russia ObserverRUSSIA UKRAINE 1Patrick Armstrong, retired analyst and diplomat (2008) serving in the Canadian Department of National Defence specializing in the USSR/Russia from 1984 and a Counsellor in the Canadian Embassy in Moscow in 1993-1996.https://patrickarmstrong.ca/2022/02/25/russia-ukraine-1/Anti-WarBiden: NO COMMENT re China on UkraineRay McGovern, co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, and retired 27-year career CIA whose tasks included preparing and...

 Reporting on neo-Nazism in Ukraine has been suppressed from the outset, namely, the Maidan massacre. As result, most people exposed chiefly to the conventional narrative are unaware of fundamental issues and causality or reject it as "conspiracy theory."Info BRICSUnderstanding Ukrainian NazismLucas Leiroz, researcher in Social Sciences at the Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; geopolitical consultanthttp://infobrics.org/post/35232/

The liberals hate racism, but they terribly zonophobic. Cent Uyghur says that Putin is a racist.Ukraine Putin had a massive mount of troops on the Ukraine border, which could, if left in place for a very long time, bankrupt Russia.Also, the West kept pouring more arms into the Ukraine, which would make a successful invasion much harder.So, Putin started running out of time.People think that because Russia is a huge country, that once commanded the Soviet Union, it is still a superpower, but...

Again, out of paradigm with MMT, but interesting from the geopolitical POV, which is also way out of paradigm with MMT. But that is what everyone believes, and this determines how they behave.Gold, Goats 'GunsEU Sanctions on Russia Equal ‘Suicide by Cop’Tom Luongohttps://tomluongo.me/2022/02/25/eu-sanctions-suicide-by-cop/

Unintended consequences, at least for the West?“The key word today is obviously hold off and do not do anything that could backfire in the future,” WSJ cited Hugo De Stoop, chief executive of tanker company Euronav, as saying. “At the moment, we're not touching any cargo that’s linked to Russia.”At the same time, Indian refiners have scooped up 6 million barrels of discounted Russian Urals crude, traders told Bloomberg.Maybe Russia should tell the Western buyers to settle in physical gold...

Yes, I know. Alasdair Macleod is a goldbug that is out of paradigm with MMT.  But goldbugs pay attention to international developments, especially those that are like to affect the price of metals. This is a good analysis overall and he is right "financially" in the sense that most financial actors act on the frame of reference. He is also correct that gold is becoming significant again, especially sine the entry of China and India on the world scene as major players. Their cultures have...

Kosovo. noun: a part of a sovereign state where a separatist movement is supported by a superpower and pronounced a sovereign state itself.To pull a Kosovo: the action of a superpower to recognize a separatist region as a sovereign state.Putin just pulled a Kosovo....CounterpunchPutin Pulls a KosovoGary Leupp |  Professor of History at Tufts University with a secondary appointment in the Department of Religion

Another historical account undermining the conventional narrative with facts and previous expert analysis. Why did this happen? Cui bono?After the fall of the Soviet Union, there was a near-universal understanding among political leaders that NATO expansion would be a foolish provocation against Russia. How naive we were to think the military-industrial complex would allow such sanity to prevail.Another instance of "disaster capitalism," seizing an opportunity to profit.CountpunchChris...