Federal regulators are looking into something strange that happened yesterday in the oil markets: Prices plunged more than $3 a barrel in less than a minute.
An oil well may seem pretty useless when the light sweet crude stops flowing. In Texas, researchers and entrepreneurs see a chance to recycle old wells and create geothermal power.
Despite, or perhaps because of, the historic drought in the Midwest, farmers are making big profits. Isaac shuts down Louisiana's ports. And all those smartphones come with a cost: more than ever, we're tethered to our jobs.
Hurricane Isaac is battering the Gulf, which means a huge chunk of American oil drilling and refining is off line. There’s talk of America tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Tropical storm Isaac is expected to become a hurricane, though it won't be nearly as powerful as Katrina. The storm has already shut down off-shore oil rigs in the gulf.
Which industries do well in public opinion polls? Computers get mostly positive marks, as do retail and anything having to do with food. The federal government and oil and gas, not so much.
From Nigeria, the Wall Street Journal has a provocative piece this morning on how the country's protecting its oil industry. The government's paying warlords, thieves and terrorists to guard the same oil pipelines they once plundered.
Oil refineries are among the many industries that use large volumes of water. A refinery in water-parched southern California turned to waste water for its needs.
Oil prices have jumped to a three month high in overseas trading. Brent Crude is at $114 a barrel this morning, despite forecasts that say global oil demand will be lower than first expected.
