Donald I, emperor of the world.

[Pinno718]

The objective is to distract attention from elsewhere.
It’s working.

Dunno about that. TYT (The Young Turks), Meidas touch. Luke Beasley, The Bulwark etc are awash with Epstein stuff. The mere fact that the Iran conflict i dubbed operation Epstein fury is a testament to that.

The bigger picture is Trump is not winning the popularity contest and we await the stock markets reaction to the bombing of Iran.

Contrary to previous comments claiming that the US produces enough oil for domestic use, this is incorrect. The US produces a lot of heavy oil but not light crude and is heavily reliant on the middle east.

The US continues to import Middle Eastern oil primarily because its refinery infrastructure is designed for "heavy/sour" crude, whereas domestic fracking produces "light/sweet" crude. Furthermore, oil is a globally traded commodity, meaning domestic prices are influenced by international supply disruptions.
NPR +2
Key Reasons for Continued Reliance:

• Refinery Incompatibility: Many US refineries, particularly on the Gulf Coast, are specialized to process heavy, dense, sulfur-rich oil imported from regions like the Middle East, Mexico, and Canada, rather than the light, low-sulfur oil produced by US fracking.
• Global Market Pricing: Because oil is a global commodity, prices are set internationally. Even though the U.S. is a major producer, it remains susceptible to price spikes caused by geopolitical instability in the Middle East.
• Economic Efficiency: It is often more economical to export light, sweet oil produced in the US and import heavier, cheaper, more suitable crude for existing refineries.
• Strategic Flexibility: Saudi Arabia in particular holds significant spare capacity to quickly balance global markets during disruptions.

 

[Dorset Boy]

I think you are right to highlight the fact that not all oil is the same. Russia and seemingly the US produce heavy oil, which is fine for diesel, but no good for petrol, hence the reliance on the Middle East.

On the markets, oil companies seem to be up, everyone else down.

 

[CXRAndy]

USA is a net exporter of energy. They hardly import any oil from abroad.

They're almost energy independent

 

[CXRAndy]

Need another leader Mk3


View: https://x.com/i/status/2028365771873931773

 

[Pinno718]

I think you are right to highlight the fact that not all oil is the same. Russia and seemingly the US produce heavy oil, which is fine for diesel, but no good for petrol, hence the reliance on the Middle East.

On the markets, oil companies seem to be up, everyone else down.

Russia produces a wider range of oils and posses the mechanisms to refine it*. Unlike the US, almost the whole of the Russian economy relies on oil and gas export. The US can offset the purchasing cost of light crude with sales of heavy crude and that's why 'gas**' is always cheap for them.

*Well, of the refinery's not being fixed due to drone strikes. Production is down over 20% currently and Urals are at an all time low in value.
**'Gasoline' invented by a British person called John Cassel as Cazeline which later got barbarised and was copied (badly) by a Dubliner and sold as Gasoline.

 

[Pinno718]

Anyhoo:

Live Updates
Updated Mon, Mar 2 20262:47 AM EST
ShareShare Article via FacebookShare Article via TwitterShare Article via LinkedInShare Article via Email

Dow futures drop over 600 points as oil prices spike following U.S. attack on Iran: Live updates​

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/01/stock-market-today-live-update.html

 

[First Aspect]

Russia produces a wider range of oils and posses the mechanisms to refine it*. Unlike the US, almost the whole of the Russian economy relies on oil and gas export. The US can offset the purchasing cost of light crude with sales of heavy crude and that's why 'gas**' is always cheap for them.

*Well, of the refinery's not being fixed due to drone strikes. Production is down over 20% currently and Urals are at an all time low in value.
**'Gasoline' invented by a British person called John Cassel as Cazeline which later got barbarised and was copied (badly) by a Dubliner and sold as Gasoline.

The price of petrol in the US is low predominantly because of differences in taxation compared to Europe. Paradoxically this means they notice crude oil price changes more than we do. If everything in your economy is based on cheap energy, with other things being expensive, then when the energy price goes up from cheap to not quite as cheap, people really notice.

I have said before, Americans vote with their wallets not their conscience. The only way this move helps the GOP in the mid terms is if there aren't any.

 

[CXRAndy]

Anyhoo:

Live Updates
Updated Mon, Mar 2 20262:47 AM EST
ShareShare Article via FacebookShare Article via TwitterShare Article via LinkedInShare Article via Email

Dow futures drop over 600 points as oil prices spike following U.S. attack on Iran: Live updates​

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/01/stock-market-today-live-update.html

Context, Dow dropped 1.5% over 5days and 0.2% over the month

Doesn't seem the market is massively concerned with latest news

 

[CXRAndy]

View: https://x.com/i/status/2028186916089197015

 

[Pross]

So he launched these attacks without Congressional approval which is another breach of the Constitution. You would think this would trigger an impeachment or something but yet again it appears he is able to act with impunity and that the US government is completely toothless. It really has become a dictatorship.

 

[CXRAndy]

So he launched these attacks without Congressional approval which is another breach of the Constitution. You would think this would trigger an impeachment or something but yet again it appears he is able to act with impunity and that the US government is completely toothless. It really has become a dictatorship.

Did Obama get Congress to approve-no

 

[CXRAndy]

Don't get involved in a fight you cant last more than 10 mins


View: https://x.com/i/status/2028300949358522437

 

[Dorset Boy]

Context, Dow dropped 1.5% over 5days and 0.2% over the month

Doesn't seem the market is massively concerned with latest news

Err, is New York open yet?
I don't think so as it doesn't open until 2.30 pm UK time, and it's now just after 10 am in the UK.

FTSE100 is down 0.75%
DAX is down 1.76%
EuroStoxx 50 is down 1.85%
Nikkei is down 1.35%

Brent Crude is up over 8%

 

[First Aspect]

The commentators I am hearing are suggesting that the US and Israel will be unable to maintain this intensity for long.

I shudder to think how many of those drones are in storage.

 

[CXRAndy]

Err, is New York open yet?
I don't think so as it doesn't open until 2.30 pm UK time, and it's now just after 10 am in the UK.

FTSE100 is down 0.75%
DAX is down 1.76%
EuroStoxx 50 is down 1.85%
Nikkei is down 1.35%

Brent Crude is up over 8%

Hardly huge cliff falls

FTSE is up over 5 days. So this includes the dip at the start of the conflict

Once the Islamic regime has been disarmed of its missiles , planes, drones etc. The interrupted oil production levels with normalise. In the meantime Saudi, an ally of Trump will adjust production to cover variations.

The markets will already knows this hence the lack of knee jerk fluctuations in markets