El Mundo & Few Ideas — Notes #2

Three items dominated the headlines — the Low Oil Prices, Flint’s Water Hazard Problem, the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. A closer inspection of these stories reveal some interesting insights. To better organize my thoughts and to share it with others, I’ve put down my findings below.

Three Items

The Middle East Panel on Energy & Economics @ WEF > Can the Egyptian Delegate please lose some weight > its pretty upsetting when people are starving

Are low oil prices here to stay? That was the basic question that every delegation from the Middle East got hit with. Best answer came from UAE’s minister of Energy “Non-Opec countries now account for about 60% of total production, over the next two years more than $400 billion worth of investments for the Oil sector in the GCC was planned. The majority of that is gone now. The world will need to adjust and we will see the market share of OPEC rising” Also found answer given by the economic advisor to Iran’s President interesting > “We are going to return to levels before sanctions and secure the market share that we had then. We are willing to cooperate with other producers to that end”

US Oil Producers > Got a Bit Ahead of Themselves

Questions to Ask:
How strong is long-term financing for US Oil Producers > will they go bankrupt at the current prices? Will we see cooperation between KSA and Iran in the oil production field, regardless of other areas? Keeping an eye on the next few OPEC meetings and the size of the delegations might be revealing (Old Rothschild and Waterloo trick)?

Comparing Flint water with Detroit Water > Child carrying a protest poster and water bottles

2. The water tragedy in Flint reveals that the American Dream hasn’t reached everyone. More importantly, it hits a crucial human need — drinking water — before this revelation makes the headlines.

Questions to ask
Where is the income gap deepest in the US? What are the solutions being provided to the residents in those areas? Level of debt for those areas by age group? What do concerned parents living in those areas hope for?

3. Preparing for the future is a central theme of Davos every year. I found the UAE’s minister’s answer particularly interesting as it breaks down many stereotypes that folks have about the GCC. “We have world class companies outside the oil sector that pay taxes abroad. It is not inconceivable that they will soon be paying taxes at home > it will be an add value for society” Another sector highlighted was financial services with many in the panel nodding approvingly.

Questions to ask
How many of these GCC super corps are there? It seems UAE’s leadership will be here to stay in the 21st century given their careful planning, is the term “PetroMonarchy” still applicable? Are we going to see a loosing up of property rights & commercial legal rights, as well as new financial products coming out of the GCC?