Wherever oil goes, the stock market goes

Re:Wherever oil goes, the stock market goes by TheOtherHobbes on Monday February 15, 2016 @12:01PM (#11104386)

I think the Saudis are gambling they can keep it together politically and financially longer than their competition can, leaving them with a de facto monopoly.

It's a very ballsy move, but it's also a very dangerous one, because the Saudi regime relies heavily on direct patronage - handouts - and if those stop happening there's a real danger of instability.

It's also very dangerous to poke Russia too hard, because Putin really isn't likely to say "Fine then, I'll just give up."

This could all end very badly for everyone.

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Re:Wherever oil goes, the stock market goes by AnAfrican on Monday February 15, 2016 @12:32PM (#11104623)

Or maybe, as many people have argued, Saudi Arabia realized that OPEP (and the non-OPEP players) are simply not disciplined enough to bring their production down enough to move prices up.

So they've decided to fight for market-share this time. And they can, since their production prices are on the low side.

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