Oil 101 and How the War in the Middle East Affects the Market with Legendary Oil Trader Mark Fisher

Gas, oil, and coal prices have soared in recent months as energy demands have increased with the post-lockdown recovery while supply remains tight. National stockpiles are unusually low heading into the winter months, and oil and gas producers are reluctant to increase production for fear that a glut of fuel on the market will depress prices. While some argue that more investment in fossil fuels is needed, others note that high fossil fuel prices will likely drive investment toward renewables, as governments seek to pry control of the world’s energy supply from a small handful of nations.

OPEC+ recently announced plans to cut global oil production. We’ll explore how this could affect the economy, the price of gas, and midterm elections in the US.

Economics is the study of how we allocate resources—food, clothing, money, time, effort, and knowledge. Economists begin this study by examining incentives: the driving forces behind our decisions. By understanding how we respond to incentives and the psychological instincts that steer us, we can better understand how market forces work and how governments and firms can use incentives to foster a healthy economy.

In Naked Economics, bestselling author Charles Wheelan strips away the complexity from some of the most powerful theories in economics, allowing readers with little or no background in the subject to understand many of the field’s fundamental concepts. He concentrates on the logical pieces of how and why people behave in certain ways, how markets function, and how governments can design incentive systems that encourage healthy economies.

Gas, oil, and coal prices have soared in recent months as energy demands have increased with the post-lockdown recovery while supply remains tight. National stockpiles are unusually low heading into the winter months, and oil and gas producers are reluctant to increase production for fear that a glut of fuel on the market will depress prices. While some argue that more investment in fossil fuels is needed, others note that high fossil fuel prices will likely drive investment toward renewables, as governments seek to pry control of the world’s energy supply from a small handful of nations.

The world order has changed numerous times in the past and will continue to do so—so argues Ray Dalio in Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order, in which he explains how he makes sense of human history in order to anticipate what’s coming next. Having studied the rises, peaks, and falls of over a dozen major empires, Dalio argues that history “rhymes” and that we can learn to recognize where we are in its repeating cycles. With that knowledge, we can make better decisions in life, business, and investing.

Dalio is an American billionaire investor and founder of Bridgewater Associates. Our guide explains his principles for understanding the large-scale patterns of cause-and-effect that drive history as well as his predictions for what’s next—which chiefly concern the unfolding relationship between the US, a major power on the decline, and China, a major power on the rise. In commentary, we explore additional perspectives on the patterns of history, and we offer numerous real-world examples of the concepts Dalio discusses.

Nuclear energy is getting new attention globally, but it remains a divisive topic in the US. Some people say it’s the best way to meet our energy needs without worsening global warming, while others argue that the risks are too high.

Though it’s become widely accepted that climate change is real, the questions still remain of what steps we should take to fix the damage and whether they'll be enough. Many scientists and activists believe that the climate has already passed a tipping point and that environmental catastrophe is inevitable. In Apocalypse Never, award-winning science writer Michael Shellenberger says that it’s time to assess the crisis from a rational perspective. He argues that we’re in a much better position to curb climate change than alarmists would have us believe, and that people who bend scientific truth in order to spur environmental action are doing more harm than good.

In this guide, we’ll explain Shellenberger’s argument that environmental alarmists overstate their claims and that there’s ground for hope for our planet’s future. We’ll also look at counter-arguments to Shellenberger’s claims and examine what independent research says about the solutions he suggests. We’ll point to recent developments in industry, agriculture, and the political climate that frame the conversation around climate change.

Because green energy can be produced almost anywhere in some form—wind, solar, hydropower, and so on—the shift to renewables will steer power away from countries and firms with exclusive access to fossil fuels. Gaining an edge in technology development is likely to be the most important factor in determining who pulls ahead.