Talk of Oil-Supply Cut Sends Prices Higher

'We're reimbursing ourselves'

(NEWSER) - Donald Trump has an interesting concept of how the world’s oil markets work: In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC , Trump opined that the reason oil was so high was because “We don’t have anybody in Washington that calls OPEC and says, ‘Fellas, it’s time. It’s over. You’re not going to do it anymore.’” When Stephanopoulos pressed him on how he’d back up that threat, Trump replied, “I’m going to look ‘em in the eye and say, ‘Fellas, you’ve had your fun. Your fun is over.’” More»

But he just loves this country too much not to

(NEWSER) - Donald Trump was quite the braggart on CNN’s State of the Union today. Highlights from Politico:

• Trump is better than Romney: “Mitt Romney is a basically small-business guy, if you really think about it,” Trump said , adding that he is “much bigger than this man and have a much, much bigger net worth. I mean my net worth is many, many, many times Mitt Romney.”
• And his company is, too: “I've built a great company. And one of the beauties of, frankly, if and when I announce, some time prior to June, you will see how big my company is, because it's much bigger and much more powerful and much stronger than anyone really knows.”

As US drivers complain, those overseas think we're lucky

(NEWSER) - Gas prices are climbing again, which means people are complaining, which means it's time for a spate of stories showing how relatively cheap gas remains in the US. Here's a rough estimate of world prices per gallon, courtesy of CNN :

• US: $3.53
• Norway: $9.28
• Europe: Between $7.50 and $8 for most, including Britain, Ireland, Italy, France, and Germany.

Cable argues that kingdom can't pump enough crude to control prices

(NEWSER) - The world may be on the verge of an oil crisis, according to WikiLeaks cables released to the Guardian today. According to the cables, Sadad al-Husseini, the former head of Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil monopoly, warned diplomats that Saudi reserves were overstated by almost 40%, and that the country couldn’t reach the 12.5 million barrel-per-day production capacity needed to keep global oil prices in check. He predicted that the world would hit “peak oil” as early as 2012. More»

Vessel nabbed en route from Bahrain to race in Dubai

(AP) - Iran is holding five British sailors after stopping their racing yacht in the Persian Gulf, the British government said today. The yacht, owned by Sail Bahrain, was stopped on its way from the tiny island country to Dubai on Wednesday when it "may have strayed inadvertently into Iranian waters," according to the Foreign Office. The seizure may be related to recent international pressure on Iran to drop its nuclear program, the AP reports. More»