A Greed Merchant Pays the Price in Zhukovsky
“Today’s installment comes from events unfolding toward the end of the last century (it still seems strange to say that). Given the present day fascination with Russian oligarchs, their money and toys, and the political connections that gave them rise, this one has some current resonance.”
The Culprit Behind the Oil-Gasoline Spread
“I will identify who is responsible.”
Hell Hath No Fury Like a Bride Denied ‘No. 3” in St. Petersburg
“You heard it right. Brides, in their gowns no less, were picketing the city’s legislature.”
Collateral Oil Finance Redux
“This is going to involve the first step in a significant pivot involving how the big boys deploy cash to offset a rising sector-specific situation. As it happens, it involves energy investment, bringing me back once again to my initial area of specialty.”
Getting Even in Trieste
“The aftermath was personally devastating, taking the life of a friend, and assuring that there would be payback.”
“So here, at long last, is how we got even.”
Memorial Day Reflections
“What I’ve referred to as ‘the Great Game’ was played with deadly seriousness. The consequences were life and death, the stakes couldn’t have been higher, and the players were mostly unknown. Yet these were the people on the front-lines of what is essentially a never-ending war, as states constantly jockey for power. In the end, if they fail, a country can collapse.”
Memories
“Next week we honor those who have given the supreme sacrifice to allow the rest of us to live the kind of life we do. For me individually, this is a very tough time of the year. And it is all coming back to me this morning.”
A Diesel Shortfall Once Again Impacts Propane
“We are once again hearing anxiety over diesel and propane shortages once the weather turns colder. Already stockpiles are well below average levels for this time of the year.”
Mystery of a Nun’s Murder Returns to Rozhdestvensky Bulvar
“Even crimes committed decades ago have a way of circling forward to the current war, at least in the minds of opinion spinners in the Kremlin.”
Crypto Crisis Revisits a Concern I Introduced a Year Ago
“This ingrained collapse may be the most serious outcome yet. It brings the essential ‘Holy Grail’ objective of crypto – establishing a bridge to more conventional finance – into question and with it, any genuine expansion into traditional market exchanges.”