Cuba's Entire Power Grid Collapses As Castro's Grandson Seeks Talks With Trump

China Dismisses Report Of Top Chipmaker Aiding Iranian Forces As "Fake News" Beijing moved into damage-control mode on Friday, with its foreign ministry dismissing a Reuters report that cited two senior Trump administration officials alleging that SMIC, China's largest chipmaker, had sent chipmaking tools to Iran, as "false information." Asked about the report at a regular news conference in Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said he was "not familiar with the situation" and added, "What I can tell you is that recently, some media have been keen on releasing...

Macquarie: Two More Months Of War Could Send Oil To $200 Submitted by Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com  Oil prices could hit a record $200 per barrel if the war in the Middle East drags on through the entire second quarter, analysts at Macquarie Group have warned.  The odds of the Iran war dragging on until June were put at 40% by the analysts in a note carried by Bloomberg. But the scenario of the war ending by the end of March currently appears more plausible, with odds at 60%, according to Macquarie.    “If...

'Tank Bottoms' Loom At Cushing After Across-The-Board Inventory Draws, Another Huge SPR Drain Oil prices bounced higher overnight after the US and Iran exchanged new strikes despite their purported ceasefire, rekindling uncertainty about an end to the Middle East war. The latest strikes were the most serious since an April ceasefire, and came despite a series of headlines suggesting talks on a deal were progressing. "A fresh exchange of strikes between the two countries is testing the fragile ceasefire and forcing a reassessment of the chances of a near-term agreement which can...