U.S. wants more purchases of Russian Fertilizer as Commodities prices Soar

June 15, 2022 — bunkerville

So how are things working out with our Ukraine adventure? Sure sounds like Russia is making out just fine. Three months into this war, Ukraine is ravaged. Russia controls major parts of E. Ukraine. Russia’s oil profits are higher than ever. Ruble is strong. Much of the world rejected US/NATO policy. Billions in US funds: gone, who knows where. Untraced weapons are flooding the region.

We sure are teaching the Russian oligarchs a lesson now  aren’t we? Snagging all of those big boats. A couple of their big mansions. It is working swell. By the way, all of these food processing plants biting the dust by fire? Anyone wonder if there could be any cause and effect? Just thinking out loud.

And now? A looming food shortage on the horizon. Not to worry, the Biden savants have a plan. Buy more Russian fertilizer. Yes.

The US wants companies to buy Russian fertilizer as agricultural commodities markets spiral and a global food crisis looms: report

Wheat Fields

The US wants companies to ramp up purchases of Russian fertilizer as global food costs rise and shortages loom, according to a Monday Bloomberg report.

The EU and the US have built exemptions into their restrictions on doing business with Russia to allow trade in fertilizer, of which Moscow is a key global supplier. But many shippers, banks and insurers have been staying away from the trade out of fear they could inadvertently fall afoul of the rules. Russian fertilizer exports are down 24% this year. US officials, surprised by the extent of the caution, are in the seemingly paradoxical position of looking for ways to boost them.

Sources told Bloomberg that the government is quietly pushing companies to buy and carry more Russian fertilizer. Sanctions fears have created a supply shortage and have fueled a global food crisis, and the US is moving to alleviate pressure with the United Nations by boosting  deliveries of fertilizer, grain, and other supplies from Russia.

This year, Russian fertilizer exports have dropped 24%, per Bloomberg data. Russia and Ukraine together account for a quarter of global grains trade.

According to Russia’s Grain Union, wheat exports doubled in May. At the same time, Bloomberg reports that over 25 million tons of grain, sunflower oil, and other goods are stuck in Ukraine due to security concerns.

Read more

Breadbasket to the World

Russia and Ukraine account for a quarter of global grains trade

Source: International Grains Council

And will the U.S. be able to pitch in and help out with the shortage of grain and  energy? Not so much. Actually the U.S. is burning up its food supply in order to keep our massive amount of energy resources in the ground.

Biden Mandates Increased Ethanol in Gas – Raises Corn Prices by 30 Percent

June 7, 2022 — bunkerville

Smart. Burning your food to make “renewable” fuels that will raise the price of corn by 30 percent when there is a looming food shortage. Better, it will requirer more fertilizer which is in short supply and that price too is soaring. Best? Probably put smaller refineries out of business. And the coup de grace? Causes engine wear and damages your car. All this to force the issue of EV’s.

The EPA, after gathering comments since releasing it proposed blending requirements in December, said Friday it will require refiners to blend 20.77 billion gallons of ethanol, biodiesel and other renewable fuel this year.

Additionally, the oil industry must blend 250 million more gallons of renewable fuel, both this year and next, after a federal court found the Obama administration inappropriately reduced the 2016 blending requirements.

The agency also denied roughly 70 exemptions for small refineries, many of which had been granted under former President Donald Trump.

Everything just fine in the swamp today.

BONUS: 

Posted in Energy. Tags: , , , , . 24 Comments »

Jen Psaki blames increases in meat prices on “the greed of meat conglomerates.”

December 15, 2021 — bunkerville

Meat is a commodity just like corn, wheat, soybeans, natural gas, lumber, oil. you name it. Prices go up and down, it’s called supply and demand. Restricting supply is a great way to increase inflation. Now when we are in the worst of inflation let’s restrict supply. Of course its all greed according to Jen Psaki.

Biden continues to self-destruct the economy and inflation. As an example, he just raised tariffs on Canadian Lumber coming into America. That will be passed on to us in building products inflation.

It’s also another example of the glaring inconsistencies that have characterized President Joe Biden’s first year in office.

For instance, White House officials did everything in their power to burden domestic energy producers, then professed utter surprise when the price of gasoline skyrocketed and the driving public snarled in reaction. The administration and its Democratic allies in Congress flooded the economy with “stimulus” and then professed shock when inflation kicked in with too many dollars chasing too few goods. In response, the president told Americans that he’s dedicated to attacking higher prices — all while implementing trade policies that will drive up housing costs.

The president seems unable to grasp the relationship between the country’s economic challenges and his administration’s own policies.

More at LVRJ

The White House has declared that “President Biden is committed to using every tool available in government to produce more affordable housing supply as quickly as possible.” Yet on Nov. 24, Biden’s Commerce Department announced it was doubling duties on softwood lumber imported from Canada, from an average of 8.99% to 17.9%. Softwood lumber is a crucial material needed to build houses, and levying a large tax on imports only hurts the cause of expanding housing supply.

With surging demand and lackluster supply, lumber has gotten absurdly expensive during the coronavirus pandemic. At its height, in May, the price of lumber futures hit more than $1,600 per thousand board feet, more than four times what it averaged in the five years before 2020. In April, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) estimated that increased lumber prices added almost $36,000 to the average price of a single-family home.

Image

More at NPR

Flashback:

Former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. The man who blocked as much drilling on Federal Lands that he could muster including much of Alaska:

Ken Salazar channels Harry Potter re: energy policy

April 28, 2012 — bunkerville

With savants such as Salazar, how can we go wrong? I think this sums up the week quite nicely.

“Not even Harry Potter” can bring down rising gas prices and nobody knows when they will stop rising, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday.

“No one has the ability – not even Harry Potter – to simply wave a magic wand and say that we’re going to have gas prices at $2 or $2.50 or $3. It just doesn’t work that way,” said Salazar, whose department controls oil and gas drilling on federal lands.

“Where it will all end, no-one knows,” he said, then reiterated the view that Obama’s “all-of-the-above” policy would protect Americans from the volatilities of the global market.

Salazar said gas prices were set by “global economics.” The best thing to do in the long run is to “stay the course” on President Obama’s commitment to green energy.

Barack Obama unfortunately mocked Donald Trump for having “A Magic Wand” during his 2016 presidential campaign. However he was very very wrong indeed.

“Gas hypocrisy on the left” Hang with it, you will not be disappointed. From a post in 2012.

Recall how Bush was treated by the Left when gas prices were $1.87 per gallon?  Such insults.   And now?    You’ll see media stories where “rising gas prices are a GOOD THING!”   “There are reasons to be optimistic, people’s lives have been saved from high gas prices” 

Clip created in 2012:

 

The best of the swamp today. For the best in conservative news push the button.

Posted in Energy. Tags: , , , , . 26 Comments »

Trading Of Over The Counter Gold And Silver To Be Illegal Beginning July 15

June 19, 2011 — bunkerville

Consider this posting a heads up. I read the full article and it requires a law degree to even to be able opine on the matter. Since this memo came out from FOREX, it apparently warrants a deep concern. Dodd-Frank– the bill that keeps on giving. There are still hundreds of pages of regs yet to be written on this behemoth bill that passed once again in the dark of the night. It is interesting that Gold and Silver seem to be the focus and concern. You might want to check out one of my earlier posts which follows at the bottom of the page.

Zero Hedge
June 18th, 2011

One small step toward Executive Order 6102 part 2, and one giant leap for corruptcongressmankind.

From: FOREX.com <info@forex.com>
Date: Fri, Jun 17, 2011 at 6:11 PM
Subject: Important Account Notice Re: Metals Trading
To: xxx

Important Account Notice Re: Metals Trading

We wanted to make you aware of some upcoming changes to FOREX.com’s product offering. As a result of the Dodd-Frank Act enacted by US Congress, a new regulation prohibiting US residents from trading over the counter precious metals, including gold and silver, will go into effect on Friday, July 15, 2011.

In conjunction with this new regulation, FOREX.com must discontinue metals trading for US residents on Friday, July 15, 2011 at the close of trading at 5pm ET. As a result, all open metals positions must be closed by July 15, 2011 at 5pm ET.

We encourage you to wind down your trading activity in these products over the next month in anticipation of the new rule, as any open XAU or XAG positions that remain open prior to July 15, 2011 at approximately 5:00 pm ET will be automatically liquidated.

We sincerely regret any inconvenience complying with the new U.S. regulation may cause you. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact our customer service team.

Sincerely,
The Team at FOREX.com

It appears that Forex.com’s interpretation of the law stems primarily from Section 742(a) of the Dodd-Frank act which “prohibits any person [which again includes companies]from entering into, or offering to enter into, a transaction in any commodity with a person that is not an eligible contract participant or an eligible commercial entity, on a leveraged or margined basis.”  More here at The Intelhub

Dodd Frank Fiasco- now we are on the hook for the derivatives market

Only seven months too late, official Washington is starting to acknowledge flaws in the architecture of the Dodd-Frank law passed last July. Tuesday, for example, Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo admitted in testimony to the House Committee on Financial Services that by forcing much of the derivatives market through central counterparties, the government would now be creating new too-big-to-fail institutions and new potential sources of systemic financial risk.

 More on the Dodd-Frank Bill

Last week, I described how the Dodd-Frank financial “reform” law passed last summer violates constitutional separation-of-powers safeguards by giving unaccountable bureaucrats the power to seize companies and legislate through administrative fiat.  But that is not the only way Dodd-Frank violates the Constitution.  It also violates property rights and equal-protection guarantees.

For example, it contains racial preferences that were criticized by members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. It “imposes race and gender employment quotas on the financial industry,” noted economist Diana Furchtgott-Roth in the Washington Examiner. Its ”Section 342 states that race and gender employment ratios must be observed by all government agencies that regulate the financial sector, as well as private financial institutions that do business with the government.”

Posted in Government. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , . 13 Comments »