Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Oil's Surge Reshapes the World

The Wall Street Journal has Four stories plus interactive graphics:

Boom Cuts U.S. Clout,
Revives Middle East;
Dark Days for Detroit
By NEIL KING JR. , CHIP CUMMINS and RUSSELL GOLD
January 3, 2008

The surging price of oil, from just over $10 a barrel a decade ago to $100 yesterday, is altering the wealth and influence of nations and industries around the world.

These power shifts will only widen if prices keep climbing, as many analysts predict. Costly oil already is forcing sweeping changes in the airline and auto sectors. It is intensifying the politics of climate change and adding urgency to the search both for fresh sources of crude and for oil alternatives once deemed fringe.

The long oil-price boom is posing wrenching challenges for the world's poorest nations, while enriching and emboldening producers in the Middle East, Russia and Venezuela. Their increasing muscle has a flip side: a decline of U.S. clout in many parts of the world....MORE

Oil's Surge Reshapes the World
[Go to story.]
Oil briefly touched $100 a barrel, from just over $10 a barrel a decade ago. The rise is altering the wealth and influence of nations and industries. Oil's surge adds to the pressure on the U.S. economy. 10:10 p.m.
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