Venezuelans are expressing outrage and the oil industry is waiting for details on President Donald Trump\u2019s announcement that Venezuela \u2019s acting president has agreed to give an unnamed U.S. company control of vast amounts of the South American country\u2019s untapped oil reserves, at cost. Trump called it \u201cTHE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY!\u201d but critics say U.S. consumers won\u2019t benefit for many years.<\/p>\n
Global crude prices are rising again<\/a> after renewed warfare between the United States and Iran, the first significant military action in a month. The global energy supply shock has for the first time kept average prices Americans pay at the pump above $4 throughout August, according to the AAA.<\/p>\n U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told The Associated Press<\/a> ahead of the Group of 20<\/a> finance ministers meeting he\u2019s hosting in Asheville, N.C., on Monday and Tuesday that the Trump administration is prepared to exact \u201cfinancial violence if we have to\u201d as it pressures allies to join in \u201ceconomic D-Day\u201d sanctions on Iran.<\/p>\n JD Vance to privately address Republican Jewish Coalition amid tension over Israel and antisemitism<\/p>\n The vice president\u2019s speech Monday is an opportunity for him to assuage concerns among conservative Jewish activists about his views toward Israel<\/a> and his association with controversial figures like Tucker Carlson.<\/a> It\u2019s closed to the news media and comes at an extraordinarily sensitive time for Jewish Americans and the U.S. relationship with Israel.<\/p>\n Concerns about antisemitism have surged across the political spectrum ahead of the midterm elections. Republicans are eager to portray Democrats as hostile toward Jews and Israel, but they\u2019re also dealing with their own internal schisms<\/a>, with younger Republicans more likely to say the U.S. is too supportive of Israel.<\/p>\n Vance suggested last month that some Israeli officials have sought to manipulate U.S. public opinion in order to prolong the war with Iran. \u201cIf I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world,\u201d Vance said in June.<\/p>\n George Santos banned by Kalshi for insider trading on prediction platform<\/p>\n The online prediction market platform Kalshi said Monday that it has permanently banned former U.S. Rep. George Santos after concluding the former Republican congressman likely engaged in insider trading when he bet against his attendance at the State of the Union address.<\/p>\n The convicted ex-congressman<\/a> had repeatedly discussed his intention to attend the State of the Union, which came just four months after he was granted clemency by President Donald Trump in a fraud case that led to his expulsion from the U.S. House. On the eve of Trump\u2019s speech, Kalshi put the odds of Santos attending at close to 75%.<\/p>\n Then, minutes into the speech, Santos posted on X<\/a> that he had been waylaid at the airport. Immediately, several social media users accused him of running another scheme.<\/p>\n US Treasury blocks certain journalists from G20 meeting<\/p>\n Individual reporters from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News were not granted credentials to the Group of 20 meeting, for reasons the Treasury has not explained. Bessent told the AP in an interview Sunday that \u201cit has nothing to do with point of view.\u201d<\/p>\n The Times said denying American journalists access to a U.S. event is \u201ca blatant attempt to evade public scrutiny.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWith the war in Iran, sanctions, the bond markets, and inflation on the agenda for the G20 finance ministers, the stakes of this gathering are significant for the global economy and the American people,\u201d the Times\u2019 statement said. \u201cExcluding specific reporters and entire news organizations is a disservice to the public and an assault on press freedoms that we strongly condemn.\u201d<\/p>\n Bloomberg News reported Sunday evening that denying the agency access to the meeting \u201cundermines media freedom and public accountability.\u201d The Wall Street Journal declined to comment.<\/p>\n China, Russia and India meet to counter US influence<\/p>\n Trump pushes back against opposition to data centers<\/p>\n The president posted on social media that U.S. communities that don\u2019t have data centers will \u201cend up being backwards and poor.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame,\u201d Trump told the public. \u201cChina could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement.\u201d<\/p>\n There has been a backlash across the country<\/a> to the construction of data centers needed to further develop artificial intelligence. The public has expressed concerns about their use of electricity and water, and their secretive development by tech companies. Many Americans are also worried that AI could increase economic disparities and cause widespread job losses.<\/p>\n Data center advocates stress that the local taxes these facilities pay can help fund public schools, reducing the financial burden on homeowners.<\/p>\n US treasury secretary tries to rally global finance ministers to back Trump\u2019s economic squeeze on Iran<\/p>\n As Scott Bessent hosts meetings of the Group of 20<\/a> finance ministers in Asheville, North Carolina, on Monday and Tuesday, he aims to focus on relatively uncontroversial issues, from economic growth to addressing mounting debt, along with pressuring allies to join in \u201ceconomic D-Day\u201d sanctions on Iran.<\/p>\n Daniel Fried, a former assistant secretary of state for European affairs in the George W. Bush administration, said the U.S. may \u201cfind it difficult to rally its usual friends and allies\u201d under the circumstances.<\/p>\n Republicans and Democrats react to the Venezuela deal<\/p>\n Trump allies called it a win. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said it was a historic deal that helps both countries.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it were up to DC Democrats, Maduro would still be in power, Venezuelan oil would be going to China at half price, and the people of Venezuela would be getting robbed by a corrupt regime,\u201d Moreno wrote on social media.<\/p>\n Democrats condemned it, saying Maduro\u2019s capture was always about Trump getting Venezuela\u2019s oil. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., branded it \u201ccorruption at epic scale.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWill prices come down for Americans? Who knows but likely not as much as Trump has forced them up thru his idiotic Iran War,\u201d Kaine said on social media.<\/p>\n Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said Trump \u201cput our service members at risk to get Venezuelan oil for his billionaire buddies.\u201d<\/p>\n Former Biden official warns that Democrats could challenge the deal once back in power<\/p>\n Amos Hochstein, who was a senior energy adviser under President Joe Biden, said the deal is uncharted legal and diplomatic territory that carries tremendous risk for any companies thinking about getting involved. Democrats could challenge the deal if they regain power in Washington, as could future administrations in Venezuela.<\/p>\n \u201cThere will be a lot of challenges to what was just announced,\u201d Hochstein said. \u201cI can only say, if it were me, I\u2019d be nervous. And if I\u2019m back in my old job in the next administration, then they should be nervous.\u201d<\/p>\n The oil industry is awaiting clarity on Trump\u2019s Venezuela deal<\/p>\n Many important details remain unclear, including the identity of the private operator that apparently now has rights to the untapped oil fields for 100 years, becoming the world\u2019s second-largest corporate holder of proven reserves after Saudi Aramco, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n Persuading big American oil companies to return to the region could prove a challenge given the political uncertainty and damaged infrastructure. Chevron, the only U.S. oil company actively producing in Venezuela, declined to comment.<\/p>\n By Collin Binkley and Juan Pablo Arraez<\/p>\n Former Venezuelan planning minister calls it a \u2018shameful deal\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cVenezuelans will not respect this illegitimate deal and no major US oil company will take it seriously because they know it will not last,\u201d Ricardo Hausmann, now a Harvard University professor, said on social media. He said Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, the acting president, \u201chas no legitimacy or constitutional power to commit Venezuela to any such deal.\u201d<\/p>\n Delcy Rodriguez pushed back on early criticism of the oil deal<\/p>\n \u201cOne thing must be absolutely clear: Venezuela retains ownership and sovereignty over its resources,\u201d Rodr\u00edguez said in her national address. She said the goal is to reach other agreements with transnational private companies such as Chevron, Repsol and Shell.<\/p>\n She added: \u201cWe want to be an energy powerhouse, a major oil producer, a significant gas exporter, and a major national petrochemical developer.\u201d<\/p>\n Some Venezuelans consider Trump oil deal a betrayal<\/p>\n It goes against what they\u2019ve been told for decades: Venezuelan resources are for Venezuela, and no leader would cede control of those resources to the U.S. government.<\/p>\n At a market in eastern Caracas, Douglas Borjas said he\u2019s upset that Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodriguez apparently agreed to 55% U.S. control of oil fields that could produce 65 billion barrels.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they\u2019re doing it to cling to power,\u201d Borjas said. \u201cThe Venezuelan people deserve better. Venezuela has resources that can be exploited, but for the benefit of the people, not for the benefit of the corrupt elite.\u201d<\/p>\n Monday\u2019s jump in bond yields could impact consumers<\/p>\n The bond market<\/a> is one of the few forces in the world strong enough to get politicians<\/a> to snap to attention. It also helps dictate how much ordinary people have to pay on their mortgages<\/a> and car loans, as well as how much they earn from their savings accounts and 401(k) plans<\/a>.<\/p>\n Wall Street is bracing for a potential rate hike<\/p>\n Traders are reacting to the speech Friday by Federal Reserve<\/a> Chairman Kevin Warsh about lowering inflation<\/a> despite possible short-term pain for the economy.<\/p>\n In the bond market<\/a>, the yield on the two-year Treasury, which closely tracks expectations about Fed moves, jumped to 4.35% from 4.22% just before Warsh\u2019s speech at an economic symposium<\/a>. That sets up a potential clash with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has consistently lobbied for lower rates.<\/p>\n More for each barrel, record prices at the pumps<\/p>\n Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 3.4% to $91.10 per barrel on Monday. U.S. benchmark crude oil was trading 3.6% higher at $86.40 per barrel.<\/p>\n That has created its own form of economic pressures globally, including in the U.S.<\/p>\n The national average for gasoline in August has been above $4 per gallon every day in August for the first time ever, according to the AAA. It has been the most expensive August at the pump on record, outpacing even the enormous supply chain crunch during the COVID-19 pandemic in August 2022.<\/p>\n Violence flaring in the Strait of Hormuz is sending markets down, oil up<\/p>\n The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both declined 0.2% on Monday. Nasdaq futures slipped 0.1%.<\/p>\n Meanwhile oil prices surged more than 3% after the U.S. strike on Sunday broke a lull in fighting in a war that has lasted more than six months<\/a>. The Trump administration has announced a new economic campaign<\/a> against Iran, but there is a significant risk of escalation in fighting.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Middle East had finally gone quiet enough for oil traders to start sanding some of the war premium out of crude,\u201d wrote Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management. \u201cThen Sunday arrived, with a reminder that quiet in the Strait of Hormuz is not the same as peace.\u201d<\/p>\n UAE says it intercepted an Iranian drone after weekend US strikes on rocket launchers in Iran<\/p>\n The United Arab Emirates\u2019 air force intercepted an Iranian drone over its territorial waters Monday, the Defense Ministry said, an attack that comes after the United States and Iran exchanged fire on the weekend, the first significant military action in a month.<\/p>\n During the lull in fighting, the U.S. has been ratcheting up economic pressure on Iran with the hope of forcing concessions out of Tehran, including reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz to shipping.<\/p>\n After the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, Iran established a chokehold on the strait, through which a fifth of the world\u2019s traded oil passed in peacetime, slowing ship traffic to a trickle.<\/p>\n As the fighting resumed, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, climbed above $90<\/a>, up about 25% from the start of the war, presenting a growing problem for Trump ahead of the midterm elections.<\/p>\n Trump still teases a third presidential run, but he\u2019s talking more and more about life after 2028<\/p>\n Trump has frequently suggested he wants to seek a third term<\/a>, posting about mounting another campaign, donning 2028 caps and discussing ways to make it happen \u2014 even as he\u2019s acknowledged the Constitution prohibits it.<\/p>\n But lately, Trump has begun showing signs that even he doesn\u2019t really believe another run will happen.<\/p>\n During recent speeches, the Republican president has begun describing life after the White House when his term ends in January 2029, predicting he\u2019ll be at home and agonizing as his successor claims credit for his accomplishments.<\/p>\n \u201cYour next president is going to say, \u2018What a great job I did,\u2019\u201d Trump told an event on Long Island, New York, this month. \u201cHe\u2019ll be sitting around, watching television. A real stiff. Unless you vote Republican, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n A sitting president talking about becoming a former one is always politically fraught. But with midterm elections<\/a> now just nine weeks away, Trump is approaching the point of his presidency where there will be more and more reminders that his power will soon wane.<\/p>\n Former White House teleprompter operator ordered to turn over profits, pay fine over insider trading<\/p>\n A former White House teleprompter operator accused of using inside knowledge<\/a> to make bets on the prediction market Kalshi has been ordered to turn over more than $100,000 in profits and pay a $65,000 fine as part of a settlement with federal authorities.<\/p>\n The settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, announced Friday, also dealt Gabriel Perez a three-year trading ban. Perez was placed on unpaid leave from his job at the White House after reports emerged that he used his position<\/a> to make bets on what President Donald Trump would say in speeches.<\/p>\n The White House did not immediately comment on the settlement. A White House official said in July that Perez was no longer in his position but did not say if he had been fired or resigned.<\/p>\n The commission found that Perez made $107,500 on prediction markets by betting on words and phrases that would appear in Trump\u2019s speeches between December 2025 and February 2026.<\/p>\n Ontario premier answers Trump\u2019s \u2018Lake America\u2019 with giant \u2018Lake Ontario\u2019 sign<\/p>\n Ontario Premier Doug Ford answered Trump\u2019s \u201cLake America\u201d decree Saturday with a billboard-sized message on the Canadian shoreline \u2014 \u201cLake Ontario. Now and Always\u201d \u2014 as Canadian leaders met the move with ridicule rather than outrage.<\/p>\n The display followed Trump\u2019s executive order directing U.S. federal agencies to call Lake Ontario \u201cLake America.\u201d After months of tariffs<\/a>, threats to make Canada the 51st U.S. state<\/a> and personal attacks on its leaders<\/a>, the reaction in Canada has mixed defiance with mockery.<\/p>\n Ford said Trump was trying to rename the lake because Ontario and Canada were \u201cstanding up for ourselves\u201d and argued the name would outlast the president.<\/p>\n \u201cLong after President Trump is gone, it will still be called Lake Ontario,\u201d Ford said in a video posted on social media.<\/p>\n What we know about the deal with Venezuela<\/p>\n Besides a social media post<\/a> from Trump, the White House has said little about what he is calling \u201cTHE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY\u201d in Venezuela<\/a>.<\/p>\n Venezuela\u2019s acting president, Delcy Rodr\u00edguez<\/a>, described the deal as a step toward economic recovery that will modernize the country\u2019s oil industry.<\/p>\n Earlier on Saturday, she said the oil reserves would \u201ccease to be an inert, cold statistic and will instead become concrete solutions. Housing is one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n But the answers to many questions, including how soon the reserves could be drilled and who will pay to make it happen, were not immediately clear. No text of any agreement has been released.<\/p>\n Trump says US has entered deal with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels of oil reserves<\/p>\n President Donald Trump<\/a> said Friday that his administration has entered a sweeping agreement with Venezuela<\/a> that, if realized, could give the U.S. access to vast amounts of the South American country\u2019s untapped oil reserves, at cost.<\/p>\n Rodr\u00edguez\u2019s government in a statement said the deal involves the development of 17 fields with a proven potential of 65 billion barrels. It said the agreement could draw $100 billion in investment into Venezuela\u2019s oil industry and yield over $209 billion in taxes for Caracas.<\/p>\n Rodr\u00edguez in a posting on Telegram predicted the deal \u201cwill have a significant impact on our nation\u2019s revival.\u201d<\/p>\n The agreement allows for the United States to partner with an unnamed private operator in Venezuela to create a new private company to take hold of the reserves, according to a U.S. official familiar with the contours of the deal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Venezuelans are expressing outrage and the oil industry is waiting for details on President Donald Trump\u2019s announcement that…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1035167,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[12],"tags":[64,79,1801,74154,5510,80,448,277,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-1035166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-international","tag-international-politics","tag-latest","tag-politics","tag-the","tag-trump","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117190990335820554","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1035166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1035166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1035166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1035167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1035166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1035166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1035166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}