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May 21, 2009

Even the French must think we’re nuts.... about oil

FROM WSJ Blog:

Chief economist Fatih Birol tells the WSJ: "What we're saying is that come around 2012 the impact of this big recession on oil investment and capacity, if current trends continue, could be severe with much higher oil prices."

Cheaper oil is hobbling Iraq's ability to rebuild its Army, and threatens to leave billions of dollars in American equipment in disrepair, in the WaPo.

The Obama administration's new fuel-economy standards show just how much heft Detroit has lost in recent years, as one-time opponents embrace tougher environmental rules, in the NYT. The L.A. Times has the deal's backstory, and how close it came to collapse.

One big question is whether consumers will really want to buy smaller cars, notes the WaPo. The WSJ edit page has no doubts:
"One thing seems certain by 2016: Taxpayers will be paying Detroit to make the cars Americans don't want, and then they will pay again either through (trust us) a gas tax or with a purchase subsidy.  Even the French must think we're nuts."

Read more from Wall Street Journal Blog