Ferdinand E. Banks - Comments
Professor, Independent Oil & Energy Professional
Professor Ferdinand E. Banks (Uppsala University, Sweden), performed his undergraduate studies at Illinois Institute of Technology (electrical engineering) and Roosevelt University (Chicago), graduating with honors in economics. He also attended the University of Maryland and UCLA. He has the MSc ...more
Latest Comments
Abe Reaches His Militarist Goal
9 years ago

I've Heard worse. Some of the opposition parties in Sweden want Sweden in Nato because Putin was nasty in the Ukraine. What it is actually all about in the case of Sweden however is a few persons getting jobs in Brussels. I can add however that going into Nato however will not stop a thousand refugees coming to Sweden every day and 'attacking' my Welfare.

Young Families Today Can Hardly Afford To Make Ends Meet
9 years ago

Yes, that's terrible isn't it, all those expenses. But stop and Think for a few minutes. One of the dumbest presidents in modern American history, followed by the most ignorant. I Think that the Big PX deserves better, and they can have it if they learn how to vote.

Obama’s Plan: G.I. Joe Working In Your Home!
9 years ago

Nothing sounds goofier to me than hearing that veterans are going to be taken care of by Mr Obama. All I need to hear now is that George W. Bush is joining the team. Then I'll forget about 16 lost years with Bush and Obama in the command slots, and walk into some recruiting office and offer my services...for the third time..

Did the author of this article really say "...cut the cord from their local Electric utility". And could we get a definition of the "sunny climates" that he is thinking of, because my Power bill is probably going up because of the nuttiness in Germany where solar and wind are scheduled to replace nuclear, which they cannot do, and the Power load in that country will be carried by imports of electricity and coal, to include imports from Sweden.

In this article: SCTY, SPWR
A New Equilibrium For Oil Prices
9 years ago

I dont like articles like this because they tell me that although I call myself the leading academic energy Economist in the World, I dont have anything to say about this matter at the present time. At least, not until I have had a good taste of the Swedish summer.

But after that I'll do what I am called on to do, beginning with some serious mathematics. You see, I once thought that our OPEC friends would not settle for less than a trillion dollars a year, and at the numbers mentioned in this excellent article they appear to be down for the Count, with the emphasis on "appear". Put Another way, those gentlemen have something in mind, and....

In this article: HES, WLL, OAS, SYRG, DBO, BNO
Japan Shocked To Find Abenomics Is Destroying Its Middle Class
9 years ago

'Solving inequality' (whatever that means) is not - by itself - THE way to improve an economy. although it definitely might help, assuming that things are being done that are conventionally associated with economic growth. I'm talking of course about maximizing the educational output, and ensuring that every drop of technical talent in an economy is discovered, and improved by the right kind of education. Things that were done in the U.S. during the WW2, and which worked brilliantly.

This advice is of course directed toward the US president and his team, although he probably knows as much about WW2 as I do about brain surgery. I tell you what: pass it to the next president, assuming that he or she can add and subtract.

Cushing Storage Around 90% Full As Inventories Surge Most In 14 Years, Crude Plunges
9 years ago

My book ENERGY AND ECONOMIC THEORY has now been published, and somewhere in that book - or maybe in a recent lecture ddrawing on some of the materials in that book - I said that the OPEC directorate is as smart as I am where oil is concerned. I'm beginning to wonder if this is so. Given the inventory movement described in this important article, I wonder if the OPEC people are still as much in Control of the oil price as they were when I began my book a few years ago. Of course I know that in a few of those countries there was some dissatisfaction over the concentration on crude rather than oil Products and petrochemicals, and that dissatisfaction was justified and may be in the process of changing, but even so....

In this article: OIL
China Becomes Global Lender Of Last Resort With Bailout Of World's Most Indebted Oil Company
9 years ago

"Europe's Rising anti-Semitism" you say, which doesn't happen to be true. Interviews with the former lawyer (Lagarde) turned (or appointed) super-duper economic analysis virtuoso. "Undermining U.S. dominated multi-national institutions." And so on and so forth as I occasionally say in my brilliant lectures when I run out of patience..

And why not. We had the tanks, artillery and complete mastery of the skies, and yet they stopped our advance in Korea. I knew then that the worm had turned, although I didn't know why. I know now though, and it's pretty sad.

In this article: PBR
Germany And Nuclear Energy
9 years ago

I dont really need any comments because I have all the answers when the issue is nuclear, but let me Point out that a few years ago when I published articles on nuclear, I received comments that reached a new level of stupidity and ignorance.

Can it really be that persons are getting the message about nuclear. Well, eventually they will do exactly that, and the sooner the better. And please allow me to repeat: by mid-Century Germany and Japan will probably be the most nuclear intensive countries in the World.

In this article: XOM
Another 8 Million Barrels Added To Oil Storage
9 years ago

The summer of 2008 was Lovely for me, because I was in Paris and in love...with drinking wine outdoors. The price of oil was going into orbit, and predictions were that it would go over 200 dollars. Then of course it started down, and it kept going down until it reached 32 dollars. That was when OPEC gave a demonstration of just what they could do. They had a couple of meetings and the oil price started up again, and did not stop until the price was over 100. We dont hear much about OPEC these Days, but I suspect that they can live with what is taking Place a while longer. At least the countries in the Middle East can.

In this article: OIL, USO, UNG, UGAZ, UWTI, UCO
Another 8 Million Barrels Added To Oil Storage
9 years ago

An absolutely important article where I and my work is concerned, however remembering what happened in 2008-09, I wonder how OPEC is going to fit into the present Picture. Maybe I'll try to figure it out if the weather here doesn't get better.

In this article: OIL, USO, UNG, UGAZ, UWTI, UCO
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