Iran says OPEC could cut output again in March… Russia-Ukraine gas row not finally resolved…

It was cloudy in the Algerian city of Oran on Wednesday…and a fairly pleasant 14 degrees in the open air… But the assembled leaders of the OPEC oil exporters’ cartel must have been feeling rather hot under the collar. Since hitting a peak of $147 in July this year, the price of oil has fallen by about $100. That has put the oil exporting countries under a huge amount of pressure. And now they are determined to drive the price of oil back up again.

If you were running an oil company, what would your number one priority be? Jacking up production, right? I mean, prices have just shot up from $50 to $120. And you know that whatever you produce, you’ll sell. Can it get any simpler than that? Whatever it takes, push product out.

Oil company profits are under threat if Barack Obama makes it to office, reports Bloomberg. An aide to Obama described the oil companies profits as “remarkable.”

The plan would target profit from the biggest oil companies by taxing each barrel of oil costing more than $80, according to a fact sheet on the proposal. The tax would help pay for a $1,000 tax cut for working families, an expansion of the earned- income tax credit and assistance for people who can’t afford their energy bills.