Government budget hits all-time insanity… record monthly, year-to-date deficits… “Cash for clunkers” helps GM, but not economy… July retail sales stage surprise fall… Fed plans exit strategy, ends bond buys… why the FOMC is still not helping you… Byron King’s crude reality: How Canada could be the next Saudi Arabia…

Leave it to the government. It’s proposing a “tax and cap” regime for energy producers which will require fossil-fuel generating plants to pay extra.  The idea is to encourage clean fuels and discourage dirty ones. That’s fine in theory. But instead of helping our future energy situation, it’s going to make it a lot worse.

Payout Trader editor and Crisis Strategy Alert senior analyst Charles Delvalle says Russia and Brazil are entering the big leagues.

OPEC in agreement on need for deep supply cut… Saudi Arabia has cut supply by 8 percent – OPEC president… Russia offers OPEC “concrete support”

Commodity prices have plunged from the record highs they hit earlier this year, but in a recent interview with Bloomberg, investing guru Jim Rogers said he is still bullish on commodities, which he expects to take off as soon as the clouds of the global recession lift.

Oil jumps 6 pct after fall to 4-year low last week… Saudi deepens some supply cuts ahead of OPEC meeting… Equity market bounce aids sentiment across commodities

Oil down more than $2 after no cut from OPEC… OPEC to discuss 1 to 1.5 mbpd cut later in December… Saudi Arabia cites $75 a barrel as “fair price”

The mooted plan by Saudi Arabia to hike oil production in July by 200,000 barrels is marginal. It is not going to have a significant effect on the oil price. I am also not sure if it is true, after all it was UN head honcho Ban Ki Moon who revealed the plan and not the Saudis.

On the supply front, Nigeria’s president said the country’s state-owned oil company will take over operations in the Ogoni district of southern Nigeria from a Royal Dutch Shell joint venture. President Umaru Yar’Adua made the announcement after talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, saying that the move will “calm down” unrest among local residents.

Last month, I stood inside a shovel the size of a two-car garage.