the strongest lemming drowns the furthest out, and putin is a very strong lemming.

in a time of falling demand, and given the recent seizures of western oil investments in russia, and given the stark choice between partnering with putin and partnering with the u.s. — which shipping and refining providers are going to bother dealing with russian “companies”?

no announcemens need be made, just a lack of offer tenders, a lack of interest, etc. lines of credit are quietly closed, secret accounts locked, etc.

that satellite we shot down was an arrow straight into putin’s eye; let’s party like it’s 1066.

regarding m. simon’s excellent comment on precious metal and geographic distribution: once energy becomes cheap enough, it’s possible and feasible to convert any element into any other element. so all you gold bugs keep buying.