With economies recovering from the pandemic, and tensions between Russia and the United States pushing oil prices higher than they already were, shale drillers are taking another look at basins they had abandoned when the pandemic hit. Collin Eaton reports for The Wall Street Journal: Spurred by the highest oil prices in years, shale companies are moving drilling rigs back into oil fields that were all but abandoned a few years ago. Private oil producers are leading an industry return to places like the Anadarko Basin of Oklahoma and the DJ Basin in Colorado, where drilling had almost … [Read more...]

As tension in Ukraine hits extreme levels, investors are heading for the safety they see in gold. Suzanne O'Halloran reports for Fox Business that gold prices have spiked to a nine-month high in response to the risk of war. She writes: Nervous investors, spooked by a Russian-Ukraine conflict, barreled into gold on Thursday, driving the price to a level not seen since June of 2021: $1,900.70 and upward momentum may continue, aiding the SPDR Gold ETF. "Gold has key resistance around the $1920 to $1930 zone, but if the [safe] haven bid remains strong, bullish momentum could support a move … [Read more...]

MIT scientists have developed a new super material that is both stronger than steel and as light as plastic. Study Finds reports: Scientists at MIT have developed a material that is as light as plastic — but stronger than steel. They believe the material could revolutionize the car, mobile phone and building industries. The easily manufactured substance – up to six times more difficult to break than bulletproof glass – is the result of an engineering feat previously thought to be impossible. It is a two-dimensional polymer that self-assembles into sheets, unlike all other polymers, which … [Read more...]

Both Russia and Ukraine are among the top seven wheat-producing countries in the world. Despite being vast, much of Russia's wheat-producing farmland is near Ukraine. A war between the two nations could disrupt the planting, growth, and harvesting of a major portion of the world's wheat production. The potential for such a war could is already having effects on the market for grains. Will Horner and Kirk Maltais report in The Wall Street Journal: The threat of war between Russia and Ukraine is rattling international grain markets, driving wheat prices higher on both sides of the Atlantic and … [Read more...]