We have all seen the volatility in the oil markets and the steady, daily decline in the BDI (Baltic Dry Index), both of which indicate the disease affecting the global economy.  That disease is almost terminal; the policies surrounding the Petrodollar and its influence are major contributing factors to the rapidly-deteriorating world economies that are on the brink of crashing.

Oil is the most important commodity from an economic perspective, and from the drilling of the first oil well in 1846 in Azerbaijan, formerly known as Baku, the world has embraced the search for and use of it.  Today oil is to be found in every facet of life, from the plastic spoon to the gasoline pump.  John D. Rockefeller built an oil refinery in Cleveland, Ohio in 1863 and subsequently formed Standard Oil of Ohio in 1870.  At its peak, the company controlled the market domestically, owning 90% of the U.S. oil industry until the company was broken up in 1911.  The Supreme Court had deemed it a monopoly, and it separated into smaller firms.