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IPFS News Link • Saudi Arabia

Panic In The Kingdom: Saudi Currency, Bonds, Banks Extend Collapse Despite OPEC 'Deal'

• http://www.zerohedge.com, by Tyler Durden

Mint's Bill Blain, in his Morning Porridge noted that last nights "surprise" OPEC agreement to agree to agree about talks on cutting oil production is fascinating. Not from the likelihood it may not ever happen, (the earliest we will know is the Vienna meeting in November), but what it tells us about how the sands are shifting around Saudi Arabia. Deliberate Saudi over-production caused the oil glut and was a policy designed to take out expensive US producers. Voodoo economics didn't work – US producers cut and adapted, and the rest of the world hasn't played along.

Last night's agreement represents a fundamental shift in Saudi – a wake up and smell the camel-waste moment. The result is the kingdom is suffering rising twin deficits amounting to over 20% of GDP. As global oil revenues have tumbled on the back of crashing prices, Saudi faces a cash and spending crisis for which it's largely unprepared. Social issues are mounting. The elites "salaries" have been slashed. It's being forced towards the international debt markets – a massive deal is on the new issue stocks. My colleague Martin Malone expects to see Debt/GDP rise from 15% to 50%.


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