King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia dead

[FlameOn]

Saudi state news is apparently reporting King Abdullah is dead

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah died and has been succeeded by Prince Salman, state-run Saudi media reported, citing the royal court.

The king, who was born in 1924, died at 1 a.m. local time, the press agency said. He was admitted to hospital on Dec. 31 and was later diagnosed with pneumonia. Prince Muqrin has been named Crown Prince.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-0...amed-king.html

The heir & next ruler, Prince Salman is 79 years old and in very poor health.
In August 2010, Prince Salman underwent spine surgery in the United States and remained out of the kingdom for recovery. He had one stroke and despite physiotherapy, his left arm does not work as well as his right. After his appointment as Crown Prince various analysts including Simon Henderson argue that he is suffering from dementia. In addition, he is believed to be suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

[_Q_]

Thoughts and prayers

[Harry Lime]

Originally Posted by _Q_

Thoughts and prayers

...to the entire world. The royal family has been trying to move the country away from fundamentalism for years, and only managed to slow down the increase in hardline Islamic idealism within Saudi Arabia. If a strong leader doesn't gain the throne, SA could easily become a Super Iran.

As things play out, watch the reaction of the U.S.. They will unintentionally show us everything we need to know about the internal power structure of Saudi Arabia, and whether we should be worried. They are 'all in' with the royal family.

[_Q_]

In terms of religious fundamentalism, Saudi Arabia already is a super Iran as you say. In terms of being best buds with the West, however, it is not. I guess it'll be interesting to see what happens next, but the cynic in me says more of the same crap.

[FlameOn]

Business Insider is saying there will likely be a Game of Thones-esque fight for succession. This would be bad for stability in the whole region (as if it wasn't bad enough already).

"A power vacuum in Riyadh following the death or extended hospitalization of the Saudi monarch will prompt concern in international capitals because of Saudi Arabia's importance as the world's largest oil exporter. Despite its dominant market position, the kingdom has seemed powerless to stop the recent price fall, instead trying to preserve market share and perhaps undermine U.S. shale exploration," Simon Henderson of The Washington Institute writes. "Other areas of concern would include the impact on the Saudi leadership's position in Arab and Muslim-majority states, particularly in coping with the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), against which Riyadh is a key member of the U.S.-led coalition. Also, simmering trouble among Iran-influenced Saudi #####e activists is a perpetual worry.

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-s...-crisis-2015-1

[_Q_]

Bad for the region = good for oil prices.... Amiright?

[Senator Clay Davis]

Wonder if any of the Bush family will be at the funeral. I would suspect yes.

[calumniate]

Originally Posted by _Q_

Bad for the region = good for oil prices.... Amiright?

Should be great for my hockey pool..

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by _Q_

Bad for the region = good for oil prices.... Amiright?

Hard to tell. Definitely will sheikh things up a bit.

[Slava]

The price of oil has bounced up some in the global markets at this point. Up about $1.45. While traders seem mixed in whether this is a longer term policy changing type of thing, it definitely could be. There is speculation about who will be the oil minister for the Saudis now, and of course with a change there you could see a change in shorter term policy as well. It's impossible to know I guess.

Overall if there is instability in the region, or a game of thrones like struggle for power (as some have mentioned) it will make oil more volatile for sure, and quite possibly higher.

[Kjesse]

It was suggested to me this afternoon by someone who is in the business, as a trader, that this causes the existing Saudi policy (keep producing at current levels) to be in doubt, and that the uncertainty will by itself cause a temporary spike. Longer term, he said you have to consider whether driving prices down was a strategy in and of itself (to knock some producers out and pause high priced infrastructure) and if that will be interrupted by this death.

[browna]

Originally Posted by Delgar

It was suggested to me this afternoon by someone ...that this causes the existing Saudi policy (keep producing at current levels) to be in doubt

It was known he was sick for the last 10 months or so....but his death wasn't announced until an hour ago...

Strictly talking about oil prices, and sort of uncertainty in Saudi or the area in general is likely to have an already sensitive/tense market keenly following the situation. No matter what, some will be hoping to cash in that things are now on the right track (in their mind) and prices climbing back up to $80 as quickly as it dropped off...and, more time for analysts to be making outlandish interpretations just as we've seen in the past couple months.

[Kjesse]

Originally Posted by browna

It was known he was sick for the last 10 months or so....but his death wasn't announced until an hour ago...

If the bolding is intended to cast doubt on the opinion, I understood by the comments that nothing had been resolved and this puts who actually gets control into question. Those who minded the store while he was alive are not necessarily those who will emerge now that he is deceased. Again, just expanding on what I was told, I'm not claiming any knowledge. Also, I heard this at around 1 today.

[RougeUnderoos]

The guy had 11 wives (some of them his cousins, apparently), put his own kids under house arrest on his, married a 15 year old girl when he was like 50, and as far as I can tell, never really worked a day in his life or had any sort of education. And lord only knows all the crazy #### he authorized in that backwards place. And he was 90 years old.

And this nut's health (or lack thereof) affects our economy. Our paychecks.

What a house of cards.

[Mr.Coffee]

Everyone blames Saudi for falling oil prices, but the fact of the matter is it's the supply which is generated by everyone. US, Russia, Canada... why is it automatically on the Saudi's to cut production? Their operating costs are lower anyway. If you're a true capitalist, it's the States that should be cutting production.

Hard to know if one man's death will signify a different Saudi perspective on production, I would highly doubt it though.

[Kjesse]

[QUOTE=Mr.Coffee;5103642 Their operating costs are lower anyway. If you're a true capitalist, it's the States that should be cutting production.
[/QUOTE]

That is just it. The US continued to ramp up production, and the Saudis can extract the product cheaper. Your post suggests the answer.

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by Delgar

That is just it. The US continued to ramp up production, and the Saudis can extract the product cheaper. Your post suggests the answer.

Not necessarily. That would depend on US overall objectives. Low oil does not hurt US economy as much as it hurts Alberta economy. I would guess that it actually benefits it quite a bit more than it hurts it.

[Kjesse]

Originally Posted by CaptainYooh

Not necessarily. That would depend on US overall objectives. Low oil does not hurt US economy as much as it hurts Alberta economy. I would guess that it actually benefits it quite a bit more than it hurts it.

Aren't you missing the point? To the middle east its not about hurting the US economy its about discouraging the US producers.

Alberta's economy matters not at all to the Saudis.

[OMG!WTF!]

Now who is H.W. going to hold hands with on his strolls around the ranch?

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by Delgar

Aren't you missing the point? ...

I didn't think I was. I understood what both of you were saying. But both posts quoted in my earlier response implied that US somehow doesn't need or doesn't want the low oil; thus, it should cut production, because Saudis can extract cheaper. I am suggesting that US interior economic interests are bigger and more complex than the interests of its own oil producers.