Bloomberg (April 5)
“The plunge in oil prices over the past two days following the twin shocks of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the surprise boost in production from OPEC+ has altered the global energy landscape with stunning speed.” The market is frantically “tossing aside expectations for 2025” as Brent crude “tumbled 13% through Thursday and Friday to just over $66 a barrel, casting new doubts on Trump’s quest to aggressively boost US fossil fuel output and achieve ‘energy dominance.’”
Tags: $66, 2025, Altered, Brent, Doubts, Energy landscape, Expectations, Fossil fuel, Market, Oil prices, OPEC, Output, Plunge, Production, Stunning, Surprise, Trump’s tariffs, Tumbled, Twin shocks, U.S.
The Guardian (August 13)
Ukraine’s attack on Russia has boosted momentum and may undercut “Putin’s strongman image,” possibly “prompting doubts among the elite” or “encouraging squabbling over who is to blame for this embarrassment.” Ultimately, however, “the final judgment on Kyiv’s bet” remains to be seen. “Taking the enemy by surprise is a short-term win. But the consequences of this bold gamble are still playing out.”
Tags: Attack, Blame, Consequences, Doubts, Embarrassment, Momentum, Putin, Russia, Short-term win, Strongman, Surprise, Ukraine, Undercut
CNN (July 7)
“Macron’s gamble has kept the far right out of power, but plunged France into chaos.” His “explosive gamble” brought a surprise result. A left-wing alliance came “in first with 182 seats” while the far-right trailed “in third place – a shocking reversal of last Sunday’s first-round results.” Despite the visible relief at pulling “back from the brink,” France appears certain to “enter a prolonged period of instability as three opposing blocs with competing ideas and agendas try to form coalition or find themselves stuck in a state of paralysis.”
Tags: Brink, Chaos, Coalition, Far right, France, Gamble, Instability, Left-wing alliance, Macron, Power, Relief, Reversal, Surprise
Seeking Alpha (April 5)
“Investors were taken by surprise on April 2nd when news broke that OPEC+…announced unexpected cuts in output. This move came even in spite of a previously rosy forecast for the supply and demand balance that OPEC made public…. Investors would be wise to see this as a bullish development for any company that benefits from higher oil prices. But in particular, the exploration and production companies could be very appealing to consider at this time.”
Tags: Appealing, Bullish, Demand, Exploration, Forecast, Investors, Oil prices, OPEC, Output, Production, Supply, Surprise, Unexpected
Detroit Free Press (August 12)
“After a spring of wishful thinking, a summer of flimflamming, and 48 hours of confusing, closed-door debates, the Big Ten has finally canceled its fall sports season, which to most fans means: football.” This was no surprise and “shortly thereafter, the Pac-12 did the same…. All the other conferences should follow suit.”
Tags: Big Ten, Canceled, Conferences, Confusing, Fall, Football, Pac-12, Sports season, Spring, Summer, Surprise, U.S., Wishful thinking
Reuters (May 23)
“Pyongyang’s announcement last week that it might pull out of the meeting should have been less of a surprise. North Korea has spent decades using similar tactics to shape the diplomatic agenda with the South and Washington, raising hopes of a breakthrough—then sparking a crisis and moving the goal posts.”
Tags: Agenda, Breakthrough, Crisis, Hope, North Korea, Pyongyang, South Korea, Surprise, Tactics, U.S.
Euromoney (January Issue)
In 2016, Donald Trump was the world’s “most effective central banker,” even though he held the post. “With his surprise election victory,” Trump “managed to do overnight what countless real governors failed to do for nearly a decade: steepen the yield curve.”
Tags: 2016, Central banker, Effective, Surprise, Trump, Victory, Yield curve
