Dear Rakesh, Thanks for the words, indicating the receipt of the package. As for Sa'udi deal, it is possible to sell oil below market prices. However, this is an ad hoc gesture that has nothing to do with the mechanism of price formation in the global oil sector. Tomorrow, for instance, the Emir of Kuwait may decide to sell his daughter to the lowest bidder for the sake of protection. Clearly, this decision has nothing to do with the formation of global oil prices. The Sa'udi deal is of the same genre. Remember: those who are still insisting on the existence of the 'cheap' Middle Eastern oil, have yet to be awakened by the fundamental global transformation of the post- 1970s world. These individuals (journalists, orthodox and even heterodox economists, 'assorted would-be experts', government 'officials', etc., etc.) are not only ignorant and illiterate in a universal sense of the term, but also each may have their own ideological and material reasons vis-a-vis the Middle Eastern politics. Best wishes, Cyrus
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