Wedges...

...between supply and demand were mentioned in the last (light-hearted) post. The below describes one of them. On a related note, it is interesting to note that the weaponization of the dollar (SARs, KYC, Sarb-ox, etc.) is tempting trading partners to weaponize their currencies as well...and oil is the defacto currency of Russia.

By Henry Meyer

May 31 (Bloomberg) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin compared the U.S. to a ``frightening monster'' and urged France to distance itself from its American ally.

``How can one be such a shining example of democracy at home and a frightening monster abroad?'' Putin said in an interview with French newspaper Le Monde transmitted live to journalists in Paris yesterday.

Putin, speaking the day after meeting French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said the U.S. was creating ``new Berlin Walls'' in Europe by pushing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to expand into ex-Soviet states Georgia and Ukraine.