Oil prices soared and investors shifted more money into ultra-safe U.S. government bonds as Russia stepped up its war on Ukraine. The price of oil surged back above $100 a barrel after Russia, a major energy producer, faced further isolation and economic damage because of its invasion of Ukraine.
In 1974 when Vice President Gerald Ford succeeded to the presidency after Richard Nixon resigned, the country was in a bad economic crisis. The Arab oil shocks of 1973 led to a 300% increase in the price of oil, which translated into inflation of more than 12%.
When debt grows so much that people don’t believe the Treasury will pay it, they sell their bonds and buy other things, sending prices through the roof.
The S&P 500 just ended its worst month since March 2020 as investors fret about coming interest rate hikes and uncertainty over the situation in Ukraine.
U.S. companies borrowed 3 percent less in December to finance their investments in equipment, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) said on Tuesday, as inflation and Omicron cloud economic outlook.
