CRUDE OIL

While this week will be interrupted midway by the Fourth of July holiday, the barbecues and fireworks are unlikely to take away from the importance of Friday's June nonfarm payrolls report. Monday's ISM manufacturing index will also be in focus.

Crude oil futures declined during Asian trading hours Monday after reporting their biggest one-day price surge in three years in the previous session as a breakthrough in the European Union summit in Brussels boosted sentiment.

The European Union's economic sanctions on Iran became fully effective on Sunday, but the Islamic Republic's deputy oil minister claimed the country will have no difficulty finding replacements for recent EU purchasers of its crude.

In Sudan, the big protest is in progress. Media reports are still scant, but Twitter is chirping with updates.

Crude oil futures rallied during Asian trading hours Friday after European Union leaders agreed on support for Spain and Italy.

In Nigeria, overpopulation is a definite problem. Cutting down on fertility rates would help, but the government must choose the right plan of attack.

Asian shares rose on Thursday on encouraging U.S. economic data, but prices could falter with markets tense ahead of a European summit deeply divided on how to tackle the protracted euro zone debt crisis and stop it spreading further.

Crude oil futures slightly declined and hovered above $79 a barrel during Asian trading hours Wednesday as doubts over the ability of European leaders to address the debt crisis at a summit this week offset concerns over tightened North Sea supplies due to a strike in Norway.

South Korea announced it will halt imports of Iranian crude oil as the European Union's ban on insuring oil shipments from Iran comes into effect toward the end of the month.

The price of crude oil fell Tuesday to less than $79 on the U.S. wholesale market, cutting the value of the commodity by about one-third since early March.

Crude oil futures declined during Asian trading hours Tuesday as sentiment was dampened on concerns that faltering global growth could lead to lower oil demand.

Crude oil futures advanced Monday as U.S. companies shut down nearly a quarter of oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico because of the intensifying weather caused by Tropical Storm Debby.

With all of its contradictions, Azerbaijan is a complex country to fully figure out: Its tangled friendships and autocratic policies are often puzzling as are its relations with the West. But its obsession with oil is as undiluted and unwavering as anything the country has ever done.

Hailed as an African reformer, Yoweri Museveni has now become an autocrat who bends the rules to stay in power and hands favors to his family. Nothing new for Africa, unfortunately -- but the exact opposite of what he himself once pledged.

Crude oil prices slightly advanced in Asian trading Friday, after plunging to their lowest level in eight months in the previous session.

Asian shares fell Friday and the safe-haven dollar hovered near its highest in a week-and-a-half after weak manufacturing data from the United States, Europe and China heightened fears over the outlook for global growth.

Asia's top buyers of Iranian crude oil have found ways to continue the imports, bypassing the U.S. and European Union sanctions on trade with Tehran, to avoid depending entirely on the Saudi Arabian oil amid unsteady supplies from Libya and Iraq.

Crude oil futures declined Thursday, weighed down by an unexpected jump in the U.S. crude supplies and the Federal Reserve's limited help to revive the domestic economy.

There?s a silver lining to the bearish global economic news ? a slide in crude oil prices: U.S. gasoline prices fell from their April peak, which will likely prompt more Americans to hit the road for the Independence Day holiday.

Crude oil futures hovered above $84 a barrel Wednesday amid expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve may announce additional stimulus measures to spur economic growth.

Crude oil futures declined Tuesday as rising Spanish and Italian bond yields outweighed optimism over the Greek election results.