Investors still aren't demanding higher overall premiums for the riskiest corporate debt and the $18.4 billion iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF has gained 3.9 percent this year, even as credit spreads for energy companies widened to the highest since September after crude slid below $43 a barrel. 

"There may be more pain on the way" for the energy patch, warns Bloomberg Intelligence senior credit analyst Spencer Cutter.

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In 2015, "there was a significant lag between oil really cratering and credit catching up," writes Peter Tchir, head of macro strategy at Brean Capital LLC. "While I think the energy related credit selling was overdone by late 2015, it seems to me that we have hit a point yet again where the lag effect has to start kicking in -- credit can't ignore ongoing weakness for so long."

Yeah, everything bad is "contained" and will remain so, and everything bullish will continue forever... don't you just love it when we reach the point in market/crisis cycles that the word "contained" has to be trotted out? We're certainly reassured...

Output from Libya surged by more than 178,000 bpd to 730,000 bpd as the country's rival factions moved toward reconciliation, and supplies disrupted throughout years of conflict remained on line.

In Nigeria, production was up more than 174,000 bpd to 1.68 million bpd as supplies sidelined by militant attacks on energy infrastructure last year came back into operation. With the gain, Nigeria reclaimed the title of largest African producer in OPEC from Angola, where output fell by 54,000 bpd, the biggest drop among the 13 members in May.

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Only four countries were producing at or below the levels they agreed to in November: Saudi Arabia, Angola, Kuwait, and Qatar.

This is a huge challenge for major oil producers, especially Saudi Arabia and Russia. In December 2016, OPEC and its oil-producing partners agreed to cut production by about 1.8 million barrels per day, or roughly 1.5% of global crude production at the time... The OPEC deal managed to stabilize oil prices around $50 per barrel, and last month the cuts were extended for another nine months. If it were still 1973, that might have caused a jump in oil prices. But in 2017, OPEC produces only about 40% of the global supply, and the US is among the top three producers in the world. The price of Brent crude spiked to $54.15 per barrel after the cuts were extended but has since dropped almost 12% and may continue to fall.

Much of the decline in coal's fortunes from 2012 on is accounted for by non-environmental policy factors. As the report shows, growth in energy supply from natural gas accounted for 49 percent of the total market share loss accruing to coal. Further 26 percent of coal's decline was down to a drop in overall demand, and 18 percent was accounted for by renewables. Only 3-5 percent of coal's market share decline was down to Obama Administration's environmental regulations.

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In simple terms, coal hardly makes any sense as a target for either investment, or jobs creation, or economic value added creation. Not because the U.S. is leading the world on the environmental policies, but because China is shifting its energy mix toward cleaner alternatives. Worse, improving coal demand outlook makes even less sense for an Administration that actively promotes more gas production and exports. President Trump is missing the main point of changing global economy: no one wants coal anymore. Nor do many want more supplies of oil and gas, as clearly evidenced by collapse in worldwide prices of these sources of energy.

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Gulf Arab states and Egypt have long resented Qatar's support for Islamists, especially the Egyptian-based Muslim Brotherhood, which they regard as a dangerous political enemy.

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Announcing the closure of transport ties with Qatar, the three Gulf states gave Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to leave. Qatar was also expelled from the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.

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The economic fallout loomed immediately, as Abu Dhabi's state-owned Ethihad Airways, Dubai's Emirates Airline and budget carrier Flydubai said they would suspend all flights to and from Doha from Tuesday morning until further notice.

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The measures are more severe than during a previous eight-month rift in 2014, when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Doha, again alleging Qatari support for militant groups. At that time, travel links were maintained and Qataris were not expelled.

The diplomatic broadside threatens the international prestige of Qatar, which hosts a large U.S. military base and is set to host the 2022 World Cup. It has for years presented itself as a mediator and power broker for the region's many disputes.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday Trump was favoring an exit, however, and was working out terms of the planned withdrawal with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, an oil industry ally and climate change doubter. The source said any withdrawal announced by Trump could have conditions or caveats that were under discussion.

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The tumbling costs present another challenge for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which is currently curbing output to shrink a glut. In 2014, when the U.S. shale boom sparked oil's crash from above $100 a barrel, the group embarked on a different strategy of pumping at will to defend market share and throttle high-cost projects. Ali Al-Naimi, the former energy minister of OPEC member Saudi Arabia, said in February 2016 that such producers need to either "lower costs, borrow cash or liquidate."

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Warnings from OPEC of a looming shortage are "overstated and misleading," Citigroup Inc. said in a report earlier this month. The revolution in unconventional supplies like shale is "unstoppable" unless prices fall below $40 a barrel, and deep-water output could grow by more than 1 million barrels a day by 2022, according to the bank.

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As market participants' access to information increases, the traders highlighted the need to more than simply buy and sell commodities as profits from arbitrage -- or gains made from a differential in prices -- shrinks. That means getting involved in the supply chain by potentially buying into infrastructure that's key to the production and distribution of raw materials, and also providing financing for the development of such assets.

The tumbling price of solar energy also increases the likelihood that India will meet -- and by its own predictions, exceed -- the renewable energy targets it set at the Paris climate accords in December 2015.

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At a reverse auction in Rajasthan on Tuesday, power companies Phelan Energy and Avaada Power each offered to charge 2.62 rupees per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity generated from solar panels they hope to build at an energy park in the desert state. Last year's previous record lowest bid was 4.34 rupees per kWh .

Analysts called the 40% price drop "world historic" and said it was driven by cheaper finance and growing investor confidence in India's pledge to dramatically increase its renewable energy capacity.

It reduces the market price of solar tariffs well past the average charged by India's largest thermal coal conglomerate, currently around 3.20 rupees per kWh . Wholesale price bids for wind energy also reached a record low of 3.46 rupees in February.

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Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., wanted Tillerson to make a series of demands on the Saudis designed to ease civilian suffering in Yemen, such as ending delays on humanitarian aid at a port city held by the rebels.

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Instead, Tillerson's counterpart rebuffed any charges of humanitarian abuses, denying that the Saudis carried out airstrikes against civilians and blaming the rebels for humanitarian aid delays at the port.

This isn't meant to detract from China's current and future Silk Road efforts, but to make the point that this is a fully multinational endeavor with a much longer history than is often credited to it. When we talk about the New Silk Road we are talking about an array of interconnected and interdependent trade routes and infrastructure and economic development projects, not a singular initiative cooked up in some back room on Tiananmen Square. Ultimately, this is what gives this project its versatility and power to shape the future.

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When the AIIB was first announced, it was commonly feared that it would become China's way of countering the big development banks of the west and Japan -- the World Bank, ERDB, and the ADB -- and would ultimately undercut their humanitarian and ecological principles in the unchecked pursuit of progress. But what actually transpired was the exact opposite: the AIIB became a powerful compliment to the old guard of development banks, providing a much-needed source of additional funding to help set essential infrastructure projects into motion while maintaining and promoting their established ethical standards.

Tesla will begin with production of two of the four styles it unveiled in October: a smooth glass and a textured glass tile. 1 Roofing a 2,000 square-foot home in New York state--with 40 percent coverage of active solar tiles and battery backup for night-time use--would cost about $50,000 after federal tax credits and generate $64,000 in energy over 30 years, according to Tesla's website calculator.

That's more expensive upfront than a typical roof, but less expensive than a typical roof with traditional solar and back-up batteries. The warranty is for the lifetime of your home... Tesla's cost for active solar tiles is about $42 per square foot, "significantly below" BNEF's prior estimate of $68 per square foot, Bromley said. Inactive tiles will cost $11 per square foot.