Is this the beginning of the end for oil's long, tyrannical reign? Amid turmoil in two of the world’s largest oil-producing regions, Russia and the Persian Gulf, the price of oil has declined from $110 in last summer to below $70 last week. Explanations for the drop are many, ranging from an oil glut resulting from booming U.S. shale oil production to a Saudi plot to make U.S. shale unprofitable by driving down the price. Volatility in the price of oil is nothing new. The essential dynamic -- the global economy riding a roller coaster in which the cost of crude jerks and swerves from a punishing $125 per barrel to a ... (full story)