Matt Daily

A trip to Baghdad in 2013 offered the Exxon CEO a taste of the complicated Middle East politics he’ll have to navigate if he becomes secretary of state.

Plugging the leaks — World of gas

About that EPA climate debate — Drilling down on gas costs

Harm to communities and the economy is inevitable, the administration says in a report released in the middle of Black Friday. One Democrat vows: “The days of denial and inaction ... are over.”

U.S. crude oil prices jumped nearly 5 percent in early Friday trading before easing slightly after the U.S. attack at the Baghdad airport.

The move could help ease global oil prices and speed the declines in U.S. gasoline prices.

The violence could bring tightened U.S. sanctions against Iran, derail a possible Israeli-Saudi thaw and expand conflict across the Middle East — any of which could threaten to send fuel prices soaring.