Why Are We Really Talking About Iran Anyway?

As former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan might say, "it's largely about the oil"

And I might add securing US dominance in the oil industry -- a dominance that oil industry executives see slipping away.

According to an article in Sunday's International Herald Tribune:

HONG KONG: When the state oil and natural gas company PetroChina makes its debut Monday on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, China's booming stock markets will be on the verge of another milestone. Soon after the Shanghai listing, analysts expect PetroChina to surpass the U.S. energy behemoth Exxon Mobil as the world's largest company by market value.

PetroChina shares, already traded in New York and Hong Kong, are expected to be seized on by a market awash with cash and investors eager for new opportunities. At the close of markets Friday, PetroChina was valued at $460 billion, making it the world's second-most-valuable company, worth about $26 billion less than Exxon Mobil.

The article does point out that PetroChina is much less profitable than Exxon. However that doesn't seem to bother investors in the Chinese market. After all, since when does a company have to be profitable to be considered valuable. Just look at Amazon.com

What matters is that everyday the US dollar loses value and the debt to China increases.