iran

Iran was largely cut off from global commerce on Thursday, when the company that handles financial transactions said it was severing ties with many Iranian banks %u2014 part of an international effort to discourage Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. The action is meant to enforce European Union sanctions, as global financial transactions are impossible without using SWIFT, and will go a long way toward isolating Iran financially.

Gas prices dropped at a pretty good clip in the latter half of 2011 -- down around 20% to about $3.25. Hope you enjoyed it while it lasted, because gas is back on the rise. It's near $3.50 now, and the key trends all signal that it'll keep going higher.

With the economy still trying to muster a recovery, and unemployment still around 8.5%, any price increases are painful. And just a month into 2012, a spate of headlines points to more hurt ahead. Here are seven ways inflation will be digging into your wallet this year:

If you think you're paying a lot at the gas pump now, just wait until summer hits. Stronger demand could lead to record gas prices as an economic recovery takes hold and turmoil in the Middle East sends the price of oil upward. How high? $5 a gallon isn't out of the realm of the possible.

Like they say: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. With the price of home heating oil on the rise, and likely to go on rising due to global politics, now might be a good time to place a bet on oil to hedge against the costs of keeping the homestead warm.

Oil prices are soaring again, but motorists don't need to worry %u2014 yet. The price of crude has jumped 22 percent since the beginning of October and is nearing $100 a barrel.

Sky-high oil and gas prices risk tipping the U.S. economy back into recession. But Washington isn't powerless when it comes to oil prices: Here are five things that the federal and state governments can do that would quickly reduce pain at the pump.

And that means it may be time for owners of gas-thirsty SUVs and cars to start considering the switch so many Americans are loath to make: to a far more fuel-efficient vehicle. Looking out over the next several years, it's hard to see oil -- and gasoline -- falling back to earlier lows.

In the long run, the changes being demanded in the Mideast may prove to be a cornerstone of further global economic growth and political stability. More immediately, though, the uprisings are likely to create exactly the type of uncertainty that investors dread.

Iraq raised its level of proven oil reserves by 24% in the first revision since Saddam Hussein was toppled from power. The country has 143.1 billion barrels of known and extractible oil, compared with 115 billion barrels at the end of Saddam Hussein's reign, BBC News reported Sponsored...