Outside of stocks, OPEC is warning that quota cuts will be necessary when the United Nation lifts sanctions against Iraq, which will allow that country to start exporting oil again.

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The country is exporting about 470, 000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil this year down from an average of 503, 000 bpd in 2009 and has proven crude reserves of about 6 billion barrels.

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The big concern in the U.S. is not which country has the largest navy or nuclear arsenal, but whether China, Japan, and the oil exporting nations, will continue to buy U.S. bonds, and hold U.S. dollars in their central bank reserves, happy to be the largest foreign holders of U.S. debt.

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