President Obama announced a crackdown on manipulation and speculation in the oil markets, calling for more government oversight of the oil markets, including increased funding and staffing for the Commodities Future Trading Commission and an increase in civil and criminal penalties for market manipulators. Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service, looks at Obama’s speech, oil speculation, and energy pricing.

Energy independence has the potentitial to completely reshape American foreign policy and the U.S. economy, yet environmental concerns persist. We're joined by Clifford Krauss, oil and gas business reporter for our partner The New York Times, to discuss the possibility of energy independence.

Yesterday, President Obama kicked off a two-day tour to highlight his administration’s energy strategy, which includes a stop in a small city called Cushing. If you aren’t from Oklahoma, you might not know about Cushing, or why it factors into the president’s energy plans. Ben Allen, a reporter from affiliate station KOSU in Oklahoma City, is here to explain. Carol O’Dell owned a ranch just outside Cushing, and she’s still a regular visitor to the town.

Most economic indicators point to America being on the upswing in 2012. The stock market is up. Unemployment is down. And the strains in the global financial markets have eased. Yet 59 percent of voters rate President Obama negatively when it comes to the economy, according to a new Washington Post/ABC poll.

Could it be because of the one economic indicator that’s stubbornly not improving: gas prices?

With high unemployment numbers, a slowly recovering economy, protest movements like Occupy and the Tea Party, the economy has been a hot topic for this election cycle. And for some politicians, the most important economic indicator is the price at the gas pump: last week Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich released a 30-minute ad that faults the Obama administration for rising gas prices.

Before the uprisings began in Libya in February, the nation produced 1.6 million barrels of oil per day, and was responsible for two percent of the world's oil supplies. Six months ago, shipments stopped at the rebellion grew there. The loss of Libyan oil drove up the price of Brent crude, which is sold to refineries on the United States' east coast.

Average gas prices around the nation have soared to around $4 a gallon. Last time prices were this high was three years ago in May 2008, right during the worst of the recession. Then Americans began to drive less, buy more fuel efficient cars, and take public transportation more often. But according to new projections from AAA, 34.9 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more next week for the Memorial Day weekend.

Gas prices just keep on going up, up, up, and the average American's wallet keeps getting thinner, thinner, thinner. Congress is set to return back to session next week, and try to remedy the situation.  But is there anything they can really do to lower gas prices, and haven't we all seen this same movie before?

The Takeaway's Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillich, looks at the upcoming political debate over gas prices.

Whether or not to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya is becoming a hot issue in Washington. Many lawmakers like Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), are calling for a no-fly zone, as rebels in Libya face rough times against the better equiped Libyan armed forces. Callie Crossley, host of The Callie Crossley Show on WGBH in Boston, looks at what we can expect next in the Libyan crisis this week.

The government is on the verge of a shutdown Friday, as Democrats and Republicans try and come up with some kind of resolution on the budget. Chrystia Freeland, global editor-at-large of Reuters, and Charlie Herman, economics editor for The Takeaway and WNYC Radio, will look into their chrystal balls and see if any resolution is in sight. While Washington makes attempts at a budget resolution, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is heading to Switzherland to come up with a resolution on dealing with Col. Moammar el-Gadhafi and Libya. Are Gadhafi's days numbered? 

Back in 2008, the price of a barrel of oil rose to $133, and prices at the pump topped $4 per gallon. As the economy slowed, and demand for oil dropped, the price did as well. However, the cost of oil has risen to just over $90 a barrel, as confidence in the economic recovery grows stronger and the price of filling up your car is expected to keep rising throughout 2011. What will happen to our economic recovery if we hit the psychological benchmark of $100 per barrel or higher this year?

President Obama unveiled plans to expand oil and natural gas drilling off the coasts of the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and north coast of Alaska, yesterday. If implemented, the move is expected to decrease the country's dependency on foreign fuels, please oil and gas companies and Republicans, but anger those on the left and environmental groups.

The Moscow meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum has turned the heads of energy analysts. Chris Weafer, a strategist at Moscow's Uralsib Capital, shares his views with The Takeaway.