Of that amount, Tremont's figures show, some $5.5 billion went to macro funds, which try to profit from speculating on broad global trends and geopolitical disruptions; another $3.9 billion went into funds specializing in futures.
One of the few pleasant surprises of 2009 was that the world's biggest economies were able to concentrate on healing themselves without any major wars or world-shaking political or geopolitical disruptions.
Fankhauser said: "We are operating in a challenging geopolitical environment, with repeated disruption in some of our key source and destination markets.
Both of the major parties understand the left and the right could fracture in this country in the way the left and the right have fractured elsewhere because persistently weak economic growth, the squeeze on the middle class, disruption and geopolitical uncertainty.
"This perspective on the future, however, is what investors and all stakeholders truly need, including, for example, how the company is navigating the competitive landscape, how it is innovating, how it is adapting to technological disruption or geopolitical events, where it is investing, and how it is developing its talent".
For the time being, much of the management of oil prices remains in the hands of a few countries, led by Saudi Arabia, that must increasingly counterbalance the return of geopolitical threats, including more disruptions to Nigerian oil exports.
His confusing collection of policy promises and pride in his own unpredictability threaten disruption to the geopolitical order from South Korea to Syria.
Demand destruction continues to trump significant OPEC production cuts including a 2.2 million barrel-a-day reduction announced on Tuesday–and supply disruptions due to geopolitical tensions.
Amidst high oil prices, geopolitical tension, and fears of disruptions to the oil supply, growing demand was the main driving force in the tanker shipping market for the year.
Yardeni wrote in a recent note that it would take a fairly serious supply disruption triggered by a geopolitical crisis to drive prices up to $200 a barrel.
