The threat of war between Russia and Ukraine is driving prices sharply higher, but there's more at play than just geopolitical tensions.

Stock markets around the world tumbled on concerns about the new variant. While it's too soon to tell exactly how the variant functions, virologists are rushing to learn more.

After bankrolling oil companies for years and seeing poor returns, investors are now pressuring companies to keep their oil output lower, instead of higher.

With the viral outbreak spreading to more countries, the price of oil has dropped precipitously as global demand weakens even further. That has sent...