Oil rose to the highest in almost three months in New York before European leaders meet to agree on a blueprint to tackle the region’s sovereign debt crisis.
Prices climbed as much as 0.4 percent, gaining for a fourth day. European government heads will hold a summit today to agree on a plan to rein in a crisis that threatens to curb economic growth and slow demand for commodities. December futures traded at a premium to the January contract, a so-called backwardation that typically signals an increase in demand or decline in supply in the near term.
“The market has run up quite a lot in advance” of the summit, said Ric Spooner, a chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. “The market has been re-pricing a view that we might be looking at a low-growth environment, rather than a recessionary environment.”
Crude oil for December delivery was at $93.49 a barrel, up 32 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 3:33 p.m. Sydney time. The contract yesterday increased 2.1 percent to $93.17, the highest settlement since Aug. 2. Prices are up 2.3 percent this year.
December futures were at a 19-cent premium to January, compared with 24 cents at yesterday’s close. The front-month contract on Oct. 24 settled higher than the next month for the first time since Nov. 20, 2008, after U.S. stockpiles shrank.
Social Justice: Current Affairs, Business, Politics, and all the reasons in the world to Thrive on Creative Discontent!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
What do the Titanic and Bank of America have in common.....Occupy Wall Streeters would have a view!!!
Bank of America is a behemoth beyond control. The destruction of shareholder value in its recent history is shocking. The Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 19 that the bank has spent $148 billion on acquisitions since 1998 and today its market value is only about $65 billion.
Bank of America is also a badly managed bank. In 2008, Ken Lewis, then the chief executive officer, agreed to pay about $4 billion to buy Countrywide, a disastrous foray into mortgage origination and distribution that will probably end up costing shareholders more than $60 billion. Eric Schneiderman, the New York state attorney general, is calling for a full investigation of mortgage abuses; egregious and allegedly illegal behavior at Countrywide must be very much in his sights.
Lewis bought Countrywide after a year’s worth of due diligence -- what was he thinking? -- and then grabbed Merrill Lynch over a weekend in September 2008, apparently without much thought. Significant additional losses were the result.
Bloomberg News reported on Oct. 18 that regulators have allowed Bank of America to move highly risky derivatives contracts -- and the associated downside risk -- from Merrill Lynch into the insured retail deposit-taking part of the bank.
Bank of America is also a badly managed bank. In 2008, Ken Lewis, then the chief executive officer, agreed to pay about $4 billion to buy Countrywide, a disastrous foray into mortgage origination and distribution that will probably end up costing shareholders more than $60 billion. Eric Schneiderman, the New York state attorney general, is calling for a full investigation of mortgage abuses; egregious and allegedly illegal behavior at Countrywide must be very much in his sights.
Lewis bought Countrywide after a year’s worth of due diligence -- what was he thinking? -- and then grabbed Merrill Lynch over a weekend in September 2008, apparently without much thought. Significant additional losses were the result.
Bloomberg News reported on Oct. 18 that regulators have allowed Bank of America to move highly risky derivatives contracts -- and the associated downside risk -- from Merrill Lynch into the insured retail deposit-taking part of the bank.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Fed likely to stimulate Q4
The Federal Reserve is likely to increase monetary stimulus, including an expansion of its balance sheet, according to Pacific Investment Management Co., which oversees the world’s largest bond fund.
Growth in the U.S. will be constrained next year amid an “unprecedented amount” of fiscal contraction, Scott Mather, Pimco’s head of global portfolio management, said at a briefing today in Sydney. The Fed will start by changing its language before taking steps to bolster the economy including efforts to stabilize the housing market, he said.
“You’ll see the language change first and then probably some of these other things,” Mather said. “They’re not done. They’ve told us that there’s more that they’re thinking about, that they can and will do.”
Fed Vice Chairman Janet Yellen said Oct. 21 that a third round of large-scale securities purchases might become warranted to boost an economy challenged by an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent and financial turmoil.
Growth in the U.S. will be constrained next year amid an “unprecedented amount” of fiscal contraction, Scott Mather, Pimco’s head of global portfolio management, said at a briefing today in Sydney. The Fed will start by changing its language before taking steps to bolster the economy including efforts to stabilize the housing market, he said.
“You’ll see the language change first and then probably some of these other things,” Mather said. “They’re not done. They’ve told us that there’s more that they’re thinking about, that they can and will do.”
Fed Vice Chairman Janet Yellen said Oct. 21 that a third round of large-scale securities purchases might become warranted to boost an economy challenged by an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent and financial turmoil.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Goldman Sachs Defaults on $5,000 pledge to Credit Union for the Poor!!!
Earlier this month, hundreds of New Yorkers received an unusual dinner invitation from the Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union.
The Credit Union, a small lender serving New York's poor, was holding a fund-raiser to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Among the chief sponsors listed on the invitation was Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Among the honorees: "Occupy Wall Street."
They might as well have asked Marie Antoinette to dig into her purse to support Madame Defarge's knitting business.
Shortly after the invitation was sent out, Goldman withdrew its name from the dinner. It also pulled the plug on its $5,000 funding pledge.
It's worthy of note the CEO of Goldman Sachs makes $16,000 per hour.....and Goldman Sachs benefited from billions of dollars of bailout money during the financial crisis that they caused.
The Credit Union, a small lender serving New York's poor, was holding a fund-raiser to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Among the chief sponsors listed on the invitation was Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Among the honorees: "Occupy Wall Street."
They might as well have asked Marie Antoinette to dig into her purse to support Madame Defarge's knitting business.
Shortly after the invitation was sent out, Goldman withdrew its name from the dinner. It also pulled the plug on its $5,000 funding pledge.
It's worthy of note the CEO of Goldman Sachs makes $16,000 per hour.....and Goldman Sachs benefited from billions of dollars of bailout money during the financial crisis that they caused.
Much like Mercury Poisoning from Coal Fired Power; Climate Change is REAL!
A new climate study shows that since the mid-1950s, global average temperatures over land have risen by 0.9 degrees Celsius (1.6 degrees Fahrenheit), confirming previous studies that have found a climate that has been warming – in fits and starts – since around 1900.
Most climate scientists attribute warming since the mid-1950, at least to some degree, to carbon dioxide emissions from human activities – burning coal, oil, and to a lesser extent gas, and from land-use changes.
The latest results mirror those from earlier, independent studies by scientists at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, the Hadley Center for Climate Prediction and Research in Britain, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Most climate scientists attribute warming since the mid-1950, at least to some degree, to carbon dioxide emissions from human activities – burning coal, oil, and to a lesser extent gas, and from land-use changes.
The latest results mirror those from earlier, independent studies by scientists at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, the Hadley Center for Climate Prediction and Research in Britain, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Occupy Everywhere!!!
A month on, however, Occupy Wall Street has become Occupy Everywhere with demonstrations across 951 cities in 82 countries, and counting.
Quick hits from News Bytes: The head of France's intelligence agency is to be investigated for spying on a journalist; France blocks access to a website that shows alleged police wrongdoing; Press TV looks set to be taken off the British airwaves; and the UK's Guardian newspaper scores another point against Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation
Quick hits from News Bytes: The head of France's intelligence agency is to be investigated for spying on a journalist; France blocks access to a website that shows alleged police wrongdoing; Press TV looks set to be taken off the British airwaves; and the UK's Guardian newspaper scores another point against Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation
Friday, October 21, 2011
EU: Calls Canadian Tar Sands the Filth they are!!!
Oil derived from tar sands will be penalised by the European Union after its executive arm resisted pressure from Canada to exclude the fuel from new pollution standards.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, decided to target tar sands on Tuesday after more than a year of review, which saw intense lobbying from Ottawa and the oil industry. It will classify oil derived from tar sands as being nearly a quarter more polluting than conventional crude in new legislation that requires suppliers to reduce transport fuels’ carbon emissions.
In order to import such oil, suppliers will also have to invest in biofuels and other green products to offset the pollution – which could be cost prohibitive.
Although tar sands oil is almost non-existent in Europe, the new restrictions could scupper plans for future exports from Canada and Venezuela.
They could also influence other markets, including the US, as they debate the merits of an abundant new source of energy that critics contend is highly polluting.
The US will decide this year whether to allow the proposed $7bn Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry heavy crude extracted from the oil sands of Alberta to refineries on the US Gulf of Mexico. “That’s why the Canadians are so worried about this. They know it will set a precedent and have financial implications for them,” said Nusa Urbancic, a policy adviser at Transport & Environment, a campaign group.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, decided to target tar sands on Tuesday after more than a year of review, which saw intense lobbying from Ottawa and the oil industry. It will classify oil derived from tar sands as being nearly a quarter more polluting than conventional crude in new legislation that requires suppliers to reduce transport fuels’ carbon emissions.
In order to import such oil, suppliers will also have to invest in biofuels and other green products to offset the pollution – which could be cost prohibitive.
Although tar sands oil is almost non-existent in Europe, the new restrictions could scupper plans for future exports from Canada and Venezuela.
They could also influence other markets, including the US, as they debate the merits of an abundant new source of energy that critics contend is highly polluting.
The US will decide this year whether to allow the proposed $7bn Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry heavy crude extracted from the oil sands of Alberta to refineries on the US Gulf of Mexico. “That’s why the Canadians are so worried about this. They know it will set a precedent and have financial implications for them,” said Nusa Urbancic, a policy adviser at Transport & Environment, a campaign group.
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