Precious metals will advance 27 percent or more, industrial metals at least 17 percent and grains 5 percent, according to the median estimates in a Bloomberg survey of 143 analysts, traders and investors. Nine of the 15 commodities covered by a similar survey a year earlier reached their predicted highs in 2011, with another five no more than 4 percent away.
The six largest lenders, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), may post an average profit increase of 57 percent this year, according to 184 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Social Justice: Current Affairs, Business, Politics, and all the reasons in the world to Thrive on Creative Discontent!
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Earthquakes, water table contamination who cares; on with the fracking.....
Asian and European energy producers are spending billions of dollars to amass stakes in oil and natural-gas discoveries from Ohio to British Columbia even as earthquakes and tainted water threaten to stall the biggest drilling boom (BAKEHORZ) in at least two decades.
Total SA (FP), Europe’s third-largest oil company, and China Petrochemical Corp. (600028), that nation’s second-biggest crude producer, committed $7 billion to U.S. and Canadian shale rock formations during the past two weeks. The investments are aimed at tapping the expertise of smaller explorers including Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) and Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) that pioneered techniques employed to crack previously impervious shale.
The potential rewards from shale regions such as the Utica and Marcellus formations in the eastern U.S. are too big for overseas explorers to ignore, said Mark Hanson, an analyst at Morningstar LLC in Chicago. A New Year’s Eve earthquake in Youngstown, Ohio, linked to a well used to store drilling wastewater prompted the state to halt operations at five such wells. Separately, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is studying whether intensive shale-drilling practices pose a danger to drinking water.
“These shale prospects are exploration frontiers and the big international players see them as a runway to growth,” Hanson said yesterday in a telephone interview. “They are acquiring stakes not only to learn how to drill these kind of formations in other parts of the world, but to understand how to get their arms around prospects of this size.”
Total SA (FP), Europe’s third-largest oil company, and China Petrochemical Corp. (600028), that nation’s second-biggest crude producer, committed $7 billion to U.S. and Canadian shale rock formations during the past two weeks. The investments are aimed at tapping the expertise of smaller explorers including Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) and Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) that pioneered techniques employed to crack previously impervious shale.
The potential rewards from shale regions such as the Utica and Marcellus formations in the eastern U.S. are too big for overseas explorers to ignore, said Mark Hanson, an analyst at Morningstar LLC in Chicago. A New Year’s Eve earthquake in Youngstown, Ohio, linked to a well used to store drilling wastewater prompted the state to halt operations at five such wells. Separately, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is studying whether intensive shale-drilling practices pose a danger to drinking water.
“These shale prospects are exploration frontiers and the big international players see them as a runway to growth,” Hanson said yesterday in a telephone interview. “They are acquiring stakes not only to learn how to drill these kind of formations in other parts of the world, but to understand how to get their arms around prospects of this size.”
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Montana Supreme Court finds US Supreme Court ruling on Citzens United v FEC FLAWED!!!!
Last week, the Montana Supreme Court agreed, finding that corporate spending in fact had corrupted elections in the resource-rich and sparsely populated state. Should the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately accept Montana's reasoning—which many observers find doubtful—it could open the door to additional campaign-finance regulation if justified by specific facts.
Soon after Montana's admission to the Union in 1889, the big copper companies and other out-of-state mining interests flooded Montana with political spending, and sometimes outright bribery, to seize control of its courts and statehouse, the opinion said. "This naked corporate manipulation of the very government…of the State ultimately resulted in populist reforms that are still part of Montana law," state Chief Justice Mike McGrath wrote for the majority. "The question then, is when in the last 99 years did Montana lose the power or interest sufficient to support the statute, if it ever did."
By a vote of 5-2, the court held that those interests remained valid. The state's sparse population and reliance on farming and natural resources "make Montana especially vulnerable to continued efforts of corporate control to the detriment of democracy and the republican form of government," Chief Justice McGrath wrote.
The court found corporate interests in political advocacy were addressed by state law allowing creation of political committees, which collect voluntary contributions from shareholders.
Mr. Bullock, a Democrat who is running for governor, praised the ruling as "based on solid constitutional analysis, common sense and a clear understanding of...Montana's history."
The Montana law was challenged by conservative activists led by American Tradition Partnership, a group based in Virginia that collects funds for political advertisements from mining and other corporate interests. Executive director Donald Ferguson said the group was considering its options, which would likely include an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Soon after Montana's admission to the Union in 1889, the big copper companies and other out-of-state mining interests flooded Montana with political spending, and sometimes outright bribery, to seize control of its courts and statehouse, the opinion said. "This naked corporate manipulation of the very government…of the State ultimately resulted in populist reforms that are still part of Montana law," state Chief Justice Mike McGrath wrote for the majority. "The question then, is when in the last 99 years did Montana lose the power or interest sufficient to support the statute, if it ever did."
By a vote of 5-2, the court held that those interests remained valid. The state's sparse population and reliance on farming and natural resources "make Montana especially vulnerable to continued efforts of corporate control to the detriment of democracy and the republican form of government," Chief Justice McGrath wrote.
The court found corporate interests in political advocacy were addressed by state law allowing creation of political committees, which collect voluntary contributions from shareholders.
Mr. Bullock, a Democrat who is running for governor, praised the ruling as "based on solid constitutional analysis, common sense and a clear understanding of...Montana's history."
The Montana law was challenged by conservative activists led by American Tradition Partnership, a group based in Virginia that collects funds for political advertisements from mining and other corporate interests. Executive director Donald Ferguson said the group was considering its options, which would likely include an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
And now for a NEo Neo Neo Con;;;; Rick Santorum.... oh *&!@$ joy....
Santorum is deeply conservative on social issues.
He is ardently anti-abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, and no one takes a stronger stand against gay rights.
In fact, with his comparison of gay sex to “man on dog” relationships, Santorum seldom even makes a pretense of tolerance. While that sort of rhetoric may play well in Iowa pulpits, it will be far less well received elsewhere in the nation.
Can't wait until we touch on the remainder of the Bill of Rights or the US Constitution...
He is ardently anti-abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, and no one takes a stronger stand against gay rights.
In fact, with his comparison of gay sex to “man on dog” relationships, Santorum seldom even makes a pretense of tolerance. While that sort of rhetoric may play well in Iowa pulpits, it will be far less well received elsewhere in the nation.
Can't wait until we touch on the remainder of the Bill of Rights or the US Constitution...
Bakken trumps Prudhoe!!!!
You'll know the U.S. energy industry is really on the rebound when North Dakota's newfangled Bakken oil field starts pumping more crude than Alaska's stalwart Prudhoe Bay. Energy experts expect it to happen in 2012.
Dwindling production from the once-mighty Alaskan field has been a symbol of what was once seen as the slow, inexorable decline of U.S. oil. But new technologies have turned that overall decline into an increase, led by the Bakken shale, which in July produced 424,000 barrels a day, to Alaska's 453,000.
Dwindling production from the once-mighty Alaskan field has been a symbol of what was once seen as the slow, inexorable decline of U.S. oil. But new technologies have turned that overall decline into an increase, led by the Bakken shale, which in July produced 424,000 barrels a day, to Alaska's 453,000.
Monday, January 2, 2012
From US Employment and Equal Opportunity Website: Religious discrimination involves treating a person (an applicant or employee) unfavorably because of his or her religious beliefs." Perhaps Bahrain's leadership needs to read it?
Riot police in Bahrain fired tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades as they clashed Sunday with hundreds of opposition supporters, some hurling Molotov cocktails, following the politically charged funeral of a 15-year-old boy murdered by police.
Thousands of opposition supporters carrying Bahraini flags and chanting anti-government slogans converged on the island of Sitra, south of the capital Manama, to mourn the death of Sayed Hashim Saeed. They are demanding that police be tried for the deaths of some 40 people since protests began in February.
Police earlier tried to seal off the site of the funeral to prevent crowds from gathering.
The clash on Sitra marks the latest burst of violence in more than 10 months of confrontations and widespread street protests on the strategic Gulf island nation, which is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. The country's Shiite-led opposition is pressing for greater rights and reforms from the country's Sunni monarchy and minority population.
Jaffer al-Sheik, 40, who identified himself as a relative of Saeed, said after the funeral that the boy died while participating in a protest march. He said the canister fired by riot police caused burns on Saeed's chest arm and head.
A statement signed by six opposition groups condemned Sunday's attack on the funeral procession.
"We reaffirm our commitment to nonviolence," the statement said. "We call on the government to stop its policy of repression... and bring to trial those accused to respond to the legitimate demands of the Bahraini people."
Thousands of opposition supporters carrying Bahraini flags and chanting anti-government slogans converged on the island of Sitra, south of the capital Manama, to mourn the death of Sayed Hashim Saeed. They are demanding that police be tried for the deaths of some 40 people since protests began in February.
Police earlier tried to seal off the site of the funeral to prevent crowds from gathering.
The clash on Sitra marks the latest burst of violence in more than 10 months of confrontations and widespread street protests on the strategic Gulf island nation, which is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. The country's Shiite-led opposition is pressing for greater rights and reforms from the country's Sunni monarchy and minority population.
Jaffer al-Sheik, 40, who identified himself as a relative of Saeed, said after the funeral that the boy died while participating in a protest march. He said the canister fired by riot police caused burns on Saeed's chest arm and head.
A statement signed by six opposition groups condemned Sunday's attack on the funeral procession.
"We reaffirm our commitment to nonviolence," the statement said. "We call on the government to stop its policy of repression... and bring to trial those accused to respond to the legitimate demands of the Bahraini people."
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Syria one step closer to civil war.
An Arab League advisory body called on Sunday for the immediate withdrawal of the organization's monitoring mission in Syria, saying it was allowing Damascus to cover up continued violence and abuses.
The Arab League has sent a small team to Syria to check whether President Bashar al-Assad is keeping his promise to end a crackdown on a nine-month uprising against his rule.
The observer mission has already stirred controversy. Rights groups have reported continued deaths in clashes and tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets to show the observers the extent of their anger.
The Arab Parliament, an 88-member advisory committee of delegates from each of the League's member states, on Sunday said the violence was continuing to claim many victims.
"For this to happen in the presence of Arab monitors has roused the anger of Arab people and negates the purpose of sending a fact-finding mission," the organization's chairman Ali al-Salem al-Dekbas said.
"This is giving the Syrian regime an Arab cover for continuing its inhumane actions under the eyes and ears of the Arab League," he said.
The Arab Parliament was the first body to recommend freezing Syria's membership in the organization in response to Assad's crackdown.
The Arab League has sent a small team to Syria to check whether President Bashar al-Assad is keeping his promise to end a crackdown on a nine-month uprising against his rule.
The observer mission has already stirred controversy. Rights groups have reported continued deaths in clashes and tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets to show the observers the extent of their anger.
The Arab Parliament, an 88-member advisory committee of delegates from each of the League's member states, on Sunday said the violence was continuing to claim many victims.
"For this to happen in the presence of Arab monitors has roused the anger of Arab people and negates the purpose of sending a fact-finding mission," the organization's chairman Ali al-Salem al-Dekbas said.
"This is giving the Syrian regime an Arab cover for continuing its inhumane actions under the eyes and ears of the Arab League," he said.
The Arab Parliament was the first body to recommend freezing Syria's membership in the organization in response to Assad's crackdown.
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