OPEC to raise output of the oil crisis deepens

Merchants in the Middle East.  Photo: BLOOMBERG

The fears were intensified by Libya attended a day of violent clashes between forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi and those trying to topple his dictatorship, Saudi Arabia, the largest producer of oil in the regionactivists renewed calls for a day of protest later this week.

That helped propel Brent crude as high as $118.50 per barrel, while he withdrew more later close down 93 cents at $115.04 in volatile trade. American crude prices jumped briefly to a peak of intra-day of $107 per barrel.

The unexpected political changes sweeping in from the Middle East and North Africa caught unaware investors since it broke out earlier this year. Although an economy world improvement had sent oil higher in the last three months of last year, experts say that a run at about $120 per barrel at risk of serious recovery facing the wind.

"Events that develop in the Middle East to seize the attention of the market until that uncertainty is resolved," said Steven Weiting, Economist in New York at Citigroup.

Investors were betting on a quick resolution yesterday, as a flight to safer assets pushed the price of gold to a new record of $1,444.30.

Stock markets, in turn, retreated, with the FTSE 100 closing down 0 3pc inhabitants. The & S P 500 slipped almost 1pc in New York trading, while prices for the obligations of the Government of roses.

Mounted at the beginning of crude caused a day of headaches and of debate for those control a large part of global oil production. OPEC said members of the consultations on the opportunity to organize an emergency meeting. Major countries members, including the Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates United, Nigeria joined Saudi Arabia in the planning of production to fill the hole left by the Libya lift.

Saudi Arabia has raised output by 700,000 barrels per day, and the others are adding some 300,000 barrels per day. The international agency of energy considers the crisis in Libya cut the supply by approximately 1 m barrels per day.

The increase in prices is the greatest threat to the fragile economies, including Britain. "With fiscal tightening and food, the price of oil prices are a real threat to the United Kingdom" said Julian Jessop, Economist at capital economics. The Council expects this country around a recession yet, but predicted just 1. 5pc growth this year and next.

High oil prices have put the British Government under pressure to increase in the duty of the scrap fuel and Chancellor abandoned its wider tip that there could be a help for drivers in the Budget. "I'm looking, of course, the fuel duty," he said yesterday. "I see what I can do to help."

In United States, the White House is considering tapping the country strategic oil reserves if prices continue North. "We are looking at options." The question of reservations is one before us, said William Daly, Chief of staff of the President Barack Obama.

Last America operated its reserves, which hold about 727 m barrels per day, Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Analysts at Deutsche Bank reduce oil. Price of gasoline is close to a maximum of two years of $3.81 per gallon, according to AAA, an organization of U.S. automobile.

Stimulated by December tax reductions, consumers have been behind more recent performance of the US economy.

Energy & Utilities and positions vacant Oil & Gas jobs Telegraph

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Steve James: farcical events at Glamorgan raise eyebrows in Australia

With so much international cricket being played year-round around the globe, its newspaper coverage may have shrunk, but it still has its legion of supporters and followers. Many of them may be latent – for each of the last two seasons the Cricinfo website has recorded some 30 million hits on its county cricket pages – but they are there.

As indeed I have discovered many miles away here in Australia. There I was at the Gabba the day before the first Test, trying to watch the various net sessions (with Doug Bollinger clearly making the point that he did not like being left out of the Australia side by bowling at the speed of light) and familiarise myself with new surroundings, while rather a lot of people seemed to want to ask only one question: “What on earth is happening at Glamorgan?” And the inquisitors were not all Welsh! Given the mountains of correspondence and calls I have received in the last couple of weeks, I very nearly called a press conference after the captains Andrew Strauss and Ricky Ponting had uttered their pre-series war cries.

“Everyone has resigned, haven’t they?” remarked one top-notch sports writer. Well, not quite, but three in a week is pretty unprecedented. That is captain Jamie Dalrymple, who was sacked and then resigned from the club, director of cricket Matthew Maynard and then president Peter Walker in disgust. Oscar Wilde might have had something to say about this. One? Unfortunate. Two? Careless. Three? Just plain stupid.

As cock-ups go Glamorgan’s recent actions have been top-rank. They wanted to improve matters; instead they have made them many times worse. The broad principles of their thinking were actually reasonably sound. Dalrymple is a fine cricketer – indeed I stand by my assertion three years ago that he was Glamorgan’s best-ever domestic signing – but he is no Mike Brearley. Maynard is a sharp coach, happiest with tracksuit on, but not a director of cricket with all its attendant duties. So to sack Dalrymple and demote Maynard was not wildly ill-advised. But the manner of its implementation, as well as the choice of replacements, was quite shambolic.

Glamorgan wanted Ponting or Graeme Smith to captain. They ended up with Alviro Petersen. It is not quite the same. They say they conducted a worldwide search for a managing director of cricket and ended up with Colin Metson, a former Glamorgan wicketkeeper and recently chairman of their cricket advisory group, but with little experience or knowledge of top-level cricket recently. Perhaps more pertinently he is a friend of chairman Paul Russell.

What is more nobody told Maynard he was being demoted before Russell, Metson and chief executive Alan Hamer took a trip to Dubai to sign Petersen during the recent South Africa versus Pakistan Test series. There has been a nice video clip doing the email rounds showing all three sitting in the stands. Caught red-handed.

There are a couple of wider issues to consider here. Firstly the importance of one-day cricket. Glamorgan missed championship promotion by a whisker (a mutton-headed Sussex declaration handed Worcestershire the spot instead) but yet again were woeful in the one-day stuff. That is where the cash cow lies. The players profess the championship to be the most-prized competition, but the bean counters beg to differ.

Secondly the influence of the county chairman. It is a role that has changed dramatically. Once it was mainly a ceremonial post; now many chairmen prop up their counties financially. Russell certainly does at Glamorgan. And with that comes power.

But the trouble is that very few of these men know their cricket. They think they do, but the truth is they do not. At heart they are just fans. They get star-struck like everyone else. So they make decisions in sport that they would never make in business.

Then business and cricketing needs become confused when they are asked to make decisions about the domestic cricketing structure. Most culpably, though, some poke their noses into team affairs. That was cited as a reason for chief executive David Smith’s resignation at Leicestershire earlier this year. Eventually, after much acrimony, the chairman Neil Davidson resigned too.

A quote from Sir Alex Ferguson strikes a chord: “I am the most important man at Manchester United. It has to be that way,” the manager said recently.

So it should be in cricket. Leave the cricket to the experts.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Surging orders in the US raise capacity worries

 The US economy has already begun to hit capacity constraints in some industries as business orders reach the highest level since the start of the Reagan boom in the early 1980s. Photo: PA

The Chicago purchasing managers index (PMI) for the Mid-West region showed business optimism touched a 13-year high in February, while the new orders component was the highest since December 1983.

The release came as New York Federal chief Bill Dudley said the outlook was "considerably brighter than six months ago" with signs of "broadening and strengthening" across the board.

Mr Dudley said it would be foolish for the Fed to "over-react" to the commodity spike, blaming it on "temporary" factors that are unlikely to set off an inflation spiral when there is still so much slack in the US economy.

The latest jump in food prices is largely due to bad weather, while the rising cost of oil costs is double-edged since it acts as a tax on disposable income. "The pass-through of commodity prices into core measures of inflation has been very low in the US for several decades."

However, the PMI survey responses suggest that the Fed may have misjudged the level of spare capacity, lowering its guard against inflation risks.

Among the sample comments are: "Costs continue to escalate", "Steel prices are increasing weekly", "My vendors have created such low inventory that now that business is picking up they cannot meet my demand"; "Hiring is now above pre-layoff levels, targeted to rock stars who make much, much more than previously eliminated managers"; or simply, "too many 'fricken' speculators in market causing higher prices".

The detail will be seized on by inflation hawks who think the safe "speed limit" for the US economy is lower than claimed, and that the Fed erred by launching a second blitz of quantitative easing in October.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Nestor Healthcare jumps on talk of raise offer

Shareholders had better not be too picky, though. Acromas is also looking at US-listed Allied Healthcare as part of its plans to consolidate the domiciliary care and healthcare staffing market.

Indeed, The Sunday Telegraph revealed that Acromas has been holding tentative negotiations with Allied Healthcare after it appointed advisers from US investment bank Oppenheimer to look at "strategic options" for the group. Sources, though, cautioned that Acromas has yet to make a formal offer for Allied Healthcare.

Overall, the FTSE 100 jumped by 79.79 points to 5635.76 and the FTSE 250 surged by 118.15 points to 10681.96.

Joshua Raymond, market strategist at City Index, said: "Better-than-expected service sector data out of the UK and eurozone helped indices across Europe. News that the Bank of Japan may expand the size of funds its uses to buy assets and stimulate its economy is also boosting stock demand."

British Airways climbed to the top of the blue-chip leaderboard after better-than-expected traffic figures. The airline's shares surged 15½ to 254.6p after it revealed a 1.3pc increase in revenue passenger kilometres for September, helped by an increase in first and business-class travel. The rise is the biggest gain since August 2008, the month before the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Citigroup upgraded technology group Invensys to "buy", which helped the shares gain 9.2 to 307.2p. Mark Fielding, an analyst at Citigroup, said: "Concerns over its late cycle nature and the risks to growth in rail have weighed on the shares over the last year. However, our analysis suggests continued growth... at rail. When this is combined with recovery continuing across the rest of the portfolio we see renewed attractions in the share."

InterContinental Hotels Group advanced 19p to £11.46 as JP Morgan Cazenove gave the stock a push on valuation grounds. Tim Barrett, an analyst at JP Morgan Cazenove, said: "The outlook for 2011 is favourable and likely to be an increasing focus for investors after Marriott and Starwood publish 2011 guidance with their third-quarter results. We believe low supply growth in 2011 is likely to support [revenue per available room] growth of between 5pc and 8pc in 2011."

BT Group put on 2.7 to 148½p amid talk Ofcom will this week announce a decision on superfast broadband that is likely to be favourable to the telecoms company.

Tui Travel rallied 9.1 to 225.9p after it said in a trading update that it had a good summer and bookings were picking up. Elsewhere in the sector, rival Thomas Cook increased 6.7 to 179¾p.

Hedge fund group Man Group perked up 9½ to 227.1p after it said its Athena Guaranteed Futures rose 0.55pc last month and had risen 10.5pc over the past 12 months.

Gold mining stocks were in vogue as the price of the precious metal flirted with a fresh high. Randgold Resources climbed 195p to £66.55.

Rising risk appetite gave base metal mining companies and banking stocks a lift. Anglo American put on 103½p to £26.41 and Barclays edged up 9 to 308.8p.

Aviva advanced 3.4 to 396.2p despite the fact that Bank of America Merrill Lynch argued that the latest "bid" related spike in the transport group's shares will unwind as the likelihood of any corporate activity lessens.

On a less positive tack, Inmarsat fell 26 to 629p. After the market closed yesterday, Harbinger Capital confirmed it had sold 65m shares - about 14pc of the company – at 630p a share in a move that raised £410m. The share sale was larger than expected and triggered speculation Harbinger could sell the rest of the its holding once the 180-day lock-up expires.

Among the smaller companies, Computacentre jumped 22.9 to 322.9p as Investec upgraded the stock to "buy" from "hold". "We believe earnings quality has improved through operational efficiencies, managed services traction and cost savings. The outlook suggests a continuation of these trends, reasonable revenue progress and modest forecast momentum," said Julian Yates, an analyst at Investec.

"Buy" advice from Barclays Capital lifted Carphone Warehouse 3¼ to 266p. Karen Howland, an analyst at Barclays Capital, said: "We expect Carphone Warehouse to report another set of strong figures during its second-quarter results on November."

Homeserve also rallied 17.1 to 459.1p after Credit Suisse took up coverage with an "outperform" rating and a 720p price target. Analysts at Credit Suisse said: "HomeServe offers one of the most compelling combinations of growth, profitability and value in Europe."

Weir Group put on 33p to £14.86 as Bank of America Merrill Lynch argued it is likely to offer "superior growth" in an economic cycle that is "settling down".

However, oil services company Wood Group slipped 3.3 to 424.6p as Morgan Stanley downgraded it to "equalweight". "The recovery we identified in engineering as the key 'swing factor' for its earnings recovery in 2011 is being priced in," said Martjin Rats, an analyst at Morgan Stanley.

Vallar, Nat Rothchild's investment vehicle, is still trading below its issue price of £10.00 a share. When Vallar floated in July, investors had high hopes for the financier's plans to consolidate some of the mining sector. However, Vallar, up 15 to 920p, has failed to carry out a transaction since its float and some investors are preparing to kick up a fuss if the shares fail to move higher.

View the original article here

Nestor Healthcare jumps on talk of raise offer

Shareholders had better not be too picky, though. Acromas is also looking at US-listed Allied Healthcare as part of its plans to consolidate the domiciliary care and healthcare staffing market.

Indeed, The Sunday Telegraph revealed that Acromas has been holding tentative negotiations with Allied Healthcare after it appointed advisers from US investment bank Oppenheimer to look at "strategic options" for the group. Sources, though, cautioned that Acromas has yet to make a formal offer for Allied Healthcare.

Overall, the FTSE 100 jumped by 79.79 points to 5635.76 and the FTSE 250 surged by 118.15 points to 10681.96.

Joshua Raymond, market strategist at City Index, said: "Better-than-expected service sector data out of the UK and eurozone helped indices across Europe. News that the Bank of Japan may expand the size of funds its uses to buy assets and stimulate its economy is also boosting stock demand."

British Airways climbed to the top of the blue-chip leaderboard after better-than-expected traffic figures. The airline's shares surged 15½ to 254.6p after it revealed a 1.3pc increase in revenue passenger kilometres for September, helped by an increase in first and business-class travel. The rise is the biggest gain since August 2008, the month before the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Citigroup upgraded technology group Invensys to "buy", which helped the shares gain 9.2 to 307.2p. Mark Fielding, an analyst at Citigroup, said: "Concerns over its late cycle nature and the risks to growth in rail have weighed on the shares over the last year. However, our analysis suggests continued growth... at rail. When this is combined with recovery continuing across the rest of the portfolio we see renewed attractions in the share."

InterContinental Hotels Group advanced 19p to £11.46 as JP Morgan Cazenove gave the stock a push on valuation grounds. Tim Barrett, an analyst at JP Morgan Cazenove, said: "The outlook for 2011 is favourable and likely to be an increasing focus for investors after Marriott and Starwood publish 2011 guidance with their third-quarter results. We believe low supply growth in 2011 is likely to support [revenue per available room] growth of between 5pc and 8pc in 2011."

BT Group put on 2.7 to 148½p amid talk Ofcom will this week announce a decision on superfast broadband that is likely to be favourable to the telecoms company.

Tui Travel rallied 9.1 to 225.9p after it said in a trading update that it had a good summer and bookings were picking up. Elsewhere in the sector, rival Thomas Cook increased 6.7 to 179¾p.

Hedge fund group Man Group perked up 9½ to 227.1p after it said its Athena Guaranteed Futures rose 0.55pc last month and had risen 10.5pc over the past 12 months.

Gold mining stocks were in vogue as the price of the precious metal flirted with a fresh high. Randgold Resources climbed 195p to £66.55.

Rising risk appetite gave base metal mining companies and banking stocks a lift. Anglo American put on 103½p to £26.41 and Barclays edged up 9 to 308.8p.

Aviva advanced 3.4 to 396.2p despite the fact that Bank of America Merrill Lynch argued that the latest "bid" related spike in the transport group's shares will unwind as the likelihood of any corporate activity lessens.

On a less positive tack, Inmarsat fell 26 to 629p. After the market closed yesterday, Harbinger Capital confirmed it had sold 65m shares - about 14pc of the company – at 630p a share in a move that raised £410m. The share sale was larger than expected and triggered speculation Harbinger could sell the rest of the its holding once the 180-day lock-up expires.

Among the smaller companies, Computacentre jumped 22.9 to 322.9p as Investec upgraded the stock to "buy" from "hold". "We believe earnings quality has improved through operational efficiencies, managed services traction and cost savings. The outlook suggests a continuation of these trends, reasonable revenue progress and modest forecast momentum," said Julian Yates, an analyst at Investec.

"Buy" advice from Barclays Capital lifted Carphone Warehouse 3¼ to 266p. Karen Howland, an analyst at Barclays Capital, said: "We expect Carphone Warehouse to report another set of strong figures during its second-quarter results on November."

Homeserve also rallied 17.1 to 459.1p after Credit Suisse took up coverage with an "outperform" rating and a 720p price target. Analysts at Credit Suisse said: "HomeServe offers one of the most compelling combinations of growth, profitability and value in Europe."

Weir Group put on 33p to £14.86 as Bank of America Merrill Lynch argued it is likely to offer "superior growth" in an economic cycle that is "settling down".

However, oil services company Wood Group slipped 3.3 to 424.6p as Morgan Stanley downgraded it to "equalweight". "The recovery we identified in engineering as the key 'swing factor' for its earnings recovery in 2011 is being priced in," said Martjin Rats, an analyst at Morgan Stanley.

Vallar, Nat Rothchild's investment vehicle, is still trading below its issue price of £10.00 a share. When Vallar floated in July, investors had high hopes for the financier's plans to consolidate some of the mining sector. However, Vallar, up 15 to 920p, has failed to carry out a transaction since its float and some investors are preparing to kick up a fuss if the shares fail to move higher.

View the original article here