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China's 2013 economic growth dodges 14-year low but further slowing seen

China’s economy narrowly missed expectations for growth to hit 14-year lows in 2013, though some economists say a cooldown will be inevitable this year as officials and investors hunker down for difficult reforms. The chance that the world’s second-largest economy may decelerate in coming months was underscored on Monday by data that showed growth in investment and factory output flagged in the final months of last year. Waning momentum capped China’s annual economic growth at a six-month low of 7.7 percent in the October-December quarter, a slowdown some analysts say may deepen this year as China endures the short-term pain of revamping its growth model for the long-term good. Full-year growth in 2013 was 7.7 percent, steady from 2012 and just slightly above market expectations for a 7.6 percent expansion, which would have been the slowest since 1999. "It’s like a Chinese medicine," said Lu Zhengwei, […]

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China’s 2013 economic growth dodges 14-year low but further slowing seen

China’s economy narrowly missed expectations for growth to hit 14-year lows in 2013, though some economists say a cooldown will be inevitable this year as officials and investors hunker down for difficult reforms. The chance that the world’s second-largest economy may decelerate in coming months was underscored on Monday by data that showed growth in investment and factory output flagged in the final months of last year. Waning momentum capped China’s annual economic growth at a six-month low of 7.7 percent in the October-December quarter, a slowdown some analysts say may deepen this year as China endures the short-term pain of revamping its growth model for the long-term good. Full-year growth in 2013 was 7.7 percent, steady from 2012 and just slightly above market expectations for a 7.6 percent expansion, which would have been the slowest since 1999. "It’s like a Chinese medicine," said Lu Zhengwei, […]

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Cnooc Sets 2014 Output Growth Estimate Lower Than Five-Year Goal

Cnooc Ltd. (883) , China ’s biggest offshore oil and gas producer, estimated it will increase output by as much as 5.6 percent this year, less than the targeted average for the five years through 2015. The Beijing-based explorer will produce 422 million to 435 million barrels of oil equivalent, it said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday. The company produced 412 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2013, including 61 million barrels from Canada ’s Nexen Inc. Cnooc, which bought Nexen for $15.1 billion in China’s biggest overseas acquisition, maintained its 6 percent to 10 percent average annual production growth target from 2011 to 2015 with the proviso that key offshore projects start on time later this year or early next, Chief Executive Officer Li Fanrong said at a press conference in Hong Kong yesterday. “There isn’t enough time left for Cnooc to meet […]

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Cnooc Aims to Raise 2014 Oil, Gas Output

China’s biggest offshore producer of oil and gas expects its 2014 net crude-oil and natural-gas production to rise by 2.4%-5.6% and to sharply increase its capital spending as it seeks to expand domestic and overseas operations. The Hong Kong-listed Cnooc Ltd. said Monday that is maintaining its 2011-2015 compound annual growth projection of 6%-10%. It didn’t raise the projection despite having acquired significant gas assets last year with the purchase of Canada’s Nexen Inc. for US$15.1 billion, the largest overseas acquisition to date by a Chinese company. "Experiencing the upward trend on costs in the industry this year, the company will utilize capital more prudently through the capex plan to support the development of the company in the future," Cnooc Chief Financial Officer Zhong Hua said. Beijing-based Cnooc is targeting net production of 422 million-435 million barrels of oil equivalent this year, up from a 2013 estimate of […]

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Shell Sells Australian Assets for $1.14 Billion

Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Monday it is selling its stake in an Australian natural-gas project, the oil company’s first disposal since it issued a rare profit warning last week . Shell said it has agreed to sell its 8% equity interest in the Wheatstone-Iago gas field, which is operated by U.S.-based Chevron Corp. , and 6.4% interest in the Wheatstone liquefied-natural-gas project in Western Australia for $1.14 billion in cash to state-owned Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co. "Shell will remain a major player in Australia’s energy industry," Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said. "However, we are refocusing our investment to where we can add the most value with Shell’s capital and technology." Shell said Friday it expects fourth-quarter earnings, which it will announce next week, to be $2.2 billion, down about 70% from $7.3 billion a year earlier. It projected full-year earnings of $16.8 billion, down […]

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China Exports Pollution to U.S., Study Finds

A group of researchers found that trans-Pacific air pollution is a hidden price of the goods sent abroad from China. European Pressphoto Agency BEIJING — Filthy emissions from China’s export industries are carried across the Pacific Ocean and contribute to air pollution in the Western United States, according to a paper published Monday by a prominent American science journal. The research is the first to quantify how air pollution in the United States is affected by China’s production of goods for export and by global consumer demand for those goods, the study’s authors say. It was written by nine scholars based in three nations and was published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , which last year published a paper by other researchers that found a drop in life spans in northern China because of air pollution. The latest paper explores the […]

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California declares statewide emergency amid worst drought on record

California’s worst drought in a century is devastating the state’s agriculture and destroying its forestland, which is being consumed by wildfire, Governor Jerry Brown said Friday as he declared a state emergency. The emergency declaration allows California to access federal help to battle the drought, which has left huge swathes of tinder-dry forest vulnerable to catching fire. On Thursday, a massive blaze raged just outside Los Angeles, damaging several homes and forcing residents to evacuate the area, where the fire risk had been elevated for weeks. Brown urged residents of his state to reduce their water use by at least 20 percent. “I’ve declared this emergency and I’m calling on all Californians to conserve water in every way possible,” he said in his statement. “We can’t make it rain,” he added. “But we can be much better […]

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Drought Emergency Declared in California as Residents Urge Halt to Fracking

The state of California formally declared a drought emergency today due to a lack of winter rainfall and water reserves at only 20 percent of normal levels. This is the third year of dry conditions across California, which poses a threat to the state’s economy and environment. cadroughts In addition to concerns about having an adequate water supply for food production, Californians are worried about Gov. Brown’s plan to increase fracking as oil companies are gearing up to frack large reservoirs of unconventional shale oil in the Monterey Shale. Photo credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Last year was declared the driest year in recorded history in California and Gov. Jerry Brown recently described the state’s current condition as “a mega-drought.” “The current historically dry weather is a bellwether of what is to come in California, with increasing periods of drought expected with climate change ,” said Juliet Christian-Smith, […]

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Oil Prices Slip With Iran Exports and China Imports in Focus

-Crude-oil prices were lower in London trading Monday amid ample supply, but Chinese demand increases could be on the horizon. Brent crude for March delivery was down 23 cents, or 0.2%, at $106.25 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. U.S. crude-oil futures were down 67 cents at $93.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brokerage PVM said that with threat of tension emanating from Iran lessened, "concerns of a potential global oil shortage this year are more than matched by concerns of a huge excess." Monday marks the beginning of the lifting of sanctions against Iran, though it will still not be able to begin exporting its crude freely for at least six months. There has also been concern that a slowing economy in China, one of the largest global consumers of crude, would continue to have a depressing effect on demand. Chinese "implied […]

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WTI Falls From Two-Week High; China Factory Output Slows

West Texas Intermediate slid from the highest closing price in two weeks amid slowing economic growth and weaker industrial output in China, the world’s second-biggest oil consumer. Futures lost as much as 0.9 percent in New York. Factory production rose by 9.7 percent in December, the slowest expansion in five months, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics. Iran ’s Atomic Energy Organization chief welcomed the start of the implementation of an interim nuclear deal with world powers that will see Iran curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. “The modest, tepid Chinese economic data surprised investors and is bringing more uncertainty about the prospects for the Chinese economy in the medium term,” said Myrto Sokou, senior analyst at Sucden Financial Ltd. London. “Signs about the situation with Iran’s nuclear program are also going to provide momentum in the coming days.” WTI for February delivery fell as […]

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