Category:

Germany, France to Push for Ambitious U.N. Climate Agreement at Paris Summit

ENLARGE Environmental activists wear masks featuring French President François Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate on Tuesday. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images BERLIN—Germany and France said on Tuesday that they would push for an “ambitious, comprehensive and binding” global agreement on cutting carbon emissions this year, seeking to create impetus for a broad deal despite resistance from some developing countries. In a joint statement, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande said they aim to “decarbonize fully the global economy over the course of this century” and will “commit ourselves to contribute our fair share.” Industrialized countries are leading the push to curb carbon-dioxide emissions to fight climate change. But many developing economies want a freer hand to boost energy consumption amid rapid domestic growth, as well as money to help offset economic sacrifices that might be necessary to reduce their emissions. The German […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Euro slides as Greek official says IMF repayment in doubt

LONDON The euro slid to a two-week low and a rally in European shares stalled on Wednesday after a Greek official said the country may not make an upcoming repayment to the International Monetary Fund. The euro’s fall follows remarks from a European Central Bank board member on Tuesday that the central bank could increase the pace of its bond-buying in May and June, bringing its losses against the dollar this week to more than 3 percent. The pause in European shares mirrored the sticky performance of Asian bourses, although the Nikkei in Tokyo jumped to a 15-year high after Japan posted surprisingly strong economic growth for the first quarter. European bank shares were in focus were in focus after Switzerland’s UBS ( UBSG.VX ) paid $545 million to settle with U.S. authorities over currency rigging. Four other global banks are expected to settle later on Wednesday. Ahead of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

The IMF Tells a Half-Truth

Air pollution image via shutterstock. Reproduced at Resilience.org with permission. On May 18 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a report titled “ How Large are Global Energy Subsidies? ” The question is a bit misleading: most readers, when they see the word subsidy, probably tend tothink of tax breaks or cash gifts to specific industries. The report, however, uses the term mostly to refer to environmental externalities—and not ones tied to all energy use, but ones related to fossil fuel combustion in particular. An economic externality is an impact of a commercial activity that is not reflected in the prices of goods or services traded. There can be positive externalities: if I buy organic, responsibly farmed food, I usually expect to pay more—thus the beneficial impact of my food choice upon the environment isn’t reflected in a price that would reinforce my behavior; just the opposite is true. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil prices drop as weak fundamentals weigh on market

SINGAPORE Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday as slow economic growth and high supplies meant that markets remain oversupplied, although U.S. prices received some support from rising demand ahead of the summer driving season. Brent futures LCOc1 were down 60 cents at $65.67 a barrel by 2.12 a.m. ET, after an almost 1 percent fall on Monday on near-record Saudi exports. Goldman Sachs said Brent crude prices were due for a downward correction after a recent rally that saw prices of the North Sea benchmark jump 50 percent since its mid-January lows. "We find that the global market imbalances are in fact not solved and believe that the rally will prove self-defeating as it undermines the nascent rebalancing," the bank said in an overnight report that reiterated its downward revision of long-term oil prices on Monday. It said the ongoing oversupply, upside to U.S. production at current prices and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil Falls as Bearish Fundamentals Outweigh Mideast Tensions

ENLARGE Iraqi oil workers at one of the al-Fakka oil wells at the border between Iraq with Iran outside Amara, south of Baghdad, on April 2. Over the weekend, Islamic State militants seized control of Ramadi, located around 110 kilometers west of the capital.EPA/STR Photo: European Pressphoto Agency Oil prices edged lower Monday after Saudi Arabia posted its highest level of monthly exports in nearly 10 years and an Iranian official said OPEC would likely decide to keep production steady at its meeting next month. The two developments added to a bearish backdrop colored by a stronger dollar that discouraged foreign buyers and data from a private forecasting agency that showed U.S. oil inventories fell less than expected last week. Taken together, they put the brakes on a surge in oil prices that have risen nearly 40% since late March on the expectation that production curtailments and a recovering […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Asian demand signals give oil prices stability

China continues to show strong economic appetite despite recent slow-down. OPEC said Chinese demand should pick up in the latter half of 2015. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI NEW YORK, May 18 (UPI) — Signs of strong Asian demand provided a modest lift to crude oil prices early in the trading day Monday, though major indices remain relatively stable for May. Brent crude oil prices started Monday at around $66.34 per barrel, relatively unchanged from the start of Friday trading. Brent crude oil prices started May at around $66.16 per barrel. Brent has been relatively stable amid signs of overall improvement in the global economy. Though the United States continues to stall, the European economy has shown slow but steady improvement in terms of growth in gross domestic product. China, meanwhile, continued to show signs of increasing oil demand. A subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp. signed a $330 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Iran Official Doesn’t Expect OPEC to Cut Output

KUALA LUMPUR—OPEC is unlikely to cut production or change course at its next meeting in Vienna, a top Iranian oil ministry official said, according to a state news agency. In the past, Iran and countries such as Venezuela and Iraq have called for production cuts to address a market oversupplied by new output from the U.S. But Saudi Arabia, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ de facto leader and the world’s largest crude exporter, led a new policy of digging in and fighting for a market share at the cartel’s most recent meeting in November. Asked if he thought OPEC would change course at its next meeting on June 5, Deputy Oil Minister Rokneddin Javadi said, “I don’t think so.” Speaking to reporters in a separate session on the sidelines of an energy conference here, Mr. Javadi suggested that not all OPEC members were happy with the outcome […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

IMF Estimates Trillions in Hidden Fossil-Fuel Costs

ENLARGE A power plant in Changchun, northeast China’s Jilin province. The IMF released a report on Monday about the hidden health and environmental costs of fossil fuel use. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images WASHINGTON—Consumers should be paying a whopping $5 trillion more a year for energy to cover the hidden health and environmental costs of using fossil fuels, the International Monetary Fund said Monday. Vitor Gaspar, head of the IMF’s fiscal affairs department, which produced the report, called the estimates shocking and “one of the largest negative externalities ever estimated,” referring to costs that aren’t factored into prices. The fund said policy makers must start capturing those costs—valued at roughly 6% of global gross domestic product—in fuel prices now to curb the damaging effects, encourage greater energy efficiency and prevent a mounting toll on human health. The report said the costs—largely fueled by the ballooning use of coal in China […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple