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Union, BP agree terms for workers’ return to Whiting oil refinery

HOUSTON BP Plc and the union representing striking workers at the British firm’s Whiting, Indiana, oil refinery have reached an agreement setting the terms for them to return to work as soon as May 18 following a three-month strike. Union officials said a ratification vote is scheduled for Monday on the tentative four-year contract, agreed on May 1 by negotiators for BP and the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7-1. Striking workers have been walking the picket lines since Feb. 8. Workers at the Whiting refinery went on strike as part of the largest work stoppage by refinery and chemical plant workers in 35 years, involving 15 plants which included 12 refineries accounting for one-fifth of U.S. capacity. The national strike began after talks broke down between negotiators for the USW International union and U.S. refinery owners over tighter standards to prevent worker fatigue and the use of contractors in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Einhorn’s Fracking Concerns Are Nothing New, But They Matter For Investors (Part 1)

Summary Many objections to the science and economics of shale production have been raised for years. These objections have serious implications for investors in securities that are related in any way to the energy industry. This series attempts to summarize what I see as important risks as well as potential rewards. Instead of fighting against the critics of shale production, investors can simply attempt to profit instead. Part 2 of this article will highlight several ways for investors to potentially profit with or without any bursting of a "shale bubble". As most investors are aware, David Einhorn recently presented his concerns about the poor economics of U.S. shale production at the Sohn conference. Specifically, he went after shale producers Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE: PXD ), Concho Resources (NYSE: CXO ), Whiting Petroleum (NYSE: WLL ), Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR ), and EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG ). While I think […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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The Death of the Green Energy Movement

The green energy movement in America is dead. May it rest in peace. No, a majority of American energy over the next 20 years is not going to come from windmills and solar panels. One important lesson to be learned from the green energy fad’s rapid and expensive demise is that central planning doesn’t work. What crushed green energy was the boom in shale oil and gas along with the steep decline in the price of fossil fuel that few saw coming just a few years ago. A new International Energy Agency report concedes that green energy is in fast retreat and is getting crushed by “the recent drop in fossil fuel prices.” It finds that the huge price advantage for oil and natural gas means “fossil plants still dominate recent (electric power) capacity additions.” This wasn’t supposed to happen. Most of the government experts–and many private investors too–bought […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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Special Report: Russian soldiers quit over Ukraine

MOSCOW/DONETSK Some Russian soldiers are quitting the army because of the conflict in Ukraine, several soldiers and human rights activists have told Reuters. Their accounts call into question the Kremlin’s continued assertions that no Russian soldiers have been sent to Ukraine, and that any Russians fighting alongside rebels there are volunteers. Evidence for Russians fighting in Ukraine – Russian army equipment found in the country, testimony from soldiers’ families and from Ukrainians who say they were captured by Russian paratroopers – is abundant. Associates of Boris Nemtsov, a prominent Kremlin critic killed in February, will soon publish a report which they say will contain new evidence of the Russian military presence in Ukraine. Until now, however, it has been extremely rare to find Russian soldiers who have fought there and are willing to talk. It is even rarer to find soldiers who have quit the army. Five soldiers who […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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I.M.F. and Central Bank Loom Large Over Greece’s Debt Talks

Photo Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, right, at a session of the Greek Parliament. Finance officials from Greece and other European nations will meet Monday on its debt. Credit Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters Greek leaders have fought fiercely in recent months with politicians from other European countries over relief on Greece ’s vast debt load. Yet the power to decide the fate of Greece lies not just in the hands of these national governments, but also with unelected officials at two powerful institutions: the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund . Each is a creditor to Greece, and each is expecting the country to repay it billions of dollars of debt in the coming weeks. The influence of the E.C.B. and the I.M.F. will be felt behind the scenes on Monday, when finance ministers from Greece and other European nations meet in their latest effort to break an impasse that […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Russia saved Europe from Hitler, and it wants you to remember

MOSCOW — Russia’s vast celebrations Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany had nearly everything: 16,000 goose-stepping soldiers, medal-bedecked veterans and families carrying photographs of those who died long ago. But one group was conspicuously absent from the memorial of the Soviet Union’s joint victory with West: the leaders of those wartime allied nations. A year into a conflict in Ukraine that the West says is fueled by the Kremlin, the tribunes in Red Square on Saturday were stocked with officials from nations that had little to do with the Soviet Union’s painful wartime sacrifices. Even some Kremlin critics said they were disappointed by the snub. A decade ago, President George W. Bush sat next to Russian President Vladimir Putin on stands in front of Lenin’s Tomb to observe the 60th anniversary. A decade before that, President Bill Clinton also came to Moscow in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Population; the elephant in the green room

A monstrous and ever expanding elephant sits in the green crusaders’ room. Amidst all the liberal internationalist angst about greenhouse gases and pollution generally, the greatest and most obvious cause of both is ignored by mainstream politicians: the already great and rapidly rising population of the world. The world population is estimated to be over 7 billion now. Extrapolations to 2050 go as high as 9.5 billion. The vast majority living now come from the underdeveloped world and their proportion of the world population will increase in the coming decades because the populations of underdeveloped countries have much younger populations than those of the developed world. One of every six people on earth is an adolescent. In the developing world, more than 40 percent of the population is under age 20. The decisions these young people make will shape our world and the prospects of future generations. Let us […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Prices Diverge in Week

By Nicole Friedman U.S. oil prices rose Friday as traders weighed expectations of growing demand against concerns that the market remains oversupplied. Light, sweet crude settled up 45 cents, or 0.8%, to $59.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $65.39 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. The U.S. contract posted a 0.4% gain this week while Brent fell 1.6%. Prices rose early in the session after the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added a seasonally adjusted 223,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate fell to 5.4% from 5.5% the prior month. Higher employment can put more commuters on the road, a positive indicator for oil demand. "A favorable employment figure conjures up images of some increased gasoline demand, and that’s helping out" the market, said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy-advisory firm Ritterbusch […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil prices fall on oversupply fears, ignore record China imports

SINGAPORE Oil fell on Friday, erasing gains earlier in the session, as concerns over oversupply outweighed strong Chinese import figures. Benchmark Brent crude was at $65.31 per barrel at 0650 GMT, down 23 cents after hitting a session high of $65.75. U.S. crude was 33 cents lower at $58.61 a barrel. Oil prices already tumbled 3 percent on Thursday as a resurgent dollar erased gains from the past two sessions, and after some U.S. producers said they would ramp up drilling after months of falling activity if prices continued to rise. Analysts said that Brent seemed capped around $70 a barrel, and may be overvalued already as there was still an oversupply in crude and U.S. producers, which have sharply reduced drilling in recent months of low prices, could increase production. "U.S. producers… indicated they would ramp up drilling activity if prices continued to rise," ANZ bank said in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Crude oil markets search for traction

U.S. Labor Department data show employers in the energy sector continue to shed jobs in a weak crude oil market. File photo by Gary C. Caskey/UPI NEW YORK, May 8 (UPI) — Crude oil markets recovered from midweek losses Friday to post modest gains as U.S. employment data masks a downturn in parts of the energy sector. The price for West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for oil, recovered about three-quarters of a percent to $59.41 in early Friday trading. WTI prices lost more than 2.2 percent during Thursday’s session, erasing much of a rally that pushed U.S. crude above the $60 mark to start the week. WTI started the month at $59.19. Brent crude oil prices, which started the month around $66.16 per barrel, were relatively flat early in the Friday session to trade at $65.59. Brent started Thursday around $67 per barrel. Oil markets are searching for […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple