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China Shares Slide as Beijing’s Moves to Calm Markets Fall Short

Chinese shares plunged Thursday, even as Beijing grasps for solutions to stem the selling, including relaxing rules on the use of borrowed funds to invest in stocks. That effort comes as a surprising turnaround given concerns that margin lending fueled a too-hot rally over the past year. The Shanghai Composite closed down 3.5% while the smaller Shenzhen market was down 5.6%. The ChiNext board, composed of small-cap stocks, sank 4%. Even after losing nearly a quarter of its value from a mid-June high, China’s main stock market has almost doubled in value over the past year. In the minutes before closing, China’s blue chips staged a minirally, which some analysts put down to buying from government-backed funds. Stocks in large, state-owned firms benefited most, with PetroChina Co. nearly hitting its daily upward limit of 10%, rising 8.8%, and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, up 5.5%. Just 60 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. hiring seen solid in June, keeping September rate hike in play

WASHINGTON U.S. job growth likely cooled a bit in June after reaching a five-month high, but still-healthy hiring would suggest the labor market is strong enough to support a September interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve. A Reuters survey estimated that nonfarm payrolls rose 230,000 last month after May’s 280,000 jump, the largest gain since December. Even with a slowdown from the prior month, June’s increase would be well above the average for the first five months of the year and more than sufficient to keep up with population growth. "What matters is the trend. We are making a lot of progress in reducing slack and unless the labor market weakens sharply, the Fed is on track to raise interest rates in September," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester Pennsylvania. The jobless rate is forecast to fall one-tenth of a percentage point […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Shell to tap new Gulf of Mexico oil

Shell makes investment decision to proceed with new developments in the deep waters of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico at a time when industry peers are trimming expenses. File photo by Maryam Rahmanian/UPI HOUSTON, July 1 (UPI) — Royal Dutch Shell said Wednesday it made a final investment decision to open up new oil developments in the deep waters of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Shell said it was moving forward with a decision to build what it says will be the largest floating platform in the Gulf of Mexico in order to tap into the deepwater Appomattox prospect . Average production is expected to be about 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. "Appomattox opens up more production growth for us in the Gulf of Mexico, where our production last year averaged about 225,000 boe per day, and this development will be profitable for decades to come," Upstream […]

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BP engineer to get new Macondo trial

A frame grab of the live video stream of operations to stop the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is seen on May 28, 2010. Appeals court in New Orleans rules BP engineer Kurt Mix, charged with assessing the leak volume, should get a new trial. UPI/BP NEW ORLEANS, July 1 (UPI) — An appeals court in Louisiana said it granted a new trial for a former BP engineer, Kurt Mix, on grounds of jury exposure to external evidence. Mix was charged with determining the amount of oil leaking from the Macondo well after Deepwater Horizon collapsed in 2010 as a result of a cascading series of failures beneath the rig. He was prosecuted and later convicted of obstruction of justice for deleting text messages and other correspondence related to those calculations. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said Mix’s defense team charged that a jury in the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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CMU policy briefs outline benefits and potential for adoption of electrified vehicles in the US

« Toyota, Nissan and Honda agree on details of H2 station support in Japan | Main | Researchers find Nissan LEAF creates less CO2 than Toyota Prius hybrid in west US and Texas, but more in N. Midwest » Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) have published two new policy briefs, along with accompanying videos, about the benefits of electrified vehicles and the potential for their adoption in the US. The briefs condense the findings of a number of recent papers coming out of the CMU group led by Professor Jeremy Michalek. The first—“ Electric Vehicle Benefits and Costs in the United States ”—shows that the benefits of vehicle electrification vary based on vehicle type; driving style; climate; how supplying electricity is generated; and time of charge. To achieve the best outcomes, the brief suggests, plug-in vehicle adoption should typically be focused on HEVs and PHEVs by city drivers […]

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Shell Goes Ahead with Giant Gulf of Mexico Field After Cost Cuts

LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has given the green light for the development of its largest platform in the Gulf of Mexico after making steep cost cuts which made the deep water project economical despite low oil prices. The decision to pour billions of dollars into the Appomattox project comes as companies have scrapped around $200 billion of mega-projects in the wake of the sharp decline in oil prices over the past year. Shell has operated in the Gulf of Mexico for over 60 years. The region contributes about 17 percent of total U.S. crude oil production according to the Energy Information Administration and was the location in 2010 of the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, involving BP’s Deepwater Horizon well. Shell’s investment decision shows the energy giant’s bet on deep water as it seeks to finalise by early 2016 the $70 billion acquisition […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Bankruptcy and More Layoffs Could Threaten Industry Even After Downturn

Just a few short years ago, the oil and gas industry was wringing its collective hands in angst over the profound shortage of workers needed to usher in the shale revolution. New college grads had all but abandoned the oil patch in favor of high tech; middle managers hadn’t returned to the profession after they were burned by the last downturn; and top tier executives were retiring out of the industry and onto the golf course. Universities responded. Large companies implemented worksite “universities,” and senior managers moved up the ranks. The crisis was largely averted. In fact, times got so good in the heady days of $100-plus oil that the workforce became in some ways bloated. And in the cyclical industry that is the oil and gas business, prices eventually tanked and companies began to go under – and thousands of workers took home a pink slip. The specter […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Plight of Greek pensioners heaps pressure on Tsipras

ATHENS Long lines of pensioners jostling to get into a limited number of banks opened specially to pay out retirement benefits have become a powerful symbol of the misery facing Greece and the problems mounting for Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. With banks closed down and capital controls imposed to shield the financial system from collapse, the depth of the problems facing the country has become clearer each day. Tsipras’ leftwing government came to power in January vowing to protect pensioners and much of the breakdown in relations with international creditors centered on its refusal to accept the cuts in pensions that the lenders demanded. Mindful of the fact that many older Greeks do not use credit or debit cards and so do not have access to cash machines, it has ordered 1,000 banks to open across the country to pay out a maximum of 120 euros and issue cards. […]

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Cash Crunch Hits Everyday Life in Greece

ATHENS—At an automated teller machine underneath the Acropolis, Angeliki Andreaki clutched her debit card with both hands. She pays her bills in cash, and €330 in rent and €39 in telephone bills were due Wednesday. “Tsipras has turned this country into North Korea,” the 83-year-old Ms. Andreaki said Tuesday, shaking her head about Greece’s prime minister, Alexis Tsipras. “I can’t believe at this age I have to line up to get rationed cash.” She withdrew as much as she could—just €60 ($66)—and went straight to pay her phone bill. She said she would have to come back for five more days to get enough cash for the rent. This is everyday life in Greece since it shut down its banking system and imposed controls to prevent money from flooding out of the country. Greece’s ruling party continued to say it was offering new compromises to its creditors and urged […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Mixed Messages and No Progress in Greek Crisis

Photo A woman being squeezed outside a National Bank branch in Athens on Wednesday while waiting to receive part of her pension. Credit Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters BRUSSELS — Bewildered Greeks, not to speak of people throughout Europe and the world, could be forgiven for wondering who, if anyone, is in charge. In the past few days, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece has blown up negotiations with European creditors on staving off default, then retreated and accepted more or less the same terms, only to have European leaders tell him the offer had expired. Greeks are supposed to vote on a referendum this weekend, but no one there or elsewhere seems sure what they will be asked, or what the consequences will be for voting yes or no. And European leaders here and in Berlin and Paris have been saying distinct — sometimes directly contradictory — things about whether there […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple