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China’s slowing auto market to put further pressure on oil

New vehicles are seen at a parking area of an automobile factory in Wuhan, Hubei province, August 1, 2015. China’s falling auto sales have been at the forefront of concerns that its economy is slowing much faster than expected, weighing on oil prices. Yet moves to cut the cost of car-financing as part of economic stimulus efforts this week may not be enough to drive up auto sales or boost demand for oil, analysts said. Domestic car sales have fallen since April, dropping by 7 percent, or more than 100,000 cars, in July from a year ago and likely putting out of reach even a revised 2015 vehicle growth target of 3 percent, down from 7 percent previously. The downturn has already hit oil markets as importers and refiners adjust their order books. To stem the tide, China’s central bank has cut interest rates and reserve requirement ratios for […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China market chaos blamed on exodus of regulatory ‘turtles’

An investor looks at an electronic board showing stock information of Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index at a brokerage house in Beijing, August 26, 2015. At the height of the 2008 financial crisis, as Wall Street slashed jobs, Beijing took advantage of the disarray to poach top Chinese financial talent from overseas to help reform its stock markets. By summer 2015, China’s Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) needed them more than ever; a year-long market boom had imploded in a few weeks, and the government was desperate to keep the crisis from widening. But the best and brightest returnees, known in China as "sea turtles", had already left for the private sector, disillusioned and disappointed. A former official at the CSRC, one of a group of 20 high-profile returnees, recalled the CSRC’s appeal to make "sacrifices for the motherland". "We moved our families back to China and gave up high-paying […]

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Traders, Growing Thirstier for Energy Details, Likely to Get More Data Soon

With oil prices at near-six-year lows, traders and analysts are scrambling to figure out what’s coming next for energy markets. Lucky for them, more detailed U.S. data may be on the way. The Energy Information Administration, the data and statistics arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, is collecting comments on proposed changes to its energy-data surveys until Sept. 8. The agency surveys energy companies for data on energy production, inventories, demand and trade flows. The EIA is widely considered to be the best provider of timely and comprehensive energy-market data. Still, its reports have come under heightened scrutiny in recent months by oil traders seeking to know as much as possible about the market amid plunging oil prices. The EIA is already planning some updates to its data. Many of the proposed changes to these surveys come in response to recent topics of interest in the oil market, […]

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Western Canadian Crude Oil Stockpiles Rise to a Record

Stockpiles of Western Canadian crude reached a new high last week, according to a report from a leading energy market data provider, in a further sign of the North American oil glut rising as energy prices fall. The rapid rise in inventory, which may worsen the price discount between Western Canadian and other crudes, comes as global demand for oil hasn’t kept up with the pace of production increases. Oil prices have slumped to six-year lows in recent trading, prompting North American producers to park more crude in storage tanks as they wait out the slump in the hopes of a rebound in demand and prices. Storage levels in Western Canada, which includes several tank farms in the oil-rich province of Alberta, rose 10% on the week to a record of 27 million barrels as of August 21, according to data from Genscape of Louisville, Ky. That topped the […]

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Total Sells North Sea Assets for $905 Million

PARIS—French oil company Total SA TOT -0.19 % said Thursday that it has agreed to sell a gas pipeline and gas terminal in the North Sea to North Sea Midstream Partners for 585 million pounds ($905 million) as it battles against the oil price collapse. Total will sell the 362-kilometer Frigg U.K. Pipeline and the St. Fergus Gas Terminal. The company recently embarked on a restructuring plan to bring its extraction costs below market price, which includes cutting investment, selling assets and boosting production. It said in February that it plans to shed $5.5 billion worth of less-profitable assets this year in an attempt to raise overall profitability to offset the negative effects that low oil prices are having on its balance sheet. The company had long struggled with overcapacity in European refining. European demand for petroleum products has dropped 15% since 2008, the company said earlier this year, […]

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Investors fear European energy groups will slash dividends

Sign up for quick access to a wealth of global business news, including: Investors fear European energy groups will slash dividends Newspaper + Premium online Newspaper + Premium online Premium Full FT.com subscription Premium Full FT.com subscription Standard Full news & archive Standard Full news & archive Trial Try Premium online Trial Try Premium online Price Monthly Annual $66.30 $11.77 per week $53.00 $9.25 per week $36.00 $6.45 per week $1.00 for 4 weeks $1.00 for 4 weeks FT Alphaville plus selected FT blogs yes yes yes yes Unlimited FT.com article access yes yes yes yes Unlimited mobile and tablet access yes yes yes yes Unlimited fast FT yes yes yes yes 5 year company financials archive yes yes yes yes The LEX column yes yes no yes ePaper access yes yes no yes Three exclusive weekly emails yes yes no yes Daily newspaper delivery yes no no For […]

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US natural gas glut prompts price warning

Sign up for quick access to a wealth of global business news, including: US natural gas glut prompts price warning Newspaper + Premium online Newspaper + Premium online Premium Full FT.com subscription Premium Full FT.com subscription Standard Full news & archive Standard Full news & archive Trial Try Premium online Trial Try Premium online Price Monthly Annual $66.30 $11.77 per week $53.00 $9.25 per week $36.00 $6.45 per week $1.00 for 4 weeks $1.00 for 4 weeks FT Alphaville plus selected FT blogs yes yes yes yes Unlimited FT.com article access yes yes yes yes Unlimited mobile and tablet access yes yes yes yes Unlimited fast FT yes yes yes yes 5 year company financials archive yes yes yes yes The LEX column yes yes no yes ePaper access yes yes no yes Three exclusive weekly emails yes yes no yes Daily newspaper delivery yes no no For 4 […]

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North Dakota plans more wind power capacity

North Dakota expecting more wind power on its grid, touting its diversity in the era of shale oil. File Photo by UPI Photo/Gary C. Caskey BISMARCK, N.D., Aug. 26 (UPI) — In parallel with the White House, North Dakota said it was planning to connect a 43-turbine wind farm to the grid as part of an "all of the above" strategy. North Dakota Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley was on hand for a ceremony to celebrate the upcoming completion of the Thunder Spirit wind farm, a 43-turbine wind farm with a maximum capacity of 107 megawatts of power. "The completion of the Thunder Spirit wind farm marks another important milestone in North Dakota’s ‘all of the above’ energy production journey," Wrigley said in a statement. Using data provided by the American Wind Energy Association, the state government said it’s the national leader in wind energy , with wind power accounting […]

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Fitch sees Houston at risk from weak oil market

Fitch Ratings sees some risk for Houston finances and jobs because of the depressed crude oil market. Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/UPI CHICAGO, Aug. 26 (UPI) — Fitch Ratings finds lower crude oil prices will impact U.S. cities differently, though Houston may be a standout in terms of financial risk. U.S. crude oil prices are down more than 50 percent from this time last year. An increase in oil production, largely from reserve areas like the Eagle Ford shale basin in Texas, has pushed markets toward the supply side. Fitch found that, since at least the early 1980s, local government finances have been linked strongly to energy prices. Using metrics like tax revenue and gross domestic product, the ratings agency found some Texas cities in particular were pressured by the weak crude oil market . For the state as a whole, tax collections for June were down 1.4 percent […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple