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IMF Lowers 2013 Mena Growth Forecasts on Oil Production, Instability

DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)–The economic outlook for the Middle East has weakened this year amid expectations of lower oil production in crude-exporting countries and continuing political upheaval in Syria and Egypt, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday. Oil exporters are dealing with domestic supply disruptions and lower global demand, which has led to reduced output even as political instability puts upward pressure on prices, the IMF said in a regional economic outlook. The IMF slashed its 2013 economic growth forecast for the region, which includes the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan, to 2.3% from a May prediction of 3%. The IMF now expects the region’s oil production to fall this year for the first time since the global financial crisis because of disruptions to output in Iraq and Libya and a “modest fall” in production in Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s biggest exporters. While growth is […]

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China May Loosen Energy Price Controls After Planning Meeting

China may announce looser energy price controls and the break up of the domestic duopoly of PetroChina Co. and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (386) after a four-day Communist Party meeting ends today. “We expect an announcement on liberalizing of resource price and an opening up of the energy industry to more private investment,” Simon Powell, head of oil and gas research at CLSA Ltd., said in a telephone interview yesterday. “Any fuel price reforms would be mildly positive for Sinopec and natural gas price liberalization would help PetroChina.” China Petroleum is known as Sinopec. Chinese Politburo member Yu Zhengsheng said last month reforms to be discussed at the meeting of the party’s Central Committee meeting will be unprecedented “and will promote profound changes in every area of the economy and society.” Yu is ranked fourth in the seven-strong Politburo Standing Committee headed by party chief and President Xi […]

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Egypt relies on Gulf aid for economy: Then what?

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt is engaged in a high stakes gamble, using billions of dollars from Gulf Arab allies to stimulate the economy and keep its politically charged streets calm in the hope that investors and tourists will return. The biggest Arab country’s finances are in a precarious state with a massive deficit but the government, armed with billions of Gulf petrodollars, has rejected the conventional wisdom of IMF-prescribed austerity measures. If the plan fails, a new government expected to be elected early next year could find itself deep in debt, its currency overvalued and an economy in crisis. "Now we are living on a ventilator, (with) aid from neighboring countries and that is understandable in the midst of a meager tourism industry and reluctance of direct foreign investment," Sherif Samy, Egypt’s Financial Supervisory Authority head, said. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates pledged more than $12 […]

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Libya may face budget problems unless oil strikes end – PM

Reuters TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya may find it difficult to cover its budget expenditure next month or the one after unless strikes blocking oil ports and fields end, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said on Sunday. A mix of militias, tribes and civil servants seeking political rights or higher pay have seized oil ports and fields across the OPEC producer, knocking down output to a fraction of its capacity of 1.25 million barrels a day. “The budget is based on the assumption that oil revenues flow for the (full) year,” Zeidan told reporters. “From next or the following month, there could be a problem covering expenditures.” Zeidan said the government had given the protesters a week to 10 days to clear the blocked oil fields and ports. “Otherwise, we will take measures,” he said, declining to be more specific. He said the blockage of the Mellitah terminal in Western Libya […]

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Venezuela arrests looters, store bosses in ‘economic war’

CARACAS (Reuters) – President Nicolas Maduro’s government announced arrests of both store managers and looters on Sunday as part of what it calls an "economic war" in Venezuela between the socialist state and unscrupulous businessmen. In a major pre-Christmas campaign reminiscent of the late President Hugo Chavez’s dramatic style, Maduro has sent soldiers to "occupy" one chain of electronics stores and inspectors into scores of others to check for price-gouging. Thousands of Venezuelans have been flocking to electronics stores, hoping to take advantage of new "fair prices" the government is imposing, sometimes half the previous cost. However, scenes of looting on Saturday at a store belonging to the occupied electronics chain, Daka, have left many Venezuelans ashamed and fueled opposition claims that Maduro is stirring chaos rather than defending the poor. Authorities announced that five managers, from the local Daka, JVG and Krash companies, would be prosecuted on charges […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Venezuela arrests looters, store bosses in 'economic war'

CARACAS (Reuters) – President Nicolas Maduro’s government announced arrests of both store managers and looters on Sunday as part of what it calls an "economic war" in Venezuela between the socialist state and unscrupulous businessmen. In a major pre-Christmas campaign reminiscent of the late President Hugo Chavez’s dramatic style, Maduro has sent soldiers to "occupy" one chain of electronics stores and inspectors into scores of others to check for price-gouging. Thousands of Venezuelans have been flocking to electronics stores, hoping to take advantage of new "fair prices" the government is imposing, sometimes half the previous cost. However, scenes of looting on Saturday at a store belonging to the occupied electronics chain, Daka, have left many Venezuelans ashamed and fueled opposition claims that Maduro is stirring chaos rather than defending the poor. Authorities announced that five managers, from the local Daka, JVG and Krash companies, would be prosecuted on charges […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Venezuelan Soldiers Deployed to Stores

CARACAS, Venezuela — The Christmas shopping season has started with a jolt here, with the socialist Venezuelan government dispatching soldiers to “occupy” a major chain of electronic goods stores, ordering prices slashed there and in other shops that it has accused of price gouging. Huge crowds formed outside stores in several cities over the weekend as inflation-weary Venezuelans showed up hoping for bargains. Others took the government’s order as a license to loot: Some posted cellphone videos online showing large-screen televisions and other items being carted off in Valencia, the country’s third-largest city. The dramatic measures, ordered on Friday by President Nicolás Maduro, were reminiscent of the populist gestures of his immediate predecessor, Hugo Chávez, the country’s longtime leader who died in March . They come as the government grapples with serious economic problems, including inflation of 54 percent a year and shortages of many basic goods, including toilet […]

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BP in fresh attempt to curb oil spill payouts

A clinic where the main doctor had his licence revoked, a mobile phone shop closed by a fire, and a car dealership that sold a discontinued marque are among businesses that successfully claimed compensation from BP for its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to court documents filed by the company late last week. BP cited the cases as it made a fresh attempt to limit the cost of its compensation settlement for the Deepwater Horizon disaster, trying for the first time to challenge directly payments for losses not caused by the spill. Until now, its arguments in court have centred on the method used to calculate the size of loss, rather than the issue of causation. In its filing at the US District Court in New Orleans, BP said its lawyers had found compensation payments of $76m had been paid for claims where it was […]

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China opens key meeting to set reform agenda

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese leaders began a four-day secret meeting on Saturday to set a reform agenda for the next decade as they try to push more sustainable growth after three decades of breakneck expansion, amid signs of continuing debate on how to implement the reforms. President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang must unleash new growth drivers as the world’s second-largest economy loses steam, burdened by industrial overcapacity, piles of debt and soaring house prices. The meeting – held under tight security at a Soviet-era hotel in western Beijing – will show just how committed the new leadership is to reform after formally taking power in March. Economic reforms will dominate the meeting of the 205-member Central Committee of China’s ruling Communist Party. Little if any news will be released during the event, but official news agency Xinhua traditionally issues a dispatch on the last day. Xinhua confirmed […]

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GFEI report suggests $2T savings from fuel economy improvements in ICE vehicles through 2025 can help fund long-term transition to plug-ins

« DOE Inspector General criticizes agency’s handling of disclosures over Ecotality awards | Main | U-Mich Mobility Transformation Center targeting full autonomous vehicle deployment in Ann Arbor by 2021 » Print this post GFEI report suggests $2T savings from fuel economy improvements in ICE vehicles through 2025 can help fund long-term transition to plug-ins Fuel economy improvements from conventional internal combustion engine cars can save an estimated $2 trillion in fuel costs through 2025—and more in years after— according to a new working paper published by the Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI) prepared by Dr. Lew Fulton, Co-Director, NextSTEPS Program at the Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California at Davis. The GFEI, a partnership of international agencies and top energy policy experts, suggests that these cost savings could in part be used to help offset the costs of developing a global market for electric vehicles over this time […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple