oil

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Feds Think Bad Data May Feed Oil Spikes

Broad market probe focuses on price-fixing weak spots

(Newser) - Commodity regulators, worried that some companies are manipulating crude oil prices by reporting false numbers on supplies and sales, are conducting a wide-ranging probe focused on energy traders, the Wall Street Journal reports. Sources say a big worry is that firms are falsely reporting oil inventories to create the perception...

Save Oil for When It's Really Needed
 Save Oil for When 
 It's Really Needed 
OPINION
Sep 2, 2008 12:36 PM CDT

Save Oil for When It's Really Needed

Drilling won't make a difference in gas prices: Horne

(Newser) - Perhaps Americans could spare some domestic oil for the descendants they plan to saddle with a heavy federal debt, New Orleans-based author Jed Horne writes in the Boston Globe. Offshore oil reserves are "not something that should be plundered to keep all-American SUVs running," he says. Horne says...

Small Cadre of Speculators Control Oil

81% of NYMEX contracts held by a few firms, one holds 11%

(Newser) - A surprisingly small group of investors and oil traders control the vast majority of the world’s oil contracts, and they are exerting tremendous influence over the market, reports the Washington Post. Regulators have found that a few financial firms speculating for themselves or their clients hold 81% of the...

'Sacrifice' Is Dirty Word in Energy Plans
'Sacrifice' Is Dirty Word in Energy Plans
OPINION
Aug 18, 2008 2:39 PM CDT

'Sacrifice' Is Dirty Word in Energy Plans

Obama, McCain ditch candor in glossing over tough road ahead

(Newser) - Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are each touting a plan to save America from the looming energy crisis, but they're providing too many sunny outlooks and not enough tough candor, Walter Shapiro writes in Salon. "The Ten Commandments of politics now began, 'Thou shalt not talk honestly...

It May Be 'Mayday!' for Commercial Aviation

Fuel prices, environmental concerns could make that cheap seat a luxury

(Newser) - The end of cheap oil means it’s “springtime for gloomy futurists,” Bradford Plumer writes in the New Republic, but we’re not headed for a Mad Max scenario just yet—unless you like cheap seats on airplanes. Jet fuel is approaching twice the price of a year...

OPEC Heads for Trillon-Dollar Payday

Oil cartel doubles its income on soaring prices, production

(Newser) - OPEC nations have shattered records for income this year, earning as much money in the first 6 months of 2008 as they did in all of 2007, the Financial Times reports. The Saudi-led cartel of oil-exporting nations took home $645 billion in the first two quarters and is on course...

Oil Slips Below $120 a Barrel on Eroding Demand

Recession fears, dollar gains continue price retreat

(Newser) - Oil prices fell below $120 a barrel today on expectations that the US economic downturn will erode consumer demand for crude products, the AP reports. The dollar's gains against the euro also contributed to lower prices. Crude futures have fallen about $27, or about 18%, since reaching a record high...

Oil Costs Crimp Globalization
 Oil Costs Crimp
 Globalization
Aug 3, 2008 5:03 AM CDT

Oil Costs Crimp Globalization

Biz 'goes local' to save transportation costs

(Newser) - The soaring cost of oil is taking a toll on globalization, pushing companies to save on transportation by producing materials closer to home, the New York Times reports. The search for cheap production had been key for many firms—but now oil prices, as well as stricter import rules and...

Obama Shifts Tack on Offshore Drilling

Candidate says he would accept drilling as part of energy package

(Newser) - Barack Obama softened his opposition to offshore oil drilling yesterday, telling the Palm Beach Post in an interview  that he would be willing to accept  "a careful, well thought-out drilling strategy that was carefully circumscribed to avoid significant environmental damage"  it if necessary to avoid a deadlock on...

Political Turf War Threatens Stability at Iraqi Oil Giant

Government wants to oust director of South Oil, but he's resisting

(Newser) - The central government in Iraq is trying reassert its control over a huge state-owned oil company by forcing out its maverick—but highly effective—chief, the Wall Street Journal reports. He's refusing to go, however, and the resulting turf war could have huge implications not only for Iraq but the...

Energy Crisis Requires a Global Agency
Energy Crisis Requires a Global Agency
OPINION
Jul 24, 2008 4:08 PM CDT

Energy Crisis Requires a Global Agency

UN atomic watchdog argues for managed transition from oil

(Newser) - A global agency is needed to deal with the developing energy crisis, Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, writes in the Financial Times. Demand for energy is rising fast and alternatives to fossil fuels remain largely hypothetical, and though there are international organizations to deal with everything...

Stocks Rise as Oil Drops
 Stocks Rise as Oil Drops 
MARKETS
Jul 22, 2008 3:22 PM CDT

Stocks Rise as Oil Drops

Price of barrel drops to $126, a 7-week low

(Newser) - Stocks climbed to robust gains by the end of today’s session as a drop in oil helped offset a spread of mixed earning reports, MarketWatch reports. The Dow gained 135.16 points to close at 11,602.50, the Nasdaq rose 24.43 to 2,303.9, and the...

Oil Tycoon Kicks Off Energy Campaign

Pickens wants to wean us from foreign supply with wind, natural gas

(Newser) - Billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens is fed up with America’s dependence on oil and today launched a huge ad campaign to persuade the nation to kick its crude addiction, the Dallas Morning News reports. His "Pickens Plan" proposes that Americans swap gasoline for natural gas, then replace natural...

Hunt Is On for Florida Oil
 Hunt Is On for Florida Oil 
Jul 5, 2008 10:01 AM CDT

Hunt Is On for Florida Oil

2006 compromise opened up protected area; others could soon follow

(Newser) - The record-breaking price of oil is shifting public opinion toward lifting a moratorium on new offshore drilling, reports the AP. Four companies acquired rights to explore parcels of land off the Florida coast in March, under a 2006 Congressional compromise that opened up 8.3 million acres off the Panhandle...

The Good in $4 Gas
 The Good in $4 Gas 
GLOSSIES
Jul 2, 2008 12:03 PM CDT

The Good in $4 Gas

Less obesity, traffic, and accidents, for starters

(Newser) - The rest of the world may have thought it would never happen, but energy prices are beginning to change Americans' behavior. Time notes some positive aspects:
  1. Jobs lost to globalization return, because energy costs make international shipping unattractive.
  2. Suburban sprawl is slowing as people choose to live closer to cities.
...

N. Dakota's New Crop: Instant Millionaires

Oil far underground makes landowners rich overnight

(Newser) - Many North Dakotans are enjoying their own milkshakes as oil makes landowners instant millionaires. Oil companies are drilling new wells at record rates, and those lucky enough to own the land above deposits are becoming wealthy overnight, the AP reports. "It's the easiest money we've ever made," says...

What if Oil Hits $200?
 What if Oil Hits $200? 
Jun 28, 2008 3:35 PM CDT

What if Oil Hits $200?

Inflation would skyrocket as American society reorganizes

(Newser) - Wall Street has predicted $200-per-barrel oil for months, but what if it really happens? Not only drivers would be hurt by such a spike, the Los Angeles Times reports: Inflation would skyrocket as oil-derived products turn pricey and "the purchasing power of the American people would be kicked in...

Oil Breaks Record, Climbs Above $141

Weak dollar sends investors into crude

(Newser) - Oil prices climbed above $141 a barrel in Asian trading today—another record—as the dollar's protracted slump prompted investors to flock to oil as a hedge against inflation. Prices also were lifted yesterday after OPEC's president said crude prices could go higher than $150 a barrel this year and...

Chavez: US Confrontation 'Inevitable'
Chavez: US Confrontation 'Inevitable'
GLOSSIES
Jun 23, 2008 3:25 AM CDT

Chavez: US Confrontation 'Inevitable'

But Venezuelan leader receives steadying advice from Castro

(Newser) - With the US distracted by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been busy amassing a Latin American power bloc to blunt Washington’s influence. But the firebrand leader, who calls President Bush “the devil” and the US “the empire,” is receiving level-headed...

Saudis May Boost Oil Supply Even Higher

But OPEC blames speculators and credit crisis for high prices

(Newser) - A hastily organized summit meeting in Saudi Arabia today offered little relief to oil consumers, Bloomberg reports. The Saudis did vow to increase production if needed, but OPEC blamed speculators and the credit crisis, not markets, for surging oil prices. "Saudi Arabia is prepared and willing to produce additional...

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