US report acknowledges peak-oil threat

The US government denies it bases any policy on the notion of oil production terminal decline but a report for the Department of Energy acknowledges “oil peaking will be abrupt and revolutionary” calling for the intervention of governments. Three possible scenarios and outcomes see energy replacement mitigation at 20, 10 years before or only when […]

U.S. debt rises at fastest pace in 16 years

The amount of new debt taken on by Americans rose 8.6 percent, or $1.92 trillion, in 2004, the fastest growth since 1988, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday. The growth in debt was led by the household sector, which took on $1.02 trillion, or 11 percent, more debt in 2004. Home mortgage debt increased $885 billion, […]

U.S. February Budget Deficit Widens to $113.9 Bln, Largest Ever

The U.S. budget deficit widened more than expected in February from year earlier as military and Medicare spending surged, the Treasury reported in Washington. The $113.9 billion shortfall, the biggest monthly gap ever, compares with a deficit of $96.7 billion in February 2004. The government posted a record deficit of $412.3 billion in fiscal 2004, […]

Dollar catching Asian flu

They may be telling a different story to money markets, but Asian central banks have been quietly switching their dollar holdings to regional currencies for at least three years, confirm global banking data. In a further, and so far the biggest, setback for the greenback’s status as the undisputed reserve currency, Japan on Thursday said […]

The Good News About Costly Oil

Oil prices are surging again, leading to fears that the age of cheap energy is coming to an end. In the mid-1970s and again in the early 1980s, oil prices surged only to drop back. This time, we at Standard & Poor’s expect oil prices to slide gradually to the $30 range over the next two years. We do recognize, however, that many things could cause them to remain high or even rise further.

BW

OPEC insists it lacks capacity to raise supply quotas

OPEC does not have the oil production capacity to enable it to lift supply quotas at next week’s meeting in Iran, Algeria’s energy minister, Chakib Khelil, said on Thursday. Meanwhile, the National Iranian Oil Company hiked free-on-board prices to Kharg Island in the Gulf for both Iranian Light and Iranian Heavy by $1.75, crude lifters […]

Discount airline Jetsgo ceases operations

…Jetsgo also had problems with Transport Canada last month over deficiencies in its flight manuals, which led to it having an operating certificate revoked. That forced the airline to fly at 28,000 feet instead of between 29,000 and 41,000 feet, a costly move that made flights less efficient for fuel consumption… Jetsgo ceases operations, tells […]

The Riddle of the Nile

Americans are getting poorer. They don’t realize it. No newspaper tells them. No politician dares even to whisper the truth. No Fed economist proposes a remedy. Still, real wages are less today than they were a year ago…and no higher than they were at the bottom of the recession in November 2001. Worse, unmentioned in […]

Japan in technical recession

The Japanese economy entered a technical recession after previous gross domestic product figures were revised down on Wednesday to show three consecutive quarters of negative growth, but an official said the government was not ready to use the word recession.Japan’s economy shrank 0.1 per cent in the three months to December from the previous quarter, […]

Swiss economy shrank unexpectedly in 2004

3. March 2005, Swissinfo Economy contracts but no new recession The Swiss economy shrank unexpectedly in the last quarter of 2004, with gross domestic product (GDP) falling for the first time in more than a year. But federal economists say the negative development is in line with world trends and does not spell the start […]

”The Chinese Miracle Will End Soon”

EXCLUSIVE SPIEGEL INTERVIEW WITH CHINA’S DEPUTY MINISTER OF THE ENVIRONMENT The world has been dazzled in recent years by the economic strides being made by China. But it has come at a huge cost to the country’s environment. Pollution is a serious and costly problem. Pan Yue of the ministry of the environment says these […]

The Fire Is No Longer On Its Way, It Has Begun – Michael Ruppert

Peak Oil is no longer on the way. It is here. Forget for a moment whether or not global oil production has actually begun (see below) its hopelessly irreversible decline. We will not know that for certain until sometime after it happens. The political fact, however, is that global inertia in response to Peak has […]

BA expects big jump in fuel costs

British Airways expects its fuel costs to rise by £300m ($578m) during the next financial year from 1 April, due to the continuing high price of oil.he comments were made by the airline’s finance director John Rishton, who also forecast that annual revenues would rise between 3% and 4% in 2005/06. In February BA blamed […]

Kuwait plans to develop northern oil fields

International oil firms including Shell, BP, Exxon Mobile, will take part in the project, Al-Arbid said.

The project will result in huge profits and valuable services to Kuwait, he added.

aljazeera

Delta Sees ‘Substantial Loss’ in 2005

Delta Air Lines Inc., the nation’s third-largest airline, said Thursday it expects to report a “substantial” loss this year and warned it may have to seek bankruptcy protection if its financial situation worsens. Its shares tumbled 9 percent. Delta was able to avoid bankruptcy late last year after its pilots agreed to $1 billion in […]

Lawsuits cause coalbed methane uncertainty

By DUSTIN BLEIZEFFER Casper Star-Tribune GILLETTE – After more than seven months, U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson in Cheyenne is still deliberating two lawsuits against the Bureau of Land Management for its authorization of 51,000 coalbed methane wells in the Powder River Basin. If the BLM position is upheld, it could restore confidence in the […]

Castro opts for steam power

Pressure cookers and rice steamers, essential tools in Cuban kitchens, are the weapons in Fidel Castro’s latest battle to reassert control over the nation’s economy, while keeping the island’s home cooks happy. During an unusually optimistic 5-hour speech broadcast live on Tuesday night on state television, President Castro announced that 100,000 new pressure cookers would […]

Bush renews call for Alaskan oil drilling

With oil prices nearing last year’s record highs, President Bush renewed his call for Congress to authorize oil exploration in Alaska’s largest wildlife refuge as part of a broader energy bill. “We have had four years of debate about a national energy bill. Now’s the time to get the job done,” he said.

Weak dollar pumps up oil prices

Crude oil futures prices rose above $55 a barrel to a four-month high in New York on Wednesday, fueled by a weak dollar, strong demand and jitters ahead of a meeting next week of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. . Analysts said the rally was speculative in nature, though some said that prices were […]

CERI: Arctic gas, LNG, hydrates key to gas supply gap

Huge capital investments will be required by the industry if LNG imports and Arctic gas are to fill a projected US natural gas supply shortfall, according to a senior analyst for BP North America Gas & Power.

Dawn Constantin told a Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI) conference a 2003 National Petroleum Council study estimated $1.27 trillion in 2002 dollars will be required for exploration and production development and $81 billion in pipeline, storage, and other infrastructure.

OGJ

China’s Upward Mobility Strains World Resources

If per capita income in China grows at eight percent per year — a reduction from the red-hot pace of 9.5 percent it has grown since 1978 — it will overtake the current per capita U.S. income in just over 25 years, according to the latest analysis by the Earth Policy Institute (EPI). And if […]

Natural gas shortage crisis brewing in Chile

Current reductions of Argentine natural gas supply which are affecting Chile’s industries will not have a negative overall impact on the economy, said Wednesday Francisco Vidal, Minister Secretary General of the Chilean Executive. He further indicated that Chile is working on solving the “energy supply problem” in the mid and long term, but insisted that […]

The U.S. Economy is as Vulnerable as Ever to an Oil-Shock

With oil prices consolidating above $50 per barrel, forming a base upon which future price increases will likely be built, there is no shortage of Pollyannas willing to dismiss the toll higher oil prices will exact on the U.S. economy. 321Energy

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW (UPDATED)

The following short story is hypothetical in nature, but is based on what was, what is, and what will be. EDITORS NOTE: This was originally submitted 2 weeks ago and ended with the message: “To Be Continued”. It has now been updated.FinancialSense

Bubbles, Bubbles, Real Estate Troubles

There’s an old saying: if it looks like an elephant, walks like an elephant, and has “I’m an elephant” tattooed to its rump, the odds are overwhelmingly in favor of its not being a duck-billed platypus. Judging from recent activity, it’s high time the real estate market got itself an “I’m a bubble” tattoo, despite […]

Venezuela allows Total to start new oil project

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday gave the green light for the French oil giant Total to move ahead with a major project that will double its production there. “We have decided that Total will go from 200,000 to 400,000 barrels per day, therefore doubling (its production) with an investment of several million dollars,” the […]

Quota rollover now, higher demand ahead: OPEC

OPEC’s oil market experts see strong prospects for a quota rollover in Isfahan next week, but urged the cartel to keep close tabs on anticipated demand growth, OPEC sources said on Wednesday. OPEC’s Economic Commission Board (ECB), which has just crunched supply-demand figures at cartel headquarters, pegged global demand growth at 1.9 million barrels per […]

China’s global hunt for oil

China’s craving for oil to drive its industrial boom and, to a lesser extent, satisfy its love affair with the motorcar, has helped to push up global crude oil prices. In 2003, China raced past Japan to become the world’s second biggest consumer of petroleum products after the US. BBC

Dollar Suffers Heavy Selling

The dollar weakened broadly on Wednesday with selling pressure unabated following a technically driven sell-off in the previous session. Two days ahead of U.S. trade data, concerns about the U.S. current account deficit and the willingness of foreigners to continue funding it are adding to the dollar’s woes. Constant talk of central bank reserve diversification, […]

IMF Urges OPEC to Raise Output Capacity

The International Monetary Fund has recommended that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries needs to more than double its spare capacity to cushion the market against shocks, warning that it considers the current level of about 1.5m barrels a day insufficient.

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