ECONOMIC EXPANSION

Once upon a time , perhaps since earliest recorded history, man has always the dream to fly. Man has invented interesting inventions and nowadays is possible see some giants of the air crossing the sky. But man is always looking for another ways to fly and this video show that. Check out the video !!! So beautiful !! so cool !!

Crude oil rose for a second day in New York after Israeli air strikes in the Gaza strip raised concerns that supply may be disrupted from the Middle East, the world’s largest producing region ... Pure SPECULATION, Arabs and Israelies have been at War for hundreds of years. so who cares!!! why should this affect crude prices ... this is just to stage a bit of a recovery in the crude market . Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel is fighting a “war to the death” with Hamas, the group that controls Gaza. Prices also advanced as China, the world’s second-biggest energy consumer, said it will supplement its emergency oil stockpiles while prices are low, while Libya and the United Arab Emirates announced compliance with OPEC output cuts agreed on this month. Hamas, the militant Islamist group that seized control of Gaza last year, is backed by Iran and considered a terrorist organization by the United States. Iran holds the world’s second-largest oil reserves and sits on the narrow sea channel through which oil from the Persian Gulf is shipped. >Futures prices fell 11 percent last week, reaching a four- year low of $32.40 on Dec. 19. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., the United Arab Emirates state- owned producer, will reduce crude-oil exports in January and February after OPEC agreed to lower output as of Jan. 1. Libya is asking companies to cut by 270,000 barrels a day from that date, oil official Shokri Ghanem said in a telephone interview today. Crude oil for February delivery rose to $39.82 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $38.68 at 2:45 p.m. in Singapore. The number of February crude oil contracts traded was 4,945 compared with a daily average of 232,000 this year because most traders are on holidays. There is thin trading and markets can easily go up and down on low volumes . Oil jumped 6.7 percent to $37.71 on Dec. 26, the biggest gain in two weeks for a contract closest to expiration. Prices rose as OPEC member-states cut output to prevent a glut and Israel threatened to retaliate for a string of rocket attacks since a six-month truce with Hamas collapsed on Dec. 19.Brent crude oil for February settlement climbed to $39.30 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract gained 4.8 percent to $38.37 on Dec. 26. >However there is one nation in Europe that continues to practice inflated oil prices for consumers at the pump, that nation is Portugal...Petrol companies such as Galp,Repsol ,BP and the government have a monopoly

Labels: ARAB, crude, GAZA, ISRAEL

Crude oil rose after Saudi Arabia said OPEC will make a record production cut to reverse the five- month, $100 slump in prices.
The group using SPECULATION as a weapon will trim production by 2 million barrels a day at the beginning of next year, Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said today. Russia and Azerbaijan said they may join OPEC to reduce supply as recession cuts global energy consumption next year. Commodities also gained as the dollar fell to a 13-year low against the yen.
It certainly will not help, the crude price, OPEC are setting up the risk of over-tightening and quite a significant decline in crude demand in the second half of next year.
Crude oil for January delivery climbed as much as $1.90, to $45.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the first increase in four days. The contract traded at $45.17 at 10:56 a.m. London time. Prices have tumbled 70 percent from a record $147.27 on July 11 as the global economy crisis tips oil consuming countries into recession. Global demand will fall for the first time since 1983 next year, the International Energy Agency said.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ rate of compliance with a previous output cut is more than 85 percent, al-Naimi told reporters today in Oran, Algeria, before a ministerial meeting that will decide production quotas.
Russia, the largest non-OPEC producer cut oil production 350,000 barrels a day in November and may trim output further in collaboration with OPEC. Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said at the meeting. Azerbaijan is willing to contribute a supply cut of as much as 300,000 barrels a day, Azeri Energy Minister Natig Aliyev said in Oran. So both these nations will no doubt contribute to a recession in their economies as crude demand will slump further.
OPEC has chossen to place itself in a high risk situation, a attempt to aggressively boost prices, by pursuing a larger-than-expected cut, will backfire by turning sentiment even more pessimistic on the economy.
U.S. and Europe crude-oil and fuel supplies have climbed as the recession crimps demand. Brent crude oil for February settlement rose as much as $2.25, to $48.90 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange, and traded at $48.46 a barrel at 10:57 a.m. local time. The January contract expired yesterday, after declining 4 cents to $44.56 a barrel.

SPECULATION is once more on the move, even now as most developed nations are in recession OPEC will once more try to propel crude prices to higher levels...If prices go higher this will no doubt affect crude producers as demand will fall further... Crude oil rose as traders bought contracts to close out bets that prices will fall and on signs that OPEC will cut production twice in as many months.
OPEC, which pumps 40 percent of the world’s oil, may reduce its output limit by as much as 2.5 million barrels a day to reverse recent declines. Traders who held short positions, or bets prices would fall, are purchasing futures after oil dropped more than 20 percent in the past two weeks.
OPEC should make a “substantial” output cut when it meets on Dec. 17 in Algeria, top oil official, said on Dec. 8. OPEC agreed on Oct. 24 to cut daily output by 1.5 million barrels. OPEC will work it back up to $100, It will all be determined by the global economy. If you get a recovery in the global economy, you will get it back up.U.S.
President-elect Barack Obama proposed on Dec. 7 an economic stimulus plan based on infrastructure development to help lift the country out of its worst recession since World War II. Australia will start making one-time payments to families and pensioners under a A$10.4 billion grant program and China may cut personal income tax.

Global demand fell every year from 1980 to 1983, according to the department, the last time there was a yearly consumption drop. Oil usage will decline an additional 450,000 barrels a day next year to 85.3 million barrels a day, the department said.

2009 Forecasts

The International Energy Agency and OPEC have lowered demand forecasts in the past month because of the economic contraction.

The IEA reduced its 2009 estimate by 670,000 barrels a day, or 0.8 percent, to 86.5 million barrels a day in a Nov. 13 report. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cut its forecast for next year by 530,000 barrels a day, or 0.6 percent, to 86.68 million barrels a day, in its monthly oil market report on Nov. 17.

Traders are betting that oil for January delivery may fall below $42 a barrel, according to data on put options contract volume from the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude may decline to $25 a barrel next year as demand drops on the economic contraction, and speculation by OPEC members…

Labels: crude, opec, recession

Christmas time is here again, have you done all your Christmas shopping? I have nearly finished, but then i browse the internet for some presents.
Anyway, I discover this Snowballs to Christmas - The Game as I was surfing the net and got hooked on it! It was fun! Showed my brother the game and he has been on it for a couple of hours now.



So, go on and give it a try if you are free, should keep you busy for a while!

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Labels: crude