Tuesday September 11, 2007

Chinese share prices slump 4.5% amid jitters of tightening policy

news.xinhuanet.com :

China's share prices tumbled down 4.51% on Tuesday [11 Sep 2007] as investors are worried about possible tightening measures following the consumer prices rose a record high of 6.5% in August. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index on the Shanghai Stock Exchange closed at 5,113.97 points, down 241.32 points from the previous close.

- Inflation is roaring over there. Read on the local paper recently (about a week or two back) that the price of pork has gone up 70% year-on-year in China.

(2007-09-11 16:56:30 SGT) [Biz] Permalink Comments [1]

A sure sign that your country is overrun ...

... is when you receive a spam call for credit cards from a Chinese lady speaking with a Beijing accent. Yep that's just what happened *just now*. She asked if I understood Mandarin, I said yes, and then all the usual spam talk followed but in Mandarin.

I wonder how long it will be before the email spam comes in with Chinese characters embedded in images inside PDF attachments asking me to buy some China stocks on the Shanghai Stock Exchange which by the way seems to have been setting all-time highs all year this year ...

It's interesting to see how government policy, official or otherwise, is leading to evolving social dynamics here.

(2007-09-11 14:47:19 SGT) [Musings] Permalink Comments [1]

Prices : Oil vs Dow

energybulletin.net :

For the last few weeks the price of oil and the stock market have been moving up and down in tandem on the theory that should a credit-crisis induced recession occur, it would have a major impact on the demand for oil. Last Friday however, the pattern was broken as oil prices reached an intra-day high over $77 a barrel while the Dow dropped 250 points ...

- Over the weekend, this was something that didn't quite seem to compute. I've been waiting to see oil do a double-top and come down while the Wall Street folks are whispering "recession" which could lead to reduced demand and hence lower prices, but overnight crude oil went vertical and jumped from $76 to $78 and now it's $77.82 at the moment of writing.

If the Dow continues to do 100, 200 point drops and oil maintains this high-70's level or even breaks through the psychologically important $80 level, then something really does not compute, and that something could be Peak Oil. We need a bit more time, Nymex Crude - do a double-top at $78. Or maybe not.

(2007-09-11 13:08:39 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

Kunstler: Letter from an employee in the British oil industry

energybulletin.net :

- A letter from a British oil industry employee to Jim Kunstler :

Dear Mr Kunstler,

As someone who works in the UK oil industry, I thought you might be interested in a view of how prepared the UK is for possible (!) future oil shortages.I have just finished a stint as an engineer [company name removed to protect identity of writer] on the Forties pipeline terminal. Prior to that position I had spent some 30 years working in various parts of the oil and nuclear sectors as a chemical/process engineer.

The career outlined above has enabled me to gain an acute insight of how the UK oil industry is preparing for the (dim) future. Essentially the oil industry is abandoning the UK. BP has either sold-off or closed all its UK refineries ( the last one to go was their Grangemouth refinery) and now only retains the Forties & Sullom Voe interests. Shell is planning to swap over to Middle-east crude around 2011 at its single remaining UK refinery and is busy selling off most of its European refineries. Any questions as to whether any Middle-east crude will be available to the UK in 2011 are studiously ignored in Shell. The general attitude is one of, 'Since we will need the oil, it will be available'. All of the above points to the oil companies foreseeing a pretty bleak future for their UK and European refining operations.

Within BP, the message from senior management is that their Forties terminal will still be in operation 20 years from now. What they fail to mention, even to their own employees is just how little oil and gas will be coming out of the North sea then ...

See also :

1. UK oil production continues decline
2. North Sea gas drying up faster than hoped
3. Norway oil output peaking
4. UK oil production continues to decline
5. UK to be permanent net oil importer in 2007

(2007-09-11 12:49:23 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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