Monday June 22, 2009 | ${log.root}/lowem.log Inflation, Investing and Everything |
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Apparently Flickr is down. At least for me. Not sure if it's an isolated case or if the issue is on my ISP side. I'm using Google Picasaweb to host the screenshot. Update : It's back up again. (2009-06-22 21:20:40 SGT)
[Tech]
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Crude oil prices fell below $70 per barrel on Monday [22 Jun 2009], extending the previous session's drop of more than 2%, as bearish sentiment over gasoline markets in the US continued to dominate investors' concerns. NYMEX crude oil futures for July 2009 delivery fell 2.5% on Friday, dragged down by the gasoline market as dealers bet on ample supply to meet demand from summer vacationers. Analysts said ongoing attacks of oil facilities in Nigeria by militant groups may help lift oil prices in the short term. Nigeria's main militant group said it had attacked 3 oil installations belonging to Shell. In China, data showed oil demand rose 6% in May over a year ago, its fastest growth since August 2008, as oil firms produced at record rates on a recovering economy and buyers stocked up ahead of an official fuel price hike. - Today, oil prices might have dropped below $70, but to put things into perspective, let's not forget that they were $10 per barrel back in 1999. Hardly cheap oil, by any stretch of the imagination. That particular era of cheap oil is over, especially with the peaking of light sweet crude oil back in May 2005. As far as technical analysis goes, the 50/200-dma crossover that I talked about earlier is on track, and in fact the 50-dma line has just crossed over the 200-dma. Cycle indicators including stochastics are in overbought territory however - it's a bit tough to keep up a continuous streak of almost 2 months in the red-hot zone above 80. I'd be watching for a pullback to the $60 level to see if it acts as a support, having served as a highly-anticipated resistance level the month before. In the meantime, watch the oil price live as the action unfolds. See also : 1. NYMEX crude oil recovers from $32.40 low after 2.2 mbpd OPEC production cut announced (2009-06-22 18:47:34 SGT)
[Energy]
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Mitsubishi, the maker of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric car, plans to cut the vehicle's purchase price by more than half to less than 2 million yen ($21,000) as government incentives and tighter emission rules boost demand for fuel-efficient cars. Mitsubishi is unveiling its electric cars ahead of plans by larger rivals Toyota and Nissan to introduce similar vehicles by 2012. Mitsubishi also plans to sell a plug-in hybrid version of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV in 2013. Nissan has said it plans to introduce electric cars in Japan and the US in 2010 and mass-produce them globally in 2012. Toyota, the world's largest maker of gasoline-electric hybrid cars, is also developing electric cars for sale in 2012. Prime Minister Taro Aso is giving fuel-efficient car buyers subsidies and tax breaks for new vehicles to spur sales as part of a 15.4 trillion yen economic stimulus program. - So far, most of the major Japanese car manufacturers are on track with their electric car plans. We've got Toyota, Nissan, Mazda and now Mitsubishi about to launch electric vehicles pretty soon, with most of the models looking like they are conservative small-car variants. Honda seems to be taking an even more conservative approach with an electric motorcycle planned for 2010, which means that they are technically still in the EV game after all. I'll be waiting for results from the upcoming Singapore electric car study to see what they are going to be recommending for implementation over here. A few years of plug-in hybrid vehicles with a gradual transition to an electric vehicle fleet, perhaps with V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid) and all that. And there's the diesel-powered commercial fleet which is more sensitive to costs compared to the typical Singaporean car owner who changes cars every 3 or 4 years. For myself, the 2010 Honda Civic Hybrid remains the natural successor to the current car. See also : 1. Tesla Roadster electric sports car aims at Europe market (2009-06-22 18:20:50 SGT)
[Energy]
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