Oil
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Global Investing Strategies: A "Lightning-Round" Look at U.S. Stocks, the Dollar, Inflation and China
If you're a regular Money Morning reader, then you know that, d uring my appearances on national television or when I'm doing media interviews around the world, I frequently participate in something called a "lightning round " - a rapid-fire interview technique in which the announcer (and sometimes even audience members) run through a list of questions in rapid-fire order.
It's a technique that really puts you on the proverbial "hot seat." But I actually enjoy it: It forces you to think on your feet - which appeals to the former trader in me - and allows you to run through a bunch of topics in a very short stretch. In one way or another, each of these topics deals with global investing strategies.
I thought you might enjoy - and perhaps even find useful - a "highlight reel" of some of the best lightning-round questions that I've received in recent weeks, both in front of the camera and during the informal discussions that follow the presentations and broadcasts.
And we'll start with the topic that seems to be one of the most popular global investing strategies topics right now - gold.
To see what Money Morning's Fitz-Gerald sees for stocks, the U.S. dollar and inflation, please read on...
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BP PLC (NYSE ADR: BP) Attempts Another Venture Into Russian Oil Industry in $16 Billion Deal
BP PLC (NYSE ADR: BP) on Friday announced it was entering a $16 billion share swap deal with Russian oil industry giant NK Rosneft OAO (PINK: RNFTF). The deal will give BP access to areas of the Russian Arctic that were previously off limits to foreign companies, but it will come at a political cost.
The deal involves BP swapping 5% of its shares, valued at $7.8 billion, for 9.5% of state-controlled Rosneft's shares. The British oil company already owns a 1.3% stake in the Russian business. BP Chief Executive Officer Robert Dudley said the deal is the first cross-shareholding between a Russian state-owned national oil company (NOC) and western oil giant, and called the move "a new template for how business can be done in our industry."
The joint venture will make Rosneft the largest single BP shareholder. Their newly formed joint operating company will be two-thirds owned by Rosneft and one-third owned by BP. It will spend up to $2 billion in an initial phase of testing and well-drilling.
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Buy, Sell or Hold: VAALCO Energy Inc. (NYSE: EGY) Will Capitalize on Higher Oil Prices and a Lower Dollar
A commodity bull market is happening everywhere you look lately. While the dollar is dying, you cannot say the same about the stock prices of companies with internationally based commodities production.
The reality that the U.S. Federal Reserve will be monetizing all of the government's funding needs for at least the next year has put the market on edge. The U.S. dollar's status as a reserve currency is in question.
Investors are using this opportunity to shift their holdings towards U.S. companies with strong overseas revenue streams. And there is one such company in the oil sector that has been overlooked by mainstream investors: VAALCO Energy Inc. (NYSE: EGY).
VAALCO is a great example of a U.S.-based company that - through its operations off the coast of Africa - will profit from higher oil prices and the dollar's long-term drop in value. -
How the U.S.-China Trade Spat is Jeopardizing Energy Sector Development
Usually, a government decision to subsidize clean energy alternatives would be applauded by others.
Not so when the government is Beijing, and Washington politicians halfway around the world are busy looking for votes.
This tiff could be filed away as just another tempest in a teapot... if it were not for the other important projects it could derail along the way. Those projects just happen to have a major impact for American natural gas technology and the companies likely to benefit from its foreign introduction.
If the two countries can get it together, it could mean profitable new opportunities for both.
To find out how the energy sector would benefit from U.S.-China cooperation, read on... -
Everything You Need to Know About Tomorrow's OPEC Meeting
Crude dropped for the second straight day yesterday (Tuesday) after Saudi Arabia made it clear that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will leave its production targets unchanged at its meeting tomorrow (Thursday). Crude oil for November delivery fell 54 cents a barrel - or 0.7% - to finish at $81.67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange yesterday. Even with yesterday's decline, oil prices are up 11% over the past 12 months.
Speaking in advance of tomorrow's OPEC meeting in Vienna, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said that prices between $70 and $80 a barrel are "ideal," and noted that the market is "very well-balanced" right now. In a related development, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. LLC slashed its oil-price forecasts for both next year and 2012, and attributed the new viewpoint to big stockpiles.
But this only provides you with part of the picture. And it'll lead you to the wrong conclusions.
So here's the proverbial "rest of the story" - including everything you need to know about tomorrow's OPEC meeting.
For a better understanding of the workings of the global oil market, please read on... -
CNOOC Creates Biggest China-U.S. Oil Deal For Stake in Shale Gas Industry
China's state-owned energy company China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) (NYSE ADR: CEO) late Sunday announced it would invest $2.16 billion in U.S.-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE:CHK) to increase China's stake in unconventional gas resources like shale gas. It is the largest ever China-U.S. oil and gas deal.
CNOOC initially will pay $1.08 billion for a 33% stake in Chesapeake's Eagle Ford shale acreage in Southern Texas. China's third-largest oil company will invest an additional $1.08 billion by paying 75% of Chesapeake's drilling and completion costs in coming years, allowing Chesapeake to tap hard-to-extract shale gas deposits and boosting its weak balance sheet.
The deal highlights China's need to develop its shale-gas extraction techniques. The country has 26 trillion cubic meters of shale gas reserves that are largely unexplored due to a lack of drilling ability - and Chesapeake is a pioneer in the shale gas industry.
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Iraq's Energy Sector Is Moving Forward – With or Without the U.S.
Iraq on Wednesday broke the record - 207 days - for the time between a parliamentary election and the formation of a government. But while Iraq's government is at a standstill, the country's energy sector remains dynamic and U.S. companies can't afford to wait for the political climate to thaw before diving in.
Iraq is slowly retaking the shape of one of the world's most prolific oil producers. Its reserves are actually 25% larger than previously thought.
"Iraq's oil reserves which are extractable are 143.1 billion barrels," Hussein al-Shahristani, Iraq's oil minister, said earlier this week, basing his comments on data provided by Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
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The Secret Indicator That Points to Much Higher Oil Prices
Crude oil has taken on a life of its own. As I have noted on several occasions, oil is both a commodity in wide demand and a financial asset in its own right.
In the former case, as a commodity, the so-called "wet" barrels (the actual oil) will respond to traditional marketplace pressures - particularly supply and demand.
In the asset role, which involves futures contracts (the "paper" barrels), oil becomes something that can be used as a store of value. As we'll see momentarily, oil's role as a financial asset underpins a crucial new development.
Six catalysts are behind the recent increase in oil prices. Five are well known in the marketplace. But it's the sixth catalyst - not as widely known or understood - that is central to our forecast that oil prices will continue their march.
This sixth catalyst also enabled us to uncover a significant opportunity for you to make a great deal of money.
To find out about those profit plays, please read on... -
Record Breaking Contango Suggests Higher Oil Prices for 2011
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is paying $41,000 a day to keep a storage tanker capable of holding 3 million barrels of oil floating in the Gulf of Mexico, according to international ship- and offshore broking firm RS Platou. And the TI Europe is just one of hundreds of oil tankers sitting idle in waters around the world, as energy companies and investment banks await higher prices for crude.
Oil prices have fallen precipitously since the spring, as optimism about "green shoots" of economic growth gave way to fears of a double-dip recession. Prices have fallen more than 12% to $75.81 a barrel, from a high of $86.54 a barrel in April.
Indeed, with the U.S. economy stuck in the mire, the global outlook for oil demand has diminished - at least in the near-term. Longer-term, however, traders expect prices to surge higher next year as growth solidifies. That's why contracts for crude set to be delivered six months from now are worth more than crude at its current prices - an anomaly known as "contango."
