Daily Digest
Daily Digest 3/5 - MF Global 'Not A Boat Accident', Why Gas Prices Are So High, Peak Water
by Daily Digest
Monday, March 5, 2012, 11:41 AM
- MF Global: What Happened to the Money - 'This Is Not a Boat Accident'
- VP Biden Says He Called Jon Corzine For Advice
- Foreign Investment in Europe Starts Anew
- Deepwater Oil Drilling Picks Up Again as BP Disaster Fades
- Legal Strategy Taken by Shell Is Rarely Successful
- Reasons Why Gasoline Prices are so High
- Erik Sprott on KWN: $150 Oil
- Plateau Oil meets 125m Chinese cars
- Peak Water
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Economy
MF Global: What Happened to the Money - 'This Is Not a Boat Accident' (June C., Davos)
In a cover up like this it is never the initial act, but almost always the subsequent actions to hide the truth, that festers, and can bring down corrupt organizations.
VP Biden Says He Called Jon Corzine For Advice (Davos)
In case anyone missed it, here is a short YouTube of Biden saying that the administration called Jon Corzine of MF Global for advice during the transition right after the crisis began in 2008.
Foreign Investment in Europe Starts Anew (jdargis)
The evidence so far may be more anecdotal than statistical. But despite the lingering debt crisis and an incubating recession in many nations of the European monetary union, many global companies say they are maintaining or even increasing their investments in the euro zone and elsewhere on the Continent.
Energy
Deepwater Oil Drilling Picks Up Again as BP Disaster Fades (jdargis)
After a yearlong drilling moratorium, BP and other oil companies are intensifying their exploration and production in the gulf, which will soon surpass the levels attained before the accident. Drilling in the area is about to be expanded in Mexican and Cuban waters, beyond most American controls, even though any accident would almost inevitably affect the United States shoreline. Oil companies are also moving into new areas off the coast of East Africa and the eastern Mediterranean.
Legal Strategy Taken by Shell Is Rarely Successful (jdargis)
Marvin E. Odum, Shell’s president for the United States, said in an interview that he was “highly confident” that the company’s plan for preventing and responding to an oil spill would survive any legal scrutiny. He said the company had filed the suit in the hopes of speeding up the judicial review of the plan that will come if and when the environmental groups — who have challenged Shell at every step of the process — file suit.
Reasons Why Gasoline Prices are so High (James S.)
Iran wants nuclear power and (probably) the capacity to build a nuclear weapon; the latter is unacceptable to Israel and the US. But there is more to the standoff than this. Iran is a strategic oil and gas exporting country that, for the past 30 years, has escaped integration into the US system of client states; it also occasionally provides assistance to Israel’s enemies. Following the disastrous US invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, Iran has emerged as the principal power in the region, capable of further destabilizing either of its war-torn neighbours. And Tehran has led a move to ditch the US dollar as the standard currency of exchange in the global oil market.
Erik Sprott on KWN: $150 Oil (Davos)
A lot of this they’ve covered on KWN this week. The key points I found were oil 6:50–9:40 an under 3 minute listen. World growing in population, car use in China (covered here, not mentioned are the numbers, in 1990 China had 168 miles of highway and 5.5 million cars, in 2011 it had 53,000 miles 200 million vehicles (U.S. has 47,000 miles). Sees $150 oil, not going to be pretty for the economy. China opening more storage depots. No mas on U.S. Treasuries. China buying up oil and copper too.
Plateau Oil meets 125m Chinese cars (pinecarr)
The unpleasant fact we must all face is that the relentless supply crunch - call it `Peak Oil’ if you want, or `Plateau Oil’ - was briefly disguised during the Great Recession and is already back with a vengeance before the West has fully recovered.
The IEA said non-OPEC production stalled in 2010 and 2011. There was no net increase. While there was a boost from Canada’s tar sands, and America’s shale-oil, and Brazil’s offshore rigs, this was offset by the relentless erosion of the North Sea fields and Mexico’s operations, a collapse in the Sudan, and Libya’s woes.
Environment
Peak Water (Davos)
“It should be obvious from simple arithmetic that population growth is on a direct collision course with increasingly scarce resources.” Jeremy Grantham
The notion of peak water probably sounds crazy to most people. The earth is 70% covered by water. The water cycle replenishes water on a continuous basis. The global warming enthusiasts tell us that glaciers are melting and oceans are rising. This should make water more plentiful. But, as they say in the real estate business – Location, Location, Location. Freshwater shortages in the wrong places could have calamitous consequences to those regions, worldwide commodity prices, the economic future of nations with water shortages and possible war.
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