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Associated Press
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Jun 27, 08 7:27 AM CDT
(AP) -
Oil prices climbed above $141 a barrel in Asian trading today—another record—as the dollar's protracted slump prompted investors to flock to oil as a hedge against inflation. Prices also were lifted yesterday after OPEC's president said crude prices could go higher than $150 a barrel this year and Libya said it may cut oil production.
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Bloomberg
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Jun 22, 08 4:11 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A hastily organized summit meeting in Saudi Arabia today offered little relief to oil consumers, Bloomberg reports. The Saudis did vow to increase production if needed, but OPEC blamed speculators and the credit crisis, not markets, for surging oil prices. "Saudi Arabia is prepared and willing to produce additional barrels of crude above and beyond the 9.7 million barrels per day," a Saudi minister said.
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Reuters
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Jun 22, 08 3:19 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A youth gang blew up a Chevron pipeline in Nigeria yesterday, reducing output from the world's eighth-largest oil producer by 120,000 barrels a day. Such attacks are common in Nigeria, Reuters reports: Sparked by poverty and hatred of foreign companies, militants have cut oil production there by one-fifth over the past 2 years.
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New York Times
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Jun 22, 08 6:32 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The American thirst for oil is like a drug addiction, and George Bush wants another hit, writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times . Bush’s irresponsible energy plan involves getting a little more oil from Saudi Arabia to keep prices low, and then drilling in Alaska—simply prolonging our addiction instead of allowing high fuel prices to push us toward better sources of energy, adds Friedman.
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Chicago Tribune
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Jun 20, 08 7:59 PM CDT
(Newser) -
With gas prices up and on the rise, your Winnebago may soon be stuck in park—but the fall of car culture's ugliest offender will force us to reconnect with better pastimes, writes Garrison Keillor in the Chicago Tribune . “Banjo sales will pick up,” Keillor writes. “The screened porch will come back in style. And the art of storytelling will burgeon along with it.”
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MarketWatch
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Jun 20, 08 3:34 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The markets tumbled today to lows not seen since the Bear Stearns fiasco in March, MarketWatch reports. Oil surged back over $135 a barrel, erasing yesterday’s meager gains, and bad news continued to depress financials. The Dow fell 220.40 to 11,842.69, the Nasdaq 55.87 to 2,406.09, and the S&P 500 24.90 to 1,317.93.
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New York Times
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Jun 20, 08 8:30 AM CDT
(Newser) -
It's nothing new for the Bush administration to blame environmentalists for energy shortages, writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . As early as 2001, Dick Cheney blamed green laws rather than rapacious energy companies for the California electricity shortage. But it's disappointing that John McCain has joined the bandwagon—especially as he, unlike Barack Obama, voted against Bush's "really terrible, special-interest-driven" 2005 energy bill.
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Wall Street Journal
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Jun 19, 08 1:13 PM CDT
(Newser) -
China will raise domestic energy prices starting tomorrow, the Wall Street Journal reports, with gas and diesel costs jumping 18%. China’s heavily subsidized fuel is still cheaper than international rates, and the move may be an attempt to appease foreign governments, who blame Beijing's intervention for letting demand rise unchecked in the world's second-largest oil consumer.
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New York Times
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Jun 19, 08 7:32 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The offshore drilling ban has been in place since 1981, but George W. Bush—who is still the president, Gail Collins reminds us in the New York Times —wants it overturned in two weeks. Watching his speech in the Rose Garden, where he said Democrats would be to blame for high gas prices if drilling in heretofore verboten places was not immediately authorized, the columnist wonders why the president waited until now to call the Dems' bluff, and how unfortunate it is for John McCain.
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MarketWatch
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Jun 18, 08 3:34 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The markets retreated today, battered by the familiar convergence of high oil prices and poor business performance, MarketWatch reports. Amid signs of broader malaise, financials dropped, and crude again topped $135 per barrel. The Dow fell 131.24 to close at 12,029.06. The Nasdaq lost 28.02 to 2,429.71, and the S&P 500 lost 13.12, settling at 1,337.81.
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Washington Post
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Jun 18, 08 12:09 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Yes, $4 a gallon seems steep, but the worst is surely yet to come, Robert J. Samuelson writes in the Washington Post . Gas is on pace to rise to $7 a gallon by 2012, with oil rising to $225 a barrel, according to one economist. Oil-rich nations are acting as though we’ve already hit “peak oil,” and fast-growing nations in Asia and elsewhere are keeping demand steady.
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Politico
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Jun 18, 08 3:46 AM CDT
(Newser) -
John McCain is making a risky bet with his call to end a ban on offshore drilling, Charles Mahtesian and David Mark write in Politico. Polls show a clear majority of Americans are in favor of lifting the ban—but the candidate risks tapping a geyser of resentment in California and Florida, states strongly opposed to drilling that would be among the most affected by a change in policy.
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Wall Street Journal
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Jun 16, 08 3:22 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Stocks ended mixed today as oil prices pulled back after hitting a high of nearly $140 a barrel. Investors are still concerned about economic instability, but many have already abandoned financials, reports the Wall Street Journal . The Dow ended down 38.27 at 12,269.08, the Nasdaq up 20.28 at 2,474.78, and the S&P 500 barely changed, rising 0.11 to 1,360.14 .
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Associated Press
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Jun 16, 08 7:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Saudi Arabia, worried soaring prices could weaken the world's appetite for oil, will increase production by 200,000 barrels a day, beginning next month, the Saudi oil minister told UN chief Ban Ki-moon in a meeting yesterday. The move follows a May increase of 300,000 barrels, the AP notes.
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New York Times
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Jun 14, 08 6:14 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Saudi Arabia aims to put the brakes on oil prices by raising output to its highest ever, the New York Times reports. The kingdom resisted calls from President Bush earlier this year to boost production, but is now concerned that record oil prices could lead to lower demand in the long term by cutting economic growth and making alternative fuels more viable.
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New York Times
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Jun 13, 08 8:30 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Congress is blaming rampant commodity speculation for rocketing gas and food prices, and berating regulators for letting it happen, the New York Times reports. Unless watchdog groups like the Commodities Futures Trading Commision crack down, Carl Levin says, "we don’t have a cop on the beat.." Joe Lieberman has even introduced a bill to ban institutional investors from commodity markets.
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MarketWatch
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Jun 12, 08 3:45 PM CDT