| Shares End Low on Continued Credit Worries; Autos Slide
European shares closed lower on Friday for the second straight session, with financials under pressure amid continued worries about credit market exposure and as evidence of earnings damage emerged at Belgium lender Dexia. With crude oil futures rallying and dollar weakness continuing, auto producers including Porsche, Fiat and Renault also skidded lower. Porsche lost 5.5%, Fiat declined 3.2% and Renault slipped 2.6%. Overall, the pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index lost 0.9% at 362.72. The index has spent two-thirds of November's twelve trading sessions in the red, with Friday bringing the number of down days to eight because of the ... .
Apache enjoys doubling of quarterly profit
Apache Corp., the largest U.S. investor in Egypt, said Thursday that its fourth-quarter net income doubled because of record oil prices and increased production. Profit jumped to $1.07 billion, or $3.19 a share, from $520.8 million, or $1.56, a year earlier, Houston-based Apache said. Profit excluding the impact of tax-rate changes and currency fluctuations was $2.92 a share, 44 cents higher than the average of 26 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. U.S. oil futures traded 50 percent higher than a year earlier in the fourth quarter on their way to topping $100 a barrel for the first time in January. About half of Apache's production is oil. More than 85 percent is sold at the going rate, rather than under hedging contracts that lock in prices. "Every day that we see $90 oil is a very good day," Chief Financial Officer Roger Plank told investors at an industry conference in November.
Oil price strikes record $US90
CRUDE oil prices struck a record $US90 a barrel in after-hours trading in New York overnight, amid increased tensions between Turkey's government and Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. Traders said a weak US dollar and supply jitters had also stoked the price surge. The price gains came after New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, had jumped $US2.07 to a record close of $US89.47 a barrel. London prices also pushed higher in after-hours trading, as Brent North Sea crude for December delivery soared to $US84.88 after the contract had earlier settled $US1.47 higher at $US84.60. Oil prices have pushed higher this week amid geopolitical angst related to the Turkey-Iraq border and a weakening dollar, which makes dollar-priced commodities such as oil cheaper for buyers with stronger currencies and therefore lifts crude demand.
Cis' blog roundup - Friday
That the deputies would then meekly drop off a citation for speed and/or noise at Elway's Kidd Island Bay cabin. And that Elway gladly paid it out of pocket change. But those aren't the facts. Indeed, local deputies popped Elway with two tickets in one day early in the boating season, according to Sheriff Rocky Watson. And the ex-footballer has behaved himself since. He even mentioned he might return to Lake Coeur d'Alene next year with a smaller boat that's more appropriate. Rocky tells Huckleberries that locals with monster boats have behaved themselves, too. It's the out-of-towners with the $800,000 jumbo boats and trophy wives who are causing havoc this year with their noise and speed. Rocky sez he gets an earful about these inconsiderate clowns whenever he attends a lakeshore property owners meeting.
Stocks Power Up After Early Losses; Nasdaq Rides Steamroller Volume
Indexes rebounded from an early slump despite or because of weak retail sales and home sales data. The NYSE, which had sunk as much as 1%, had recovered to a 0.2% loss as of 10:54 a.m. EST. The Nasdaq came back to near break-even after a 1.2% tumble. Transportation issues played a strong role in the recovery, with Nasdaq's (NASDAQ:NDAQ) transports index up 1.6%. Small caps bucked up, with the S&P 600 adding 0.7%. The S&P 500 added 0.2% while the Dow hovered at a fractional loss. Trading volume was 15% higher on the NYSE, more than 50% higher on the NYSE, versus Wednesday's soft trading. Pending home sales fell 1.5% in December, less than in prior months but still worse than expected. In a case of bad news is good news, the market may be reading these data as yet another excuse for the fed to cut rates further.
WORLD at 1600GMT
ISRAEL-SETTLERS MOVE IN. Israeli settlers set up new community on West Bank hill. FRANCE-SOCIETE GENERALE-INTERVIEW. Lawyer: Trader acted alone under watch of superiors. ARAB TV. Arab governments take action to rein in TV talk shows that discuss taboo topics. FRANCE-SADDAM'S SEA PALACE. For sale: palatial pleasure yacht with rocket launcher built for Saddam. OLY-BEIJING-FREE SPEECH. Criticism mounts for .
Update: Library Has 10 Copies of "Water for Elephants"
I also told her that I would like to interact more with bloggers in other parts of the state and incorporate that into what we have here. We'll be test-driving this approach for the rest of the summer. Your suggestions are always welcome re: how we can improve Huckleberries Online. Anyone involved in blogging knows that you can't stay static. We've come a long ways. We have many challenges ahead. That's why the blogosphere remains interesting and my job challenging. Thanks for being part of the adventure. .
The BIG Immigration Debate
Regarding the migration to the north from the south, its only natural that if you teach me that all that is good is in the north, why will i not like to experience it first hand. It becomes a problem in the north based on 2 main issues 1. When the immigrant becomes successful ( economically or literally= jealousy e.g. Al Fayed ) 2. Unsuccessful ( economically or literally= crime, destitute, social welfare benefits e.g. a Jamaican rude-boy) In other words, immigrants are just not wanted in the north. What then is the essence of Globalization? .
Cold turkey plan for Scots addicts
The very worst part of the drug culture is the culture itself, it's full of the most unsavoury pieces of humanity who generate subcultures of theft, prostitution, violence. If you can get the addicts away from that hell hole they stand some sort of a chance in getting their lives back on track.Imagine it from the point of view of the young girl who doesn't have to go into a car with someone she doesn't know to perform some sort of sex act to earn the money to buy the drug. Take that problem away, the streets become safer, petty theft and shoplifting numbers drop ... and the young girl won't have that used, dirty feeling that only goes away when she takes more of the drug.Not an easy one to fix ..... and getting harder since we have allowed the eastern block Europeans to dump the worst of their populations on our welfare state.
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