via salon.com
Thursday, April 7, 2011
General: U.S. may co
General: U.S. may consider troops in Libya – CBS News: (CBS/AP) WASHINGTON – The United States may consider ... http://twurl.nl/0smt6x
A Niche in the Wreck
A Niche in the Wreckage of Florida Real Estate: via nytimes.com http://twurl.nl/pikcpa
General: U.S. may consider troops in Libya - CBS News
(CBS/AP)WASHINGTON - The United States may consider sending troops into Libya with a possible international ground force that could aid the rebels, according to the general who led the military mission until NATO took over.
Army Gen. Carter Ham also told lawmakers Thursday that added American participation would not be ideal, and ground troops could erode the international coalition and make it more difficult to get Arab support for operations in Libya.
Ham said the operation was largely stalemated now and was more likely to remain that way since America has transferred control to NATO.
via cbsnews.com
Microsoft releases 6
Microsoft releases 64 fixes on April’s bumper Patch Tuesday: via arstechnica.com http://twurl.nl/l4f2uk
Classic Commodore 64 lives again
via bbc.co.uk
Commodore is making a Windows PC that fits inside a boxy beige shell that looks exactly like its original C64.
The 8-bit machine was released in 1982, had 64 kilobytes of memory and became one of the best-selling computers ever.
Commodore's updated version will run Windows 7 but also has an emulator capable of playing games written for its ancestor.
Commodore has started taking orders for the C64x, priced at $595 (£364), and said the machines would ship between May and June. It is expected to appear in shops later in the year.
Crude at $175? Oil traders stress test the future
Crude at $175? Oil traders stress test the future
By Javier Blas
Published: April 7 2011 09:39 | Last updated: April 7 2011 09:39
Oil at $175 a barrel; copper at $12,000 a tonne and corn at $10 a bushel. As commodity prices rally, the world’s largest trading houses have been busy ‘stress testing’ to be sure their finances can withstand a “super spike”.
The levels are not a forecast – indeed, executives tell me they do not expect such hefty prices – but do signal a “worse case scenario” for which oil, metals and food commodities traders need to prepare.
EDITOR’S CHOICE
The new geopolitics of oil - Apr-06
Opinion: Global oil casino - Apr-06
In depth: Oil - Apr-05
Lex: Energy goals - Mar-31
“Can we reach $175? I don’t think so,” says a trading executive. “But there is a chance of a spike to that level for one or two days if something happens in Saudi Arabia.” The same reasoning justifies tests for copper at $12,000 a tonne (think of an accident at a big mine in Chile) or corn at $10 a bushel, which could, for example, be caused by bad weather during the US planting season in May and June.
The stress tests have become more common at the physical trading houses in London, Geneva and Singapore. There is reason for it. Contrary to popular wisdom, high commodities prices are bad for pure traders: they consume lots of capital as houses need to finance their cargoes and post more collateral with exchanges for their hedges, leading to a decline in returns.
Take oil: when prices were around $50 a barrel in 2009, traders needed just $100m of capital to finance a supertanker. At current prices, they need about $250m. Not surprisingly, trading houses are now on the capital market raising multibillion dollar one- year and three-year credit lines.
Some traders are also tapping the public bond market – Trafigura did last year – while others are turning to private placements in the US.
A banker who works closely with some of the world’s largest trading houses jokes that money, rather than oil, copper or corn, is the commodity in shorter supply. Of course, it is an exaggeration: the banks’ appetite to finance the houses is very strong and traders are raising money with little trouble. But the comment holds some truth: traders will need lots of credit this year.
News by e-mail
I do not expect that any trading house will run into trouble: the rollercoaster market of 2008 cleared the market of the small players unable to compete because of lack of credit. Traders have also learnt from the experience, with more standby lines with banks.
Moreover, the more vulnerable smaller players that rely on “transactional finance” are protected. Yes, they need more credit, but the value of the commodities they move and that they pledge as collateral has also increased, offsetting the blow.
Nonetheless, trading executives say they are thinking twice about some trades and acknowledge that what was profitable a few months ago on the basis of risk-adjusted return on capital is no longer worthwhile because of higher credit needs.
All in all, the rise in commodities will make the life of chief financial officers and treasurers at the trading houses more difficult. With banks happy to continue lending and credit still cheap, traders will be able to weather the storm. But if access to credit gets tighter, the smaller players, which have been able to grow rapidly over the past five years, will end up as the prey of larger, well financed rivals.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.
0){if( imageelement.length> 0 ){imageelement = imageelement + ",";}imageelement = imageelement + storyImages[i];}}var dateFormatted = formatDate(lastPublicationDateelement);var textarticle = "Clip this article";var urlelement = document.URL;var finalparameter = "http://clippings.ft.com/clipthis/js?containerid=clipthislinkcontainer&output=text&nocache=Math.random()&url=" + urlelement + "&title=" + headlineelement + "¬e=" + summaryelement + "&datepublished=" + dateFormatted + "&images=" + imageelement;var script = document.createElement("script") script.setAttribute("type", "text/javascript") script.setAttribute("src", finalparameter );document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(script);
via ft.com
OIL FUTURES: Oil Tops $110 On Libya Fighting, Jobless Report - WSJ.com
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The main U.S. oil contract breached $110 a barrel for the first time in 2 1/2 years Thursday, lifted by fighting in Libya and signs of an economic recovery in the U.S.
Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled up $1.47, or 1.4%, at $110.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since September 2008. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange recently traded up 39 cents, or 0.3%, at $122.69 a barrel.
Traders pointed to reports of damage to an oil field in Libya as a main driver behind this session's rally. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization said skirmishes between rebels and forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi led to "at least one fire at an oil facility in the region of Sarir," according to Agence France Presse.
"It seems sketchy," said Andy Lebow, senior vice president at brokerage MF Global in New York, of the report. "But with crude relatively tight in the market, that's just going to add more anxiety."
Several traders added that the Nymex contract also breached technical levels around midday that, once hit, triggered a wave of buying that propelled prices to $110 a barrel.
via online.wsj.com
Google to add malwar
Google to add malware alert system to Chrome browser | Software News – Betanews: Google is aiming to help sto... http://twurl.nl/jkzg5f
Google to add malware alert system to Chrome browser | Software News - Betanews
Google is aiming to help stop the spread of malware, saying Thursday it plans to add a malware alert feature to prevent the download of malicious applications. The feature is an offshoot of its already popular Safe Browsing feature, which is a Google-maintained list of malicious sites.
Such functionality has been available as an API for developers for about two years now, and Chrome's anti-malware alert system also leans on this code. There are no restrictions on how this API could be used, so Chrome's competitors could just as easily add a similar feature using the same database. Currently Google is the only one using it, however.
via betanews.com
Weather Blog : Weath
Weather Blog : Weather Underground: via wunderground.com http://twurl.nl/j851qt
CoreLogic: Memphis h
CoreLogic: Memphis home prices fell 6.5% in February | Memphis Business Journal: Memphis home prices continue... http://twurl.nl/e4gun2
Obama vows to veto s
Obama vows to veto short-term bill – Washington Times: The White House has vowed to veto the short-term spend... http://twurl.nl/epprla
Obama vows to veto short-term bill - Washington Times
The White House has vowed to veto the short-term spending bill House Republicans will vote on this afternoon, taking away the safety net that could have given both sides another week to avert an immediate government shutdown.
Without a short-term extension, the options would be narrowed to either a broad successful deal or a shutdown as of midnight Friday.
“If presented with this bill, the president will veto it,” the White House said in an official statement of policy.
The House bill would extend the shutdown deadline by another week, to April 15, while funding defense needs for the rest of this year so that troops’ paychecks would not be endangered by a shutdown.
Meanwhile, negotiations on a broader year-long bill appeared to be foundering.
CoreLogic: Memphis home prices fell 6.5% in February | Memphis Business Journal
Memphis home prices continue to go the wrong way if you’re a homeowner looking to sell.
CoreLogic reported Thursday the area’s home prices for February fell 6.5 percent compared with February 2010. The prices were down 4.1 percent in January 2011 compared with January 2010.
Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices in Memphis fell by 2.12 percent in February compared to the year-ago month.
via bizjournals.com
Weather News | Tsuna
Weather News | Tsunami Warnings Issued for Japan Following 7.1 Earthquake: via accuweather.com http://twurl.nl/dt71ou
7.4 earthquake hits
7.4 earthquake hits off Japan; tsunami alert issued: E-mail this page ... http://twurl.nl/fcjrnk
Strong earthquake sh
Strong earthquake shakes Japan’s ruined northeast coast: (Reuters) – A strong earthquake of magnitude 7.4 sho... http://twurl.nl/x5ezid
Tsunami Alert Issued
Tsunami Alert Issued After Large Quake Strikes Off Northeastern Japan’s Coast: via foxnews.com http://twurl.nl/akgpfp
Strong earthquake shakes Japan's ruined northeast coast
(Reuters) - A strong earthquake of magnitude 7.4 shook the northeast of Japan late on Thursday, and a tsunami warning was issued for the coast already devastated by last month's massive quake and the tsunami that crippled a nuclear power plant.
No damage from Thursday's quake was detected at the plant and NHK said workers had been evacuated without reports of any injuries.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage elsewhere but people in areas covered by the tsunami warning should evacuate to higher ground, Japan's NHK public television said.
Japan is struggling to bring the Fukushima Daiichi plant under control after the March 11 quake and tsnumai, which killed, or left missing, about 28,000 people.
via reuters.com
7.4 earthquake hits off Japan; tsunami alert issued
The Associated Press Updated 10:53 AM Thursday, April 7, 2011TOKYO — Magnitude 7.4 earthquake hits off Japan; tsunami alert issued for ravaged northeastern coast.
___
April 07, 2011 02:42 PM EDT
Copyright 2011, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
<="" a=""> Gunman Opens Fire In Brazilian School; 13 Dead - Jackson News Story - WAPT Jackson
RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazilian authorities say that a gunman opened fire in an elementary school in Rio de Janeiro and at least 13 people are dead. The gunman is among them, though it is not clear if he shot himself or was killed by police.
Fire department spokesman Evandro Bezerra tells the Globo television network that at least 20 people were wounded in Thursday's shooting. A fire department spokeswoman confirmed to The Associated Press that there were deaths, but she did not know exact the number. She spoke on condition of anonymity as she was not authorized to discuss the matter.Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
via wapt.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)