On Tuesday November 9, 2010, 6:21 pm EST
Oil companies increasingly
eye natural gas
NEW YORK (AP) -- Pretty
soon, Big Oil will be more like Big Gas.
The major oil companies are
increasingly betting their futures on natural gas, with older oil fields
producing less crude and newer ones either hard to reach or controlled by
unfriendly nations.
They are focusing more than
ever on natural gas because it burns cleaner than oil and is gaining traction
as a fuel for transportation. The latest move came Tuesday, when Chevron made a
$4.3 billion deal to buy up natural gas fields in the Northeast.
Sara Lee slims down with
$959M bread sale to Bimbo
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Sara
Lee Corp. is cutting the apron strings on its struggling North American
bread-making business, selling it to Mexican baking giant Grupo Bimbo for $959
million.
The deal makes Grupo Bimbo
the largest baker in the U.S. It also marks Sara Lee's last major planned sale of
a business line and completes a series of moves to focus on its more-profitable
businesses such Hillshire Farms meat and Senseo coffee.
Sara Lee, based in Downers
Grove, Ill., will still sell its signature frozen cheesecake and deli meats.
Grupo Bimbo will have rights to the Sara Lee brand in fresh baked goods
globally, excluding Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Chevron to acquire Atlas
Energy for $3.2B
NEW YORK (AP) -- Chevron
will buy natural gas producer Atlas Energy Inc., marking the major oil
company's first foray into the rich gas fields in the eastern part of the U.S.
Chevron will pay with both
cash and stock, the companies said Tuesday. Including debt of about $1.1
billion, the deal is worth $4.3 billion.
Chevron Corp., based in San
Ramon, Calif., is the latest major oil company to make a big acquisition in the
natural gas sector, following Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell. Atlas is a big
player in the Marcellus shale of Western Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
Many energy companies have
rushed to tap America's large reservoirs of natural gas hidden in shale rock
formations, using new drilling technologies that have brought down the cost of
production. Chevron hadn't made any significant moves to explore in the shale
deposits, until now.
G20 leaders meet amid
strains as US splashes cash
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) --
Tensions over currencies and trade gaps are simmering ahead of a summit of
global leaders this week as America's move to flood its sluggish economy with
$600 billion of cash triggers alarm in capitals from Berlin to Beijing.
Major exporting countries
such as China and Germany are complaining about the Federal Reserve's decision
to buy more Treasury bonds to try to lower interest rates, spur growth and
reduce high unemployment rate in the United States. They say the Fed's plans
are driving down the dollar's value and giving U.S. goods an unfair competitive
edge in world markets.
Smaller countries such as
Thailand and Indonesia say they fear the Fed's action will send cash into their
markets in search of higher returns. That risks raising their currency values,
squeezing their exporters and inflating bubbles in stocks or other assets that
could destabilize their financial systems.
Stocks and bonds stumble
while commodities soar
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks and
government bonds fell Tuesday as commodities rallied to two-year highs.
Silver, soybeans and copper
jumped to levels last seen in October 2008 as investors moved money into hard
assets in anticipation that a massive economic stimulus plan announced by the
Federal Reserve last week will continue to weaken the dollar. Investors are
expecting that commodities will hold their value even if the dollar falls.
The Fed plans to buy $600
billion in U.S. government bonds over the next six months in an effort to push
interest rates even lower and encourage borrowing and spending. It's a tactic
called quantitative easing, one that the Fed used successfully in 2008 to
restore confidence in financial markets at the height of the credit crisis.
AP analysis: Economic
stress dips to 16-month low
The nation's economic
stress fell in September to a 16-month low, thanks to more hiring in New
England, fewer foreclosures in the mid-Atlantic and declining bankruptcy
filings in the Southeast, according to The Associated Press' monthly analysis
of conditions around the country.
Eighty percent of the
nation's 3,141 counties enjoyed some month-over-month easing of economic pain,
the AP's Economic Stress Index shows. So did all but six states: Alaska,
Colorado, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska and Nevada.
Counties with high
concentrations of farming, mining, information technology and professional jobs
suffered less hardship in September. By contrast, those with heavy proportions
of workers in retail and real estate endured more stress.
Hiring remains slow even as
economy picks up
WASHINGTON (AP) --
Companies are still hesitating to ramp up hiring, even as more evidence emerges
that the economy is slowly improving.
Employers posted fewer job
vacancies in September than the previous month, the second month of declines,
according to a report Tuesday from the Labor Department. And a survey of small
business owners showed they are more optimistic, but still reluctant to add
many new workers.
Meanwhile, the Commerce
Department reported Tuesday that wholesale inventories rose for the ninth
straight month in September. Wholesalers and distributors are likely to build
their stockpiles if they anticipate higher future sales.
Ex-CEO says BP was
unprepared for oil spill
LONDON (AP) -- Former BP
PLC chief Tony Hayward has acknowledged that the company was unprepared for the
disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the media frenzy it spawned, and said
the firm came close to financial disaster as its credit sources evaporated.
In an interview with the
BBC broadcast Tuesday, Hayward said the company's contingency plans were
inadequate and "we were making it up day to day."
An April 20 explosion
aboard a Gulf oil rig killed 11 workers and kicked off the worst oil spill in
U.S. history.
General Motors sends Mr.
Goodwrench to sidelines
DETROIT (AP) -- General
Motors is asking Mr. Goodwrench to pack up his toolbox.
The mechanic who served as
the symbol of GM's dealer service brand for 37 years will be scrapped as of Feb.
1 in favor of "certified service" brands for each of GM's remaining
four remaining nameplates, the company said Tuesday.
GM dumped four brands as it
went through bankruptcy protection last year and now sells only Chevrolet,
Buick, GMC and Cadillac.
FDIC proposes new fees
system
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal
bank regulators on Tuesday proposed a new system of fees paid by U.S. banks
that would shift more of the burden to bigger institutions to support the
deposit insurance fund.
The board of the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corp. voted to propose rules to change the basis for
assessing a bank's insurance fees from the amount of its deposits to its
assets. The change is required by the financial overhaul law enacted in July.
Officials said it would more clearly reflect the risks to the insurance fund.
GE to invest more than $2B
into China efforts
NEW YORK (AP) -- General
Electric Co. plans to sink more than $2 billion into its efforts in China
through 2012 as the conglomerate looks to tackle the country's pressing energy
and infrastructure needs.
GE said Tuesday that it
will likely spend $500 million on research and development and new customer
innovation centers in China, adding more than 1,000 new jobs. More than $1.5
billion is expected to be put toward new joint ventures with Chinese
state-owned enterprises in high-technology sectors.
The news comes a day after
GE named John Rice head of global operations. In that role, Rice will
concentrate on growth in markets including China, India, the Middle East and
Brazil. It also comes after GE emerged as a big winner from President Barack
Obama's trip to India, as the company signed multiple deals in that market.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial average
fell 60.09, or 0.5 percent, to 11,346.75. The broader Standard & Poor's 500
index fell 9.85, or 0.8 percent, to 1,213.40, while the technology-focused
Nasdaq composite index fell 17.07, or 0.7 percent, to 2,562.98.
Benchmark oil for December
delivery lost 34 cents to settle at $86.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
In Nymex trading in
December contracts, heating oil added 0.9 cent to settle at $2.4067 a gallon,
gasoline gained 0.65 cent to $2.1850 a gallon and natural gas added 12.2 cents
to $4.210 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude gave
up 13 cents to settle at $88.33 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.