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To: Seeker of Truth who wrote (57006)	12/7/2004 8:16:06 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 74559

If oil price falls, there won't be investments in new reserves, reserves depleted point to surge in oil prices ahead. Once oil prices surge, the fastest response will be ethanol. The stone age didn't end by lack of stones, The oil age will end not by lack of oil. Opec Published: December 6 2004 13:26 \| Last updated: December 6 2004 13:26 In most circumstances the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries would be expected to react to a swift 25 per cent fall in crude prices. But how do you justify attempts to halt the slide when, at $34.53 a barrel, Opec’s reference basket price is still well above its official $22-$28 target range? One solution would be to admit the price band is no longer realistic and raise it at this Friday’s Opec meeting. With the dollar falling and investment in new production capacity needed, the desire for a higher target price is clear. Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Opec’s president, recently suggested a fair price for the basket was between $28-$32. Raising the target range now, however, would be highly unpopular with consuming nations. New York crude futures have dropped by $12 since late October as fears over winter supplies have subsided. But prices remain volatile and the winter is not yet over. Placing a higher floor beneath the market could send prices back up. Saudi Arabia, Opec’s lynchpin, has been keen not to antagonise oil importers. It is unlikely to sanction either a higher formal target price or quota cuts. Kuwait and Qatar, two dovish members aligned with Saudi Arabia, have called for an end to overproduction, currently up to 1.5m barrels per day over existing quotas. Comments on the need for greater production discipline are the cartel’s most probable response. Prices have fallen hard, but, ironically, not hard enough to force Opec to adopt a more realistic price target.

To: Seeker of Truth who wrote (57006)	12/7/2004 7:08:00 PM
From: Archie Meeties	Respond to of 74559

Malcolm, you're correct about biotech being valued on nothing more than hope at times. In that way perhaps it is like other tech. However, the longevity of many of its products and the long patent protection accompanying them is a strong incentive for high stakes research. Many failures, but the successes are remarkable and not, as you say, obsolete overnight. Take, for example, the longevity of recombinant erythropoetin. The technology that achieved that breakthrough was rare, not common. The sector itself requires an extremely high amount of research, and is littered with failures unforseen. In any case, some sectors of tech do not follow your definition of becoming obsolete overnight. That idea applies to some mass produced tech products that can be easily reversed engineered and the labor costs exported to other places (pc's, phones, etc). There are still many subsectors of tech which are highly specialized and dependent on a knowledge set that not many posses. Think about IC design software, for example. About the SPR. It does not directly influences oil prices by being an inventory. In influences prices because the demand for oil to fill the SPR will stop in a few months. Although it seems like the fill rate is slow, just consider what would happen if those 150million barrels were place in actual inventory, not just hoarded. Amgen Inc. board approves $5B stock buyback (AMGN) By Carla Mozee SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Amgen Inc. (AMGN) said after the bell Tuesday that its board has approved up to $5 billion to buy back its common stock. The biotechnology company said it has about $958 million remaining under its previous repurchase plan.

To: Seeker of Truth who wrote (57006)	12/7/2004 7:42:13 PM
From: Taikun	Respond to of 74559

Malcolm, Interesting analysis on Greenspan. Click the link at the bottom and then the link on the lower left (Real Player or MP3) November 9, 2002 Dr. Lawrence M. Parks, Author "What Does Mr. Greenspan Really Think?" FSO's Top 10 Ask The Expert Interviews for 2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Book Information www.fame.org 11/09/02 Interview Real Audio MP3 recorded on 11/06/02 Transcription Mr. Greenspan is the most brilliant of anyone who has ever served at the Federal Reserve. I have found some of his speeches, especially those given out of the country, to be extraordinarily candid about the perils—such as possible systemic collapse—of our irredeemable-paper-ticket-checkbook (fiat) money system and, alternatively, the benefits of the gold standard. Mr. Greenspan is careful with his language. Sometimes he makes straightforward assertions that he believes to be true. Interspersed with these are statements that he qualifies with words such as “presumably,” “possibly as a consequence,” and so on. In these cases, I believe he is signaling that he does not share this position. Otherwise, he would leave out the qualifier. The position he holds as Federal Reserve Chairman constrains his language. At the end of his speech, he says that he has to operate within the “context of his political environment.” I take this to mean that he does not see himself as someone who can boldly oppose or overtly criticize the current system. However, he is doing us a huge service by repeatedly emphasizing the disaster that awaits us with our present fiat monetary system and the benefits that we would enjoy with gold-as-money. Mr. Greenspan has pointed the way. It is up to us to use the intellectual ammunition he has provided. It’s a mystery to me why the press and others are not paying more attention to what he’s been saying repeatedly for the past three years or more. Perhaps the reason lies with his arcane language. To help explain how our monetary system works and make Mr. Greenspan’s views more easily understood, I have: (1) translated his FedSpeak terminology into plain English; (2) added critical comments; and, (3) suggested areas where further explanation ought to be forthcoming. Where I believe he is mistaken, I say so. In effect, by enlarging upon Mr. Greenspan’s statements, I have constructed a primer about how our monetary system works to transfer wealth from poorer people (ordinary taxpayers) to richer people (bankers and those with a stake in Wall Street firms). About the Author: Lawrence Parks is the Executive Director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Monetary Education (FAME). He has broad experience in academia, in business, and in finance. He holds a Ph.D. in Operations Research from the Polytechnic University. Dr. Parks has studied the money issue for more than thirty years. His writings have appeared in Pensions & Investments, The Economist, The Washington Times, The Freeman, The Free Market, American Outlook, The United States Congressional Record, National Review, and others. He is an active member of many civic and social organizations, a member of The United Association for Labor Education, The National Writer’s Union, UAW 1981, AFL-CIO, and he is a frequent speaker on the Fight for Honest Monetary Weights and Measures. His focus is on how our present fiat monetary system operates to destroy savings, pensions and jobs and what to do about it. Referenced speech in the interview: Remarks by Chairman Alan Greenspan At the Catholic University Leuven, Leuven, Belgium January 14, 1997 "Central Banking and Global Finance" financialsense.com David