Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tejek who wrote (284353)	4/17/2006 4:52:39 AM
From: Tenchusatsu	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1572780

Ted, Its a myth they all work hard for little money. That's the reputation based on the experiences of employer after employer. Sure, there are plenty of bad apples in the bunch, but for the most part they do good work at half the cost. How are we supposed to deal with that? Frankly I'm not sure, except that in the long run we really ought to be doing a much better job educating our own kids. I guess that's where you come in. Tenchusatsu

To: tejek who wrote (284353)	4/17/2006 7:19:20 AM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1572780

Crude Oil Prices Hit $70 a Barrel in Asia 44 minutes ago Crude-oil futures hit $70 a barrel for the first time in seven-and-a-half months Monday, pushed higher by concerns over declining gasoline stocks in the U.S., supply disruptions in Nigeria and tension over Iran's nuclear program. Light, sweet crude for May delivery briefly touched $70 a barrel before easing to $69.85 a barrel in European trading to — up 40 cents from Thursday's close. The Nymex was closed on Friday for the Good Friday holiday. The last time crude futures surpassed $70 a barrel was on Aug. 30 when they traded at a record $70.85 a barrel, after Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf Coast. At London's ICE Futures exchange, Brent crude-oil futures touched a new high above $71 a barrel, rising 48 cents to $71.05 a barrel for June delivery. The contract earlier spiked to $71.40 a barrel — the highest ever traded for a front-month contract. Brent crude's previous high was reached April 13 when it touched $70.99 in intraday trading. Heating oil prices rose 1.14 cents to $1.9973 a gallon while gasoline futures jumped 1.21 cents to $2.1185 a gallon — a level not reached since early September. "Gasoline inventories in the U.S. continue to be an issue in the market because last week's inventory report showed a stock decline as we approach the summer driving season," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst at Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. According to a weekly report from the U.S. Department of Energy on Wednesday, gasoline inventories dropped 3.9 million barrels in the week ending April 7 to 207.9 million barrels — down nearly 2 percent from year-ago levels. "But perhaps the concern over gasoline's stock drawdown is a little overdone as it's largely a result of the refinery maintenance season," Shum said. "When the refineries come back from maintenance, gasoline supplies may build, and then we could see the market go through a correction." The market was also driven by the disruption of Nigerian crude supplies by rebels and the possibility of Iranian oil exports being halted due to political tension. In Nigeria, the world's 12th-largest oil producer, more than half a million barrels of crude a day are being blocked due to militant violence, and rebels have said they will target more supplies. In Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, no oil exports have been disrupted, but some market participants are worried they might be, depending on the U.N. Security Council's response to Iran's defiance of council resolutions concerning the country's nuclear program. Meanwhile, natural gas traded at $7.161 per 1,000 cubic feet on Monday after the U.S. Department of Energy reported that natural gas inventories grew by 19 billion cubic feet in the week ending April 7 to 1.7 trillion cubic feet.