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

To: tejek who wrote (378518)	4/16/2008 7:29:29 AM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1576881

Oil hits new high above $114, dollar supports 1 hour, 28 minutes ago Oil struck a new record high above $114 a barrel on Wednesday, buoyed by the weak U.S. dollar, inflows of speculative money and long-term constraints on supply. U.S. crude was 53 cents higher at $114.32 a barrel by 5:43 a.m. EDT, just below a fresh peak of $114.41. Today's price is more than three times the average price of 2002, when oil's rally began. London Brent crude for the new front-month of June was up 54 cents at $112.12. "The funds and technicians are in the driving seat," said Christopher Bellew, of Bache Commodities Ltd. "There has been growth in the level of speculative money going into commodities markets." The weak dollar -- together with strong demand -- has driven oil and other commodities such as corn, gold and rice to record highs in recent months, as investors and speculators have sought a hedge against inflation. "The dominant factor continues to be the U.S. dollar and I expect this to continue for a while," said Gerard Rigby, an analyst at Sydney-based Fuel First Consulting. "Whenever you get any kind of good economic news out of the (United States) at the moment, the dollar will rise and oil falls, and the other way round, you get a new oil record," he added. The dollar headed towards a record low versus the euro on Wednesday, hurt by caution ahead of quarterly earnings announcements by major U.S. banks and worries about the turmoil in credit markets. CHINA DEMAND Lifting some concerns over a supply squeeze, Mexico, a major supplier to the U.S., reopened its three main Gulf of Mexico oil ports as bad weather cleared, the government said. Only a smaller Pacific port remained shut. But in a sign that consuming countries were still concerned about a supply shortfall, Britain's prime minister Gordon Brown on Tuesday called on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to boost production to counter rapidly rising prices. OPEC, which pumps more than a third of the world's oil, insists it is supplying enough oil. Demand in the world's top consumer may be losing steam. U.S. crude oil imports fell in February to the lowest level in a year. They declined by 486,000 barrels per day (bpd), or 4.9 percent, from the month before to 9.514 million bpd, the federal Energy Information Administration said. But China's diesel imports rebounded in March to 490,000 tonnes, up some 49 percent from a month earlier, and remained robust in April and May, as the government extended a tax break on imported fuels. China's economy grew 10.6 percent in first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said, slower than the 11.2 percent in the fourth quarter, but stronger than forecast of 10.0 percent, underscoring the resilience of the world's fourth largest economy despite fierce winter weather and a global credit crunch. U.S. crude oil inventories likely rebounded last week, with an increase in imports lifting supply, following a surprise drawdown the week before, a Reuters poll of 14 analysts showed. But gasoline stocks probably fell for the fifth week running. (Additional reporting by Annika Breidthardt in Singapore; editing by James Jukwey)

To: tejek who wrote (378518)	4/16/2008 5:48:11 PM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1576881

Maybe the only thing that ca save her is the Rush Limbaugh "operation chaos", and I'm sure she welcomes it... Clinton faces grim poll data as debate looms by Stephen Collinson Wed Apr 16, 2:12 PM ET Hillary Clinton Wednesday faced lengthening odds for her White House bid as polls showed her personal ratings diving and her prospects clouding over in several key primaries. Clinton was under pressure to change the shape of the Democratic nominating tussle as a high-stakes debate loomed with her party foe Barack Obama in Pennsylvania, which holds a nominating contest next Tuesday. The New York senator has been attacking Obama for days over his comment that some small-town Americans were "bitter," but latest opinion surveys suggested the Illinois senator had escaped serious immediate damage. Polls show Clinton has stalled Obama's attempt to catch her in Pennsylvania, but her lead of around six points did not suggest the kind of blowout win she needs to sow doubts about Obama's viability in the minds of top party leaders. Clinton has been written off before and pulled off surprising comebacks, but her White House hopes are on thin ice because she trails Obama in nominating contests won, elected delegates and the popular vote. Her only chance now is to convince nearly 800 Democratic grandees called superdelegates that Obama cannot win November's general election against Republican John McCain. There was more grim news for Clinton in a Washington Post/ABC News poll which gave Obama a 10-point lead when Democrats nationwide were asked who they would like to see go up against McCain. Obama was up two-to-one among Democrats asked who was most electable in a general election, undermining Clinton's quest for the hearts of the superdelegates. And more Americans had an unfavorable view of her than at any time since the Post and ABC started measuring the question, in 1992. Some 54 percent of those asked had an unfavorable impression of the former first lady -- up from 40 percent, after her famous comeback victory in the New Hampshire primary in early January. A Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll meanwhile showed Obama up 40 percent to 35 percent in Indiana, another rust-belt primary on May 6, where she needs a win. An earlier Survey USA poll in the state however had Clinton up 16 points. The LA Times poll also had Obama up 13 points in North Carolina, which also votes on May 6. Other surveys suggest the man bidding to be the first African-American president will benefit from the southern state's large number of black Democratic voters. Clinton was likely to use Wednesday's debate to further challenge Obama over his remarks at a party fundraiser in San Francisco, which her aides believe could make it tough for him to win over blue-collar voters in crucial swing states in a general election. Obama will get another chance to talk his way out of the spat, which has prompted Clinton and McCain to brand his comments as "elitist." He got a vote of confidence on Wednesday from rock megastar Bruce Springsteen, who said the Illinois senator's comments on working-class voters had been ripped out of context. "I've been following the campaign and I have now seen and heard enough to know where I stand. Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest," Springsteen wrote on his website. "He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems." Obama also won backing from the American Hunters and Shooters Association, a newly formed rival to the zealously pro-gun National Rifle Association. The AHSA endorsed Obama for president, citing his vote in 2006 for a law that forbids authorities from confiscating legally owned firearms during a Hurricane Katrina-type disaster. "We believe recent attacks on Senator Obama's stand on the (constitutional gun rights) Second Amendment... are unfair," association president Ray Schoenke told reporters on a conference call. "We know Senator Obama gets it. To say he is an elitist is patently ridiculous," he said, noting that Clinton had voted against the 2006 law and arguing that McCain had "flip-flopped all over the place" on gun rights.