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Gold/Mining/Energy : Big Dog's Boom Boom Room -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CommanderCricket who wrote (103384)	6/20/2008 3:32:24 PM
From: Elroy Jetson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 206085

The market is has been paying up for currently producing energy reserves and those who own them. I wish the market were paying up for firms that can produce new reserves, but that doesn't seem to be the case at the moment. In fact there seems to be a major "money leak" in the market today, with nearly everything down since 1 pm EST, except US Treasuries and the Australian Dollar. (I'm sure I'll now be informed of exceptions) Some of the hottest stocks are down the most, so I'm sure Ken Heebner's funds are suffering today. It seems clear that some with a lot of assets are fleeing markets in general. This reminds me of the market action in 1996 just after the Asia Crisis. Monday this gets worse or better, which will tell us a lot about what's happening. Who is going to pay for new oil exploration? Not new stock offerings if today is any indication. The markets can stay irrational longer than we can stay solvent. .

To: CommanderCricket who wrote (103384)	6/20/2008 4:26:06 PM
From: Elroy Jetson	Respond to of 206085

Echos from March 12, 2008 . IMF tells states to plan for the worst ft.com By Krishna Guha in Washington -- Published: March 12 2008 Governments might have to intervene with taxpayers' money to shore up the financial system and prevent a "downward credit spiral" from taking hold, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday. John Lipsky, the IMF's first deputy managing director, said: "We must keep all options on the table, including the potential use of public funds to safeguard the financial system." The statement by the senior IMF official marks the second radical policy intervention from the IMF this year. It had previously called on governments to consider using fiscal policy to offset the impact of the credit crisis on growth. Mr Lipsky said: “I fully recognise an appropriate role for public sector intervention after market solutions have been exhausted.” He urged policymakers to “think the unthinkable” and prepare now for what they would do if the worst case scenarios materialised and “low probability but high impact events” threatened to jeopardise global financial stability. He warned of the risk that a “global financial decelerator” could take hold, in which rising defaults and margin calls from lenders triggered forced asset sales, driving down the value of collateral and forcing further forced sales. The IMF deputy managing director’s comments make it clear that the fund is open in principle to the possibility of taxpayer-funded intervention in the market for mortgage securities as well as intervention to save individual banks from bankruptcy. Mr Lipsky warned: “The risks of further escalation of this crisis are rising and decisive policy action will be needed.” He said this crisis was different from recent past crises because both the financial markets and the banking system “have faltered simultaneously”. The first priority had to be to reverse the “spreading strains” in global financial markets and restore the functioning of the financial system in advanced economies. Mr Lipsky said there should be no let up in the pressure on financial institutions to disclose losses but said pressure to deleverage “needs to be kept orderly”. He also urged banks to recapitalise to avoid shrinking their balance sheet. Stressing that this was a global problem – not one confined to the US – he said it would have to be addressed in a “global context”. Mr Lipsky said the “first line of defence” remained monetary policy and interest rates. But monetary policy was “hampered” by problems in the credit markets and “there is a risk of a broader and more intense tightening in credit conditions”. This was why the IMF was making the case that “there is likely to be a role in some countries for stepped-up counter-cyclical macroeconomic policy measures to help support demand”. Fiscal policy was the “second line of defence”. But Mr Lipsky said “macroeconomic policies may not be sufficient to cushion the blow if an extreme event occurs” – making it essential that policymakers prepared for the possible need to intervene. .

To: CommanderCricket who wrote (103384)	6/20/2008 6:39:02 PM
From: Broken_Clock	Respond to of 206085

Between the two parties standing there shooting into each other's feet we're going nowhere even faster than before. Sigh.... U.S. Trade Panel Backs Duties on Chinese Pipe Imports (Update2) By Mark Drajem bloomberg.com June 20 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that domestic steel pipe makers are being harmed by competition from China, a decision that will lead to tariffs of more than 100 percent on imports of that product. The decision, in a 5 to 0 vote, marks the first time the U.S. will impose duties to compensate for tax breaks and other government subsidies to Chinese competitors. The finding by the independent trade body means that tariffs on the imports of the pipe used in plumbing and fencing set in a decision last month by the Commerce Department will take effect. ``This marks a fundamental shift in U.S.-China trade relations,'' said Gilbert Kaplan, a lawyer for U.S. pipe makers. ``It's the first time we've confronted their subsidies by putting duties on imports.'' The duties would effectively block all imports from China of these pipes, Kaplan said. China is likely to challenge the duties at the World Trade Organization, he said. U.S. makers of other steel products may now be able to bring complaints against China using this precedent, said Roger Schagrin, another lawyer representing the U.S. industry. Illinois Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, in a statement today reacting to the decision, said, ``The United States must always use the full range of multilateral and bilateral tools to insist that China and all other nations abide by the rules that govern the economic policies of nations.'' Two Types of Tariffs Two types of tariffs will apply to the Chinese pipe: countervailing duties, used to counter subsidies, will average 37.2 percent; and anti-dumping duties, to compensate for goods sold overseas at prices below those at home, will be 69.2 percent on 31 of the largest producers. Other companies face higher duties. The ITC decision is a win for companies such as Ipsco Inc., owned by the Swedish steelmaker SSAB AB, and Sharon, Pennsylvania-based Sharon Tube Co. China has passed Canada to become the largest U.S. trading partner. The U.S. trade deficit with China reached $256 billion last year, the largest gap between two nations in history. Trade in the pipe products has surged, too. From 2004 to 2006, imports of Chinese-made circular welded carbon pipe increased to $332 million from $138 million. Final Hurdle The decision today by the independent trade panel was the last of four hurdles domestic producers had to clear to get duties imposed. In the first case that targeted Chinese subsidies -- over coated paper -- the panel ruled that American companies weren't being harmed by imports, a decision that meant the tariffs didn't go into effect. The Shuangjie Group and Jiangsu Yulong Steel Pipe Co. withdrew their participation in the Commerce Department's investigation of the case and received an 85.55 percent anti- dumping tariff, the department said last month. In the subsidy investigation, the Commerce Department calculated final duties for Weifang East Steel Pipe Co. at 29.57 percent and the Kingland Group at 44.86 percent. Shuangjie declined to participate and got a 615.9 percent tariff. To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Drajem in Washington at mdrajem@bloomberg.net