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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: dan6 who wrote (97135)	12/14/2012 4:15:44 PM
From: Robin Plunder	1 Recommendation Respond to of 217818

probably we can think of some examples....we are not argentina yet, but there is very little in our thinking that will keep us from going there.... here is an interesting example... Message 28592442 rp

To: dan6 who wrote (97135)	12/14/2012 9:29:31 PM
From: elmatador	3 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217818

shale revolution appears to be driving the country’s industrial renaissance. Manufacturers have announced more than $90bn worth of investments in the US to take advantage of its cheap natural gas, according to new calculations, underlining how the shale revolution appears to be driving the country’s industrial renaissance. Exactly what Lula and Dilma wanted for Brazil. Americans pulled a page of Brazil pre-salt book :-) The US shale boom has sparked a debate about how much gas Washington should allow to be exported as LNG, and how much should be retained for the benefit of domestic industry. Amigos! That free marketing thing the US loves to propagate is taking a bit.. US sees $90bn boost from shale gas boom By Ed Crooks in New York, Manufacturers have announced more than $90bn worth of investments in the US to take advantage of its cheap natural gas, according to new calculations, underlining how the shale revolution appears to be driving the country’s industrial renaissance. Petrochemicals, fuel, fertiliser and steel companies are among those that have committed to or are considering multibillion dollar investments based on their ability to source cheap energy and feedstocks The US investment boom has caused concern among manufacturers in Europe, who fear they will find it difficult to compete in energy-intensive sectors. The British government set out an attempt to launch its own shale gas industry last week to help revive the moribund economy. The shale boom is reinforcing other trends that are also increasing the competitiveness of US manufacturing, including relatively slow wage growth. Greg Garland, chief executive of Phillips 66, the US chemicals and refining group, said the boom in the country’s shale gas and oil production was a “huge change” for the economy. “This revolution is creating great opportunities to increase manufacturing capability, and has tremendous potential for economic impact and job creation,” he said. Dow Chemical, which has announced its own $4bn investment plan in petrochemical plants in Texas and Louisiana, has calculated the total value of announcements in the past two years or so at $90bn-plus. Advances in the techniques of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have unlocked gas reserves that had not previously been accessible at commercially viable rates, enabling a boom in supplies. The price of natural gas in the US dropped to a 10-year low in April this year, and although it has since recovered a little, at about $3.30 per million British thermal units it is still well below its peak above $13 in 2008. Gas in the US is also cheaper than in Europe or Asia, where cargoes of liquefied natural gas are being sold for about $16 per mBTU. Many of the largest investments in the US are in petrochemicals facilities that make use of the natural gas liquids such as ethane that are produced from gas and oil wells. The price of ethane, a feedstock used for many plastics and other products, has fallen in the US from about 80 cents a gallon at the start of the year to less than 23 cents today. Industry executives say low-cost feedstocks and energy are already having an effect on the US economy. Since the start of 2010, industrial production is up 12 per cent in the US, while it has fallen 2 per cent in China, 3 per cent in Britain, and 6 per cent in Japan. Germany’s production has risen 11 per cent over the same period, but German industrial companies including Bayer and BASF have been warning that they expect to lose competitiveness against US rivals over the coming decade because their energy costs are rising. The US shale boom has sparked a debate about how much gas Washington should allow to be exported as LNG, and how much should be retained for the benefit of domestic industry. A report this month commissioned by the US energy department concluded that even unrestricted LNG exports would have only a fairly modest effect on US gas prices, and would be a net benefit to the economy. George Biltz, head of energy at Dow, said those calculations did not properly reflect the result of all the investment planned to benefit from the cheap gas. He added that the US government should be “very careful” over how shale gas could be used to create the greatest boost to the economy. However Jack Gerrard, president of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industry group, said a commitment to free trade should include permission for unrestricted LNG exports. “I don’t think Dow would say they shouldn’t be allowed to export,” he said. “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2012. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.

To: dan6 who wrote (97135)	12/15/2012 7:06:41 PM
From: Maurice Winn	4 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217818

Does it not occur to you that traffic is compliments of government? Governments are in charge of the roads and create the traffic jams. <And while govt is certainly capable of making life unbearable, it doesn't even make my Top Ten. Higher would be traffic, > If I was in charge, there would be no traffic jams. It's all Big Brother's fault. Let 6 billion entrepreneurs bloom. Governments can't even run the stuff they are in charge of. Yet strangely, people vote for governments to do more, not less. Then they moan that the results of their votes give them the results they deserve. Mqurice