Chevron sells Caribbean gas stations
Puma Energy Caribe LLC says it has agreed to buy all of Chevron’s gasoline stations and underground storage tank facilities in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The Swiss oil company says it will sign an undisclosed multimillion dollar agreement with Chevron Corp after regulators approve the deal. Puma said late Thursday it would buy 185 Texaco-brand gas stations in Puerto Rico and seven stations in the US Virgin Islands. Last year, the company bought the old Caribbean Petroleum Company fuel storage facility along with 147 service stations through a court-ordered bankruptcy sale.
AP
Oil prices rise as EU closes in on new treaty
in New York. Brent crOil prices rose for the first time in three days, as the European Union moved closer to a plan that promises to fix the eurozone debt crisis. Benchmark crude rose US$1.07 yesterday to end the week at US$99.41 per barrel ude, which is used to price foreign oil imported by some US refineries, added 53 cents to finish at US$108.47 in London. Massive debts in several European nations have rattled investors for months. Experts say the eurozone is headed back into recession, and a drop in energy demand and consumer spending is inevitable given the series of government spending cuts under way in numerous eurozone nations.
It’s still unclear how bad the economy will get in Europe and whether leaders can halt spiraling debts that threaten the banking system. Oil prices and stock markets have wavered most of the week as perceptions shifted about the proposed financial reforms within the eurozone. After falling Wednesday and Thursday, oil prices turned higher as the European Union closed in on a new treaty that would further integrate their finances in an attempt to save the euro. Almost all of the 27 countries in the EU, with the exception of the UK, support a more intimate financial relationship that would allow more central control and require balanced budgets.
Major US stock indexes rose between one and two per cent in afternoon trading. Natural gas prices dropped by four per cent as some parts of the country continued to see above-average temperatures. Natural gas prices fell by 14 cents to end at US$3.3170 per 1,000 cubic feet in New York. In other energy trading, heating oil fell by 1.73 cents to end at US$2.9125 per gallon. Gasoline futures rose by 2.95 cents to finish at US$2.5961 per gallon.
AP
Bank of England holds interest rate at 0.50 per cent
THE Bank of England (BoE) on Thursday held its key interest rate at a record low 0.50 per cent, where it has stood for almost three years, amid ongoing turmoil for Britain's economy and the eurozone.
The BoE's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) also voted to keep its economic stimulus at 275 billion (323 billion euros, $432 billion), to help boost lending by banks, it said in a statement issued after a two-day meeting.
The news, which was in line with market expectations, came shortly before the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its own interest rate by a quarter point to 1.00 per cent as the eurozone courts recession and EU leaders seek to save the euro.
Economists said the Bank of England would want to see inflation subside before pumping more cash into the economy — and await the outcome of this week's crucial EU summit on trying to avert a eurozone break-up.
"The committee seems to think that there is merit in holding on a bit to check that inflation has peaked, to assess the impact of the asset purchases so far and to see what comes out of this week's meeting of eurozone leaders," said Capital Economics analyst Vicky Redwood.
Although not a member of the eurozone, Britain, a member of the European Union, is a key trading partner of the single-currency area.
The BoE's main interest rate has stood at 0.50 per cent since March 2009, when the bank also began injecting 200 billion into the economy under the policy known as quantitative easing (QE).
The Bank of England decided in October to increase the amount by 75 billion, as Britain's economy struggles to recover from recession.
QE is a process whereby central banks create new cash that is used to purchase assets such as government and corporate bonds in the hope of giving a boost to lending and economic growth.
However, some analysts argue that quantitative easing -- which is in effect printing money -- stokes inflationary pressures. It is the technique being pressed upon the ECB to stop the eurozone debt crisis from worsening.
Despite recent falls, British inflation remains stubbornly high, driven largely by high energy costs. Official 12-month inflation fell to a rate of 5.0 per cent in October from a three-year high of 5.2 per cent in September.
The BoE's key remit is to keep annual inflation close to a 2.0-per cent target.
The British economy, which clawed its way out of a vicious recession in the third quarter of 2009, is currently buckling under the pressure of the eurozone debt drama, state austerity measures and high inflation.
The government has forecast the British economy to grow by just 0.7 per cent next year, sharply down from an official estimate of 2.5 per cent given in March, and blamed the impact of the eurozone debacle.
British Finance Minister George Osborne, delivering more austerity measures last week, warned that the economy will enter a double-dip downturn if the eurozone slumps back into recession.
"Given the ongoing crisis in the eurozone and significant chance of recession there, it is likely to be a major challenge for the UK economy to avoid recession," said economist Charles Davis at the Centre for Economics and Business Research consultancy.
"The UK recovery is strongly reliant on export growth as domestic demand remains weak due to falling household real incomes, cuts in public spending and private sector uncertainty holding back investment activity.
"With 50 per cent of UK goods exports heading to the eurozone, it would be incredibly hard for the UK to avoid a hit to real economic activity as output contracts on the continent," he added.
The BoE added yesterday that it expected its current QE stimulus programme to take another two months to complete, adding that the scale of the asset purchases would be kept under review.
Analysts said they expected the BoE to provide more stimulus cash early in the new year.
"No action from the Bank of England this month, but more quantitative easing is clearly on the cards for early 2012," said IHS Global Insight economist Howard Archer.
"We expect the QE trigger to be pulled again in February, with a 50-billion bullet loaded."
Stocks close higher as Europe nears budget pact
A deal to forge stronger ties between most of Europe’s economies sent stocks sharply higher Friday as hopes grew that the region is close to resolving its debt crisis. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 186 points. All 17 nations that use the euro agreed to sign a treaty that allows a central European authority closer oversight of their budgets. Nine other EU nations are considering it. Britain is the lone holdout. The agreement came after marathon overnight talks among European leaders at a two-day summit in Brussels. A deal on tighter fiscal control is considered a crucial step before the European Central Bank will consider committing more money to lower borrowing costs of heavily indebted countries like Italy and Spain by buying their bonds.
Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist with Schaffer’s Investment Research, cautioned that investors have been disappointed by Europe’s previous efforts to contain its debt crisis. The market will likely remain volatile in the coming weeks, Detrick said, because the Europe plan is “only a minor step” toward a solution. “We’ve seen these agreements before, and they can just as easily deteriorate,” Detrick said. The Dow closed up 186.56 points, or 1.6 per cent, at 12,184.26. It’s up 1.4 per cent for the week. Bank stocks led the market higher, reflecting traders’ optimism about Europe’s progress toward solving its crisis. Citigroup Inc. rose 3.7 per cent, Morgan Stanley 3.2 per cent and JPMorgan Chase & Co. 3 per cent.
Banks have been weighed down for months by fears about their exposure to Europe. The biggest European banks have been downgraded. If Europe’s crisis spins out of control, US banks that do business with them would also suffer. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed up 20.84 points, or 1.7 per cent, at 1,255.19. The Nasdaq composite index finished up 50.47, or 1.9 per cent, at 2,646.85. The S&P is up 0.9 per cent for the week, the Nasdaq 0.8 per cent.
The gains were broad. DuPont was the only stock among the 30 in the Dow average to fall. The chemical and materials company slid 3.2 per cent after saying it expects earnings this year will fall well short of Wall Street’s forecasts because of weak demand for electronics and industrial supplies. It was the second consecutive week of gains for all three indexes. Stocks were pummeled two weeks ago as borrowing costs soared for European nations such as Italy. They recovered last week after the world’s major central banks announced a program to give commercial banks easier, cheaper access to loans in US dollars.
Agreement Reached On Course of Future Global Warming Talks
Delegates from 194 countries meeting in South Africa have reached a hard-fought agreement on a complex plan to fight global warming in coming decades.
Countries agreed early Sunday to a new round of talks on ways to protect the environment. The talks will also establish conditions for an extension of the Kyoto Protocol environmental agreement beyond 2012 when it is due to expire.
Representatives negotiated well past Friday's scheduled end to the debate on climate change in the port city of Durban.
Much of the debate focused on the European Union proposal to push major polluters in developed and fast-growing economies such as China and India, to accept legally binding cuts of their greenhouse gas emissions.
South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, who chaired the conference, had warned delegates that failure to agree would be an unsustainable setback for international efforts to control greenhouse gases.
“Adopt this document as the Durban outcome. Your years, your months, your weeks, days and nights have been spent leading to this day. You have stayed here one extra day for that purpose. Let's adopt this document and make all the effort that we have put in this work count for something.”
Recent United Nations reports warned that delays in reducing greenhouse gas emissions will make it harder to prevent a catastrophic rise in average global temperature.
EU Commissioner for Climate Change Connie Hedegaard also has been urging delegates to reach a compromise deal before time runs out.
The EU says it will not renew its emission reduction pledges under the Kyoto Protocol unless all countries are committed to controlling their emissions.
The United States says it will only pledge binding cuts if all major polluters make comparable commitments. China and India say their cuts should be less than developed nations. The three countries are not bound by the Kyoto Protocol.
China Resumes Shipping on Mekong River
China says it has restored international shipping on the Mekong River, which was suspended after a deadly attack on Chinese sailors two months ago.
Chinese police Saturday started joint patrols with counterparts from Laos, Burma and Thailand to maintain security along the major transportation waterway in the region. Ten cargo vessels escorted by five joint patrol boats set sail from the Guanlei Port in China's southwestern Yunnan province in a launching ceremony Saturday morning.
The official new agency Xinhua says the patrol boats are equipped with heavy machine guns and 10-centimeter-thick protective walls, while the police officers are equipped with automatic rifles and bullet-proof life jackets.
On October 5, 13 Chinese sailors were killed on a section of the river south of China's border, known as the Golden Triangle, an area notorious as a haven for drug traffickers. The deadly attack by suspected drug traffickers raised concerns in Beijing about the safety of crews and vessels sailing south through an area rife with drug warfare and smuggling.
The Mekong River flows through China's southwestern province of Yunnan into Southeast Asia, serving as a major trade route through several countries including Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.
China reacted angrily to the October attack, sending patrol boats down the Mekong to retrieve stranded Chinese sailors and cargo ships and calling on diplomats from Thailand, Laos and Burma to speed up investigations.
Since then, police in Thailand have detained nine soldiers who are suspected of killing the Chinese sailors and are also thought to have links with a Burmese drug kingpin.
Congolese Government Condemns Presidential Challenger
The government in the Democratic Republic of Congo has condemned challenger Etienne Tshisekedi's self-declaration that he is president, after incumbent Joseph Kabila was named the winner of last week's election.
Information Minister Lambert Mende says Tshisekedi is acting irresponsibly and violating the constitution by trying to subvert the decision of electoral authorities.
Congo's electoral commission declared Friday that Mr. Kabila defeated Mr. Tshisekedi 49 percent to 32 percent, with other candidates trailing far behind. The announcement sparked angry protests in the country in which four people were killed.
On Saturday, the situation remained tense in several cities in Congo, with sporadic gunfire erupting in the capital, Kinshasa.
Congolese immigrants in other countries staged protests against President Kabila. In London, police arrested 143 people Saturday evening after a group of angry protesters veered from the agreed location and started obstructing traffic and causing damage to shops and property. Protests were also held in Belgium, the former colonial power of the mineral-rich African country, and in Washington.
The United Nations, United States, European Union and African Union have appealed for calm.
Mr. Tshisekedi told VOA he considers the results to be a “provocation.” He said he sees himself as the country's elected president.
Congo's ruling party said President Kabila won the election fairly and that anyone alleging fraud must use the legal system to address their concerns.
Last week's presidential and legislative polls were the second free elections in Congo since it was torn apart by several years of warfare that ended in 2003.
Election observers from the African Union and U.S.-based Carter Center reported widespread irregularities, but urged Congolese parties and politicians to pursue any challenge to the results through the courts. Electoral officials released the results three days later than originally planned, citing logistical problems.
Human Rights Watch said 18 people were killed in violence leading up to the polls.
Yemen Swears In National Unity Govt.
Yemen's national unity government was sworn in in the capital, Sana'a, Saturday as part of a deal for the country's embattled president to step down after nearly a year of anti-government protests that have killed hundreds.
The new 35-member Cabinet is headed by veteran opposition politician Mohammed Basindwa. The ministerial posts are equally divided between President Saleh's party and the opposition with the aim of steering Yemen toward presidential elections scheduled for February. Saleh loyalists will run the ministries of defense, foreign affairs and oil, while the opposition will head the ministries of interior, finance and information.
During the ceremony, Vice President Abd al-Rabuh Mansur Hadi urged the Cabinet to forget their political differences and focus on major issues. The state-run SABA news agency quoted Mr. Hadi as saying the government's first task was to create an “atmosphere” where reconciliation could take place.
The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the swearing in of Yemen's new government. He urged all sides “to work toward the full implementation of an inclusive Yemeni-led transition process, giving all Yemenis a true stake in the country's future.”
Yemen is also home to al-Qaida in the Arabian peninsula and the new government is tasked with ridding Yemen of al-Qaida-linked militants who are attempting to gain a stronghold in the country's south. Military officials said Saturday clashes in the southern Abyan province between government troops and suspected militants killed two soldiers and 11 militants.
US Ambassador: Afghan Attacks Unlikely to Spur Sectarian War
U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker said Saturday it was unlikely that this week's deadly attacks on Shi'ites in Afghanistan would spark a cycle of sectarian violence in the country.
The veteran diplomat said that, based on the reaction of the Shi'ite leaders who have called for calm, he did not see the attacks turning into a sectarian conflict.
Two blasts, one in Kabul and another in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, killed at least 59 people Tuesday on Ashura, the holiest day of the Shi'ite Muslim calendar.
Crocker said the attacks had been orchestrated by militants outside of Afghanistan, but that he could not authoritatively say the Kabul bombing was carried out by the outlawed Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group, even though it has claimed responsibility.
In violence Saturday, a bomb planted on a bicycle killed two people, including a member of Afghanistan's peace council, and wounded 16 others in northern Kunduz province. In the south, a roadside bomb killed three civilians in Kandahar province.
General John Allen, commander of NATO-led coalition forces, joined Afghan President Hamid Karzai in condemning Saturday's attacks. A NATO statement said “innocent individuals, to include children, were again killed and injured at the hands of insurgents.” The statement said that “these insurgents who bring violence against Afghan families are enemies of peace and must be held responsible for their grievous actions.”
Also Saturday, combined Afghan and coalition security forces captured several Taliban and Haqqani leaders and multiple insurgents across the country. A NATO statement said that during the operations, security forces safely destroyed a bomb making factory in central Wardak province, and seized multiple caches of weapons in northern Sar-e-Pul and eastern Paktika provinces.
Kim Kardashian Heads to Haiti for Charity
As the end of the year draws near, Kim Kardashian is stepping back from the drama in her personal life to spend some time giving back in Haiti.
Kardashian is in the earthquake-ravaged country with the charity group We Advance, along with her mom, Kris Jenner, and Prime Suspect star Maria Bello, who co-founded the organization.
"She connected with Mario Bello and is there with Maria's foundation and also with her mom," a source close to Kardashian tells PEOPLE. "Her intention was always to take the end of the year to focus on some of the other things that are important to her and this trip was one."
Kardashian, who is going through a bitter divorce from Kris Humphries, made the trip in part to support the group, whose Web site says it's "a movement to advance the health, safety, and well being of women throughout Haiti."
Says the source: "[Kim's] father instilled in her and her siblings that every little bit counts and she always tries to do as much as she can – whether it's privately or whether it's something that she can use her platform for – to help."
PEOPLE