Bobby Morris is new CARICOM ambassador
BARBADOS will have a new Ambassador to CARICOM come December 1. He is noted historian, educator and veteran trade unionist, the Hon. Robert “Bobby” Morris.
Formerly the Deputy General Secretary of the Barbados Workers Union, 64-year old Mr. Morris brings a wealth of experience and a wide grasp of regional and international issues to his new position. A former history lecturer and currently lecturer in collective bargaining and disputes resolution, he was Personal Assistant to National Hero, the late Rt. Excellent Frank Walcott; Director of Industrial Relations over the past 20 years; and also served two terms as a Member of Parliament in the Lower House. He served as Vice President of the Caribbean Congress of Labour, and as External Collaborator with the International Labour Organisation.
Mr. Morris has pointed out that he expects to advance those regional issues that are central to Barbados’ future, and stated: “I aim to bring to bear those problem solving skills which I have acquired over the years to any issues that need a negotiated resolution. In the main, I hope to work to build bridges and work with politicians and technocrats to make this region the model for such movements”.
Commenting on the appointment, Prime Minister Freundel Stuart said: “Bobby Morris’ history and parliamentary background should serve him in good stead. He is a regionalist at heart; so, that and his commitment to the further development of Barbados would ensure that he adequately addresses this country’s interests.
“Indeed, he is of the generation deeply committed to the regional integration movement, and this was expressly manifest during his time in Parliament when he spoke eloquently and passionately to these issues. The Ambassador designate is also well abreast of current affairs, and I am sure he will do Barbados proud,” the Prime Minister observed
Mr. Morris will be based in Bridgetown.
The Advocate
Cuban cigar roller presented with Guinness world record certificate
Cuban cigar roller Jose Cautelar Cairo (Cueto), who rolled an 81.8-meter (268 ft)-long cigar last May, was presented in Havana with the official certificate that validates his fifth Guinness World Record by Dianna Melrose, ambassador of the United Kingdom to Cuba.
Melrose encouraged Cueto, who hand-rolled the largest cigar in the world during the 31st International Tourism Fair held at the Morro-Cabaña Fortress in the Cuban capital, to continue working in favor of Cuba’s prestige in this field worldwide.
The diplomat said that this is also an accomplishment by Cuba as it means more prestige to its cigars, which are internationally known for their high quality; it boosts Cuban cigar sales abroad, and attracts more tourism to the Caribbean island.
She mentioned that her country is one of Cuba’s main tourist markets, with about 200,000 visitors this year. She added that she feels confident that Cuba will continue being an attractive destination for European tourists, especially for the British.
During the ceremony, participants also recognized the contribution of those who cooperated with Cueto in this endeavour, including cigar roller Hamlet Jaime Paredes, from the Romeo and Juliet Cigar Factory.
Cueto achieved his first Guinness record in 2001, with a hand-rolled cigar of 11.4 meters; the second one was in 2003 (14.86); the third in 2005 (20.41); and the fourth in 2008 (45.38); all of them were also certified by the Guinness World Records.
On this occasion, the Morro-Cabaña Museum inaugurated a room called “El Guinness Cueto” (Cuetos’ Guinness), with life-sized reproductions and pictures of the most important moments of these creations.
This famous Cuban cigar roller was very happy in the company of friends, relatives, and other personalities; he was only shocked when someone asked him if he would be able to hand-roll another cigar of the length of the Malecon (Havana’s famous seafront wall).
Caribbean News Now
Consultation on youth gangs and violence heads to Trinidad
Trinidad and Tobago will today host a national consultation on youth gangs and gang violence.
The meeting, funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), brings together approximately 60 stakeholders drawn primarily from the communities in which the pilot will be implemented.
T&T is the fourth country earmarked for the intervention – the others being Belize, Guyana and St Kitts and Nevis.
The project aims to strengthen the capacity of youth and community members to design and implement programmes to address gang formation and gang violence among and against youths.
It also seeks to increase livelihood opportunities and employability for economically and socially marginalized youth.
The Caricom Secretariat has already conducted a sub-regional consultation in Guyana and national consultations in Belize and St Kitts and Nevis.
The project is an offshoot of the Caricom Social Development and Crime Prevention Action Plan, which was developed by the Caricom Secretariat and the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime.
The objectives include identifying a mechanism for the implementation of Phase II of the project, identifying a team to undertake a mapping of the selected communities, and identifying immediate training needs in the areas of gang formation and violence prevention.
Caribbean 360 News
Tentative agreement' reached to end NBA lockout
NBA commissioner David Stern says a "tentative understanding" has been reached to end the five-month lockout.
The start to the new season had been delayed owing to negotiations over a collective bargaining agreement between the league and players' association.
After a 15-hour meeting between parties on Friday, an end now looks in sight with the possibility of the NBA season beginning on Christmas Day.
"We're optimistic that the NBA season will begin on December 25," Stern said.
Several issues became the cause of the lockout, with team owners insisting on a 50-50 split revenue share, while players had proposed a 52.5% share. No details of the new agreement have yet been released.
In the previous collective bargaining deal that expired in June, players were guaranteed 57%.
The new agreement, which could see a triple-header of fixtures on Christmas Day with a shorter season of 66 games, is yet to be ratified but Stern added: "We've reached a tentative understanding that is subject to a variety of approvals and very complex machinations, but we're optimistic that will all come to pass.
"We're very pleased that we've come this far, there's still a lot of work to be done with a lot of committees, player groups and the like but we're optimistic that it will hold and we'll have ourselves an NBA season."
Players' union executive director Billy Hunter said: "We're happy that we've been able to reach a tentative litigation settlement with regard to many issues that are pending before the various courts.
"We're going to turn it all over to the lawyers and have them work out all the details and we'll be able to then talk with you (the media) further as the process proceeds."
Barring a change in scheduling, the 2011-12 season will open with the Boston Celtics at New York Knicks, followed by Miami at Dallas in an NBA finals rematch before MVP Derrick Rose and Chicago close the tripleheader against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.
BBC
West Indies earn thrilling last-ball draw with India in final Test
India wrapped up a 2-0 series win over West Indies after the third Test finished in a thrilling draw in Mumbai.
The game was heading for a stalemate with West Indies resuming their second innings on 81-2, a lead of 189.
But spinners Ravichandran Ashwin (4-34) and Pragyan Ojha (6-47) skittled them for 134 to set a target of 243 to win.
Sachin Tendulkar was out for three before Virat Kohli's 63 put India close to victory but they ended 242-9, Ashwin run out on the last ball of the match.
The game did not become the third 'tied Test' because India had one wicket remaining, although it is only the second time a Test has been drawn with the scores level - the previous was England v Zimbabwe in 1996.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said: "The final day was superb and we would have forgotten the first four days, which can be called boring to some extent.
"It's a lesson it's not yours until it's in your kitty."
It was a run chase that few in the sparse early morning crowd could have expected when Kraigg Brathwaite and Darren Bravo resumed their innings on the fifth morning at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
But Braithwaite added just one to his overnight 34 before he was caught at point by Tendulkar off Ojha.
The left-arm spinner then took a return catch to remove Bravo before having Marlon Samuels stumped to leave the tourists 112-5.
Ashwin chipped in by bowling Carlton Baugh, who went for an expansive drive against the spin, for one, before trapping left-hander Kieran Powell leg before wicket for 11.
Ravi Rampaul was caught on the square-leg boundary by Tendulkar off the bowling of Ojha before Ashwin cleared up the tail, Devendra Bishoo being adjudged leg before wicket for a first-ball duck.
India overcame the loss of opener Gautum Gambhir to reach 101-1, with Virender Sehwag reaching 60 but his departure sparked a mini collapse.
Tendulkar, who had been given an unexpected chance to record his 100th international century, fell cheaply and when Rahul Dravid (33) fell in similar fashion, caught at mid-wicket off Samuels, the home side were 113-4.
VVS Laxman steadied the innings with 31 off 53 balls before being caught by Adrian Barath off Rampaul and when Mahendra Singh Dhoni was out for 13, caught by Kirk Edwards off Rampaul, India were 189-6, 54 runs short of victory.
Kohli looked set to guide the home side to victory as he completed his second half century of the match but his cautious knock was ended when he sliced a wide Bishoo delivery to Sammy at slip to leave India needing 19 off 29 deliveries with three wickets in hand.
Ishant Sharma hit his first ball to the boundary to ease the nerves of the crowd that had been steadily growing all day, but he was bowled by Rampaul for 10 with India four short of victory and seven deliveries remaining.
New batsman Varun Aaron edged a single off the last ball to keep strike as the match went into the final over, bowled by Fidel Edwards.
However, the debutant failed to score off the first three deliveries before scampering a single to put Ashwin on strike.
Ashwin appeared to defend the fifth ball of the over, meaning two were needed off the final delivery and although he clubbed the ball to long on, he was run out by some distance as he somewhat leisurely attempted to complete the winning run.
"The last two balls I wanted to defend first and then go after the last ball," Ashwin, who was named man-of-the-match and series, explained. "It didn't work out unfortunately."
Test match series: India v West Indies
Tuesday, 22 November 2011 at Mumbai, Day 5 of 5 India drew with West Indies West Indies won the toss and decided to bat
| West Indies 1st Innings 590 all out (184.1 overs) | West Indies 2nd Innings 134 all out (57.2 overs) |
| India 1st Innings 482 all out (135.4 overs) | India 2nd Innings 242 for 9 (64.0 overs) |
West Indies 1st Innings - All out
| Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | |||
| Barath | c Dhoni | b Ashwin | 62 | 148 | 8 | 0 |
| Brathwaite | c Kohli | b Ashwin | 68 | 184 | 8 | 0 |
| K Edwards | c Dhoni | b Ishant Sharma | 86 | 165 | 13 | 0 |
| DM Bravo | c Dhoni | b Aaron | 166 | 284 | 17 | 0 |
| K Powell | c Dhoni | b Ojha | 81 | 149 | 9 | 0 |
| Samuels | c Dravid | b Ashwin | 61 | 103 | 9 | 0 |
| Baugh | b Aaron | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | |
| Sammy | c Dhoni | b Aaron | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Rampaul | c Kohli | b Ashwin | 10 | 14 | 2 | 0 |
| F Edwards | not out | 11 | 27 | 1 | 0 | |
| Bishoo | b Ashwin | 12 | 21 | 2 | 0 | |
| Extras | 2nb 8b 16lb | 26 | ||||
| Total | all out | 590 | (184.1 ovs) | |||
|
|
India 1st Innings - All out
| Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | |||
| Gambhir | c Baugh | b Rampaul | 55 | 99 | 8 | 0 |
| Sehwag | b Sammy | 37 | 50 | 3 | 1 | |
| Dravid | b Samuels | 82 | 149 | 11 | 0 | |
| Tendulkar | c Sammy | b Rampaul | 94 | 153 | 8 | 2 |
| Laxman | c Samuels | b F Edwards | 32 | 54 | 3 | 0 |
| Kohli | c F Edwards | b Bishoo | 52 | 111 | 5 | 0 |
| Dhoni | b Sammy | 8 | 21 | 1 | 0 | |
| Ashwin | c Barath | b Rampaul | 103 | 118 | 15 | 2 |
| Ishant Sharma | c DM Bravo | b Samuels | 5 | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| Aaron | b Samuels | 4 | 14 | 1 | 0 | |
| Ojha | not out | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | |
| Extras | 5nb 4w 1b | 10 | ||||
| Total | all out | 482 | (135.4 ovs) | |||
|
|
West Indies 2nd Innings - All out
| Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | |||
| Barath | c Laxman | b Ojha | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Brathwaite | c Tendulkar | b Ojha | 35 | 115 | 2 | 0 |
| K Edwards | st Dhoni | b Ojha | 17 | 24 | 3 | 0 |
| DM Bravo | c and b | Ojha | 48 | 105 | 5 | 0 |
| K Powell | lbw | b Ashwin | 11 | 29 | 0 | 0 |
| Samuels | st Dhoni | b Ojha | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Baugh | b Ashwin | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Sammy | c Dhoni | b Ashwin | 10 | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| Rampaul | c Tendulkar | b Ojha | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| F Edwards | not out | 2 | 16 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bishoo | lbw | b Ashwin | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Extras | 3b 4lb | 7 | ||||
| Total | all out | 134 | (57.2 ovs) | |||
|
|
India 2nd Innings - Close
| Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | |||
| Gambhir | c Sammy | b F Edwards | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| Sehwag | c Sammy | b Bishoo | 60 | 65 | 8 | 0 |
| Dravid | c Sub | b Samuels | 33 | 49 | 1 | 0 |
| Tendulkar | c K Edwards | b Samuels | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Laxman | c Barath | b Rampaul | 31 | 53 | 1 | 0 |
| Kohli | c Sammy | b Bishoo | 63 | 114 | 3 | 1 |
| Dhoni | c K Edwards | b Rampaul | 13 | 37 | 1 | 0 |
| Ashwin | run out (Sub) | 14 | 27 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ishant Sharma | b Rampaul | 10 | 17 | 1 | 0 | |
| Aaron | not out | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Extras | 1nb | 1 | ||||
| Total | for 9 | 242 | (64.0 ovs) | |||
|
|
Umpires: A L Hill, BNJ Oxenford, D C Boon, S K Tarapore
India: Gambhir, Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Kohli, Dhoni (C/W), Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Ojha, Aaron
West Indies: Barath, Brathwaite, K Edwards, DM Bravo, K Powell, Samuels, Baugh (W), Sammy (C), F Edwards, Bishoo, Rampaul
Roger Federer faces Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Roger Federer will contest the 100th final of a glittering career when he plays Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France at the ATP World Tour Finals on Sunday.
The 30-year-old Swiss is aiming to defend the title he lifted in 2010, win his 70th tournament and secure a record sixth season-end crown.
"It's a special occasion for me playing my 100th final," said Federer.
But Tsonga, 26, warned: "Roger is the best player at the moment but I can do it. I expect to win."
Federer beat fifth seed David Ferrer in Saturday's opening semi-final before Tsonga overcame seventh seed Tomas Berdych in the late match.
"At the start of my career, I didn't think I was going to reach 100 finals," stated Federer. "One thing I can tell you is I won't retire after my 100th final.
"I knew going into [the semi-final] that I could reach my 100th final and win my 70th title on Sunday. I'm so fortunate to have had a great career. I don't know how I'm still walking.
"I'm lucky to be fit and healthy, and to play my 100th final here in London means a lot to me."
A 17,500 crowd is expected for the 11th meeting between Federer and Tsonga, the Swiss leading their head-to-head record 7-3.
The most recent encounter came in the opening match of the group stage last Sunday, a match Federer won 6-2 2-6 6-4.
They also met in the final of the tournament preceding the Tour Finals - the Paris Masters on 13 November - with Federer taking it 6-1 7-6 (7-3).
But their most memorable encounter was this year's quarter-final at Wimbledon, when Tsonga came from two sets down to win a five-set epic on Centre Court.
"Winning this would be better because there's a title at stake," Tsonga commented. "This tournament is the eight top players in the world.
"You see the names on the trophy - they are all big champions. If I can reach them, it's going to be amazing for me."
Federer is only the third player to reach the season-end championship final seven or more times, while for Tsonga it is a first.
"It's always exciting to play Roger but this is my first final here so it's going to be really special," said the Frenchman, who entered the tournament ranked sixth in the world.
"It's going to be an amazing atmosphere on court and I like that. I'm sure I will respect Roger a lot and play my best tennis. I will give everything.
"If I have to break my two ankles to win, I will do it. It's the last match [of the season] so I will give it everything. I know right after it's the party, so it's good."
Federer added: "It will be quite funny to play Tsonga in the final of Paris, the first day here and then on Sunday again.
"He is very confident right now, he has played well indoors. He is going to be extremely dangerous. He is going to believe in his chance."
Barbadian wins PGA club Professional Championship of Canada
BARBADOS born golfer Roger Beale gave Barbados golf a lift when he beat a field of 100 players in the PGA Club Professional Championship Of Canada, 2011, at the PGA Golf Club, Ryder Course, Port St. Lucie, Florida, in the United States of America.
The tournament was played from November 20-23, but local golfers will remember when Beale represented Barbados in the 2006 World Cup Of Golf, held at the Sandy Lane Course here in Barbados.
After spending almost ten years working in the Ottawa Zone at the Masters Golf Club and Camelot Golf & Country Club, he returned to Barbados seven months ago to take up the post of Director of Golf at Royal Westmoreland.
The 38-year-old Beale, along with three others started the final round of of the Titleist & FootJoy PGA Club Professional Championship of Canada, trailing the leader Danny King by one shot, after returning a seven under par first round, and two under par second round.
Beale started his move on the back nine where he fired in a Birdie at 10, which was a real confidence booster that settled any nerves that might have been there, Coming into the final hole he hit a crisp 4 iron from 190 yards out to within three feet of the hole, and calmly walked up and knocked it in the hole. During the round he had poured in 7 Birdies to finish at the top of the leader-board, and take the US$12 000 first prize and Trophy.
Over the three days he returned 64, 70, and 67 for a gross 202, to win from Scott Allred, who is from Elbow Springs Golf Club and Graham Gunn, from Orleans Golf Academy, who finished two strokes back on 204. Danny King of Performance Academy at Magna, who started the final round with a one stroke lead finished fourth on 206.
Beale told The Barbados Advocate, that playing in 2006 with the PGA Tour Professionals was very special, but winning this tournament was very satisfying and even more special.
The win moves Beale up from 125 on the PGA of Canada Players Ranking to inside the top 25. (CG)
Italy forced to pay record interest rates at auction
Italy has been forced to pay record interest rates in a 10bn euro ($13bn; £9bn) auction of treasury bills.
The rate of interest for the new debts due to be repaid in six months was 6.504%, compared with 3.535% in the last comparable sale on 26 October.
The rate for two-year borrowing was 7.814%, up from 4.628% last time.
The Bank of Italy stressed that demand for the bonds had been high, with demand for the debts outstripping supply by 50%.
But the European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn dismissed the idea that the eurozone crisis could lead to a break up of the single currency.
"It is clear that the leaders of the euro area have underlined very firmly that they will do whatever it takes to ensure that the future of the euro is solid and stable," he said.
"Italy is a founding member state of the European Union and a founding member of the euro and a central part of the euro and it will remain so in the future."
The FTSE MIB in Milan dropped 1% following the auction, to take it down 1.9% on the day. However, at Friday's close, the FTSE ended up 0.7%, the French CAC-40 up 1.2% and Germany's Dax up 1.1%.
The Italian government's implied cost of borrowing, based on the price at which its debts are traded on financial markets, has risen steadily over the last few weeks to levels seen as unsustainable in the long-term.
However, it is only when the government raises new money at debt auctions, such as those held on Friday, that it is forced to actually pay the higher rates on its debts.
Italy plans to sell another 8bn euros at an auction on Tuesday.
'Slow disintegration'
Having met Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti will be meeting EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn on Friday.
Mr Monti told his French and German counterparts that he aims to balance the budget in 2013.
Mr Rehn is expected to seek further reforms to stabilise Italy's public finances and put the economy back on track, with the European Commission believing that more austerity measures will be needed if the budget is to be balanced.
The economic affairs commissioner has made some stark predictions about the importance of the coming weeks.
"Ahead lies either the slow disintegration of the euro area or a significant strengthening of the monetary union," Mr Rehn told journalists on Thursday.
He told Italian legislators on Friday that it was important to convince Germany of the need to issue eurobonds - common eurozone debts backed by all 17 member states.
"If I put it nicely, I would say there is a variety of views and there is quite some opposition as regards eurobonds," he said.
Cyber Monday outlook: big deals, record sales
Analysts are expecting an abundance of deals to bring in record online sales this year on Cyber Monday.
Andrew Lipsman, an industry analyst at data tracking firm ComScore, said sales for the one-day shopping event are projected to hit a record $1.2 billion this year.
Almost every major retailer plans on taking advantage of the hottest day to shop online. According to the Shop.org's eHoliday survey, eight out of 10 online retailers will offer promotions on Cyber Monday.
But the deals aren't just limited to Monday. Ahead of the big day, more than 90% of online merchants will be offering promotions over Thanksgiving weekend.
A survey by comparison shopping site PriceGrabber found that 39% of consumers who plan to shop over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend said they intended to do so on Cyber Monday. That's up 2 percentage points from last year.
It's a trend analysts are calling "couch commerce" -- more people want to spend money online from the comfort of their homes rather than head out to the shops.
I braved Black Friday!
Lelah Manz, chief strategist of commerce at Akamai (AKAM), cited the rise of tablet computers in the last year as a major game-changer in e-commerce.
"If you think about when the concept of Cyber Monday was first born, it was a time when people had dial-up access at home -- it was the office place or the workplace where they could access sites," Manz said. "Now everyone has broadband access. People have tablets, they're able to get online earlier and at home, and retailers are trying to capture that mind share."
According to an IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) Coremetrics report, 15% of web traffic in the U.S. in November will stem from smart phones and tablets rather than PC's. In order to tap into that traffic, retailers are rolling out the deals early this year, said Manz.
As valuable ad space is snatched up by major retailers on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, mid-sized retailers are leaking deals ahead of Cyber Monday to get their place in the spotlight too, said Graham Jones, General Manager of PriceGrabber.
7 must-have Black Friday apps
"What we saw last year -- a lot of the medium size retailers, they didn't get in front of the consumers, so they are the ones leaking the deals earlier," Jones said. "The earlier these deals are coming out is a function of the retailers not wanting to be squeezed out of the limelight."
But don't expect the online deals ahead of Cyber Monday to impact the big day. According to a Shop.org survey, nearly 60% of workers will go online to shop for holiday gifts at work, and many of the retailers are waiting for Monday to push out some of the best promotions.
"Consumers have come to expect the absolute best online holiday deals on Cyber Monday," Pam Goodfellow, BIGresearch Consumer Insights Director, said in a release. BIGresearch is a marketing research firm that conducts surveys for the industry trade group National Retail Federation.
Online companies are still placing big bets on Cyber Monday and taking steps to prep for a day when online traffic is expected to spike. OpenSky, an online shopping platform that offers products curated by various celebrities and influential people -- from chef Tom Colicchio to fashion designer Cynthia Rowley -- has been ramping up efforts to make sure the site runs smoothly.
"We're expecting our biggest day ever - we have 10,000 new people joining OpenSky every day and we expect sales to be five times our largest day," said OpenSky Founder John Caplan. "We've made improvements to the site to make it run faster. We've added additional shipping options, gift wrapping, customer service staff and have all hands on deck from now through the holiday."
The company also plans to announce lifestyle guru Martha Stewart as a curator on the site - a move the six-month-old company hopes will boost interest in the biggest online shopping day of the year.
CNN
Oil near US$97 a barrel
Oil rose yesterday in post-holiday, low-volume trading, but was down slightly for the week. The benchmark for crude oil in the US rose 60 cents to settle at US$96.77. It dropped US$1.84 on Wednesday, before markets in the US were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. Oil had fallen earlier as Europe’s debt crisis continues to undermine confidence the continent will avoid recession next year. In London, Brent crude for January delivery fell US$1.38 to settle at US$106.40 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. Investor concern that fiscal austerity measures aimed at lowering Europe’s debt levels will hurt global economic growth and oil demand has helped pull crude back from above US$103 last week.
Uncertainty about contagion spreading from Greece to Portugal, Italy, Spain and Ireland has begun to undermine confidence in Germany and France. The yield on Germany’s 10-year bond rose above the 10-year UK government bond for the first time since 2009. And yesterday Standard & Poor’s downgraded Belgium’s financial standing, citing the country’s government stalemate and the looming European recession. “The eurozone sovereign crisis is starting to threaten the bond markets of even the most solid European economy — Germany,” Barclays Capital said in a report.
In the US, meanwhile, the average price for a gallon of gas has fallen to US$3.31 (87 cents a litre) from US$3.38 in just a week. The discount is an even heftier 20 cents a gallon (3.8 litres) compared with two months ago. In fact, American shoppers driving from store to store on the first weekend of the holiday shopping season are paying some of the lowest prices for gas since late winter. Even with the recent declines, however, the price of gas is 44 cents a gallon higher than on Black Friday a year ago. Tom Kloza, chief oil analysts at Oil Price Information Service, says Americans are on track to spend US$488 billion on gas this year. That will eclipse the record set in 2008 by US$40 billion. OPIS said last week that US households have spent 8.4 per cent of their income on gasoline this year, up from 6.7 per cent in 2010 and 7.9 per cent in 2008.
The national average for gasoline peaked just below US$4 a gallon (US$1.05 a litre) in May. That may be one reason that malls are bustling this year with shoppers looking marked down cashmere sweaters, videogame consoles, tablet computers and flat-screen televisions. Retailers hope shoppers reinvest their savings at the pump. Kloza estimates that, at current demand, for every 10 cent decline in the price of gas, Americans save a total of US$36 million to spend elsewhere. Kloza says current demand for gas in the US remains “extraordinarily poor.” That’s the main reason why gas prices are dropping even though oil has risen about US$17 a barrel, or 21 percent, in the last two months. In other Nymex trading, heating oil dropped 3.1 cents to US$2.94 per gallon and gasoline futures lost 4.45 cents to US$2.5205 per gallon. Natural gas added 5.7 cents to US$3.665 per 1,000 cubic feet.
AP