Global Outlook Archive

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

I was in Chicago last week seeing portfolio managers (PMs), doing media “hits,” and presenting at seminars for our retail investors. The most ubiquitous question I received was, “Who is selling all this stock?” Clearly that’s a valid question since the parade of PMs on CNBC insisted they are not selling stocks, statistics show hedge fund managers are already pretty “light” on stocks, the international institutions I talk to are so underweight U.S. equities it is doubtful they are selling, and order flows show retail investors aren’t really selling individual stocks either (they are, however, liquidating mutual funds). So who’s selling? I think it is the “machines,” driven by high-frequency trading (HFT) and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).

OECD Reports Most Active Nations in Environmental Research

Investors: Free Shale Oil Investment Report – The Shale revolution is just getting started and we have prepared a free report which shows 3 stocks that could soon find their share prices soaring. Click here for your Free report.According to a just released report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, New Zealand’s government is the world’s most environmentally friendly country for government sponsored research, spending 13.39 percent the total government budget for environmental research and development activities.

Turkey Amenable to South Korea's Nuclear Energy Proposals

Turkey’s Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan told reporters during a meeting with South Korean Knowledge Economy Minister Choi Joong-Kyung in Seoul, "My ministry and the Turkish government are open to every proposal by South Korean companies over the issue of nuclear power plants."Turkey is expected to attract new investment from South Korea totaling $2.5 billion following the anticipated signing of a free trade agreement between the countries soon, Turkey’s Anadolu Ajansi reported.

Russia and Turkmenistan to Partner in Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration

Russia’s Itera and Zarubehzneft have signed a Caspian production sharing agreement with Turkmenistan for exploring the country’s offshore Caspian sector for oil and natural gas.Itera general director Vladimir Makeyev and Zarubezhneft CEO Nikolai Brunich signed a production-sharing agreement to develop jointly the 21st block of Turkmenistan's sector of the Caspian.The production sharing agreement stipulates that Zarubezhneft is the project operator and is authorized to do all the oil-production work under the PSA on behalf of the contracting companies, The Moscow Times reported.

China's Shenhua Group Investing $8 Billion in Xinjiang Coal Projects

Shenhua Group Corp Ltd., China's biggest coal producer, will invest $8 billion in coal-to-oil conversion projects in the country’s western Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region.According to Shenhua Group Corp Ltd., within four years Shenhua will reach 70 million tons of annual coal production and build a coal-to-oil conversion plant with annual production capacity of 3 million tons, China Daily reported.Shenhua Xinjiang Energy Co Ltd. vice-general manager Wang Ningbo said that the company is waiting for official governmental approval of the project, adding, "Hopefully, we will get the approval by the end of this year and the construction of the first 300 tons of coal-to-oil project will start in May 2012.

Niger Republic to export gasoline to Nigeria

Despite Nigeria being Africa’s leading exporter of crude oil, a lack of investments in the country’s refineries have left Africa’s most populous nation with chronic gasoline shortages.Now Nigeria is considering an arrangement to import gasoline from neighboring Niger.Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has been speaking to President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger Republic at the opening of bilateral talks between delegations of the two nations at the State House in the capital Abuja, The Daily Trust reported.

Ukraine to Cut Gazprom's umbilical cord?

Sometimes it's not easy being Russia's neighbor - just ask Ukraine. Ever since the 1991 implosion of the USSR, Ukraine's relations with Russia have appeared between coldly formal and outright hostility, with a major irritant being the increasingly high prices Gazprom charges for natural gas.Gazprom in turn needs access to Ukraine's pipeline network in order to reach its profitable European customers. Faced with this symbiotic relationship, Kiev has been assiduously looking for ways to break out of its dependency on Russian energy imports, and now it looks as if this may in fact be coming true.

Leading Wind Turbine Maker to Establish Assembly Plant in Brazil

Danish wind turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems A/S is building its first assembly plant in Brazil, announcing in a statement, “The investment is included in Vestas's CAPEX program for 2011.”When fully operational, the facility will have an annual production capacity of approximately 400 nacelles of the V90 and V100 turbine type representing an initially estimated annual capacity of 800 (megawatts).”The assembly plant will be situated in Fortaleza, Ceara in the northeast of Brazil, and will assemble nacelles, the hub which sits atop a wind turbine tower and encases the gear box, drive train and other components at the center of the rotor, Mercopress news agency reported.

Turkey to Hold Third Wind Power Congress

Next month the third international annual congress of Wind Power Turkey of the Turkish Wind Energy Association will be held in Istanbul.European Wind Energy Association chief executive officer Christian Kjaer said, “Turkey could be among the top three producers of wind energy” and “has a predictable and attractive market for wind energy investors,” Hurriyet newspaper reported.Turkey’s installed wind capacity tripled during 2007 from 50 megawatts to almost 150 megawatts. It tripled again during 2008 to reach 433 installed megawatts and by the end of 2009 it had almost doubled to 801 megawatts.

Biomass Plants Proposed to Dispose of Fukushima Disaster Debris

Japan’s Forestry Agency is considering building biomass power plants that can use timber from the thousands of houses that were destroyed by the massive 11 March tsunami.Senior vice minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries Takashi Shinohara said, "Initially, wooden debris will be used for power generation and when it becomes financially viable, wood thinned from forests will be used," Kyodo news agency reported.The Forestry Agency noted that the earthquake and subsequent tsunami created 25 million tons of debris from houses alone, with roughly 70 percent of it wood and even excluding waterlogged debris there are still 5 million tons available.

Nigeria Still Considering Nuclear Power

Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, is considering building nuclear power plants to alleviate the country’s chronic energy shortages, despite the negativity surrounding nuclear power in the aftermath of Japan’s March Fukushima debacle.Nigerian Minister of Power Barth Nnaji said, "Nigeria intends to sit down and properly evaluate what happened in Japan and weigh the risk against national interest," The Vanguard newspaper reported.  Nnaji made his observation after meeting with nuclear power specialists from Russia’s Rosatom atomic agency, who are in the country to seek government's assistance to commence the construction of Nigeria’s first nuclear power plant.

BP Exploring for Oil in Namibia

BP has taken 25 percent equity in Chariot Oil & Gas' exploration license in Namibia’s Orange Basin.BP acquired its share through Enigma Oil and Gas Exploration, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chariot. The new share structure of Orange Basin Block 2714A has Brazil’s Petrobras as operator with 50 percent, with BP and Chariot sharing the remaining interest.The venture hopes to develop an estimated nine billion barrels of oil at the site.

China and Rare Earths - Monopoly for Now

First, the bad news - China's constrained rare earth supplies will be an "irreversible trend" and prices will remain at high levels, according to Zhang Zhong, general manager of Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Hi-Tech Co.Zhang should know, as his concern is China's leading rare earths producer - the Baatou mine produces more than 95 percent of China's production, while Chinese mines currently account for 97 percent of global supplies. The increase in global demand for rare earth metals has sent prices soaring in world markets. According to the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, since January rare earth metal product prices jumped 200 percent, with the prices of some of the rarer commodities rising 500-1,900 percent. Since January China's exports grew 830 percent to $1.54 billion.

The 2-to-1 Decline/Advance Indicator

There was a 2-to-1 Decline/Advance Signal last Friday. This occurs when there are twice as many declining issues versus advancing issues in New York for ten consecutive trading days. This is the opposite of a 2-to-1 Advance/Decline Signal, which have been very accurate and helpful, as we have mentioned in many previous publications.Since 1970, there have been ten Advance/Decline Signals and eighteen Decline/Advance signals. Ten of these signals occurred very close to market bottoms and seven of them were triggered before markets declined further. The following pages show two manifestations of the aftermath of this signal.

France Investigates Producing Electricity from Ocean Tides

Tidal energy proponents are optimistic that the French government strategy of "investments in the future" could by the end of the summer lead to governmental support for the France Ocean Energies technological platform supported by the Institut fran?ais de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer (French Research Institute for Exploration of the Sea, or IFREMER.).IFREMER project manager Yann-Herve de Roeck said, "The goal of this project is to enable the sector to organize and its actors to pool a certain number of resources. France has many assets in the area of ocean energies, in particular manufacturers that master marine technologies and major groups with substantial resources.

Iranian Oil Minister States That Industry Needs Massive Investment

Denied funding by years of U.S. imposed sanctions, more recently strengthened by UN restrictions over the country’s nascent nuclear energy program, Iran’s energy sector is in need of massive capital investment.Iran's newly appointed Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi stated that $40 billion was needed for the development of Iran's oil and gas fields, noting, "Considering the extensive area of the joint (oil and natural gas) fields, their development needs heavy investment; therefore, the task can be accomplished by securing the capital from domestic as well as foreign sources.

In the Aftermath of Fukushima, Japan Turns to Renewable Energy

In the immediate aftermath of the 11 March nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima, which took six of Tokyo Electric Power Company’s offline, the Japanese government took immediate steps to conserve energy and urged its citizens to the do the same.The campaign succeeded, as even with 35 of 54 nuclear reactors temporarily suspended offline for safety checks, the total electricity usage in the area covered by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) was never more than 90 percent of the available supply, even when 20 percent less electricity was supplied this year compared to 2010 figures because of the Fukushima accident.

Investors Considering Iran-Iraq-Syria-Europe Pipeline

Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Javad Owji told reporters in Tehran, "Seven international investors have announced their readiness to finance, design, and construct the pipeline that will transport 110 million cubic meters of Iranian natural gas to Iraq, Syria, and European countries per day."Owji added that talks are underway to begin construction of the multi-billion-dollar project by March 2012, Mehr News Agency reported.

Mongolia Energy Riches Attract Neighbors and Outside Interests

Pity poor Mongolia, bereft of fiscal resources, caught between the ambitions of its superpower neighbors, Russia and China.Ulaan Bator's situation is akin to interwar Poland, dexterously attempting to reconcile its foreign policy between the USSR's hammer and Nazi Germany's hard place. Who will ultimately benefit is anyone's guess, but the country's nascent energy and mineralogical riches have opened the land of Genghis Khan to a fierce bidding war those ultimate outcome is unclear at best.The nation is essentially empty, its 2.8 million citizens producing an average population density of just over 1 person per sq. km.

Volatility Ahead

The raising of the debt ceiling this week did not bring a hopeful, renewed sentiment towards the market or economy as many politicians expected. These politicians were dealt a harsh dose of reality this week (as were investors). As a result of the debt increase, global markets dropped off almost 10% and US long-term debt was finally downgraded.As shocking and difficult as it is to deal with the violent drops of this past week, the correction/collapse was a result of the market participants finally realising the severity of the world debt situation. The US government affirmed its inability to adapt and make tough choices after it documented it's not willing to increase enough revenue through taxes, nor make the necessary entitlement cuts.

Forget the Debt Crisis, Start Buying These Now

The downgrade of U.S. debt over the weekend is nothing more than a distraction. Standard & Poor’s, one of the Big Three ratings agencies, is rarely ahead of the curve.Ratings agencies have earned abysmal track records in recent years. They missed the housing bubble. Up until a few months ago, they had Irish debt as “investment grade.” To go back even farther, they didn’t cut Enron’s debt to “junk” status until a few weeks before the largest accounting fraud in history went bankrupt...On top of that, the ratings agencies are quite liberal with their top ratings. The chart below from the Financial Times shows how the more debt that has been issued, the greater share of debt gets rated AAA.

Pakistan Seeking Wavier on Iranian Natural Gas Pipeline Project

Pakistan had applied to Iran for a six-month wavier in beginning a bilateral natural gas pipeline project in order to avoid a $200 million penalty fee.The $3 billion Iran-Pakistan natural gas pipeline project, which earlier was scheduled to begin operations by 31 December 2014, will now be delayed until June 2015, Islamabad’s The News Online reported.According to a high ranking official in Pakistan’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, speaking on condition of anonymity, "The authorities in Tehran are considering Pakistan's proposal and will come up with their reply in the meeting of Iran-Pakistan Coordination Committee that is scheduled for August 25.

Lebanon’s Parliament Passes Maritime Border Law

Concerned about possible Israeli encroachment upon recently discovered offshore natural gas fields, Lebanon’s Parliament has passed draft legislation demarcating its maritime borders with Israel.The 18-article law was drafted in the Parliament’s Public Works, Transport, Energy and Water Committee, headed by MP Mohammad Qabbani, The Daily Star reported.At issue are two massive offshore natural gas fields, Tamar and Leviathan, off Israel's northern city of Haifa, where initial prospecting estimates have concluded that the pair of sites between them could hold as much as 688 billion cubic meters of extractable natural gas.

China Introduces a Unified Grid Feed-in Tariff for Solar Power

China’s government has introduced a unified grid solar power tariff, which analysts believe may produce a quickened pace for introducing solar power to private residences, along with boosting the stock of companies involved in solar development.According to the National Development and Reform Commission, Beijing has set the solar power price charged by power plants to grid operators at 18 US cents per kilowatt-hour for projects which were approved before July 1 and are scheduled to become operational before the end of this year, The Shanghai Daily reported. The NDRC had previously approved on-grid tariffs on a case-by-case basis, adding that it would adjust the taxes in accordance with future investment costs and technology development.

Thailand, Cambodia Restart Talks on Overlapping Gas Claims

While international attention has largely focused on China’s disputes with its neighbors the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei over the offshore riches of the contested Spratly islands, other energy maritime disputes are roiling Southeastern Asian waters.The Thai government is preparing to revive talks with Cambodia on overlapping petroleum claims in the Gulf of Thailand, which have been deadlocked since 2006. Thailand and Cambodia share an area in the Gulf of Thailand that encompasses more than 10,000 square miles in the “Overlapping Claims Area,” or (OCA), The Bangkok Post reported.

Indian Company Investigating Seaweed as Possible Biofuel

An Indian startup company based in Chennai, having spent several fruitless years investigating microalgae, more commonly referred to as simply algae, as a possible source of biofuels, has turned its attention to seaweed as a possible biofuel feedstock.Sea6 Energy’s founders, four students and their professor at IIT Madras, India's leading technical institute, spent the last two years investigating algae’s biofuel potential, as have thousands of researchers worldwide, particularly in the U.S.

Iranian Company to Build 10 Power Plants in Iraq

Iranian company Ego group is to build 10 electricity generating plants in Iraq.Following an agreement with the authorities of Diwaniyah in southern Iraq, the Iranian company Ego group will construct 10 electricity generating plants with a total capacity of 40 megawatts in Diwaniyah province, 120 miles south of the capital Baghdad.Iran will increase its overall supply of electric power for Iraq by nearly a third, according to a recent agreement between the two neighboring countries, according to Iranian Energy Minister, Majid Namho.

Energy Resources of Australia Uranium Reserves Cut 46 Percent

Since the 11 March Fukushima catastrophe, nuclear energy companies worldwide have been pummeled by the new market realities, as more and more countries turn away from nuclear power.Australia's uranium reserves are the world's largest, with 23 percent of the global total. Australia, Kazakhstan and Canada are the world’s top three producers, together accounting for 63 percent of world uranium production.Rio Tinto's locally listed uranium subsidiary, Energy Resources of Australia, has slashed uranium reserves by 46 percent and shelving a planned expansion, The Australian newspaper reported.

Despite Fukushima, Japan Still Bids for Turkish Contract

Despite the March nuclear debacle at Japan’s Daichi nuclear power complex, Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company is continuing to bid for a Turkish nuclear power plant contract.According to the trade commercial attach? at Japanese Embassy in Ankara Shinli Hirai, Turkey had the concern that the Japanese side would completely abandon the project. Japanese officials will continue the talks. “The Japanese bid is not over yet,” Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper reported.TEPCO has submitted a bid to construct Turkey’s second NPP, to be situated in the northern Black Sea coastal town of Sinop.

Russian Pipeline Monopoly in Legal Dispute with China

Following an impasse in negotiations between state-owned Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft and China Development Bank, Transneft is willing to repay early its $10 billion, 20-year loan from the China Development Bank if it has to file a suit in a London court against China over the price of oil it has already supplied.Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Russian source intimately involved in the discussions said, "During the negotiations it was noted that the agreement on supplies of Russian oil to China is still being unilaterally violated by the Chinese.

Coal and Ethanol Are Not Alternative Energy Policy

The domestic alternative energy policy in the US seems to rotate on semantics and adding words to other words to make it look like something is going on. However, the truth of the matter is, energy policy is as defunct as ever and on most fronts the US is lagging far behind. Mostly it is a disregard of what the economist Herman Daly has pointed out about the macro-view of the macro-economic system. His idea is that the ecological system is closed and finite, not infinite created by God for our own personal use, which needs to be included into economic models. As pointed out by this author in, The Need For a Real Domestic Alternative Energy Policy, the US will need this Energy policy to spur growth, create jobs, and remain competitive going forward. Yet, with words out there such as "clean coal" and "corn ethanol" as our savings for the future, it seems that the US gets further and further from the ability to save the economy and closer to suicide.

Ratings Sound Off

I have to weigh in with my thoughts on the idiotic downgrade of the United States by S&P. What are they thinking!?S&P has now placed the most powerful, the most versatile, the most influential country on Earth with the same credit rating as Belgium and New Zealand, the only other countries with a AA+ rating. This is ludicrous. At AAA, S&P has Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Rumours

“Rumours,” yet I am not talking about the 1977 smash album by Fleetwood Mac, but rumors that I heard while watching last Thursday’s Tumble. The two most credible were: 1) A major rating agency is going to downgrade the U.S. credit rating; and 2) A major institution is in trouble and is being forced to liquidate its portfolio. Obviously, one was right and the other wrong as late Friday Standard & Poor’s downgraded our nation’s debt rating to AA+. And, “There is no joy in Mudville – mighty Geithner has struck out,” as our Treasury Secretary has repeatedly declared, “There is no chance the U.S. will lose its top credit rating.” Such statements have left a bevy of cries for Secretary Geithner’s removal fostering at least the illusion of a shakeup in the country’s financial course.

Urgent Market Message

As tough as it may be, I want you to take a deep breath and concentrate on the big picture. I know it's not easy to do when everybody is running for the exits, but try anyway. This market was badly in need of a sell-off so what's happening now is long overdue.And if you're subscriber to any of our paid services, you really don't have to worry. We have all of our stops in place and our hedges are working beautifully. There is no doubt that our holdings are going to come under pressure with the broader markets, but we will not get clobbered.Yes, the government is clueless. Yes, our economy is slowing. Yes, Europe is in the hopper. Yes, Japan is headed into another lost decade. And yes, there are fears about a Chinese bubble. But you know what, we've lived through worse.

The Future of Gold Prices

As long as the currency is being devalued at the rate it is, gold will continue to rise. No question about it.As long as gold continues to track the debt ceiling, it will move even higher. One look at this chart from Zero Hedge points to as much.All we heard at the beginning of the year was that a recovery would take us higher in the second half. That ain't happening.There was no chance of a recovery to begin with, but people ate up the notion anyway ?? and sent the market 600 points higher on it.Not only is there no recovery, there's a European debt crisis. The U.S. economy is in the doghouse. Consumer spending just fell 0.2% in June on 0.1% estimates.

What Stocks Usually Do After Big One-Day Plunges

A good table from Citi's Tobias Levkovitch on what markets typically do after big declines. With markets off sharply, investors are scrambling to get a sense of what to do now.(B.W.: Yesterday, the DJIA dropped -4.31%; the S&P 500, -4.78%, the Nasdaq, -5.08%, the S&P/TSX Composite, -3.4%, the FTSE 100, -2.23%, and the Dax, -1.14%).Figure 1 illustrates that big sell-offs do not necessarily generate that cataclysmic crescendo of capitulation that everyone seems to want.

Mea Culpa

Having successfully called the market’s direction for over two years -- the low near March 09, the high near May 2010, the next low at the beginning of July, the most recent high near May -- all the time relying on moving averages, cycles, sentiment indicators, Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) and Stochastic Indicators; we have failed to call the market’s direction correctly more recently.Given the new high in the DJT in July, the already oversold condition last week and the successful resolution of the US vote, it seemed proper to stay positive. However, it now seems obvious that either the indicators all failed or that we have totally misread them. It does not matter; the fact is that we were wrong.

Additional Wind Generators to Arise Alongside Lake Erie

Six additional giant wind generators are planned for a former steel mill polluted site alongside along Lake Erie.The generators, situated on a “brownfield” toxic site, formerly occupied by a Bethlehem Steel facility, are expected to be in operation by early 2012.The new wind turbines will be added to eight windmills that in 2007 began operating in Lackawanna, The Buffalo News reported.Each new wind 410-foot tall turbine, similar to the ones already in place, will generate 2.5 megawatts per hour, producing sufficient electricity for up to 700 households.

Brazil to Study Sugarcane for Jet Fuel Production

Brazil, Embraer and the Inter-American Development Bank have announced that they will jointly fund a sustainability analysis for producing renewable jet fuel using Brazilian sugarcane as a feedstock.Brazil is already the world's leading producer of ethanol derived from sugarcane.In an extraordinary partnering, the World Wildlife Fund will serve as an independent reviewer and advisor for the study, Boeing announced on its website.

Mozambique Exports First Shipment of Biofuels to Europe

Sun Biofuels Mozambique has exported its first batch of 30 tons of jatropha oil, raised in the central Mozambique’s Manica province, to Europe for evaluation by the German airline Lufthansa.Sun Biofuels Mozambique is a subsidiary of the British -based Sun Biofuels.Sun Biofuels Mozambique manager for corporate affairs Sergio Gouveia stated that Lufthansa placed the jatropha oil export order in order to evaluate the suitability of the biofuel for powering its planes, commenting, "Civil aviation is an interesting market, that's why we are looking forward to the Lufthansa test results, which has shown a keen interest in our production," Maputo’s Agencia Informacao Mocambique reported.

India Considers Paying Iran for Oil Imports in Rupees

India’s government has decided to pay for its imports of Iranian oil in rupees. The decision by one of the world’s strongest emerging economies, represents yet another undermining of the both the sanctions currently imposed on Iran by both the United States and the United Nations Security Council and the fiscal hegemony exercised over global oil trade by both New York and London.The oil trades in both the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and London’s Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) are currently denominated in American dollars.

US to Discuss Nuclear Cooperation with Saudi Arabia

According to insiders in Washington speaking off the record, the United States is planning discussions with Saudi Arabia about civilian nuclear cooperation.The issue has already generated fierce criticism in Congress.According to administration officials speaking on condition of anonymity, members of President Barack Obama's administration next week will visit Saudi Arabia for nuclear talks, NOW Lebanon news agency reported.A congressional aide, citing anonymity as the visit has not been publicly announced as yet and aware of its contentiousness, said the trip would be a "preliminary" step to "discuss the possibility of moving forward on a nuclear cooperation agreement."

Australia Investigates Agave as a Super Biofuel

A new study by University of Sydney and England's Oxford University researchers is investigating the possibility that the agave plant could be farmed as a fuel source in the Australian outback.The agave plant is best known as a Mexican plant used to distil tequila and mescal.University of Sydney senior lecturer in agronomy Daniel Tan said, ''You get up to five times more energy out of the plant than you put in. A lot of the biofuel crops in the US also generate land-use change, so sometimes they are releasing more C02 than they are sequestering. 'In terms of producing ethanol, agave is about the same as sugar cane - but the advantage over sugar cane is they survive in very dry areas on little water,'' The Sydney Morning Herald reported on 29 July.

Venezuela to Compensate American Oil Companies for Nationalization?

The screaming was heard echoing through the boardrooms and canyons of Wall Street.Now the picture appears to be shifting, as Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez told reporters this week, "We've never said we wouldn't pay" the two U.S. multinational corporations Exxon-Mobil and Conoco-Phillips, "the only two that didn't accept our laws and didn't accept (the terms of a compensation deal for confiscated assets) and took the dispute to the World Bank's International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, or ICSID."

South Korea and India Sign Nuclear Energy Agreement

South Korea and India signed a nuclear energy agreement on 25 July that will permit South Korean companies to enter India’s burgeoning nuclear energy market to construct nuclear power plants.India’s Department of Atomic Energy Secretary Srikumar Banerjee and the South Korean Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Kim Sung-Hwan signed the agreement in the presence of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Indian President Pratibha Patil after their summit talks in Seoul, The Korea Herald reported.

Brazil, China Promote Partnerships in Renewable Energy Projects

The cooperation agreement between Brazil and China, through the China-Brazil Center for Climate Change and Innovative Energy Technologies, could yield benefits for Brazil, especially in the area of renewable energy, according to Segen Estefen.Estefen, Technology and Innovation Director, Coordination Board of Postgraduate Programs in Engineering of Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Coppe-UFRJ) made his observation at a seminar held by the China-Brazil Center at University City in Rio de Janeiro on 27 July.

UN Calls for Suspension of Giant Hydroelectric Dam in Ethiopia

The United Nations has come out in support of critics of Ethiopia's massive Gibe III hydropower project, calling for work to be suspended until the negative impacts of the dam can be assessed.The UN World Heritage Committee, which establishes sites to be listed as being of special cultural or physical significance, said the Gibe III dam's construction endangered the existence of Lake Turkana, the largest desert lake in the world.In 1997 Lake Turkana, which straddles the Kenya-Ethiopian border, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency Criticized

Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry has recently been questioning the wisdom about having the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency as a special organization in the Natural Resources and Energy Agency.The Natural Resources and Energy Agency, which promotes nuclear energy, is coming under fire as not being a sufficiently objective organization, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported.Kyushu University Vice President Hitoshi Yoshioka, a member of the government's accident investigation and examination committee, which has been reviewing data about the 11 March Fukushima nuclear accident, said, "I think the current system, in which the energy agency explains the need for nuclear power and the safety agency backs this up by explaining how safe nuclear power is, goes against common sense.

Solar Energy Receives Voter Support in Missouri

Missouri’s solar rebate program, enacted by voters in Proposition C's Renewable Energy Standard, has survived legislative and legal challenges.Missouri’s Public Service Commission (PSC) voted unanimously to deny Ameren Fuels and Services Corp.’s and Kansas City Power and Light electric utility’s requests to stop their solar rebate programs. The PSC ordered them to continue paying the rebates for at least 120 days, The Joplin Independent reported.

Australian Solar Power Moving Ahead, Albeit Slowly

Australia’s solar market is sending mixed signals.Bearish analysts point out that that large-scale solar power investment will benefit significantly from either Australia’s 2020 renewable energy target (RET) or the government’s proposed carbon tax.The domestic market for solar panel installations has recently shrunk dramatically as states and territories scale support tariffs that are now viewed as too generous, while the federal government steadily lowers subsidies for small-scale solar under the RET, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

British Isles Deal on Channel Islands Renewable Energy

Britain's Channel Islands are close to finalizing deals to establish large-scale renewable energy plants, which could supply a significant portion of Britain’s energy needs.Channel Islands Jersey and Guernsey along with Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man have signed a deal to cooperate on exploiting the wind and marine resources in and around the islands and in the Irish Sea, ITV Channel TV reported.The proposed projects would utilize both the region’s winds and strong maritime currents. Tidal currents around the Channel Islands in the English Channel near the coast of France are some of the strongest in the world.

Jesters, Economics, and American Dollar Supremacy

The debt debate has been going on all summer, a 2 months and running theatrical experience of court jesters parading about while the United States economy teeters on the edge. On both sides of the aisle have been ridiculous solutions that are showing the world daily, America is willing to sacrifice its citizens for the profits of the corporations. The problem is, why will the rest of the world continue to support American multi-nationals, when they have their own. As dollar supremacy begins to wane, and oil prices rise as the dollar’s value descends, maybe it is time to talk about the horrendous policy decisions of these politicians in hopes it opens up a way to point us in the correct direction. Otherwise, when August 2nd comes and the deal is passed anyway, cause it has all just been a “watch this hand” moment, we might find ourselves not understanding why the Social Security check seems meager compared to before.

The Quiet Revolution: Latin America Moving Away from Washington's Influence

Perhaps the biggest foreign-policy story of the past decade, thoroughly overlooked by the American media after 9/11 and its subsequent monomaniacal focus on terrorism, security and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is the fact that Latin America has essentially moved away from Washington's influence.This quiet revolution from below, in rejecting the Monroe Doctrine, first enunciated in 1823 whereby the U.S. essentially barred European powers from influence in Latin America, has essentially for nearly 200 years served as an ideological platform for countless U.S. interventions south of the border but has yet to register on the radar the politicians in Washington.

‘Default?’

Public outrage finally surfaced inside the D.C. Beltway last week as Congressional and White House telephone switchboards “lit up,” as did their Internet URLs, with angry citizens wanting our leaders to act like grownups and resolve the Debt Ceiling fracas. And why not after the political posturing, scare tactics, and misuse of words that has taken place over the past few weeks. Default is one such word. To wit, on a number of media venues last week I opined that the U.S. would not default on its debt obligations. Consider this; Investopedia defines the word “default” as, “The failure to promptly pay interest or principal when due.”

IMF Unhappy with Romania's State-Owned Companies Management

The sluggish reforms in Romania’s state-owned and run companies have raised tensions with one of the country’s main international financiers, the International Monetary Fund.

Following a meeting with a visiting IMF delegation, Blocul National Sindical trade union Chairman Dumitru Costin candidly told reporters, "The representatives of trade unions and of the IMF have found that there is a tendency to postpone the modernization of the state-owned companies."

Chinese Companies Compete for Power Plant Contracts in Poland

As if any proof is need of rising Chinese economic power in Europe, Chinese companies are now bidding for power plant contracts in Poland.During the Cold War and the Sino-Soviet dispute, the People’s Republic of China’s sole European ally was Albania.On 25 July China National Electric Engineering Co. (CNEEC) submitted an offer to build a generator in Jaworzno and earlier participated in a tender organized by the Poznan-based company Enea for the construction of a coal-fired power station in Kozienice, with each of the investments worth $1.42 billion, Warsaw’s Rzeczpospolita newspaper reported.

Shell Defends Sale of Nigeria Oil Blocs as Lega

Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) has defended its decision to divest itself of some of its equity in oil concessions in Nigeria’s contentious Niger Delta region.SPDC maintains that its divestiture was compliant with both its contractual rights and the regulatory frameworks for Nigeria’s oil industry.SPDC Vice President for Safety, Environment, Sustainable Development and Communications, Shell Sub Saharan Africa, Tony Attah, stated, "Since we commenced the process last year, we have been open and transparent and have given equal opportunities to all interested buyers.

EBRD Gives Ukraine Additional $100 Million for Chernobyl Work

In an eerie reminder of the ongoing cost of nuclear disasters in the wake on the 11 March Fukushima debacle in Japan, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has decided to allocate an additional $100 million to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund and the Nuclear Safety Account Fund for implementation of Chernobyl programs.Prior to Fukushima, the Chernobyl nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 was the worst nuclear power plant accident in history, and is one of only two classified as a level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale (the other being the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster).

Kenya’s Consumers Soon to be Forced to Use Solar Energy

According to Kenya’s Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), heavy domestic and industrial consumers of electricity will soon be required to use solar energy to heat water.The policy is meant to ease pressures on the nation’s electrical production grid.ERC director general Kaburu Mwirichia told reporters, “Major consumers of power will soon be required to use solar for water heating on their premises. The solar heating regulations will be forwarded next week to the Ministry of Energy. The building code already includes installation of solar energy,” Nairobi’s The Nation newspaper reported.

Biofuels Potential to Transform the Global Economy

Slowly but surely, an extraordinarily important new industry is slowly taking shape, with the potential to transform the global economy.After years of existing largely as an environmentalist's fantasy, commercial production of biofuels for the world civil aviation industry is slowly becoming a fact, with production starting up across three continents.The leading contenders for biofuel feedstocks are jatropha and camelina, both of which have their fervent supporters. While currently neither is capable of production at a price approaching that of Jet A1 civil aviation fuel derived from hydrocarbons, research and extensive investment are nevertheless investigating the possibilities.