The US Federal Reserve launched its $400bn ‘Operation Twist’ as expected, selling short term bonds (under three years) and using the cash raised to buy long-dated treasuries.
Daily archives: September 22, 2011
How to set priorities?
We can’t do everything. So how do we choose what to do, and what not to do? Bjorn Lomborg applied this question to the setting of global priorities. He identified a list of the top problems the world faces, and then got a ‘Dream Team’ of leading economists to rank them. “If we had $50bn to …
Oil price volatile — two scenarios foreseen
Having fallen earlier this week, oil prices have risen again, to around £112/barrel. The reason — US commercial crude stocks fell by 7.3million barrels, ten times the forecast amount. Inventories are now at their lowest levels since January. Prices rose after Libyan output dropped earlier this year. Full production (1.6m barrels/day) is currently forecast to …
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Shale gas found in Lancashire
Mark Miller, chief executive of Cuadrilla, says that enough shale gas has been found beneath Blackpool and Preston to supply all Britain’s gas need for “more than 56 years”. He declined to say how much of that would be recoverable. In the US, ten percent has proved to be a typical recovery rate, meaning that …
Shell warns of higher prices and volatility
The chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, Mr Peter Voser, has warned that oil and gas suppliers will struggle to keep up with global demand, pushing prices up and increasing volatility.