Archives

April 2007 Archives

The Rise of Nuclear Energy from Peak Oil's Ashes - 2007-04-30
Over the weekend, I had the distinct pleasure of conversing with one of my Wealth Daily readers. This reader was distraught over society's collapse from peak oil.

What Record High? - 2007-04-27
As the Dow burst through the 13,000 milestone this week, few understood the hollowness of the achievement. Measured against the rising dollar-denominated prices of just about everything else on the planet, the Dow has actually lost value over the past seven years.

Europe Adds to Central Asian Resource Frenzy - 2007-04-26
With the specter of Russian dominance haunting European energy markets, the EU's problems pose a huge energy investment opportunity. This week, a group of European Union foreign ministers gathered in Luxembourg took a first step towards the resource-rich countries of Central Asia.

Say it Ain't So, Angelo Mozilo - 2007-04-26
Even now, Angelo Mozilo cries bloody murder as the various branches of the government ponder how to fix the problems that he and his mortgage buddies created.

Sunshine on the DMZ - 2007-04-25
Reunification has long been the watchword in Korean diplomacy. Even through the North's recalcitrance, nuclear proliferation, missile-lobbing, and Viagra counterfeiting, the South has kept a sanguine smile. Make that a cyber-smile, as the Koreas connect in a new way this year.

Meet the Reaper - 2007-04-24
Meet the Reaper. Fully loaded it can carry 3,000 pounds of weapons, including Hellfire missiles and GBU-12 laser-guided bombs. It's the destructive equivalent of an F-15, and it can stay aloft for more than 14 hours when armed to the teeth.

Sunshine on the Digital DMZ - 2007-04-24
Reunification has long been the watchword in Korean diplomacy. Even through the North's recalcitrance, nuclear proliferation, missile-lobbing, and Viagra counterfeiting, the South has kept a sanguine smile. Make that a cyber-smile, as the Koreas connect in a new way this year.

Oil Prices Spike Again Over Nigerian Turmoil - 2007-04-23
Let's face it, predicting that oil prices will keep rising this year is like shooting fish in a barrel. This time around it's Nigeria, the world's eighth largest oil exporter. And Nigeria is no stranger to political instability. Don’t forget last year, when militants bombed one of Shell's major exporting stations, causing production to fall by 500,000 barrels per day.

Venezuela's About-Farce - 2007-04-19
In the struggle for international energy solutions, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez views the Western Hemisphere's ethanol effort as more of a tug-o'-war than a joint heave. If you're looking for an answer, an argument alone won't do. Who knows when Venezuela will ditch the dirt and seize its clear opportunities?

Admirals, Generals Worried About Climate Change - 2007-04-19
A top panel of eleven retired admirals and generals from all branches of the military released a report on Monday entitled "National Security and the Threat of Climate Change," which was commissioned by the Center for Naval Analyses, a nonprofit government-funded think tank. Here's what they found...

Marketwatch: Feeling Stronger Every Day - 2007-04-19
The broader market averages turned red this morning as the “Shanghai Surprise” Part II roiled the international markets overnight.

Across the Pond for Ten Pounds - 2007-04-18
No matter how many foreign films you watch or how many hip bistros you eat at, there is no substitute for traveling abroad. Now, with recent breakthroughs in aviation liberalization, low-cost and long-haul carriers may get you up and away more easily than ever.

Lithium-Ion Batteries Lead the Charge - 2007-04-17
In automotive boardrooms from Tokyo to Detroit the race is not only on, it’s as heated as ever. This time, though, it has less to do with sexy styling and more with something considerably deeper--the very future of the industry.

Perched Precariously on a Precipice - 2007-04-16
The dollar is no longer responding to traditional stimulants. Last week, despite the apparently "hawkish" tone in the recently released Fed minutes and trade deficit figures that were slightly less horrific than expected, the dollar nevertheless declined against just about every currency on the planet.

The Death of Conventional Oil - 2007-04-16
Remember the good old days when oil was $50 a barrel? I know that was only a few months ago--but just wait a few years from now when you're wishing the price for a barrel of sweet crude was below $100. The reality is that peak oil is a lot closer than you think.

Fiercer Than the Race for Oil or Natural Gas - 2007-04-12
I have to admit something--I don't know much about nuclear physics. You might not either, but I bet you know what a mushroom cloud looks like. Unfortunately, a filmstrip's worth of familiarity with nuclear fuel and its possible uses just won't do in this reinvigorated nuclear century.

Silent Spring - 2007-04-12
Despite the incoherent tweets of a few remaining housing bulls, the much-anticipated spring selling season has largely come and gone without so much as a peep. The only noise left, it seems, is the chirping of the crickets.

China: Capitalism with an Asterisk - 2007-04-11
As my host drove me through the western Chinese city of Xining, he smiled kindly. "Here you can really see socialism," he told me, contrasting this smallish provincial capital with the mega-cities of the east. "Where is this socialism?" I wondered. "In the KFC, or the Buick dealership?"

Future Watch: Reasons for Optimism - 2007-04-10
The future is going to be a very scary place. It'll be dark, grim and even foreboding. At least that’s the story in a piece published in The Guardian yesterday. There will be information chips implanted in our brains, the middle class will finally revolt, and neutron bombs will make the ultimate comeback.

Soothing "Gas OPEC" Fears in Doha - 2007-04-09
During the next two days, leading natural gas countries are meeting in Doha, Qatar. These countries control roughly 70% of the world's natural gas reserves. But the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GCEF) is insisting the meeting is only to strengthen cooperation among the gas countries.

Oil Causes and Heals All Wounds - 2007-04-05
A new path for petroleum is now in the works, as leaders of five southern European nations inked a deal Tuesday to build the so-called Pan-European Oil Pipeline. Not only the planned route is new: the political will expressed in the PEOP deal may foreshadow a new era for this troubled region.

U.S. Government Admits Peak Oil Threat - 2007-04-05
Thanks to the relentless efforts of Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett (R-MD) and Rep. Tom Udall (D-NM) and their Congressional Peak Oil Caucus, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has performed a comprehensive study of the peak oil issue. It warns that the U.S. is unprepared to deal with the decline of conventional oil, and is likely facing price shocks.

Brits Continue March to Orwell's Vision - 2007-04-05
The dark world envisioned by George Orwell took another small step forward yesterday in his merry old English home. And while it's not quite as terrifying as a trip to Room 101 in the Ministry of Love, it is nonetheless quite gut wrenching in its own right.

European Stocks: Exposure or Explosion? - 2007-04-03
Do you remember when Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated? Or when the Spanish flu paralyzed the American populace? Then you might recall the last time European equity markets outsized Wall Street. That is, until last week.

Digital Music Unchained and Unleashed - 2007-04-03
A trickle of freedom came down from above to the world of the iPod and its brethren yesterday as Apple CEO Steve Jobs and his cohorts at the EMI Group announced that they would soon begin offering their titles free of the copying restrictions formerly imposed by the label.

Sounding the Peak Oil Alarm - 2007-04-02
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released an eighty-two page report warning us of the devastating impact of peak oil