Some news for investors

Legislators from both parties have not only questioned the Fed’s past performance and challenged its future capabilities, but have also expressed concern that the central bank will be politicized more than it already is and turned into a bailout instrument of the executive branch.

Is there a gas or oil profit in the pipeline?
Charlotte Beugge, Money Mail
17 June 2009

The wildly fluctuating price of oil may deter investors, but could it be a good time to get into funds investing in black gold and gas?

Currently, the price is close to $70. But just a year ago, the price was $147 - and in December, it was down to only $32.

Correspondingly, funds in this sector look dire over a year, but over the past three months, they are all showing huge returns.

Long term, the prospects for oil look good. At the moment, the developing world's demand for oil remains high.

And if the developed world emerges from recession and returns to manufacturing, then it, too, will need more oil to power industry.

However, even though there is currently enough oil to go around - figures released last week said there were 1.25 trillion barrels of oil reserves at the end of 2008, 246bn of which are in Saudi Arabia - oil is a finite resource and, as supply falls, the price will rise.

'For the first time this year, demand for oil from the developing world exceeded that from the developed world,' says Mark Dampier, of adviser Hargreaves Lansdown.

'If we are coming out of a recession, then the oil price can go only one way - and that's up.'

Mr Dampier likes two investment funds for those looking to invest in oil: CF Junior Oils and Investec Global Energy. But he points out that a good Russian fund such as Neptune Russia & Greater Russia is heavily invested in oil and gas (28% in the case of this fund).

Oil is not the only energy resource investment managers are keen on at the moment - indeed, the gas market is potentially more attractive. There's an odd situation at the moment. While gas and oil prices usually mirror each other, that isn't happening.

Jonathan Waghorn, global energy portfolio manager at Investec Asset Management, explains that on an energy basis, oil should trade at six times the gas price - but currently, it's trading at 16 times more: an unprecedented level.

'The gas market is very different to the oil market,' he says. 'Oil is traded the world over, but as gas is expensive and difficult to transport, it tends to trade on three markets - Europe and Russia, Asia and the US - and it's the US market we are most interested in. In the past 18 months, demand has declined so there's an oversupply.

'We think demand will increase as domestic markets and industry move more towards the cheapest form of energy, which is gas.' His fund, Investec Global Energy, has stakes in US gas producers XTO, Quicksilver and Chesapeake Energy.'

Xstrata seeks merger with Anglo American
Mining giant approaches arch-rival with proposal to create one of the world's biggest natural resources companies

The mining giant Xstrata has approached arch-rival Anglo American about a £41 billion merger that would create one of the world’s biggest natural-resources companies.

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git wrote:Ok not knowing anythign about this, with the blip is it better now then a month ago? In other words did erase all the gain we saw or a portion of them?