The oil climbs above $40 again as Middle East fighting rages.
- The price swings big today: close to $5 a barrel
- Light, sweet crude for February delivery: rose $2.31 cents to $40.02 a barrel
- Retail gasoline prices in U.S. nationally: continue to fall and close to $1.60 per gallon, the national average $1.619 a gallon, well below the year-ago average of $3.039 a gallon
- The war between Israel and Palestine’s Hamas: death toll rose to at least 364 with some 1400 reported wounded.
- China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.: built its largest storage, a 38-tank facility with a total capacity of 32.4 million barrels
- The OPEC: accounts for about 40 percent of global supply, include 13 nations, cuts more than 4 million barrels per day
- Oil price: have fallen 73 percent since peaking at $147.27 a barrel on July 11, 2008
- A Shell station in suburban Houston: $1.19 a gallon for regular unleaded gas
- Natual gas for January delivery: Jumped 31 cents to settle at $6.136 per 1000 cubic feet.
Here is one list how U.S. Treasury Department “invest” taxpayer’s $700 billion.
- Another 43 banks: Got $1.9 billion today from the Treasury Department; M&T Bank Corp. received $600 million, while Lancaster got $376.5 million.
- The number of privately held banks got funds: 34
- 207 banks so far received $162 billion, $250 billion from the bailout fund is set aside for direct investment purpose.
- 21 banks surveyed by AP: received at least $1 billion each but none of them would provide detailed answers on how the money was used.
- American Express Co. : received another $3.39 billion preliminary approval
- CIT Group Inc. : to obtain $2.33 billion
- GMAC Financial: Got $5 billion ; In return, the government will receive preferred shares that pay an 8 percent dividend and warrants to purchases additional stocks.
- General Motors: Got $1 billion on the top of $17.4 billion in loans
- GMAC Financial ownership: Before, GM owns 49 percent while Cerberus Capital Management has the rest. Now, GM will reduce its stake to less than 10 percent; while Cerberus has to reduce its stake to no more than 33 percent though it bought a 51 percent stake in GMAC for $14 billion in 2006
- Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian: sells his last 107 million shares – a 4.89 percent stake. Had ever owned 6.49 percent after paying $1billion at an average share price of $7.10 in June 2008, and now lost 2/3 of his investment – roughly $650 million.
- Kerkorian’s Tracinda: holds the majority stake in casino and hotel operator MGM Mirage Inc, and have ever owned a nearly 10 percent share of GM in 2006.
Today’s news focus on 3 topics: oil, automobile and bailout funds.
- Oil is so volatile. After crazy historic speculation, the price drops sharply in the past 4 months, and devastates the past 4 years’ gain. Do you believe there is no manipulation behind this? Though the government has declared that they will investigate when the price is peaked, but they never found something suspicious. Hehe!
- While the government is trying to “invest” in the loser of Detroit 3 – GM; the best of them -- Ford lost its 5 percent stake owner investor. What does this allude to us? The big money lose confidence of the quick recovery of U.S. automobile industry.
- As to the $700 billion bailout, AIG got more without big title in the news. So far, 207 banks received $162 billion in total. But nobody knew what they are used for. Where are those money gone
