Beyond the torment it has already caused in the Carribbean and the stress it places on those who are evacuating the Gulf Coast, hurricane Gustav will lead to higher prices at the pumps. That's because the majority of the Gulf of Mexico's oil production is shut down in anticipation of Gustav's force.
Exactly how much production is being shut down? CNNMoney reports that "energy producers have shut in approximately 77% of oil output and 37% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico." This is affecting three producers particularly hard -- Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS.A), BP PLC (NYSE: BP) and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX).
And the production shut-down is significant -- "nearly 1 million barrels of daily oil production is now shut down. The last time this happened was in November 2005, after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In addition, 2.75 billion cubic feet of daily natural gas production is now shut down" according to CNNMoney.
People with the matter said that Ken Wilson, The Goldman Sachs Group Inc's (NYSE: GS) most senior financial-institutions broker, will temporarily exit the firm, the Wall Street Journal reported, in an effort to advise Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on how to resolve the country's banking crisis.
The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, a union with a stake in Citigroup Incorporated (NYSE: C) called for the financial services company to break itself up. The Financial Times reported that the demand will almost definitely be rejected by Citigroup.
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Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's plan for rescuing Federal National Mortgage Association (NYSE: FNM) -- Fannie Mae -- and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: FRE) -- Freddie Mac -- calls for the creation of a new regulatory agency that would seek to assert more stringent control over the banks and lessen the damage they could cause to the American financial system, the New York Times reported.
The Daily Telegraph reported that BP Plc (NYSE: BP) blocked a $1.8B dividend payment to its Russian partners in the TNK-BP joint venture.
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According to paidContent.org, now that its cash on hand exceeds its market cap, speculation that Napster Inc (NASDAQ: NAPS) could be a takeover target heated up.
A loss of confidence in the government sponsored mortgage firms Federal National Mortgage Association (NYSE: FNM), or Fannie Mae, and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: FRE), or Freddie Mac, resulted in both companies shares plunging about 15% to 14 year lows. Because the two are the largest providers of funding for mortgages in the U.S., their troubles are significant as both may have to issue billions of dollars in stock to save themselves, diluting current shareholders, according to the Wall Street Journal.
For 75 years the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers have been owned by the Rooney family, but that may now change as the Wall Street Journal reported that the family is seeking to sell the football team which is valued at about $1.2B. One potential buyer is Stanley Druckenmiller, a billionaire, and chairman of Duquesne Capital Management in Pittsburgh.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday raised the issue of visa problems facing BP Plc (NYSE: BP) employees in Russia with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, but Medvedev did not make any concessions on the issue, according to the Financial Times. Some people have suggested that BP's billionaire partners in its Russian joint venture, TNK-BP, have orchestrated the visa problems in order to gain control of the venture.
In a cost cutting move, struggling automaker Chrysler said it will idle its St. Louis South minivan plant in October, and will reduce operations at its St. Louis North Dodge Ram pickup truck plant to one shift in September, the Wall Street Journal reported. About 2,400 people will lose their jobs at both plants.
In an unprecedented move, the Justice Department is pressuring UBS AG (NYSE: UBS), a foreign bank, for the names of wealthy U.S. client who used the bank to avoid paying taxes, reported the Wall Street Journal, and has sought a federal court order to proceed.
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After learning Moscow authorities have refused to renew the work visas of BP Plc's (NYSE: BP) expatriate staff, the New York Times reported that the British oil company may be in danger of losing control of TNK-BP Holding, its Russian joint venture. If the top officials from the BP side of the venture, including the CEO and CFO, are forced to leave, TNK-BP will fall into the hands of its Russian partners.
In an upheaval aimed at preventing too much power from being exercised by the company's chairman, the UK Times reported that UBS has decided to replace four board directors in October. The governance model, which will separate the roles and responsibilities of the board and executive management, will reportedly come into play immediately and will allow the board to delegate the duties formerly allocated to the chairman's office to board committees.
Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Vodafone Group Plc (NYSE: VOD) and Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ), is in talks to acquire Alltel Corp. in a deal valued at about $27B, the Wall Street Journal reported. If successful, the combined companies would create the largest cellphone company, and would be better positioned to compete against AT&T Inc (NYSE: T).
Gregory B. Penner, the son-in-law of Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT) chairman S. Robson Walton, is expected to join the company's board of directors, a move seen as the beginning of a leadership change at the company, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Financial Times reported that Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek refused to provide funds to Bear Stearns shortly before Bear's sale to JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM). Temasek reportedly refused the request for practical and political reasons.
Russia's Interior Ministry questioned the head of BP Plc's (NYSE: BP) Russian oil venture as part of a criminal investigation into possible large-scale tax evasion, the Financial Times reported.
According to senior industry sources, the Financial Times reported that the Ministry of Defense could ask General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) to provide the vehicle design for a new generation of armored vehicles for the army. It is unclear whether General Dynamics, in competition with Nexter and Artec, will be awarded the contract or will be named the preferred bidder.
Following the collapse in March of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc (NYSE: BSC), the Financial Times also reported that the SEC will soon require Wall Street banks to publicly disclose more details about liquidity and capital positions. Cox also urged lawmakers to pass legislation that would allow the SEC, or another regulator, the "explicit mandate to supervise" investment banks.
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According to the New York Times, Citigroup Incorporated (NYSE: C) will move senior investment banker Alberto Verme to Dubai by the end of the month in the hopes of establishing a stronger foothold in the region, a crucial area for global banks.
The New York Times also reported that several large oil companies, including BP Plc (NYSE: BP), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) and Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX), agreed to pay nearly $423M in cash in order to settle a lawsuit that alleged water contamination from methyl tertiary butyl ether, a gasoline additive. Under the terms of the deal, the oil giants also agreed to pay 70% of the future cleanup costs for the next 30 years. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) and several other companies named in the suit did not agree to the deal.
Texas-based oil giant ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) proposed today a massive multi-billion pipeline to transport natural gas to the lower 48 states from Alaska.
The company stated that even if it was not able to get matching state funds that it would still be prepared to invest significant funds to make the project happen. The total estimated bill on such a pipeline ranges from $25 billion to as $42 billion.
The natural gas the proposed pipeline would be able to deliver to the lower states is definitely sizable. Last year, the US consumed 21.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and the proposed pipeline would be able to deliver upwards of 4 billion cubic feet of that demand every day.
ConocoPhillips has also stated that it hopes to get some outside ownership for the pipeline. Possible partners for the project could include ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) as well as BP Plc. (NYSE: BP).
Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last two years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer. DISCLOSURE: Mr. Fowlkes owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that include holdings in XOM.
Beyond the torment it has already caused in the Carribbean and the stress it places on those who are evacuating the Gulf Coast, hurricane Gustav will lead to higher prices at the pumps. That's because the majority of the Gulf of Mexico's oil production is shut down in anticipation of Gustav's force..gif){kind=logo}
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