No stop for oil

[andré_noire]

Published October 15, 2004

US Closing Report
US stocks fall on GM earnings, higher oil


NEW YORK - Investors sent stocks falling sharply for a second straight day on Thursday as crude oil prices surged near US$55 per barrel and General Motors Corp's earnings disappointed the market. The Dow Jones industrial average, having fallen 153 points over two days, dropped back below 10,000.


Crude oil futures continued a record-setting trend, with prices reaching US$54.90 (S$92.56) per barrel in intraday trading. While crude inventories rose more than expected, according to a government report, reserves of distillates such as heating oil dropped substantially. A barrel of light crude for November delivery closed at a record US$54.76, up US$1.12, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

'The biggest thing that would help the markets right now would be a sustained drop in crude oil, but I'm not holding my breath for that,' said Lincoln Anderson, chief investment officer for LPL Financial Services in Boston. 'It's drawing attention away from third-quarter numbers that, despite GM, are really pretty good.'

With GM missing its earnings forecasts by a wide margin and lowering its full-year outlook, Wall Street feared that the slower economy and soaring energy prices could lead other major companies into similar problems.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 107.88 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 9,894.45, its lowest close since Aug 13, after falling 74.85 points in the previous session. The Dow closed below 10,000 for the first time since Sept 27.

Broader stock indicators were substantially lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 10.36 points, or 0.9 per cent, at 1,103.29, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 17.51 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 1,903.02.

GM's earnings weighed heavily on automakers and auto parts manufacturer stocks, while an investigation by New York's attorney general into improprieties in a number of insurance companies pressured the financial sector. Only the energy sector managed any meaningful gains, thanks to the continued rise in oil prices.

A raft of disappointing economic figures also weighed on the market. According to the Commerce Department, the nation's trade deficit climbed to US$54 billion in August, the second-highest level in history and 6.9 per cent higher than July. Furthermore, a weak dollar overseas contributed to a 2.9 per cent increase in the price of imported goods in September.

The Labour Department reported a larger-than-expected increase in first-time jobless claims last week, with claims rising 15,000 to 352,000. The four-week moving average of claims, seen as a more reliable indicator of unemployment, rose by 4,000 to a seven-month high of 352,000.

With the soft economy and rising oil prices, GM's results were particularly worrisome for investors. The automaker reported earnings of 78 US cents per share, far less than the 96 US cents per share Wall Street expected, and lowered its full-year outlook by nearly US$1 per share. GM, a Dow component, slid US$2.46 to US$38.84.

'Most investors have realised for a while that the US auto industry has been losing market share to the Japanese,' said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at Spencer Clarke LLC. 'But the scope of GM's earning miss today, and that they're lowering guidance for the fourth quarter and the year, calls into question just how weak earnings may be over the next several quarters for the auto industry.'

Financial stocks fared much better, with Dow stock Citigroup surpassing Wall Street estimates by three US cents per share and Bank of America Corp beating forecasts by a penny per share. Nonetheless, Citigroup fell 41 US cents to US$43.70, while Bank of America fell 80 US cents to US$44.20.

A mix of news from technology companies pressured tech shares. Apple Computer Inc surged US$5.23, or 13.2 per cent, to US$44.98 after it doubled its profits from a year ago due to strong sales of its iPod music players, beating Wall Street forecasts by eight US cents per share after one-time charges.

However, computer memory producer SanDisk Corp missed analysts' estimates by five US cents per share despite strong sales. SanDisk plummeted US$7.68, or 27.2 per cent, to US$20.52.

Morgan Stanley cut its rating on Hewlett-Packard Co to 'equal weight' from 'overweight', citing the Dow component's loss of market share and increased competition. HP was down 52 US cents at US$18.38.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by more than four to three on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.49 billion shares, compared with 1.55 billion on Wednesday.


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[ardimentoso]

un presunto francese che posta in inglese su un forum italiano....

...stiamo diventando internazionali.......

p.s.: che sia l'avatar di Raffaella??

[Raffaella (POL)]

In origine postato da ardimentoso
un presunto francese che posta in inglese su un forum italiano....

...stiamo diventando internazionali.......

p.s.: che sia l'avatar di Raffaella??

...solo se il nick fosse in ideogrammi cinesi
Ma parlando sul serio, speculando sul prezzo del petrolio, il nostro beneamato governo intascherà, da qui a fine anno, circa 1 miliardo euro in più come accise
..a proposito di riduzione delle tasse

[Decima Regio]

In origine postato da Raffaella

Ma parlando sul serio, speculando sul prezzo del petrolio, il nostro beneamato governo intascherà, da qui a fine anno, circa 1 miliardo euro in più come accise
..a proposito di riduzione delle tasse

Vero, e dovremmo imparare a diffidare anche delle proposte apparentemente innocenti.

Ad esempio, il DL 121/2002 che ha imposto di viaggaiare anche di giorno con i fari auto accesi : "serve ad evitare incidenti e risparmiare vite", stando a quanto raccontatoci.

Vite non so, ma €uri certamente no. La fanaleria di un'autovettura media ha una potena di circa 120 W ; il rendimento energetico elettrico del circuito motore a
combustione-alternatore è circa il 12 %, per cui per generare la corrente necessaria a tenere i fari accesi per un'ora occorre circa un Kwh. Un litro di benzina ha un potenziale energetico di 8,7 Kwh, per cui ogni noce ore di accensione dei fari si consuma un litro di carburante in più.

Cosa che ad ognuno di noi è sembrata irrilevante. Però il parco circolante in Italia è di circa 37.000.000 di vetture ; la percorrenza media è attorno ai 20.000 Km/anno. Ipotizzando che circolino per un terzo in ore di luce e per due terzi in ore di buio (in cui la fanaleria sarebbe accesa anche a prescindere dal famigerato DL), e che tutti rispettino diligentemente l'obbligo di fari accesi, avremmo "accensioni extra" per 7.000 km : ad una velocità media di 50 kmh, 140 h di fari accesi "aggratis". 140 / 8,7 = 16,1 litri di carburante sprecati all'anno : 16.1 x 37.000.000 = 595.700 tonnellate di benzina o gasolio.

Sotto il profilo ambientale, viene un po' più di un milione di tonnellate di gas serra extra emessi. Con un caro saluto ai protocolli di Kyoto.

Dal punto di vista economico, per i cittadini è un slasso impercettibile : poche decine di € a famiglia , quasi un miliardo di € complessivi. Ma per il governo, considerato che circa il 70 % del prezzo del carburante ritorna al fisco per tasse varie, è una "manovrina invisibile" che aumenta le entrate di oltre mezzo miliardo (in vecchie lire, mille miliardi) all'anno.