Loren C. Steffy's Blog, page 70

Mad Dog and Englishmen

BP has doubled the estimated reserves for its Mad Dog field in the Gulf of Mexico, after an appraisal well in an untested part of the field revealed even more oil than the British oil giant previously estimated.  BP now estimates Mad Dog may hold as much as 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent. That, [...]

A tale of two oils

In my column last week about the Keystone XL Pipeline, I discussed how the price spread between West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude indicated the need for more pipeline capacity between the Midwest and the Gulf Coast. At the moment, Brent — which is basically the global price for oil — is about $113 a [...]

Job growth stagnates in August amid debt ceiling debacle

U.S. employment stagnated last month in what economists are calling an "unexpected" move. Unemployment remained at 9.1 percent and payrolls were unchanged, which as Bloomberg News points out, was the weakest results in almost a year. U.S. stocks are poised to extend yesterday's declines on new fears that the economy is weakening. Really, none of [...]

Lights out for `green jobs' generator

Solyndra, a California manufacturer of solar panels that received more than a half billion in federal stimulus funds, has said it will fire its more than 1,000 workers and file for bankruptcy. So much for the green jobs and prosperity that President Obama and company officials promised in this lovefest from last year:

Keystone XL pipeline: `national interest' vs. climate

Environmentalists have cast approval of the Keystone XL pipeline as "the most important environmental decision President Obama will make before the election." It's also the most important energy policy decision he will make. With State Department approval of the pipeline likely, the final decision will fall squarely on the president. In another of the flood [...]

Consumers spend and the market goes wild

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged more than 1.5 percent this morning, rising 171.49 to 11,456 after reports that consumers spent more than economists predicted. Consumer spending for July rose 0.8 percent, the most in five months, according to a report today by the Commerce Department. Investors seem to be taking it as a sign [...]

Texas cotton fields become patches of pain

In Sunday's column, I discussed the effects the drought is having on cotton farmers in the Lubbock area. I spent part of last week in the area interviewing farmers and others who are affected by the economic impact of the drought.

Poll: Imminent recovery or double-dip recession?

Today's gross domestic product data indicates the recovery is sputtering. At the same time, three members of the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee have suggested there are signs of economic growth, and today's speech by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke indicates he, too, believes that while the economy will grow more slowly than originally forecast, the [...]

Bernanke: no new plan

(Updates stock activity, adds oil prices and GDP numbers.) U.S. stocks rose in midday trading, paring earlier losses after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke articulated no new plan for reviving the struggling U.S. economy. That's not a big surprise. Most investors expected that signs the economy is growing slowly would prevent the Fed from adopting [...]

No matter what Bernanke says, investors aren't going to like it

The Silence of the Beard? (Getty Images) U.S. stock futures are falling this morning in anticipation of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech later today from the central bank's annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Investors have already braced themselves for the fact that The Beard is unlikely to offer much indication of additional stimulus [...]