Bloomberg reports that oil has been trading around $66 a barrel, as spare capacity has staved off fears of supply disruption due to political disputes between Iran and the US.  Apparently German firm RWE has not renounced its plans to participate in the building of the Belene nuclear power plant in Bulgaria.  If Belene announces a tender, Russia will attempt to purchase a stake in the plant, which is being built by a Russian company, says Ria-Novosti.  Prime Minster Putin has ordered First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov to draw up a plan for the government, for businesses and for government agencies to introduce cutting edge energy-saving technologies.  Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller has reportedly said that countries that are not as of yet involved in the South Stream project, such as Turkey and Romania, are starting to ...

Two interesting pieces of news coincide today from the sordid world of Russian energy politics.  First, permissions to build the 403-meter "Gazscraper" tower in St. Petersburg were muscled through local government by Valentina Matvienko over the protests of preservationists, while hours later news came down that Italian firms Eni and Enel had finalized the sale of $1.6 billion worth of former Yukos assets back to Gazprom, which it had originally acquired in a controversial rigged auction. Back when the auctions of Yukos assets were taking place (which was illegal in the first place under Russian bankruptcy law, which calls for non-core assets to be sold first), it was alleged that the ...

RFE/RL examines the viability of Hugo Chavez' gas OPEC idea - which, it suggests, will face obstacles in the form of pipeline infrastructure and the manifold differences between the oil and gas markets.  According to Bloomberg, the Oil Minister for Saudi Arabia says that oil prices will be influenced by economic growth rather than the volumes stockpiled.  Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin says Russia 'will bear' the criticism from OPEC regarding its implied lack of support.  Russia has made its first foray back into Iraq in six years: Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko has reportedly reached agreements on the building of two gas pipelines and on Russian involvement in the Yusifiyah and Dibis thermal power plants.  Gazprom's second quarter profits have fallen 45% with the drop in crude prices, as the price of Urals fell 50% to $58.41 a barrel.  ...

[Again, my apologies for the late posting of this news blast, as I'm covering all the bases on my own today... - Best, James]TODAY:  The United States sells even more arms during a recession, Gorbachev's towering ego, more gas spats between the Kremlin and Kiev, Khodorkovsky talks about jail for life, the Pikalyovo virus spreads, Deripaska doesn't want Opel, and a EU human rights commissioner gets the state-approved tour of Chechnya.Russia and Ukraine are at each other's throats again over natural gas, with the Kremlin accusing Kiev of attempting to alter the contracts.  In a televised meeting with Gazprom's Alexei Millar, President Dmitry Medvedev said "As far as an idea of an advance payment for tariffs, then ...

Gazprom chief Alexei Miller has argued that the increase on gas extraction tax proposed by Vladimir Putin is unwarranted at the moment, and has suggested that an import duty for natural gas could instead raise funds.  Gazprom Neft claims to have repaid a $375 million loan to VEB ahead of time.   Ukraine is apparently on the verge of coming to an agreement on the gas sector, required by international lenders to guarantee loans.  The chief of Polish gas monopoly PGNiG has supported extending a gas supply deal with Russia until 2035.  Turkmenistan will reportedly sue Azerbaijan over the ownership of sub sea energy resources.  Russia may be about to sign a deal with Thailand, its first energy project agreement with a Southeast Asian country.  Nuclear energy could be a source of mutual interest for ...

Gazprom head Alexei Miller has said that situation in Ukraine must be dealt with through 'systemic efforts and policies'.  He has also asserted that January's gas cut-off was an 'anomaly' and a situation to be avoided.  The CEO added that Europe's plans to diversify energy supplies away from Russia will not necessarily ensure greater energy security.  Gazprom has said it plans to use the South Stream pipeline to transport 35% of its gas exports to Europe by 2015, threatening the role of Ukraine, who now handles most gas transit.  Despite Sakhalin-2 holding bad memories for Shell, the company has welcomed Vladimir Putin's hopes for its participation in the Sakhalin-3 and Sakhalin-4 projects. Russia's precarious financial situation is seen by the Telegraph as the motivation for the surprise invitation.  Putin has pledged to maintain Belarus' ...

Last year global oil reserves fell for the first time since 1998, led by declines in Russia, Norway and China.  Russia apparently has no plans to reduce oil production or oil exports in the next three years.  The New York Times reports that the Russian company building the Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran is unsure about when it will open.  Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller has said that the South Stream pipeline should be operational by the end of 2015 and will face no funding difficulties.  Germany's Defense Ministry apparently objects to the Nord Stream pipeline route because it runs through military training areas.  Russia has agreed to take three metric tons of spent fuel from a defunct Serbian nuclear plant to prevent terrorists acquiring it.  Last year Turkmenistan's proved reserves of natural gas tripled.  ...

On June 10, 2008, Alexei Miller, CEO of Russia’s Gazprom, told a French audience that crude oil prices would reach $250 a barrel in 2009. His former Gazprom cohort and then freshly minted Russian prime minister Medvedev did him one better… pegging crude oil prices at $500. Was it wishful thinking? Did the gentlemen overdose on “hard-money” investment newsletters and Peak Oil Theory? We may never know.

After dropping from $147 last July close to $30 this past winter, crude oil is now trading within a reasonably tight track around $40 and $57.

Now it’s on the move again, breaking through $60 right at the beginning of the summer driving and hurricane seasons.

But oil companies’ proud profit margins of yesteryear have disappeared… along with the easy credit that allowed investment banks and hedge funds leverage crude prices to record highs.

Suddenly, not even the most pink politician is talking punitive taxation against

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With stores tripping over themselves to offer steep holiday season discounts, their efforts were largely in vain, as many consumers simply weren’t financially able to take full advantage. Even the beast that is Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) struggled to make much headway. As we reported yesterday, Thomson-Reuters projected a 2.8% same-store sales rise for the firm in December. But the actual results proved otherwise.

Considered to be a beneficiary of the tightened household budgets, the company reported a paltry 1.7% increase in same-store sales. As a result, it cut its earnings outlook.

Thomson-Reuters was right about one thing, though: Higher-end retailers got spanked - some of them quite dramatically. For example, Saks (NYSE: SKS) posted a 20% decline in same-store sales, while Gap (NYSE: GPS) sales sank by 14%.

So how can investors play this? If you’re like me, when bad news hits, you look to snap up

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Derek Brower, an energy journalist and former contributor to this blog, has a piece in the new edition of Petroleum Economist providing a "report card" on the recently disappointing performance of the once unsinkable Gazprom. Excerpts below: GAZPROM has become notorious for corporate bombast, but in Deauville, France, last June, it exceeded itself with a series of statements that now look comical. The Russian gas monopoly would become the world's first trillion-dollar company by market capitalisation within the next seven to 10 years, the company's boss, Alexei Miller, told a press briefing. Oil prices would double to $250 a barrel in 2008, he added gleefully. European gas prices, which are indexed against crude prices, could rise to as high as $1,500/'000 cubic metres (cm) by the end of the year, the firm suggested. Gazprom was sitting pretty.