Marathon Oil Corporation’s (MRO) third-quarter 2009 results came in better-than-expected, helped by the contribution from increased oil and natural gas production. Earnings per share, excluding mark-to-market and divestment losses, came in at 61 cents, above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 56 cents. However, as has been the case with the other oil majors that have already reported -- Exxon (XOM), ConocoPhillips (COP) and Chevron (CVX) -- earnings and revenue comparisons with the year-earlier period were quite ugly, severely hampered by lower realized commodity prices and weak refining margins. Marathon’s adjusted earnings per share plunged 77.9%, while sales declined 37.9% to $14.5 billion. Lower Prices More Than Offset Increased Upstream Volumes Income from the upstream segment totaled $491 million during the quarter, down 43.5% from the year-ago level. The company reported production (available for sale) of 393,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day (BOE/d), ...

Reading the obituaries is such a delight. First, it is a relief when you find your name not mentioned. Then, it is a joy when you find those that are. Not that we wish to see any man’s name on the roll of the dead; still, the final audits are always the most revealing. Here on the back page, we admire honest scalawags…and learn from them. Thus was our attention drawn to Mr. Omar Bongo’s exit from the mortal stage on June 8th.

Popular government has two major parts. One part is fraud. The other is larceny. As to the first, it is like a professional wrestling match – full of lurid threats, spilled beer, sacred cows, gaudy uniforms and self-delusions; the fans feel their private parts shrink when their man loses. If he wins, they feel they are winners too. But it is the other part, the more rational part

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With oil finally trading back above the $50-a-barrel level, it’s time to recognize that crude prices are probably not going to remain low for very long, and may end up fluctuating in the $50-$80 range - regardless of what happens to the prices of other commodities. After all, the economies in both China and India are apparently continuing to grow at a fairly rapid pace, and those countries’ demand for transportation and other forms of energy are thus likely to keep pace. For some minerals, the period of high prices from 2005 to 2008 has produced a surplus. But no such effect has been seen in the oil market, as large new discoveries are hard to find. If we’ve learned anything in the last few years, it’s that political risk is very important in oil investments. It’s not just a question of outright ...

China, India and Brazil are emerging markets investment priorities for private equity firms now poised to capitalize on lower valuations, according to a survey conducted by the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA) and Coller Capital.

“Emerging market private equity funds may benefit from very ripe conditions going forward: asset valuations are finally becoming more reasonable, and there is also a strong appetite for private equity capital because companies have fewer financing options,” said Sarah Alexander, president of EMPEA.

Half of LPs surveyed already in emerging markets will commit additional funds to their investments—and, possibly, others—over the next 24 months.  But certain emerging markets were not dubbed as hot as others; Russia, Central and Eastern Europe and Africa are believed to have an increase in risk recently, the study noted.

That said, Emerging Capital Partners just paid $47.7 million for a minority stake in African insurance group, La Nouvelle Societe Interafricaine

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Bald Eagle Energy, Inc., (BEEI.OB), a growing oil and gas exploration company, credits its success to a tightly knit group of seasoned business and industry veterans, all of which are focused on efficiency. The company builds shareholder value with a business model that stresses reduced capital expenditures, which includes taking care to hire the best rather than the many.

Heading the company’s minimized management team are two internationally known business professionals:

• Andrew S. Harper, CEO, has an extensive petroleum geology background, with nearly 30 years of international oil and gas exploration and development experience, including 21 years with industry giant ARCO.

He came to Bald Eagle Energy from China based MI Energy Corporation, where he was President of the International Division and Chief Geologist. During his tenure, production increased from 400 to 13,000 barrels of oil per day.

Before that he was a well

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The Republic of Gabon delayed the interest payment on its 2017 Eurobondby for one week. The action follows a dispute with CECF Transgabonais. Gabon has a history of late debt service payments. br /br /The dispute is over a contract which CECF Transgabona had to manage the national rail system, but was withdrawn five years ago.

a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vp8WdjtxYc0/STzR2ExVhzI/AAAAAAAAAO4/yNGCOz7Iobs/s1600-h/attijariwafa.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 130px; height: 87px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vp8WdjtxYc0/STzR2ExVhzI/AAAAAAAAAO4/yNGCOz7Iobs/s400/attijariwafa.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277323590295193394" //abr /Morocco's Attijariwafa Bank has just bought Credit Agricole's African branches. The transaction includes assets in Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, Senegal and a consideration of 250 million euros.br /br /In turn, Credit Agricole is purchasing 24 percent of Credit du Maroc, held by Wafa Assurance (the insurance branch of Attijariwafa Bank) for 144 million euros.