Natural Resources Deputy Minister Sergei Donskoi has said that Russia would welcome foreign companies looking to explore the country's oil and gas reserves as domestic firms lack the 'strength and money' to carry out these operations themselves.  State-run electricity companies will invest $19.5 billion next year, or 13.5% less than planned after the government approved their 2010 budget, according to the Moscow Times.  EDF may take a 10% stake in Gazprom's South Stream pipeline.  Bulgaria's Economy and Energy Minister Traicho Traikov has said Sofia will demand economic incentives from Moscow to guarantee its commitment to its major Russian-backed energy projects.  ARMZ Uranium Holding is reportedly negotiating with Areva to jointly develop deposits in Namibia and other African countries, where one-fifth of the world's uranium is to be found.  The UK is currently on a non-Russian energy push with ...

At yesterday's meeting between Dmitry Medvedev and Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's PdVSA state oil firm and a consortium of major Russian producers signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in Orinoco and on joint development of the Junin-6 field.  PdVSA also made a deal with Transneft to build infrastructure in the Orinoco belt and another deal with Rosneft.  OPEC is apparently 'not encouraged' by Russia's lack of output cuts.  'We never had any obligations (to OPEC). When we were communicating, we never promised anything', an unfussed Sergei Shmatko has responded.  Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko is hoping to hold the government to $770 million of loans in 2010 to improve coal mines, as an alternative energy source to natural gas.  If Norway's labor majority coalition lose next week's elections, it could be good news for oil majors as the ...

by Manuel Alvarez-Rivera, Puerto Ricobr /br /An election is currently taking place in the 27 member countries of the European Union, to choose 736 members of the European Parliament for a term of five years. Some countries went to the polls on June 4, 5 and 6, but most are holding the election on Sunday, June 7. In addition, one of the smallest members of the EU, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, will hold a parliamentary election simultaneously with the EP poll.br /br /The European Parliament a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/elections2009/default.htm"2009 elections website/a bills the event as "27 countries, one election," but it would be more appropriate to speak about 27 separate elections that happen to be held simultaneously across a four-day period. Even though all EU countries use proportional representation to allocate EP seats since 1999 (when Great Britain proper switched from first-past-the-post to PR), the rules vary from country to country, ...

Petrobras (PBR) is now the target of a Congressional commission in Brazil (CPI) in order to investigate supposed mismanagement. The main allegations are that (i) there were above normal expenses in the refinery project in the State of Pernambuco, North East Brazil, and (ii) some questionable accounting practices adopted by Petrobras during 2008 made it possible for the company to save around BRL4 billion (US$1.95 billion) in taxes.As we have been saying for quite some time, as a state owned company, Petrobras is always a target for a political fight and short-term electoral interests that have nothing to do with corporate matters. In the particular case of this Congressional commission, what is really under discussion are the 2010 presidential elections.It seems that next year's elections will be a bitter fight between the Labor Party (PT), the party of President Lula, and the Social Democrats ...

With the prospect of 30 million pounds of uranium evaporating from the supply lines four years hence, Blackmont Capital research analyst George Topping sees sovereign stockpiling already beginning to make itself felt on the demand side of the equation. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, George says he sees the price nudging up to $65 by the end of this year, then to $70 in 2010, $80 in 2011 and $100 within five years.

The Energy Report: Let’s begin with some of your thoughts about uranium. Almost two years ago, spot prices hit a record $137 per pound. A year ago—well before the bottom fell out of virtually all the markets—the spot price dropped by nearly half, to the neighborhood of $70. You focus a lot of your attention on uranium. How do you see its future shaping up?

George Topping: The situation right now is you’ve got the spot …

George Topping, a research analyst specializing in the mining sector at Blackmont Capital, pays closer attention to uranium and copper than he does gold and silver, but in this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, he shares what he foresees: gold flat at $950 per ounce (in real terms) through 2011, copper at $1.80 per pound in two years, and uranium nudging up $100 per pound within five years.

The Gold Report: Let’s begin with some of your thoughts about uranium. Almost two years ago, spot prices hit a record $137 per pound. A year ago—well before the bottom fell out of virtually all the markets—the spot price dropped by nearly half, to the neighborhood of $70. You focus a lot of your attention on uranium. How do you see its future shaping up?

George Topping: The situation right now is you’ve got the spot price down at about $43 a pound …

Highlighted is Gafisa SA (GFA).Yesterday, the Brazilian government announced new tax reliefs for the construction sector. For the next 3 months, 30 items -- cement, electric devices, etc. -- will have a value added tax relief that can be renewed at the end of the 3-month period, depending on the economic situation.With the new tax relief, it is expected that retail prices of construction materials could be reduced by as much as 8%. It seems that the Brazilian government is trying as hard as possible to stimulate the construction sector. This is quite understandable. With increasing unemployment in the low income classes, the construction sector, if revived, can absorb easily huge amounts of unemployed workers.Additionally, the construction of a considerable number of new homes for low-income families could support government approval during difficult times in the following months. In 2010, there will ...

The incoming Obama administration is expected to launch a stimulus package that could reach up to $1 trillion. Martin Hutchinson says this is a popular - yet high-risk - strategy. In so far as the plan increases the budget deficit and national debt, while crowding out private-sector investment, the long-term damage to the economy could outweigh the stimulus benefits.

This from Money Morning:

The British government this week unveiled a stimulus plan that will boost that country’s budget deficit to $181 billion (118 billion pounds), the equivalent of 8.0% of gross domestic product (GDP). U.S. President-elect Barack Obama’s stimulus plan, when combined with the recession, may raise the U.S. federal deficit to $1.2 trillion, or 8.0% of U.S. GDP.

This raises the question: If it’s so easy to stimulate an economy, why don’t we do it all the time? Don’t such large deficits cause problems?

The 4-1-1 on Stimulus Packages

There

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by Manuel Alvarez-Rivera, Puerto RicoVoters in Lithuania, the largest and southernmost of the three Baltic republics, go to the polls on Sunday, October 12, 2008 to choose members of the country's 141-seat unicameral legislature, the Seimas. The election will be Lithuania's fifth parliamentary vote since 1991, when the country - which unilaterally declared itself independent in 1990, after five decades of annexation by the Soviet Union - was internationally recognized as a sovereign nation, along with neighboring Latvia and Estonia, which also regained their independence from the U.S.S.R.Members of the Seimas are elected every four years under a mixed electoral system, in which 70 parliamentary mandates are distributed on a nationwide basis by the largest remainder method of proportional representation (PR), among party lists polling at least five percent of the vote and coalitions that secure at least seven percent; voters may indicate a preference for ...

Bermuda Hedge FundsBermuda Hedge Fund Guide

Here is a short collection of articles on the hedge fund industry in Bermuda. I am always looking for more valuable online tools and resources to add to these geographical hedge fund guides to the hedge fund industry. If you have a white paper or PowerPoint that I can include here please send me an email and I will post it for everyone's benefit.Hedgeweek Special Report on Bermuda Hedge Funds Services 2008. This report features several articles touched on various aspects of Bermuda’s Hedge Fund industry. It also analyzes the trends of globalization and institutionalization of the hedge fund industry. Regulations regarding funds’ performance, such as the level of manager access and transparency and investor protection are emphasized.Island

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