This summer, there's been a flurry of new green announcements from the world's major oil firms.

Gazprom will cut output in 2009 by 13.8%, the lowest in history, due to dwindling consumer demand domestically and in the former USSR.  The company has apparently said it is considering adding a third partner to the South Stream pipeline.  Bloomberg has an interview with the CEO of Statoil Hydro regarding hopes to join the Yamal project in northern Siberia.  Naftogaz Ukrainy apparently expects to see a recovery this year for the losses of 2008, maintaining that profit-making was prevented by currency exchange rates.  Vladimir Putin has said that although ultimately Russia plans to liberalize the gas market, a cautious approach is favorable.  According to Reuters, Russia will maintain Gazprom's export monopoly in the medium term.  A project to transport Russian gas from North Korea to South Korea has been halted due to inter-Korean tensions.  ...

* Nike (NYSE:NKE) reported a worse-than-expected decline in new orders, down 12% through November from a year ago, or 5% excluding currency adjustments. Fourth quarter earnings, however, beat expectations at 99 cents ex-items, three cents ahead of projections, as revenues fell 7% to $4.7 billion

* Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) reported better-than-expected earnings and revenues with first quarter guidance beating estimates.  The company reported fourth-quarter earnings of 46 cents ex-items, two cents ahead of estimates, as revenues fell 5.2% to $6.86 billion versus estimates of $6.47 billion. First quarter earnings estimates of 31 cents to 33 cents a share beat estimates of 30 cents

* Toyota's (NYSE:TM) new President said the firm is expected to face "two more difficult years"

* Lennar (NYSE:LEN) reported a loss of 76 cents versus a 76 cent loss a year ago, worse than estimates of a 64 cents loss as write downs increased. Revenues fell 20.9% to $892 million

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Is Oil Ready to Skyrocket?

by Jason Simpkins Associate Editor, Money Morning

Editor’s Note: Oil has been in the news a lot recently, from its roller-coaster movements, to the international issues. Russia and Israel are both helping OPEC bring prices back up. And if 2008 is any indication, oil might be ready for another climb. Our colleagues over at Money Morning think that might only be the tip of the iceberg.

Oil Prices Could be Ready to Rally if History is Any Indication

Last year’s 54% drop in oil prices may have set the table for a rally similar to the one experienced in 1999, when prices doubled after a similar decline.

The so-called “forward curve of futures contracts” traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange suggests prices will rise 28% this year, according to Bloomberg News.

The current curve looks almost the same as it did 10 years ago, when Russia’s

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Last year’s 54% drop in oil prices may have set the table for a rally similar to the one experienced in 1999, when prices doubled after a similar decline. The so-called “forward curve of futures contracts” traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange suggests prices will rise 28% this year, according to Bloomberg News.

The current curve looks almost the same as it did 10 years ago, when Russia’s default drove oil prices to drop as low as $10.82 a barrel in late December 1998 - a decline of nearly 40% from where they began that year.

At that time, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) responded by cutting output by 1.71 million barrels per day (bpd), an amount equal to 7% of the group’s total supply, setting the stage for a 1999 rally in which prices more than doubled.

Fast forward to the present.

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Government mulls mortgage price-control plan… who needs the free market anyway? Dan Denning on the true meaning behind the recent bull market in bonds. Stocks rally on Beige Book release… did the Fed send us the wrong copy? Bill Gross on stock evaluation for the Brave New World of tomorrow. Byron King with anecdotal evidence that oil is well oversold.

The vomit approach continues at the Treasury. This time their throwing up historically low mortgages on the wall… just to see if they stick. The U.S. Treasury is considering a proposal to offer new mortgages at 4.5% through Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE). That’s a point and a half lower than the silly “free market” says it should be.

Should this mortgage plan come

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Bald Eagle Energy (BEEI) is an exploration stage mining company focused on the acquisition and exploration of mineral resource properties in Canada. The company primarily acquires and explores copper, gold and silver properties. Bald Eagle Energy is also, and possibly more noteworthy to potential investors, engaged in oil exploration. The company is set to develop six new leases on Alaska’s oil-rich North Slope. Bald Eagle’s lease area on the North Slope is estimated to contain about 90 million barrels of crude oil and is one of the North Slope’s least explored areas. Bald Eagle’s leases occupy about 18,000 acres on the North Slope.

What could work in Bald Eagle’s favor is that its area of exploration on the North Slope is relatively small compared to what major oil firms such as ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell typically look for. Bald Eagle isn’t fighting for leases with these far larger

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