Highlighted stocks include: Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (...

Danfonds noted last month that rising equity indexes in Iraq, amidst improving security, were in stark contrast to other stock markets around the world ravaged by the credit crunch. That said, the glass is not necessarily half full. The Economist’s Iraq briefing this week suggests that whatever ‘good news’ that may be coming from the country must be tempered by the realization that, as recently departed American General David Petraeus has repeatedly said, the gains remain “fragile and reversible”. 20,000 out of Iraq’s 34,000 doctors have left (after 2,000 were murdered) and few of the 2m-plus Iraqis now living abroad (many of them middle-class professionals) are yet willing to return. In the past few weeks, suicide-bombers have killed people at the checkpoints into Baghdad’s international zone, on the road to the airport, by one of the main bridges and outside the ...

Russia’s oil majors are putting pressure on the case for tax cuts in the oil sector, warning of a possible drop in output next year. Sibir Energy’s London High Court ownership dispute with Roman Abramovich has come out in the billionaire’s favor. Peter Mandelson has called to attention the ‘ultimate perversity’ of wasting energy in Russia, and suggested that the country could cut consumption by 45%. ONGC's bid to buy Imperial Energy is still under review by the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service, who believe it may limit competition. The vice president of Lukoil says that Russia should join OPEC. TNK-BP’s Robert Dudley says that Russia’s oil production has reached its peak.

OPEC has received international criticism for cutting output in an attempt to prevent the oil price from crashing. Meanwhile the possibility of a ‘Gopec’ consisting of Russia, Iran and Qatar, has some observers worried. Russia and China are planning to sign a memorandum of cooperation in the oil sector, which includes a plan to direct part of the ESPO pipeline to China, and Rosneft and CNPC are preparing to sign a long-term supply deal. Gazprom says it will not need any loans to finance its investments this year. ‘We are not worried about our financial position.’

viastockadvisors

We sense a turn for the better coming in the oil sector,” says Peter Way who tracks ‘big money’ investors for his Block Trader Oil & Gas Report. Here’s his look at the “big block” traders.

Track his picks at:

http://trackthepros.com/stocks/category/1859

“When we use the hedging analysis employed in our stock price forecasts, there are significant differences between some adjacent futures expirations. Here’s the current picture:

“Front month (November) hedging suggests likely near-term higher prices. But the December contracts are likely to continue the past 3-month price decline – briefly.

“After that we could see crude rise over a few months into the $115-125 area or even higher, providing a bullish backdrop for most energy stocks. We sense a turn for the better coming in this sector.

“Several issues are selling at attractive prices now. Among major integrated producers, the standout prospect among the big oils is

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by Edward Hugh: Barcelona"The Kazakh government is ready to step in,'' Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Karim Masimov said this morning in a telephone interview with Bloomberg "The Kazakh banking system with the support of the government and central bank will fulfill all obligations to international investors.....We have our own specific plan to survive without any external support....I don't think we need support from the International Monetary Fund or overseas.'' Well that is good news, so at least we know that one of the CIS and CEE economies won't be looking to the IMF for bail-out support in this crisis which is presently growing by the day. So Kazakstan, that country which is reputedly host to reserves of approximately 95% of the elements in the periodic table, with a population of around 15 million housed on a surface area greater than the whole of Western Europe, is going to be able to look after itself. But hang on a minute, just where is Kazakhstan, and just what have they been getting up to over there, and why the hell should I take Karim Masimov's word for it, when just about all the other Iceland Look-alike show contestants seem to be saying the same? After all, didn't those extermely bright and able young people over at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto say in a report only last week that, along with Latvia, the country's $100 billion oil-led economy is among the most vulnerable to the present global credit crisis and the skid-row economic trajectories that go with it simply because of its excessive reliance on short-term foreign borrowing. And isn't it the case that the cost of protecting Kazakhstan government debt against default has more than doubled this month - to over 1,000 basis points (or 10%), the level for borrowers that investors term ``distressed,'' according to CMA Datavision credit-default swap prices. Only Ukraine, which as we know is already seeking IMF support, is classified as being a bigger risk among European emerging-market governments. Surely all those highly dedicated, bright, and extremely able young people who are doing all that trading know what they are about, don't they?

During the years 2000-2007 the Kazakhstan economy enjoyed an extended period of very rapid growth, with real GDP growth averaging 10 percent annually. The expansion was underpinned by the development of the oil sector, prudent macroeconomic policies, structural reforms, and increased access to global financial markets. As a result, real per capita incomes have doubled since 2000 and social indicators have generally improved. • The global financial turmoil that began last summer had a significant impact on the Kazakhstan economy. Market perceptions of risk on Kazakhstan's assets rose sharply last September and remain relatively elevated. • Economic growth is expected to drop back significantly in the wake of the financial shock, but is still likely to sustain significant growth. The IMF are forecasting GDP growth of 5 percent in 2008 and a modest recovery to 6.25 percent in 2009. • Consumer ...

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way"TolstoyPresident Dmitry Medvedev’s recent decision to inject $20 billion into Russia’s flagging stock markets – which were down nearly 50% from last May at the time - together with the $60 billion odd dollars of support injected into its groggy banking system served to draw attention to the fact that it wasn't only “over there” on the other side of the Atlantic that the financial turmoil was busy raging. This simple point was further emphasised, if need there was for it, by the fact that both the Russian bourses – the MICEX and the ruble denominated RTS - were only working on a “now you see me now you don't basis” for the best part of a week in mid September. Stealing an idea from Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, every financial boom is (boringly) the same, but every financial crisis is different in its own special (and intriguing) way. What just happened in Russia merely serves to prove Tolstoy’s point.

What is the future looking like for the Nabucco gas pipeline, designed to bypass Russia? The head of Transneft says that Russia’s new $14 billion oil pipeline to China secures Moscow’s exports against potential EU hostility. German Chancellor Angela Merkel insists that her country’s gas relationship with Russia is based on mutual interests. Opec’s attempt to boost oil prices by cutting back supplies has failed. Its secretary general will travel to Moscow next month to foster the organization’s cooperation with Russia. Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin is considering further tax cuts for the oil sector. Chevron has extended an agreement that allows it to drill for oil and natural gas in the Neutral Zone shared by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

A major pullback in European markets recently has contributed to many investors growing concerned about a global economic slowdown. But have European stocks pulled back too far? We met with Zacks senior European markets analyst Santiago Burgaleta, CFA recently to get his outlook.

Were there any major earnings surprises in the just-reported quarter among companies in your coverage?

In the oil sector and among commodities-based stocks, there is one. Total S.A. (TOT) reported net income of 4.73 billion euros ($7.36 billion) versus 3.41 billion euros a year earlier. Adjusted profit was 3.7 billion euros, higher than the 3.1 billion-euro estimate we had.

Total's earnings come after European competitors Shell (RDS.A) and BP Plc (BP) reported earlier this week jumps in dollar-denominated profit of 33 percent and 28 percent respectively but exploration and production [E&P] beat expectations on the back of stronger-than-forecast volume growth, which is

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