Royal Dutch Shell, Plc (RDS.A) does not compare favorably with its peer group in terms of upstream growth prospects, returns, and costs. The group also remains exposed to production problems, continued instability in Nigeria, and political interference in Russia.While the super majors as a group should hold up better in the current challenging macro backdrop, given their relatively diversified business structures, strong balance sheets, and attractive dividends, we see better investment ideas in this space.Our preferred plays among the super majors remain Exxon (XOM), Chevron (CVX) and ConocoPhillips (COP). As such, we maintain our Hold recommendation on Shell.Read the full analyst report on RDS.ARead the full analyst report on XOMRead the full analyst report on CVXRead the full analyst report on COP ...

Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) set a U.S. profit record today (Thursday) when it announced its third quarter profit topped $14.8 billion on record-high oil prices.

Exxon Mobil, the largest U.S. oil company, earned $14.8 billion, or $2.86 per share, a 58% increase from the $9.41 billion, or $1.70 per share it earned in the third quarter of 2007. Exxon Mobil’s record-setting profit was enough to beat analyst expectations of $2.38 a share, according FactSet Research data.

Exxon Mobil beat its own record for the largest quarterly profit for a U.S. company, which it had previously set in the second quarter of 2008 with a gain of $11.68 billion.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (ADR: RDS.A, RDS.B) also announced third quarter earnings today, beating Bloomberg’s average analyst estimates. Europe’s largest oil company saw a 22% increase in profit to $8.45 billion from $6.9 billion in the same period the

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The rules of the global oil games are changing, says Keith Fitz-Gerald. And China — not the US — is leading the way. China doesn’t worry about the political leanings or dubious human rights of its energy suppliers. It needs a steady supply of oil to fuel its economic boom…and it will do what it takes to get it.

This from Money Morning:

Iraq recently signed its first oil deal in 35 years with a foreign company.

And –- quite surprisingly to many observers -– the company wasn’t one of ours.

Not surprisingly, the US news media barely acknowledged the deal –- even though the agreement was major news throughout the rest of the world.

According to reports from Baghdad, the 22-year deal between the Iraqi government and the China National Petroleum Co. involves $55 billion, or 87% of Iraq’s current total revenue at a conservative long-term estimate

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While U.S. financial turmoil has seeped into virtually every global market, Russia has been devastated, as the country’s largest stock exchanges, the MICEX and RTS, have suffered their biggest losses since the 1998 financial crisis. However, Moscow only has itself to blame after heavy-handed economic, political, and military tactics scared away the foreign investments it didn’t oust directly. Regulators suspended trading on both the MICEX and RTS for the second day in a row yesterday (Wednesday), after the nation’s two biggest exchanges suffered their worst losses in nearly a decade. The benchmark MICEX index tumbled 10% yesterday morning, extending a three-day decline that’s eradicated 25% of its value. The index plunged 17.5% Tuesday, its worst one-day decline since 1998. The dollar-denominated RTS index was down more than 8% when trading halted yesterday, after dropping 11.5% the day prior. The RTS has ...

While U.S. financial turmoil has seeped into virtually every global market, Russia has been devastated, as the country’s largest stock exchanges, the MICEX and RTS, have suffered their biggest losses since the 1998 financial crisis. However, Moscow only has itself to blame after heavy-handed economic, political, and military tactics scared away the foreign investments it didn’t oust directly. Regulators suspended trading on both the MICEX and RTS for the second day in a row yesterday (Wednesday), after the nation’s two biggest exchanges suffered their worst losses in nearly a decade. The benchmark MICEX index tumbled 10% yesterday morning, extending a three-day decline that’s eradicated 25% of its value. The index plunged 17.5% Tuesday, its worst one-day decline since 1998. The dollar-denominated RTS index was down more than 8% when trading halted yesterday, after dropping 11.5% the day prior. The RTS has ...

Last week’s crude and gasoline inventories dropped more than expected as the effects of Hurricane Gustav resulted in some production disruptions. Gustav, which struck last month, was the fourth-most-destructive storm to hit the United States, causing $20 billion in damages. And then came Hurricane Ike. Ike made landfall in the Galveston area of the U.S. Gulf Coast on in the pre-dawn hours Saturday (the day I was penning this column) as a Category 2 storm with winds hitting 110 miles per hour.  Ike’s path toward Houston makes it the first storm to hit a major U.S. metropolitan area since Hurricane Katrina eviscerated New Orleans in 2005, Bloomberg News reported. We won’t know how much direct damage those high winds from Hurricane Ike will cause for several days at least. From the initial reports, the results appear to be devastating. But the indirect costs are ...

Stress and Investing Stockerblog.com had the pleasure of recently interviewing Ken Fisher, head of the $30 billion Fisher Asset Management, a very long time Forbes columnist, and author of the books Super Stocks, The Wall Street Waltz, 100 Minds That Made the Market, and The Only Three Questions That Count: Investing by Knowing What Others Don't. He is also coming out with a new book in the Fall, The Ten Roads to Riches: The Way the Wealthy Got There (And How You Can Too!), published by Wiley.This is the final segment of the interview. If you missed any of the earlier segments of the interview, you can check them ...

We are maintaining our Buy recommendation on the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor Transocean Inc. (RIG) shares following the company’s solid operational results in the recent quarter. The company reported strong revenue and earnings growth, driven by the acquisition of GlobalSantaFe and higher average dayrates. Revenue more than doubled, soaring to $3.1 billion, while net income topped $1 billion.

With a backlog of nearly $41 billion, the new Transocean offers an unparalleled level of earnings and cash-flow visibility. We expect the positive momentum to continue due to the favorable deepwater drilling outlook that should support demand for the company’s products. Our unchanged price target stands at $165.

The ultra-deepwater drillship, Discover Spirit, was awarded a three-year drilling operations contract worth up to $569.4 million with Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC), commencing December 2010. In March, the ultra-deepwater drillship, Nautilus, received a three-year contract extension with a subsidiary of Royal Dutch

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That's my take-away from what I've been reading around the web recently -- a real conflict of opinion. You know my opinion -- I believe we are in a long-term commodity supercycle. But let me show you the stories I've found and you can decide for yourselves.First, I mentioned a couple days ago that Pakistan – a nuclear-armed power with a strong Taliban insurgency – seems to be melting down. They’ve gone from tragedy to comedy …

Pakistan Sets Floor on Stock Prices to Stop Plunge

Pakistan set a floor for stock prices on the benchmark exchange, moving to halt a plunge that has wiped out $36.9 billion of market value since April.Securities can trade within their daily limit of 5 percent ``but not below the floor-price level'' of yesterday's close.

Yes! That’s what I’ve always wanted – a stock market that can only go up. Don’t tell Bush

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Stocks closed mixed on low volume Tuesday after fluctuating sharply on today’s news. While investors applauded an above-expectations reading on consumer confidence, oil prices that moved up on Hurricane Gustav news and the Fed’s commentary on rising inflation quelled the market’s enthusiasm.

Trading continued to be on the thin side today as usually is the case during this (unofficial) last week of the summer.

Tuesday’s Dow Jones industrials advanced 26.62 points, or 0.23%, to 11,412.87. The Standard & Poor's 500 index moved up 4.66 points, or 0.37%, to 1,271.97. The tech-laden Nasdaq composite slipped by 3.62 points, or 0.15%, to 2,361.97.

Upbeat news came in at the beginning of the day as the Conference Board announced that the consumer confidence index increased to 56.9 from July’s revised reading of 51.9. Analysts were expecting a lower 53. This data translates into two straight months of improved sentiment, which

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