World stocks retreated further from last week’s 11-month high on Monday as lower energy and commodity prices and caution ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting and G20 summit prompted investors to trim risky trades.

Leaders of the Group of 20 meet on Thursday and Friday in Pittsburgh and U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday he would push world leaders for a reshaping of the global economy in response to the crisis.

World stocks, measured by MSCI have risen over 26 percent this year, recouping more than half of last year’s losses, underpinned by repeated pledges by G20 policymakers to keep emergency support for the economy in place.

“The market might look slightly overbought near term, but the economy is definitely improving, corporate profits are definitely improving, interest rates are staying low, valuations aren’t expensive,” said Nick Nelson, European equity strategist at UBS. MSCI world equity index <.MIWD00000PUS> fell 0.7 percent, while the

...

Earlier today, CNOOC Ltd. (CEO) reported results for the six months ended June 30. Net income for the period was 12.4 billion yuan ($1.82 billion), down 55% from 27.54 billion yuan ($3.9 billion) a year earlier. The steep fall in net income was primarily due to significantly lower oil prices despite excellent production performance.   The average realized oil and gas prices for the period were $49.35 per barrel and $3.90 per thousand cubic feet, respectively.   During the first half, the company’s crude oil and natural gas production reached 87.3 million barrels and 106.3 billion cubic feet, respectively. Total net oil and gas production reached 105.8 million barrels-of-oil-equivalent (BOE), up 15.2% year over year. Net oil and gas production from overseas reached 15.0 million BOE, up 38.9% year over year.   CEO’s overseas production was boosted by successful start up of Akpo oilfield and Phase I of OML130

...

Sinopec (SNP) recently reported results for the six months ended June 30. Net income for the period increased significantly from the year-earlier level to RMB 33.2 billion ($4.87 billion). The positive results reflect a steady growth in oil and gas volumes and profit from the refining business.   Sinopec’s crude oil production during the period rose nearly 1.2% year over year, while natural gas volumes dropped 1.1% from the year-earlier period. The company’s refining business recorded crude oil processing volumes of 86.9 million tons (a 1.8% year over year increase) and production output of refined oil products of 54.0 million tons (a 3.5% increase from the year-ago quarter).   Marketing and Distribution segment’s sales and retail volume of refined oil products decreased 8.4% and 12.8% year over year, respectively. The company’s Chemicals segment output of ethylene and synthetic resins reached 2.97 million and 4.74 million tons, respectively, as ...

Following the hydropower disaster, Vladimir Putin has instructed Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko to submit proposals for regulating the wholesale power market to prevent high increases in prices.  Anti-monopoly chief Igor Artemyev has said that oil companies should beware of a second crackdown.  The Ministry of Economic Development is apparently reconsidering its forecast for oil and gas prices in 2010.  On Medvedev's trip to Russia's second biggest trading partner, Mongolia, it is expected that joint cooperation on uranium mining will be high on the agenda.  China's state refiner Sinopec is planning 'rapid' expansion abroad after net income grew at a record rate.  Apparently Iraq needs to offer higher returns for companies bidding for control of oil fields newly opened to foreign investors, as the country still remains vulnerable to insurgency threats and security issues.  Turkish energy company ...

Chen Weidong, a Chinese oil services executive, has published a review of Michael Economides's book about Yukos and the Russian oil industry on Energy Tribune.  The excerpt below is not about Russia, but it was the most shocking part of Weidong's article.  Both Russia and China have avoided reforms to their state-owned energy sectors, posing some similar problems.

The revenue of ExxonMobil is more than the ones for CNPC, Sinopec and CNOOC, combined but the number of employees of those companies, combined, is 30 times more than ExxonMobil's. Oil price has become internationalized; the price of oil products in China is higher than in U.S., indicating low efficiency and perhaps lack of competition. We all hope to improve the efficiency, but we are still not clear how this can be done.

China's reliance on foreign oil is more than 50 percent and is increasing. However, our petroleum

...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 21, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights ExxonMobil (XOM) as the Bull of the Day and SurModics (SRDX ) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO), CNOOC Ltd. (CEO) and Sinopec (SNP).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

We are maintaining our Buy recommendation for ExxonMobil (XOM) shares ahead of the quarterly results, reflecting its strong operational and financial position on the back of solid business portfolio and prudent investment approach.

The company's capital spending plans remain unaffected by the current commodity-price and credit market turmoil, with annual capital outlays in the $25 billion to $30 billion range over the next five

...

Rice rationing redux?  Chris Mayer on the return of rising food prices… Dan Amoss on what the Fed says versus what the Fed does… Russia sings dollar’s praises, dollar bulls stampede… Chuck Butler looks past the rhetoric… China’s latest resource grab… Iraqi oil… America’s best-selling car… with an MSRP of $60…

We begin a new week pondering the question that bedevils the conscientious market observer every day.Inflation? Deflation? Or as Agora founder Bill Bonner is wont to suggest, both?

“Inflation – rising prices, or a drop in the purchasing power of the dollar – will soon rise to the very top of economic concerns,” writes Chris Mayer. “I can’t understand why there are pundits who insist we can’t have inflation while the economy is weak. There are plenty of examples of weak economies with high inflation. After all, I don’t think they are hitting on

...

Last week, Petrobras (PBR) announced it has signed two Memorandums of Understanding with Chinese institutions and an export oil contract with UNIPEC Asia Co. Ltd. -- a subsidiary of China Petrochemical Corporation, or SINOPEC (SNP) -- to export around 100 thousand barrels of oil per day. The Memorandum between China Development Bank Corporation, SINOPEC and Petrobras presents has the followings details : Credit supply to Petrobras, including the option to off-set the debt with the export of oil, as per Chinese institution option and in a volume to be defined in the future; Increase the oil export of Petrobras to China; Partnerships between Petrobras and Chinese companies to develop projects in several oil industry segments; Supply of service, material and equipment by Chinese companies to Petrobras; and Promoting contacts between Chinese and Brazilian companies for the purpose of creating joint ventures.The amount of the deal is estimated ...

Like a boxer who has a habit of dropping his hands, America finally caught one on the chin. The U.S. economy is flat on its back, and the financial markets are leaning down into its face yelling out a 10-count. But the U.S. economy isn’t “out for the count” yet. It will struggle back to its feet. But if the economy hopes to stay on its feet, it will have to devise new tactics. The old, sloppy tactics of credit-financed consumption won’t work anymore.

The biggest change in the American economy over the last few decades has been the transition from making things to making loans. We Americans abandoned the manufacturing industries that once powered our economy and devoted ourselves to merely financial activities. We became experts in “financial origami.” Precisely when and why this happened will be something for historians to debate. But sometime in the 1990s, the percentage of

...

I'm writing this while on a short holiday in Macau, Asia's booming Las Vegas. And let me tell you (again) — judging by what I'm seeing in Macau, there are very few signs of a slowdown in Asia! More than 1.5 million international visitors arrived in Macau in the first six months of 2008 — UP 47% over the same period last year. Mainland China visitors to Macau soared to a record 8.8 million, and in total, a record 14.92 million tourists visited in the first half of this year, handing Macau's government a whopping 51.4% increase in gaming tax revenues. Of course, that's Macau, and it may not represent the rest of Asia, right? Wrong. I am seeing the same vibrant economies wherever I go on my current tour through Asia. ...