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Oil Hits $97 on Bombs, Demand Forecast

NEW YORK -- Oil futures jumped to a new record above $97 a barrel Tuesday after bombings in Afghanistan and an attack on a Yemeni oil pipeline compounded the supply concerns that have driven crude prices higher in recent weeks, according to the Associated Press.

Those concerns were also fed by a government prediction on Tuesday that domestic oil inventories will fall further this year while consumption rises.

At the pump, meanwhile, gas prices continued to rise, following oil's 39 percent price rally since August. The national average price of a gallon of gas jumped 2 cents overnight to $3.024 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.

Crude prices are within the range of inflation-adjusted highs set in early 1980. Depending on the how the adjustment is calculated, $38 a barrel then would be worth $96 to $103 or more today.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 3:10 PM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0

As Hybrids Evolve, Gains Grow Elusive

HYBRID cars made immediate headlines nearly a decade ago, when Honda and then Toyota introduced models that offered drivers moon-shot improvements in fuel economy and exhaust emissions.

Today, those leaps of progress are proving tough to repeat: as new technologies develop and gasoline-electric powertrains become available in a wider range of models, the gains over existing hybrids seem more incremental than startling, according to the New York Times.

And even when new twists in technology do arrive — developments that include plug-in hybrids, which can be recharged on household current to give them more driving distance on batteries alone — it may be impossible to give buyers a measure of how much the advances help because there is no test to measure their mileage.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:39 AM to Alternative fuels | Permalink | Comments 0

Hey, Mr. Escalade Man

IF he revisits Highway 61 yet again, chances are Bob Dylan will do it in a Cadillac Escalade, just like the one he drives in a new television commercial, according to the New York Times.

While the endorsement is a coup for Cadillac, it is not the first trip to Shillville for Mr. Dylan, 66, who has appeared in ads for Apple and Victoria’s Secret.

The spot also promotes his show on XM Satellite Radio, whose receivers are standard on Cadillacs. Making the synergistic stew even thicker, on Oct. 24 Mr. Dylan played only Cadillac-themed songs on his show.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:32 AM to Fun , GM | Permalink | Comments 0

Local UAW leaders back contract with Ford

DEARBORN, Mich. — Local union presidents and bargaining chairs have unanimously voted to recommend approval of a tentative four-year contract between Ford and the United Auto Workers, a union local official said Monday, according to USA Today.

Bruce Yates, bargaining chairman at Local 2000 at an assembly plant in Avon Lake, Ohio, said the deal was recommended by a voice vote.

A summary of the contract posted on the union's website shows that the Ford contract is similar to deals ratified by workers at General Motors and Chrysler.

Ford will contribute $13.2 billion to a union-run trust that will pick up much of the company's $22 billion in retiree health care liabilities. The company also will pay $2.2 billion for retiree health care until the trust takes effect in January 2010.

A typical UAW worker at Ford will get $12,904 worth of economic gains over the life of the contract, including a $3,000 signing bonus and lump-sum payments of 3% in the second year, 4% in the third year and 3% in the fourth year, according to the summary.

GM workers won similar bonuses with total gains of $13,056, while Chrysler workers are to receive $10,235.

The summary also said that the UAW won commitments from the company to build five flexible body shops at assembly plants, as well as a $200 million commitment to invest in new technology and equipment at stamping plants and substantial investments at Ford powertrain operations.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:28 AM to Ford , Unions | Permalink | Comments 0

Can GM Keep Momentum Up?

How quickly things can change, according to thecarconnection.com

Little more than a year ago, the mood was one of gloom and doom at General Motors headquarters, along theDetroit River. Sales and share were plunging, losses were mounting, and its Japanese arch-rival, Toyota, seemed poised to take the lead in global sales.

As 2007 draws to a close, however, GM's sales and share are stabilizing. Its balance sheet is improving. Toyota is suddenly the one in trouble. It lost global sales leadership back to GM during the third quarter, and in the all-important U.S. market, the Japanese maker is suffering from a string of well-publicized quality snafus.

What may matter most, though, is that GM is rolling out an array of new products that are winning raves - and new buyers. The Chevrolet Malibu, in particular, is being hailed by critics as the first GM mid-size sedan in decades to pose a credible threat in a segment long dominated by the Asians.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:00 AM to Toyota | Permalink | Comments 1

BMW Third Quarter Profit Rises 78 Percent

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Luxury automaker BMW AG saw its third-quarter net profit leap 78 percent, driven higher by increased sales, and raised its sales outlook for the rest of 2007 on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

The Munich-based automaker earned 803 million euros ($1.2 billion) in the July-September period compared with 452 million euros a year earlier and beating the 605 million euros ($876.5 million) that analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast.

(The euro has risen so much against the dollar since last year, converting the 452 million euros to dollars would be misleading.)

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:54 AM to BMW | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil Hits New Record on Mideast Blasts

NEW YORK -- Oil futures jumped to a new record above $96 a barrel Tuesday after bombings in Afghanistan and an attack on a Yemeni oil pipeline compounded the supply concerns that have driven crude prices higher in recent weeks, according to the Associated Press.

Oil was already up before news of the blasts in northern Afghanistan that killed 64 people and the attack in Yemen. Severe weather forecasts for the North Sea, expectations that domestic crude supplies fell last week and the weak dollar all contributed to the latest move upward.

While Afghanistan doesn't produce much oil, traders watch for the possibility that any escalation in the conflict there between U.S. armed forces and Islamic militants could spill over into other countries, disrupting oil supplies out of the Middle East.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:52 AM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0