Oil price optimism would be ‘misplaced’ in early 2018, strategists say
Businessam Staff
December 26, 2017
There’s little reason to expect oil prices to extend gains through the first quarter of 2018, energy strategists have told CNBC. The prospect of rising U.S. shale production, subdued price movements and intensifying geopolitical risks is likely to offset a rally in prices at the start of next year, the analysts said. Harry Colvin, director […]
Should you invest in Bitcoin? Money saving expert talks on cryptocurrency
Businessam StaffDecember 9, 2017
Bitcoin has rocketed to new all-time highs this week – but should you invest in the cryptocurrency everyone’s talking about? It’s in the public spotlight thanks to its meteoric rise. In recent days, Bitcoin has rocketed to new all-time highs. But should you invest in the cryptocurrency everyone’s talking about? Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis […]
Five ways Boeing’s 747 jumbo jet changed travel
Businessam StaffNovember 7, 2017
The sun is setting on the planet’s most recognizable jetliner. The very last Boeing 747 passenger jet was likely delivered in July — a jumbo for Korean Air Lines — and on November 7, 2017 United Airlines is retiring its Boeing 747 fleet with a retro-themed farewell flight from San Francisco to Honolulu. The 747 has been […]
How Saudi Arabia is building its $2tn fund
Businessam StaffOctober 23, 2017
Saudi Arabia is stepping up plans to turn its sovereign wealth fund into a global giant. This week, it’s holding a coming-out party of sorts for the Public Investment Fund, which is central to the government’s effort to diversify the economy away from oil, under a plan known as Vision 2030. The Saudis are hosting the titans of investing and […]
Crude or condensate? The dilemma over Nigeria’s oil-cut exemption
Businessam StaffOctober 21, 2017
When OPEC agreed to exempt Nigeria from its oil production-restraint deal last year, it knew the country faced a huge challenge in recouping output lost due to militant unrest. As tensions subside and the country pumps closer to normal levels, another dilemma looms for the producer group as it continues efforts to eradicate a price-sapping […]
Why Kurdish oil is a wild card for markets
Businessam StaffOctober 16, 2017
If Iraq’s Kurdish territory were a country, it would probably qualify for OPEC membership. It wouldn’t even be the smallest member, given its production of about 600,000 barrels of oil per day. That’s an impressive achievement for a landlocked enclave that started exploring only a decade ago. The region’s potential is greater still, though it faces political, […]
Iraq’s Kurds independence, its impact for oil markets
Businessam StaffSeptember 21, 2017
Iraq’s Kurdish provinces plan to vote in a referendum on independence on Sept. 25, a poll that regional and Western powers, not to mention the central government in Baghdad, have decried as a catalyst for greater instability in a region gutted by war. At stake are the petrodollars that have helped sustain the Kurdish Regional Government’s semi-autonomous […]
China is not the only reason to question free trade
Businessam StaffSeptember 14, 2017
By Noah Smith Economists have lately been rethinking free trade. They’re right to do so — and not just because China’s emergence came as such a big shock to U.S. workers. There used to be a near-universal consensus among academic economists that the best trade policy for any country was to unilaterally remove all barriers […]
How Taiwanese whisky toppled Scotch to become the world’s hottest tipple
Businessam StaffSeptember 8, 2017
By Simon Thomson Speeding through the Taiwanese countryside, the narrow roads drop sharply into paddy fields on either side. Jutting up from pools of gently swaying rice are rows of faux chateaux; romantic holiday accommodation, decorated with finials and love hearts, the kitschy simulacra of Disney palaces. This surreal landscape is the last place you […]
How Standard Chartered lost $400mn on risky diamond debt
Businessam StaffSeptember 7, 2017
By Franz Wild, Thomas Biesheuvel, and Stephen Morris Standard Chartered Plc’s plunge into the risky business of diamond lending began eight years ago with a cocktail party at its London headquarters. Maurice Tempelsman, longtime escort of Jackie Kennedy and head of one of the biggest U.S. diamond companies, was there. So was diamantaire Dilip Mehta, […]