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Tuesday March 10, 2015

// March 10th, 2015 // Comments Off on Tuesday March 10, 2015 // Daily News

Why oil decline could get ugly again

Still drilling at four-decade highs, the U.S. oil industry could help drive another price collapse in crude this spring.
OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem el-Badri told a conference this past weekend that the cartel’s policy has hurt the U.S. shale oil industry and triggered a global reduction in capital spending that could ultimately lead to a shortage—and higher prices.
The U.S. industry, however, has not slowed its high levels of oil production, despite OPEC’s best efforts to curb drilling with lower prices. The U.S. has pumped more than 9 million barrels a day since early November, and last week it produced a multidecade high of 9.32 million barrels. Industry output has not been at such a level on a sustained basis since the 1970s.
Oil analysts say the strong production in the U.S. should ultimately wind down, as the output of some wells in operation declines and more wells are shut in. But for now, as seasonal factors like refinery maintenance affect demand, U.S. production could be a catalyst for even lower prices and a new bottom for crude.
“You could touch a surprisingly low price sometime in the next month or two,” said Citigroup energy analyst Eric Lee. “As we get into summer, refineries come back from maintenance. Demand could pickup stronger than it was before the rig cuts and capex cuts, and globally there will be capex cuts starting to have an effect.”
Lee and other analysts said West Texas Intermediate crude, at $50 per barrel Monday, could easily head toward $40 a barrel.
“WTI could take another leg down,” said Lee. “If there’s enough distress, if imports into the U.S. don’t budge, which they wont … if exports don’t rise quickly enough, which is a wild card, then producers at various locations need to shut in pipelines or run at low utilization so it doesn’t come to Cushing.”
Lee said if the market becomes very distressed, then the price could head to $40 per barrel and there is a chance it could see a price in the $20s before bouncing back to higher levels. West Texas Intermediate closed at a low of $44.53 per barrel Jan. 29, before moving higher during February.
Traders have been focused on the high level of oil storage capacity being used in the U.S., particularly at Cushing, Oklahoma, the storage hub for the benchmark West Texas Intermediate oil futures contract.
U.S. crude supplies are reported at their highest levels in 80 years, and analysts say as storage gets tight, prices for storage get higher, and that could result in more oil coming onto the market.
According to The Wall Street Journal, data service Genscape reported Monday that oil inventories in Cushing climbed by 1.7 million barrels from the prior week. The smaller-than-expected build was a positive for prices, and WTI rose 0.8 percent to $50 a barrel.

Today’s Inspiration

No More Excuses

by Joyce Meyer – posted March 10, 2015

Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!
– 2 Corinthians 5:17

“I’ve always had a bad temper. That’s just the way I am.”

l’m a straightforward person. That’s who I am, and that’s how people need to accept me.”

“I call things as I see them. I don’t sugarcoat anything.”

This list could go on endlessly, but the one thing these excuses have in common is that each is meant to justify the people being the way they are. It’s a way of resisting change.

It’s also a way for Satan to creep into our minds. The great deceiver tells us that we’re not rude we are just being honest, and people need to respect that quality in us. We think we speak the truth as we see it, and we’re not cowards or hypocrites. If the devil can convince us that we don’t have to change that we’re fine exactly the way we are he has won a serious battle in our lives.

In fact, the devil can give us a lot of excuses for not changing. That may be the problem. If he convinces us that other people are at fault because “they are just too sensitive” or “they don’t want to hear the truth and face reality,” we don’t feel responsible, and we think we’re all right.

Another thing is that no matter how negative we may be in our thinking, most of us wouldn’t call ourselves “negative.” We prefer words like logical, realistic, forthright, or candid. Not facing the truth about ourselves is part of Satan’s deceptive work.

When I went through a period of extreme negativity, I wouldn’t have thought of myself as being negative. I was just being honest. If I saw something wrong, I spoke up. I offered my counsel on ways for people to change. I could see the weaknesses and problems of others, and I was quite happy to show them how they could overcome. On my worst days, I found things wrong with all my friends and everything they did. I didn’t have to look for things to criticize-I did it without effort. I didn’t consider it negative because I thought I was merely trying to be helpful. It never occurred to me in my prideful state that people didn’t really want my help. They wanted acceptance and encouragement, not judgment and criticism.

As I said, I never thought of myself as being negative that is, until God dealt with me and convicted me.

I’m not trying to condemn anyone for being negative, frank, blunt, candid, or whatever term you may use for it, because condemning is in itself being negative. Instead, I want to help believers recognize their attitude problems and help them realize that God is able to deliver them.

We start the Christian life as new creations of God. Our past is wiped away. The Christian life is one of change-of growth-of moving onward.

The pathway to freedom begins when we face our problems, and face them without excuses. “Yes, I’m negative, but if you had come from the kind of family, I did, you’d” Stop! No excuses. We know what we were in the past, but we also know that we don’t have to remain that way now or in the future. With the help of Jesus Christ, we can have our minds renewed according to the Word of God.

The most difficult part may be to say to God, I’m a negative person, but I want to change.” Remember that a negative mind produces a negative life. You’ve probably tried to change yourself many times in the past, but it didn’t work. Now you can begin to win the battle over Satan’s stronghold by admitting who you are and acknowledging that you must depend on God to change you.

Holy and positive God, forgive me for all my negative thinking. You want me to be loving and filled with Your joy. Help me so that Satan has no stronghold over my mind. Please destroy every negative aspect of my thinking, through Jesus my Lord. Amen.

Monday March 9, 2015

// March 9th, 2015 // Comments Off on Monday March 9, 2015 // Daily News

GM announces $5B stock buyback plan; Wilson gives up quest for board seat

The General Motors world headquarters building in Detroit, Michigan.
General Motors said on Monday that it will launch a $5 billion share buyback and put forward a new plan for capital allocation that promises investors the potential for further cash returns.
GM reached a deal with an investor group that averts a proxy fight. As part of the agreement, activist investor Harry Wilson will drop his effort to get a seat on GM’s board. Wilson praised the company’s capital plan.
Shares of GM moved higher in premarket trading following the announcement.

Today’s Inspiration

Refuse to Be Confused

by Joyce Meyer – posted March 09, 2015

God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.
– 1 Corinthians 14:33 KJV

Are you confused? Is there something happening in your life right now you don’t understand? Or perhaps you’re baffled about the way things happened in your past. Many people today suffer tremendously with confusion, but that was never God’s plan. He doesn’t cause your confusion—He wants to stop it.

He doesn’t want you to try to figure out everything that happens in your life. He knows what is going on and why, and He is in control.

That means you don’t have to worry and live in confusion. It almost sounds too easy, but you can have total freedom from the torment of confusion just by refusing the temptation to figure things out. So trust God to take care of everything that concerns you and enjoy a peaceful, happy life.