A New York State court has turned back a natural gas company's bid to stop towns from banning horizontal hydraulic fracturing, potentially boosting local opposition to the controversial gas drilling procedure . In a case that began in August 2011, the supervisor of the Town of Dryden, in upstate Tompkins County, N.Y., attempted to use the local zoning law to prohibit oil and natural gas companies from drilling within the town. Dryden has drawn interest from companies that do hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.   Anschutz Exploration, a Denver-based driller controlled by billionaire Philip … [Read more...]

A New York State court has turned back a natural gas company's bid to stop towns from banning horizontal hydraulic fracturing, potentially boosting local opposition to the controversial gas drilling procedure . In a case that began in August 2011, the supervisor of the Town of Dryden, in upstate Tompkins County, N.Y., attempted to use the local zoning law to prohibit oil and natural gas companies from drilling within the town. Dryden has drawn interest from companies that do hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.   Anschutz Exploration, a Denver-based driller controlled by billionaire Philip … [Read more...]

Oil prices eased after soaring to a 9-month high after Eurozone PMI missed expectations. Concern over weak economic outlook in the 17-nation region re-emerged, upstaged the newly approved bailout package to Greece and escalated Iranian tensions. The front-month contract for WTI crude oil moved within a narrow range of 105.62 and 106.41 ahead of US opening. The equivalent Brent crude contract also eased a bit. Eurozone's PMI manufacturing index rose modestly to 49 in February but this missed market expectations of 49.4. In Germany alone, the index slipped to 50.1 in February from 51. The … [Read more...]

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran's nuclear policies would not change despite mounting international pressure against what the West says are Iran's plans to obtain nuclear bombs. "With God's help, and without paying attention to propaganda, Iran's nuclear course should continue firmly and seriously," he said on state television. "Pressures, sanctions and assassinations will bear no fruit. No obstacles can stop Iran's nuclear work." As sanctions mount, ordinary Iranians are suffering from the effects of soaring prices and a collapsing currency. Several Iranian nuclear scientists … [Read more...]

Last year, Houston-based Noble Energy discovered vast tracts of natural gas off the coast of Israel and Cyprus. It had been exploring for 13 years. So far, the find has been a bonanza, especially for energy poor Israel. Noble has found 35 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas. By September, this offshore find could yield as much as 100 million cubic feet of gas a day. "It is a great advantage for Israel," Dilshod Achilov, assistant professor of political science at East Tennessee State University, said in an interview. Investors have taken notice: the Tel Aviv 100 Index has gained more than … [Read more...]

(Reuters) - About 55 Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner jets may have a recently discovered flaw in the fuselage, the company said on Wednesday, while reiterating that the world's first carbon-plastic passenger plane is safe to fly. In the latest in a series of glitches in developing the revolutionary jet, Boeing (BA.N) earlier this month reported signs of "delamination" on a support structure in the rear fuselage. Delamination occurs when repeated stress causes laminated composite materials to begin to separate. The company is examining a backlog of assembled Dreamliners to see whether they show … [Read more...]

In my last post, I wrote that I was watching the European bourses and the Hang Seng Index for signs of whether we are likely to see a continuation of the bull move or a consolidation period.The preliminary verdict is consolidation and correction. You can tell the short-term tone of the market by how it reacts to news. On the weekend, China unexpected cut reserve requirements by 50 bp. The Shanghai Composite rallied on the news, but the Hong Kong market was unable to hold its gains and finished the last few days beneath a key technical resistance level. In Europe, we saw the Greek bailout deal … [Read more...]

Financials: Mar. Bonds are currently 2 lower at 141'15 and the 10 Yr. Note 2 lower at 130'19. Yields on the 10 Yr. Note are once again above the 2.0% level (last 2.06%) and the yield on the 30 Yr. Bond now 3.15%. Agreement on a Greek bailout has helped stabilize markets and removed a bit of the "fear factor". I am content to be patient with these markets and await opptortunity, remaining on the sidelines for the moment. Grains: This morning Mar. Beans look about 5 cents lower at 1266'0, Mar. Corn 2'4 lower at 627'0 and Mar. Wheat 3'0 lower at 630'0. Since my last letter (Feb. 13th) Mar. Corn … [Read more...]

May corn was trading down 2 1/2 cents late in the overnight session. Outside market forces look slightly negative for today with higher trade for the US dollar and weakness in metal and energy markets. Open interest is up 103,456 contracts over the past month but the market has mostly traded in a choppy and sideways pattern since January 24th. Ideas that it will take a significant weather issue this year to keep ending stocks from doubling for the 2012/13 season helped to spark a significant break yesterday led by what was called fund trader long liquidation selling. Old crop supply is tight … [Read more...]

May wheat was trading 1 3/4 cents lower late in the overnight session. Outside market forces look slightly negative today with a stronger US dollar and some light weakness in metal and energy markets. Talk of more Black Sea offers to sell wheat this week plus weakness in corn helped to drive the market sharply lower into the mid-session yesterday. Ideas that the Outlook Forum at the end of this week will also show burdensome world and US ending stocks for the coming season has added to the negative tone. Trade focus is beginning to shift to weather and soil conditions as March weather is … [Read more...]