_Economy and Finance

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101276543 Looking to play the rental market? Blackstone wants you Published: Monday, 16 Dec 2013 | 3:23 PM ET By: Diana Olick | CNBC Real Estate Reporter It is yet another step in the evolution of the single-family rental market: a new lending platform by one of the biggest names in the trade, Blackstone Group. After investing close to $7 billion in rental properties through its Invitation Homes unit, Blackstone is offering cash to smaller investors wanting to get into the game. The firm is in the closing process on the first deals.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101254028 Economists a bit more upbeat about 2014 Published: Monday, 9 Dec 2013 | 12:01 AM ET By: John W. Schoen | CNBC.com Economics Reporter They're not exactly singing "Happy Days Are Here Again," but business economists are feeling a little more upbeat about the recovery and job market heading into next year, according to a survey of the group released Monday.

US Hears Footsteps of Global Challengers in NatGas Boom Published: Thursday, 4 Apr 2013 | 2:15 PM ET By: Javier E. David Special to CNBC.com The United States, currently one of the world's largest sources of natural gas, may find itself fending off increasingly stiff competition in the resource's development, as the move to tap natural gas supplies goes global. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100617228

Pimco's Bill Gross Looks at the Man in the Mirror Published: Wednesday, 3 Apr 2013 | 10:08 AM ET By: John Carney Senior Editor, CNBC.com When Bill Gross looks in the mirror, what does he see? In his latest monthly "Investment Outlook" commentary, the Pimco chief waxes philosophical. He questions whether he and other legendary investors are really all they're cracked up to be. Maybe guys like Warren Buffett, George Soros, and Ray Dalio were just lucky guys in the right place at the right time. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100612898

How BP Is Joining Big Oil Retreat From Renewals Published: Wednesday, 3 Apr 2013 | 5:21 AM ET BP has put its U.S. wind farm operation, one of the largest in the country, up for sale, marking the continued retreat of big oil companies from renewable energy investments while oil and gas projects offer them better returns. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100611993

How the US Oil, Gas Boom Could Shake Up Global Order Published: Monday, 1 Apr 2013 | 11:28 AM ET By: Richard Engel and Robert Windrem, NBC News Without fanfare, China passed the United States in December to become the world's leading importer of oil—the first time in nearly 40 years that the U.S. didn't own that dubious distinction. That same month, North Dakota, Ohio and Pennsylvania together produced 1.5 million barrels of oil a day—more than Iran exported. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100606163

Natural Gas: Time to Short or Not Just Yet? Published: Thursday, 28 Mar 2013 | 9:32 PM ET By: Drew Sandholm Producer Natural gas shot up 20 percent in the first quarter, its fourth straight quarterly gain, begging the question — can this hot streak continue? http://www.cnbc.com/id/100601504

Natural Gas Prices on the Rise, Challenging 'Cheap' Label Published: Wednesday, 27 Mar 2013 | 11:27 AM ET By: Javier E. David, Giovanny Moreano Those "cheap" natural gas prices everyone keeps talking about? They may not stay that way much longer. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100597089

Pro: Trading the Natural Gas Rally Published: Monday, 25 Mar 2013 | 10:42 AM ET It's the rally you probably haven't heard about. The price of natural gas has spiked to its highest level since 2011, advancing 17 percent year-to-date, as supplies declined for 14 consecutive weeks. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100588163

Energy Boom Ripples Through US Economy Published: Monday, 25 Mar 2013 | 10:15 AM ET By: John W. Schoen, NBC News The boom in new oil and natural gas flowing through U.S. pipelines is beginning to ripple through the wider American economy. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100587821

Bakken Emerges as Contender for US Oil Drilling Crown Published: Saturday, 23 Mar 2013 | 12:00 AM ET By: Javier E. David Special to CNBC.com In the resurgence of US energy production, one spillover effect has been to put relatively obscure places on the map. One of those is Bakken, an oil hub that some believe could challenge the Gulf Coast's prodigious crude output. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100579131

Cramer’s Refiner Plays Published: Friday, 22 Mar 2013 | 6:25 PM ET By: Lee Brodie Producer "If you happen to be a refiner, you're probably doing very well right now," said Jim Cramer. The Mad Money host believes that US based refineries are in the sweet spot, here and now. That's largely because there has been an explosion in domestic oil production due to recent discoveries in places such as the Bakken and the Eagle Ford. That's helped moderate the price of US crude oil, also known as WTI, to about $93. Brent, which is the benchmark, is about $15 higher. (The difference is known as the spread.) Currently refiners are benefitting from that spread because they're able to buy US crude oil at the lower prices, refine it and then sell their products at levels based on the higher priced Brent. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100583806

Why the Nat Gas Rally Could Run Out of Gas Published: Friday, 22 Mar 2013 | 10:36 AM ET Natural gas has been ablaze. The commodity has doubled over the past eleven months, and just this week traded up to its highest level since September 2011. So can the rally continue? Well, one potential problem lies on the chart horizon. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100582414

Turkey May Block Use of Natural Gas for Cyprus Bailout Published: Thursday, 21 Mar 2013 | 3:13 PM ET Turkey could challenge any move by Cyprus to speed up offshore natural gas exploration as a way of attracting desperately needed investment to save its teetering economy, senior Turkish officials said Thursday. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100579091

Power Shift: Energy Boom Dawning in America Published: Monday, 18 Mar 2013 | 11:28 AM ET By: Patti Domm CNBC Executive News Editor Randy Foutch calls it a renaissance, but when you listen to the veteran Texas oilman and others describe America's nascent energy boom, it sounds more like a miracle. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100563497

Housing Recovery 'Fundamentally Strong': Lennar CEO Published: Friday, 15 Mar 2013 | 11:26 AM ET By: Diana Olick CNBC Real Estate Reporter Despite being headquartered in one of the states hardest hit by the housing crash, the CEO of Miami-based Lennar Homes said he is bullish both on the rental side of the business and the single family side. No wonder, Lennar recently announced it was getting into multi-family apartment construction. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100558148

When Will the US Energy Boom Help You Out at the Gas Pump? Published: Thursday, 14 Mar 2013 | 2:39 PM ET By: Javier E. David Special to CNBC.com First, the good news: the U.S. energy sector is being modernized at a breakneck pace, with cleaner and cheaper fuels predicted to drive down prices and to eventually reduce the economy's dependency on foreign oil. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100554510

An Energy Coup for Japan: ‘Flammable Ice’ Published: Wednesday, 13 Mar 2013 | 8:43 AM ET By: Hiroko Tabuchi TOKYO — Japan said Tuesday that it had extracted gas from offshore deposits of methane hydrate — sometimes called "flammable ice" — a breakthrough that officials and experts said could be a step toward tapping a promising but still little-understood energy source. The gas, whose extraction from the undersea hydrate reservoir was thought to be a world first, could provide an alternative source of energy to known oil and gas reserves. That could be crucial especially for Japan, which is the world's biggest importer of liquefied natural gas and is engaged in a public debate about whether to resume the country's heavy reliance on nuclear power. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100545740

How the US Can Start Exporting Energy: Chevron CEO Published: Tuesday, 12 Mar 2013 | 5:30 PM ET By: Justin Menza Chevron will be making major investments to increase its oil and gas production this year, but only a fraction of those investments will be made in the U.S., CEO John Watson told CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Tuesday. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100547355

Oil, Copper Are the Short-Term Commodity Plays: Goldman Published: Monday, 11 Mar 2013 | 2:57 PM ET By: Patti Domm CNBC Executive News Editor Goldman Sachs analysts see a robust near-term outlook for commodities, saying they think the selloff in February amid concerns about China's growth was overdone. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100543022