3 Foreign Companies Invest in U.S. Project to Export Liquid Gas

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS MAY 17, 2013, 2:36 PM
3 Foreign Companies Invest in U.S. Project to Export Liquid Gas
BY STANLEY REED

In a sign that the United States shale gas boom is making global waves, two Japanese conglomerates and a big French energy player signed agreements on Friday to invest up to $7 billion in a liquefied natural gas project in Louisiana.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/05/17/3-foreign-companies-invest-in-u-s-project-to-export-liquid-gas/

An Energy Coup for Japan: ‘Flammable Ice’

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

A Boom in Houston Is Led by the Energy Industry

A Boom in Houston Is Led by the Energy Industry

Office buildings under construction in the Woodlands Town Center. The taller one is for Anadarko Petroleum.
By MATT HUDGINS
Published: December 4, 2012

HOUSTON — Even first-time visitors here can tell that the city is growing rapidly. Construction cranes overhang office and apartment sites all along the Katy Freeway, a stretch of Interstate 10 that connects a string of booming submarkets west of the 610 Loop. This expanse includes the Westchase neighborhood and the Energy Corridor, home to an expanding cluster of energy companies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/realestate/commercial/houstons-boom-is-led-by-the-energy-industry.html

American Real Estate Investors Seek Opportunities in European Debt Crisis

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American Real Estate Investors Seek Opportunities in European Debt Crisis

By TERRY PRISTIN
Published: September 18, 2012

While the world is anxiously watching to see how the European debt crisis will unfold, many real estate investors in the United States are eagerly seeking opportunities to reap profits from the Continent’s distress.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/realestate/commercial/american-real-estate-investors-seek-opportunities-in-europes-debt-crisis.html

New Report by Agency Lowers Estimates of Natural Gas in U.S.

http://www.nytimes.com/

News Analysis
New Report by Agency Lowers Estimates of Natural Gas in U.S.
By IAN URBINA
Published: January 28, 2012

WASHINGTON — Just how much natural gas is trapped underground in the United States?

The difficulty and uncertainty in predicting natural gas resources was underscored last week when the Energy Information Administration released a report containing sharply lower estimates.

NYT: Pondering a Dire Day: Leaving the Euro

Pondering a Dire Day: Leaving the Euro
By LANDON THOMAS Jr.
Published: December 12, 2011

LONDON — It would be Europe’s worst nightmare: after weeks of rumors, the Greek prime minister announces late on a Saturday night that the country will abandon the euro currency and return to the drachma.

NYT: In an Earlier Time of Boom and Bust, Rentals Also Gained Favor

THE APPRAISAL
In an Earlier Time of Boom and Bust, Rentals Also Gained Favor
By DIANE CARDWELL
Published: October 17, 2011

During the boom years in Manhattan real estate, credit was easy, speculators developed building after building to meet rising demand for apartments, and values kept climbing, fed by a flurry of resales. But then Wall Street plummeted and the housing market followed suit, as values deflated and apartment sales came to a standstill.

NYT: The Nation’s Unemployment Landscape

The Nation’s Unemployment Landscape

The recession and the slow recovery have reshaped the nation’s economic map, with the highest unemployment rates now found in the West and the South. Related Article »

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Moody’s Analytics
Correction: An earlier version of this graphic misstated the unemployment rate for Massachusetts in June 2009.

NYT: Slump Alters Jobless Map in U.S., With South Hit Hard

Slump Alters Jobless Map in U.S., With South Hit Hard
By MICHAEL COOPER
Published: September 26, 2011

When the unemployment rate rose in most states last month, it underscored the extent to which the deep recession, the anemic recovery and the lingering crisis of joblessness are beginning to reshape the nation’s economic map.

NYT: U.S. May Back Refinance Plan for Mortgages

U.S. May Back Refinance Plan for Mortgages
By SHAILA DEWAN and LOUISE STORY
Published: August 24, 2011

The Obama administration is considering further actions to strengthen the housing market, but the bar is high: plans must help a broad swath of homeowners, stimulate the economy and cost next to nothing.

NYT: U.S. Housing Prices Remain Weak

U.S. Housing Prices Remain Weak
By CHRISTINE HAUSER
Published: July 26, 2011

Home prices in the United States rose slightly for the second consecutive month in May, but the real estate market still has a long way to go before a recovery, analysts said on Tuesday.

NYT: E.U. Vows to Back Banks That Fail Stress Tests

E.U. Vows to Back Banks That Fail Stress Tests
By STEPHEN CASTLE
Published: July 12, 2011

BRUSSELS — European officials vowed on Tuesday to support banks that fail stress tests but left unresolved deep disputes that have held up a second rescue package for Greece.

NYT: How We All Suffer

How We All Suffer

July 11, 2011
Kim Luu is the editor of Money and Risk and a principal at an independent brokerage firm specializing in retirement and 401(k)s.

The federal Home Affordable Modification Program was badly designed, overly complicated and poorly communicated. Borrowers suffered through horrendous paperwork for months and years. People ran through their retirement savings during the process, and then lost their homes anyway. Meanwhile, banks are saddled with billions of dollars in losses and inventory that still need to be auctioned.

NYT: The Unemployment Factor

The Unemployment Factor

July 11, 2011

Morris A. Davis is the academic director of the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

NYT: Out of a Job, Out of a House

Updated July 12, 2011 10:07 AM
Hanging On to Houses

Introduction

In his column on Monday, Paul Krugman said that the Obama administration has done almost nothing to help troubled homeowners. Of $46 billion set aside for mortgage relief, less than $2 billion has been spent.

NYT: No, We Can’t? Or Won’t?

OP-ED COLUMNIST
No, We Can’t? Or Won’t?
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: July 10, 2011

If you were shocked by Friday’s job report, if you thought we were doing well and were taken aback by the bad news, you haven’t been paying attention. The fact is, the United States economy has been stuck in a rut for a year and a half.

NYT: Somehow, the Unemployed Became Invisible

Somehow, the Unemployed Became Invisible
By CATHERINE RAMPELL
Published: July 9, 2011

GRIM number of the week: 14,087,000.

Fourteen million, in round numbers — that is how many Americans are now officially out of work.

NYT: In Europe, Rifts Widen Over Greece

In Europe, Rifts Widen Over Greece

By LANDON THOMAS Jr.
Published: May 23, 2011

LONDON — Fissures among Europe’s currency partners are becoming even deeper and more widespread than was previously evident, raising new doubts about whether the group can resolve the regional debt crisis that has simmered for more than a year.

The ‘New Normal’ Is Actually Pretty Old

The ‘New Normal’ Is Actually Pretty Old
By CATHERINE RAMPELL
Everything old is new again, including normality.

I had the pleasure of attending the American Economics Association’s annual conference this weekend, and over the course of many meetings with various brilliant thinkers one theme persisted: Everyone needs to get over the fear of the “new normal.”

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