_Economy and Finance

Canada's Harvest drilling finds 5.9 mln bbls oil reserve - KNOC SEOUL, Sept 29 | Sun Sep 29, 2013 5:33am EDT (Reuters) - State-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) said on Sunday its loss-making subsidiary Harvest Operations had found at least 5.9 million barrels of crude oil in a Canadian well where it began drilling earlier this month. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/29/knoc-korea-canada-idUSL4N0HP07A20130929

UPDATE 1-S.Korea's KNOC says eyeing sale of parts of Canadian unit Harvest Tue Sep 24, 2013 4:37am EDT * A few buyers showed interest in some assets of Harvest * KNOC re-evaluating overseas assets including UK-based Dana * Could sell parts of overseas assets to reinforce business By Meeyoung Cho SEOUL, Sept 24 (Reuters) - State-run Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) said it is considering selling 'non-core parts' of its loss-making Canadian energy subsidiary Harvest Operations and reviewing other overseas assets for potential sale of some of their parts. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/24/knoc-korea-harvest-idUSL4N0HK16720130924

Such low yields could signal the top of the property market in central London. Those sorts of yields are breathtaking. The problem is that when you get to the top of Mount Everest there is only way to go. - Michael Marx , Reuters, Jul 26, 2013

Ultra-low yields suggest London property crash around the corner By Tom Bill LONDON | Fri Jul 26, 2013 4:56pm BST (Reuters) - Voracious investor demand for the best London real estate is approaching record levels that could trigger a price crash in popular areas such as upmarket Bond Street, property experts said this week.

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

Jobless claims rise, but GDP data shows more growth By Jason Lange WASHINGTON | Thu Mar 28, 2013 12:43 pm EDT (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, but not enough to suggest the labor market recovery was taking a step back. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/28/us-usa-economy-jobless-idUSBRE92R0DN20130328

Norway's Arctic idyll shivers at oil plans By Alister Doyle and Balazs Koranyi SVOLVAER, Norway | Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:04 am EDT (Reuters) - Oil companies seeking new Arctic areas for exploration face a battle with environmentalists, fishermen and hotel owners over Norwegian islands where jagged snow-capped peaks rise sheer from the sea. With oil production falling to a 25-year low this year and the state depending on oil revenues, Norway's ruling Labour Party is warming to drilling in Lofoten's pristine waters, setting up the issue as the year's biggest political fight ahead of elections in September. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/12/us-energy-arctic-idUSBRE92B0I720130312

China's ragtag shale army a long way from revolution By Chen Aizhu BEIJING | Sun Mar 10, 2013 6:36pm EDT (Reuters) - China's plans to unlock what could be the world's biggest shale gas reserves risk running further off track after 16 firms awarded exploration rights in the latest auction lacked one core skill - not one has drilled a gas well before. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/10/us-china-shale-idUSBRE9290GR20130310

Analysis: Renewables turn utilities into dinosaurs of the energy world By Geert De Clercq PARIS | Fri Mar 8, 2013 4:13am EST (Reuters) - Every new solar panel installed on European rooftops chips away at power utilities' centralized production model. Unless they reinvent themselves soon, these giants risk becoming the dinosaurs of the energy market. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/08/us-utilities-threat-idUSBRE92709E20130308

London regains crown as most expensive market for office space -report By Ilaina Jonas NEW YORK | Tue Feb 19, 2013 9:19 pm GMT (Reuters) - London elbowed its way past Hong Kong to regain the title as the world's most expensive market in which to rent office space, while Rio de Janeiro jumped to the No. 3 spot from No. 8, according to a report by global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/02/19/uk-globalproperty-officerents-idUKBRE91I17N20130219

Fitch affirms Gas Natural at 'BBB+'; stable outlook Wed Jan 16, 2013 7:17am EST Jan 16 - Fitch Ratings has affirmed Gas Natural SDG, S.A.'s Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BBB+' and removed it from Rating Watch Negative (RWN). The Outlook is Stable. A full list of rating actions is below. The rating actions follow the approval by the Spanish government of a set of measures on 27 December 2012 designed to prevent generation of future tariff deficit (TD) in the electricity system in Spain. The current regulatory scheme presents slight changes compared with the draft measures published in September 2012. The main difference is that a flat 7% tax has been fixed to all power generation compared with the previous proposal of 6%. Fitch does not expect this to have a significant impact on Gas Natural's credit metrics. The other approved measures were largely unchanged.

Special Report: How Romney energy czar fuels business with politics By David Sheppard and Joshua Schneyer and Alexander Cohen NEW YORK/WASHINGTON | Fri Sep 21, 2012 7:00 pm EDT (Reuters) - It's a cornerstone policy in Mitt Romney's bid for the White House: build the Keystone XL Pipeline. The controversial $7.6 billion conduit would pump a river of crude from Canada down to Texas refineries. President Barack Obama has postponed until next year a decision on whether to approve the line, as environmentalists decry its route across ecologically sensitive areas. Romney says it will create hundreds of thousands of jobs and promote energy independence. In April, he told fellow Republican Party leaders: "I will build that pipeline if I have to do it myself." http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/21/us-hamm-romney-profile-idUSBRE88J12L20120921

http://www.reuters.com/ Blackstone nears $13 billion real estate fund target: sources By Greg Roumeliotis and Ilaina Jonas NEW YORK | Fri Jun 29, 2012 2:14pm EDT (Reuters) - Blackstone Group LP (BX.N) has raised more than $12 billion for its latest real estate fund, its biggest yet, putting it within reach of its $13 billion fundraising target, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Reuters Americans brace for next foreclosure wave By Nick Carey GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio | Wed Apr 4, 2012 7:09pm EDT GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio (Reuters) - Half a decade into the deepest U.S. housing crisis since the 1930s, many Americans are hoping the crisis is finally nearing its end. House sales are picking up across most of the country, the plunge in prices is slowing and attempts by lenders to claim back properties from struggling borrowers dropped by more than a third in 2011, hitting a four-year low.

Reuters PIMCO's Gross shifts to defensive investment model By Manuela Badawy NEW YORK | Tue Feb 28, 2012 2:56pm EST (Reuters) - It's time for defense, says Bill Gross, manager of the world's largest bond fund. Gross, manager of PIMCO's $250 billion Total Return bond fund (PTTRX.O), used American football as a metaphor for his investment model in his March newsletter. He wrote that he has turned defensive as he watches out for potential downside risks and warns about the government's increased demand on available capital in the economy.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/17/us-usa-housing-defaults-idUSTRE81G04M20120217 Foreclosure abuse rampant across U.S., experts say By Tim Reid LOS ANGELES | Thu Feb 16, 2012 8:57pm EST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A report this week showing rampant foreclosure abuse in San Francisco reflects similar levels of lender fraud and faulty documentation across the United States, say experts and officials who have done studies in other parts of the country.

Insight: In euro zone crisis, companies plan for the unthinkable By Ben Hirschler and Scott Malone LONDON/BOSTON | Tue Nov 29, 2011 5:30pm EST (Reuters) - When Novo Nordisk's chief financial officer met marketing colleagues last Friday the conversation moved far beyond the usual discussion of sales and performance. Jesper Brandgaard asked a simple, far-reaching question: how would the firm set prices for two pivotal new insulin products if the euro collapsed?

France draws fire after "alarm bells" warning By Daniel Flynn and James Mackenzie PARIS/ROME | Tue Nov 15, 2011 6:52pm EST (Reuters) - France came under heavy fire on global markets Tuesday, reflecting fears that the euro zone's second biggest economy is being sucked into a spiraling debt crisis.

U.S. throws lifeline to underwater homeowners By Margaret Chadbourn WASHINGTON | Mon Oct 24, 2011 8:53pm EDT (Reuters) - U.S. homeowners who owe more than their properties are worth got new help on Monday with the government's expansion of a refinancing program in a step that could help up to 1 million borrowers.

Fed Focus: Fed activists loudly signal low bar to easing By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON | Mon Oct 24, 2011 7:11pm EDT (Reuters) - Pro-growth activists at the Federal Reserve have gotten noisier, a sign the central bank won't back off aggressive efforts to spur a stronger recovery despite the objections of critics.