Oil moves past $80-a-barrel mark

The price of oil breached $80 a barrel in early trading in Asia, a new high for the year, boosted by the weak US dollar and strong US company results.

US light crude then fell back slightly to $79.56. London Brent was unchanged at $77.77 a barrel.

Oil prices are rising as encouraging US company results fuel optimism for the global economic recovery.

Analysts said the short-term direction of oil is being driven by the dollar and rising equity markets.

"I think we will continue higher as we move into the fourth quarter. Investors think equity earnings are a good guide for the economic outlook so the better-than-expected reporting season is supporting [the oil price]," said Mark Pervan at ANZ.

But there are concerns that sentiment, rather than fundamentals, are driving the oil price, and that once these fundamentals re-establish themselves, the price may fall.

These include spare capacity, stock piles of oil and weak demand among industrialised nations.

US welcomes India's decision to allocate sites for N-plants

The US has welcomed India's decision to allocate sites for its two nuclear plants, saying the key step is a recognition of trust and brings the two nations closer to full cooperation on safe and clean energy sources.

On behalf of the people of the United States of America, I am very pleased with this key step that brings our two great nations closer to full cooperation on safe and clean energy sources, US Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer said in a statement in New Delhi after India made the announcement on Friday.

The government announced that it has allocated sites in Chhayamithi Virdi, in Gujarat, and Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh for the United States for the construction of civil nuclear power plants in pursuance to the agreement with the US for expanded cooperation on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.



This important announcement comes in welcome recognition of the trust and confidence as well as the growing partnership between our two countries, the Ambassador said.

He said the development not only promises to deliver greater access to clean and affordable energy and electricity for all Indians but also will produce jobs and economic opportunities for the people of both India and the United States.

Along with the two sites for the US, the government also announced earmarking of two sites -- Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu) and Haripur (West Bengal) -- for Russian nuclear plants and one in Jaitapur (Maharashtra) for France in pursuance to civil nuclear deals signed with them.

Oil price hits new high for 2009

The price of oil has reached a new high for 2009, continuing its recent rise on the back of the weak US dollar and strong US company results.

US crude rose 52 cents to $79.05 a barrel in early trading, before slipping back to $78.78, up 25 cents on Friday's close.

London Brent also traded higher, up 22 cents at $77.11 a barrel.

Oil prices surged last week, as encouraging US bank results fuelled optimism for the global economy.

Opel's German aid may break rules

The European Commission has warned that Germany's planned state aid for Opel may breach competition rules, raising the prospect of its sale being halted.

Brussels said there were "significant indications" Berlin pledged the 4.5bn euro ($6.7bn; £4bn) aid only if its preferred buyer for Opel was chosen.

US firm General Motors (GM) said last month it would sell Opel to Canada's Magna, Berlin's preferred buyer.

The Commission said GM should now be allowed to reconsider the sale.

Although GM picked Magna and its Russian backer Sherbank last month to buy Opel and Opel's UK brand Vauxhall, the deal has yet to be concluded.

Neither the German government nor Magna has yet given any reaction to the Commission's comments. The UK's Department for Business, Innovation & Skills also declined to comment.

However, Chris Preuss, GM's global vice-president for communications, said that if the proposed sale to Magna "couldn't pass EU regulations, we'd have no recourse but to reconsider the deal".

"Right now though we are working on a defined agreement with Magna and it's a complicated process with a lot of dialogue," he added.

"There are a lot of discussions going on at the moment, and there's a lot of detail to be ironed out between the German government and the EU."

US criticises 'inflexible yuan'

The US Treasury has criticised China for what it described as the lack of flexibility of the Chinese currency, the yuan.

It also criticised the rapid build-up of China's foreign exchange reserves in a report to the US Congress.

The Treasury said it had serious concerns about the rigidity of China's exchange rate.

But it stopped short of accusing China of currency manipulation, a politically contentious issue in the past.

"Both the rigidity of the renminbi and the reacceleration of reserve accumulation are serious concerns which should be corrected to help ensure a stronger, more balanced global economy consistent with the G-20 framework," the Treasury report said.

Google sees record $1.6bn profit

Google has reported its highest quarterly profit, suggesting that the internet advertising market is bouncing back from the recession.

Google reported net profit of $1.64bn (£1bn) for the third quarter, a 27% increase on the same period a year ago.

Revenue for the three-month period came in at $4.38bn, which was well ahead of analysts' expectations of $1.29bn.

"The worst of the recession is clearly behind us," said Google chief executive Eric Schmidt.

"Because of what we have seen, we now have the confidence to be optimistic about our future."

Google's shares rose $16.44, or 3.1%, to $546.35 in extended trading.

The internet search engine has weathered the recession better than other advertising-dependent companies, and it was widely expected to be one of the first beneficiaries of an economic recovery.

"Google has no competition. Yahoo is withering on the vine and [Microsoft's] Bing is too tiny now," said Coin Gillis, senior analyst at Brigantine Advisors.

"They did great on every single metric. We think this is sustainable."

Oil rises above USD 78, extends week-long rally

Oil prices continued a weeklong rally on Friday in Asia, jumping above USD 78 a barrel, after US gasoline inventories unexpectedly fell.

Benchmark crude for November delivery rose as much as 59 cents to USD 78.17 before slipping back to USD 78.03 by midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.



The contract on Thursday rose USD 2.40 to settle at USD 77.58.


The Energy Information Administration said on Thursday that US gasoline supplies fell 5.2 million barrels while analysts had expected a jump of 1.6 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.


Crude supplies rose 4,00,000 barrels, the EIA said, while analysts had anticipated an 2.2 million barrel gain.


Until this week, oil had bounced between USD 65 and USD 75 since May.


"The transition to a USD 70 to USD 80 range is now in full cry," Barclays Capital said in a report. "We expect further transitions upward to occur in line with improvements in the underlying market data."


A falling US dollar has also helped boost oil this week.


In other Nymex trading, heating oil was steady at USD 2.02 a gallon.



Gasoline for November delivery held at USD 1.95 a gallon. Natural gas for November delivery jumped 3.0 cents to USD 4.51 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Commerzbank sells off Kleinwort

Germany's Commerzbank has announced the sale of its UK wealth management arm Kleinwort Benson, less than one year after buying the division.

Belgian investment group RHJ International is paying £225m for the business in a deal which should be completed early next year.

RHJ said it planned to use Kleinwort as an "overarching brand for its financial businesses going forward."

Commerzbank acquired Kleinwort when it bought Dresdner Bank in January.

In August, Commerzbank reported a net loss of 763m euros ($1.1bn; £708m) for the April to June period, a slight improvement on the 861m-euro loss it made in the previous quarter.

The results were hit by a charges of 216m euros for integrating Dresdner.

Commerzbank says the total cost of integrating Dresdner will be 2bn euros in 2009.

The bank does not expect to return to profit until 2011.

Oil higher in Asian trade amid dollar weakness

Oil rose further in Asian trade on Wednesday, extending overnight gains after the dollar fell to a new 2009 low against the euro, analysts said.

Renewed hopes of better energy demand as the global economic recovery continues and the arrival of cold weather in the United States, the world's largest oil user, also lent support to crude prices, they said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for November delivery rose 70 cents to USD 74.85 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for November delivery advanced 54 cents to USD 72.94 a barrel.

Expectations that the dollar will continue to languish against the euro and other major currencies will boost the crude market, analysts said.

"We expect a further fall of the US currency over the next two weeks," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist with SJS Markets financial services firm in Hong Kong.

The euro reached USD 1.4876 during intra-day trading Tuesday, its highest level since August 2008, before easing to USD 1.4852 in late US trade.

With little reprieve seen for the dollar, investors have sought to protect themselves against the greenback's fall by buying hard assets such as oil and other commodities.


A struggling greenback tends to boost crude prices particularly because the dollar-denominated commodity becomes cheaper for foreign buyers holding stronger currencies.

Andrew Yule exits JV; sells 26% in Phoenix Yule for Rs 63 cr

The government approved selling of the entire 26 per cent stake held by state-owned engineering firm Andrew Yule & Co in Phoenix Yule Ltd for Rs 62.82 crore to Continental ContiTech.

Phoenix Yule Ltd is a joint venture between Andrew Yule & Co Ltd (AYCL) and Germany's Phoenix Aktiengesellschaft and is one of the largest manufacturers of conveyor belts in India.



While AYCL held 26 per cent stake in the JV, the rest is owned by the German partner.



The valuation of shares have been approved at a rate of Rs 49.50 per share for over 1.19 crore shares, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters in New Delhi on Thursday after the Cabinet meeting.



"Funds raised by way of disinvestment of AYCL shares in PYL will go towards repayment of a part of interest-free government of India loan of Rs 87.06 crore, which was extended to AYCL as a part of the restructuring package approved in 2007," Soni said.



The Rs 62.82 crore consideration also includes an additional compensation of Rs 3.69 crore, she added.



Continental ContiTech is a part of the German engineering and automotive group Continental.



The Phoenix Yule Ltd was formed on 19th November, 1998.



To implement the decision of the Cabinet dated 22nd February, 2007, an Inter-Ministerial Group headed by Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor, DHI was constituted to initiate the disinvestment process of AYCL's entire stake in PYL.



Also, to recommend the valuation of share price of PYL as per the terms laid down in JV signed between AYCL and PHX.



Kolkata-based AYCL, a public sector undertaking under the Department of Heavy Industry, is engaged in manufacturing of industrial fans, tea processing machinery, industrial pollution control equipment and system and allied products.



As on 31st March, 2008, AYCL had 15,754 regular employees.

Pound hit by falling UK inflation

A key measure of inflation has fallen to its lowest level since September 2004, official statistics show, further weakening the value of sterling.

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) dropped to an annual rate of 1.1% in September from 1.6% in August.

Meanwhile, the Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation measure, which includes mortgage interest payments and housing costs, fell, to -1.4% from -1.3%.

The pound fell 0.5% against the euro to a six-month low of 1.0628 euros.

It also fell to a five-month low against the dollar of $1.5730.