business news

Oil hovers above $82 as month-long rally stalls

2010-03-12T08:10:00.000-08:00

Oil prices hovered above $82 a barrel Friday in Asia as investors mulled whether extending a monthlong rally is justified amid evidence of weak U.S. crude demand.
Benchmark crude for April delivery was up 8 cents to $82.19 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 2 cents to settle at $82.11 on Thursday.

Crude has jumped 18 percent from $69.59 a barrel on Feb. 5 as economic data pointed to slow but steady U.S. economic growth. However, high crude inventories belie a rosy economic outlook, and suggest consumer spending remains sluggish.

"We are still having much difficulty in constructing a bullish fundamental case," Ritterbusch and Associates said in a report. "We expect the crude stock build to continue well into the spring period."

In other Nymex trading in April contracts, heating oil fell 1.04 cents to $2.1058 a gallon, and gasoline dropped 1.29 cents to $2.2722 a gallon. Natural gas declined 2.7 cents to $4.532 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude was up 11 cents at $80.39 on the ICE futures exchange.

source:The Associated Press,thejakartapost.

BNI targeting 150 Financing Procurement Railway carriage

2010-03-11T21:19:00.000-08:00

PT Bank Negara Indonesia Tbk targeting procurement project financing and construction of 150 railway carriage owned by PT Kereta Api. Previously, BNI had withdrawn the loan to PT KA for working capital needs Rp300 billion.

Was determined Head of Corporate Banking BNI Rosa Delima Dwi Mutiari in conversation with Media Indonesia, last weekend. According to him, this time, PT KA require financing for the procurement of 150 rail cars in need financing almost Rp5 trillion. In addition, the construction of railroads to the airport that some funds are expected to come from banks.

The amount of these funds needs to establish a bank syndicate. Currently, BNI has established the possibility of syndicated financing PT KA those with PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk. This is part of the expected synergies SOE SOE Ministry to support the development of SOEs. Currently, the three parties was to test the feasibility (feasibility study).

Rosa reminded, especially condition of rail cars in the outside lane of Java is needed rejuvenation. In fact, transportation train there was already one of the main transport. Not only transport passengers but also the transport of goods. With this potential, the bank is very interested in providing financing to remember the great potential he gets.

Coal Methane Gas Production in Sangatta I

2010-03-04T22:14:00.000-08:00

Based on World Bank data, the potential concentration of Coal Methane Gas is the largest in Borneo and Sumatra. In East Kalimantan, among others, scattered in Berau containing approximately 8.4 TCS, Pasir / Asem 3 TCS, TCS Tarakan 17.5, and 80.4 Kutai TCS. Barito regency, Central Kalimantan, has a 101.6 TCS, TCS 52.5 Central Sumatra, South Sumatra 183 TCS, and TCS 3.6 Bengkulu, Jatibarang (West Java) 0.8 TCS, and TCS Sulawesi 2.
Coal Methane Gas Production in Sangatta I
The results of drilling the first wells in the block of coal methane gas (coal bed methane / CBM) Sangatta I, East Kalimantan, reaching 12 m3/ton or 424 SCF / ton per day and planned to start production in early 2011 to come.

According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ephindo CBM Holdings Inc (Ephindo) Sammy Hamzah, at 2011 production targets inline with Government targets CBM production early 2011. Total gas that can be produced on the 12 m3/ton or 424 standard cubic feet (standard cubic feet / SCF) per ton.
The results of initial production will be supplied to meet the needs of gas plants. Faster production in accordance with government regulations if the gas should be produced before the development plan (plan of Developmental / PoD) is complete.

Block Sangatta developed by the consortium of PT Pertamina Upstream Energy with Energy Methane A Sangatta West Kalimantan CBM Inc., Ephindo subsidiary, with a commitment value of the first 3-year contract worth U.S. $ 7.7 million. Blok ini memiliki cadangan CBM terbesar yakni 6,49 triliun kubik standard (TCS). This block has the largest CBM reserves of 6.49 trillion standard cubic feet (TCS).

After Sangatta, CBM in Indragiri Hulu with Prima Mineral Samantaka as operator with the South Sumatra basin that have the resources TCS 5.50. Lowest resource block is located in Sekayu, Medco SBM Sekayo as operators with the South Sumatra basin with TCS 1.70.

Reserve Coal Bed Methane (CBM) Indonesia's current 450 that is large enough spread in TCS and 11 basin Greatest potential lies in the Barito area, East Kalimantan, which is approximately 101.6 TCS, followed by approximately 80.4 Kutai TCS.

Seo Advice: Monetizing Your Website With Adsense Is Profitable!

2010-03-04T21:11:00.000-08:00

By earning some few dollars per click from displaying Adsense ads on it. Many are now realizing that good money is made from this source of revenue. Try the simple mathematical computation of multiplying those clicks for every page on your website and you get a summation of earnings equivalent to a monthly residual income with that little effort you have made.
Google Adsense is a fast and easy way for website publishers of all sizes to display relevant and text-based Google ads on their websites content pages and earn money in the process. The ads displayed are related to what your users are looking for on your site. This is the main reason why you both can monetize and enhance your content pages using Adsense.

How much you will be earning will depend on how much the advertisers are willing to pay. It will depend also on the keywords required. If the keywords the advertiser have chosen are in high demand, you could receive more dollars per click. On the other hand, low demand keywords will earn you just a few cents per click.

How can you start making profits out of your website using Adsense?

1. Sign up for an Adsense account. It will only take a few minutes of your time.

2. When the site is accepted, you will be receiving a clip code to include in your web pages. You can insert this code on as many pages or web sites that you want. The AdWords will start appearing immediately after.

3. You will be earning a few cents or some dollars per click when someone starts clicking on the AdWords displayed on any of your web pages. Trying to earn false revenues by repetitively clicking on your own ads is a no-no. This will result in a penalty or the possibility of your site being eliminated. The money you have already earned may be lost because of this.

4. View your statistics. Adsense earnings can be checked anytime by logging into your web site account.

Once you got your account working, you may still want to pattern them to the many sites that are earning more money than you are. It is important to note that there are factors affecting how your website will perform and the amount of money it will give you.

It is a common practice that when a site earning money, the tendency is for the owner to want to make more out of what they are getting already. It usually takes some time combined with trial and error to attain what you want for your Adsense contents.

Time and some important factors that you can practice and use.

How do you increase your Adsense earnings?

1. Choose one topic per page. It is best to write a content for your page with just a few targeted phrases. The search engine will then serve ads that are more relevant which will then result in higher clickthoughs.

2. Using white space around your ad. This can make your ad stand out from the rest of your page so visitors can spot them easily. There are also other choices of colors you can use, provided by search engines, which can harmonize the color of your ad with the web page color.

3. Test your ad placement. It is recommended to use the vertical format that runs down the side of the web page to get more positive results. You can also try both horizontal and vertical formats for a certain period of time to see which one will give you better results.

4. More content-based pages. Widen the theme of your website by creating pages that focus more on your keyword phrases. This will optimize the pages for the search engines. It can not only attract traffic but also make them more relevant for the AdWords to be displayed. Black Hat Seo

5. Site Build It. This is the perfect tool to be used for creating lots of Adsense revenues. Site Build It has all the tools necessary to quickly achieve a keyword-rich site that can rank high in the search engines. This will also produce a flow of traffic to your site of highly targeted visitors.

By: Blackhat Guide

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Removing the financial problem

2010-03-01T05:02:00.000-08:00

Who is someone in the world who want to get into the financial mess. Surely we'll get a nobodys. You can overcome the above problems there are the following steps to free themselves from the tangle of financial problems are overwhelming.

Defining vision
Financial management is needed to save time, energy, and ensure the emotional and spiritual health are needed to reinforce the vision of what you want in life.
Each person would want a free life and quiet so you do not need to lie to yourself about how much money you have or even if you do not have it at all.

Begin to remove themselves from the financial turmoil by asking fundamental questions about what vision you have of life. After that, learn about:

1. What is your vision that you have realistic.
2. Like what is there versus the reality of your vision? Where's the discrepancy between the life you have now with the life you want?
3. Do the things you consumption (or the things you want and should have) brought you closer or even away from the life you want?

Knowing limits
Various credit card companies offer you a credit card to shop without limits, creating the illusion that you can buy anything using the plastic money ever.

You could have chosen to ignore the limit of credit card and shopping at will. However, every month you will find it difficult to pay off the accumulated debt. The most sensible option is to begin to set boundaries for ourselves in using credit cards.

Shopping habits
Learn your shopping habits to find out where the money to you for this. You may find that you've spent a lot of money to eat at restaurants, buying new clothes, or go on vacation to a luxury resort.

If you have successfully mapped shopping habits, you'll know what habits must be changed to save money pouch and avoid financial turmoil.

Needs vs. luxury
When people hold money, he would easily assume the luxury as essential and do everything they can to maintain his lifestyle. If you are married, sit down and talk with partners to determine what is truly important and what is not.

Be wise in making decisions that will affect your family's future. Once you successfully manage your finances well and out of the financial turmoil, the focus will change lives. Goods lost its importance and you soon get used to reduce unnecessary consumption.

Oil price assumptions would Modified

2010-02-19T03:33:00.000-08:00

The government will change the oil price assumption in the Budget Revenue and Expenditure Changes (Revised) 2010. The price of oil will be changed from U.S. $ 65 to U.S. $ 77 per barrel. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the changes are based on recent developments and prospects of world economic recovery. "Once shoot over to the figure of U.S. $ 80 (per barrel) was too fast. From U.S. $ 70 per barrel suddenly to U.S. $ 80. So that U.S. $ 77 was somewhat accurate and not over-shoot too high. But it is also high enough to capture changes in oil prices, "explained the minister, on Friday (19 / 2).

Currently, the position of world oil prices in a position US79, 06 per barrel. The price is the highest position in the past month. From the beginning of the year 2010, the position of the oil price in the range of U.S. $ 74 per barrel.

With the assumption of unchanged dollar is Rp9.500, then inflation will change from 5 percent to 5.7 percent. "Maximum 6 percent," said Sri Mulyani.

While the Interest Rate for 3-month Bank Indonesia is expected to reach 7 percent of the initial position is only 6.5 percent.

With this assumption changes the oil, the minister continued, will also impact the revenue the state. Expected to affect approximately Rp9 trillion to the national revenue. "That's the price of oil and the exchange rate perubhan against inflation," he said.

Revised filing to the board in 2010 is expected to be done on or after April will recess the House of Representatives. For economic growth, the government admitted to not make changes. 2008 and 2009.

Keep Government Assumption 5.5 Percent Economic Growth in Budget-P (APBN-P)

2010-02-18T04:08:00.000-08:00

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said the government still will submit the assumption of 5.5 percent economic growth in budget revenue and spending changes (Budget-P) in 2010. Because the level of consumption in December and January and quite good, there is the threat of inflation expectations high enough to make consumer purchasing power, or will be disturbed.

"If we keep (assuming economic growth) 5.5%. Even if the 6% based on fourth quarter results, especially past a pretty optimistic," said Finance Minister as the Cabinet met after the Assembly in his office on Thursday (18 / 2).

Finance minister added, meaning that the growth components derived from external factors, exports and imports are not as bad as expected."Then the investment also increased, although still at a very low level of only 3% growth," he explained.

Because about that, in order to grow at rates above at least 6%, it will require an investment growth is possible at the range of 7% to 8%.

The government will also see the consolidation of the banking sector to determine the economic growth assumptions.

Asian markets higher in holiday-thinned trade

2010-02-16T03:51:00.000-08:00

Asian stocks were modestly higher Tuesday in holiday-thinned trade as investors awaited another top level European finance meeting on Greece's debt crisis.

Markets in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia were closed for Lunar New Year holidays. Wall Street was closed Monday for the Presidents Day holiday.

The euro, battered to a nine-month low last week as Greece's problems undermined confidence in the common currency, gained against the dollar. Oil prices hovered above $74 a barrel.

Corporate earnings provided a positive glimmer Tuesday with Westpac, one of Australia's largest banks, reporting that first quarter earnings grew by a third as bad loans dropped and the economy bounced back from the global financial meltdown.

But concerns about the fallout from Greece's debt crunch remain close to the surface.

The 16 nations that use the euro have pledged to help Greece if it can't repay its debts - but want Greece to make big spending cuts first.

On Tuesday, the finance ministers of the full 27-nation European Union meet and Greece is expected to be top of the agenda. Investors fear a Greek default could spark a wider European debt crisis, threatening governments ability to borrow money.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average was up 38.07 points, or 0.4 percent, at 10,051.37 and South Korea's Kospi gained 8.14, or 0.6 percent, to 1,602.78.

Australia's benchmark climbed 0.4 percent and India's Sensex added 0.3 percent. Elsewhere, Indonesia's market was flat and New Zealand's stock index advanced 0.9 percent.

In Europe on Monday, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed up 25.02, or 0.5 percent, at 5,167.47 while Germany's DAX rose 10.71, or 0.2 percent, at 5,511.10. The CAC-40 in France was 11.27, or 0.3 percent, higher at 3,610.34.

Oil prices hovered above $74 a barrel in Asia as investors looked for signs of improving global crude demand amid light holiday trading.

Benchmark crude for March delivery as up 21 cents at $74.34 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. With markets closed Monday in the U.S., the contract last settled on Friday, falling $1.15 to $74.13.

In currencies, the dollar fell to 89.92 yen from 90 yen. The euro gained to $1.3639 from $1.3597.

The Associated Press , Bangkok | Tue, 02/16/2010 1:01 PM | Business

The Case For Gold

2010-02-04T03:55:00.001-08:00

Gold. Everyone’s talking about it, and a lot of people are investing in gold and gold stocks. Even gold penny stocks are doing well. But is gold really a golden opportunity?

You have countries like India and Sri Lanka and China buying gold from the IMF like it is going out of style – it is not really, but much better than holding the alternative – the US dollar. India actually started the buying rally and is being hailed as a visionary as the price of gold has risen spectacularly since its initial buy.

Which brings me to my second point: the Fed. The US Fed is printing greenbacks like they’re free – which they might soon be – leaving gold as the only viable investment option for the conservative investor.
And lets face it, by historic, inflation adjusted prices, the price of gold is nowhere near its 1980’s high. Adjusted for inflation, the price of gold would have to hit $2300 per ounce to match it.

Also several major companies like Barrick and Newmont are eliminating their hedge positions in gold – a huge economic endorsement for the price of gold since it essentially means that the price of their stock will now reflect the price of gold. (No more hedging, get it?). For example, in the very recent past, Barrick was known as having the largest book on gold hedging. It did this to protect its cashflow from unseen fluctuations (read decreases) in the price of gold. So with a hedge, if the price of gold were to decrease, Barrick would already have received a higher profit by pre-selling. With a price increase, it would have lost extra profit, but the hedge would have ensured its profitability.
Now with no hedge, Barrick essentially is betting that the price of gold will rise. Without a hedge, as the price of gold rises, Barrick will capture higher profits since its expenses to mine gold are essentially unchanged. However, if the price of gold drops, it risks cutting into its margins and in a severe case could see losses.

In my opinion, however, large cap stocks are already priced with reserves and revenues fairly stable and estimates readily available. Further, they are followed by so many investors and institutions, that any new demand for their stock is likely to only have a negligible effect on stock price. A small discovery would also have a small effect on stock price due to the number of shares outstanding. They therefore provide no further opportunity to make outsized profits.

So while the world is buying gold, the Fed is printing money and ironically worried about inflation at the same time, the price of gold keeps rising.
The gold market is essentially just that, a market. And as a market, the price of gold is determined by supply and demand.

Gold production world-wide has decreased by nearly 8% since 2001, while the price of gold and gold producers has risen as much as 46% in 2009 alone.

The case for investing in gold stocks, naturally follows the same logic.

By: Zach Soloman

Article Directory: articledashboard

To find the current price of gold at any time, just visit www.kitco.com And to get our first penny stock pick for 2010, a gold pick no less, subscribe at pennystockjockey I've been actively speculating in penny stocks for years. Having seen and met the good, bad and ugly, I have the tools to identify those penny stocks headed for superstardom, and those headed for the wallpaper category. www.pennystockjockey.com

Oil rises above $83 amid strong China demand

2010-01-11T05:05:00.000-08:00

Oil prices jumped above $83 a barrel Monday in Asia amid signs of strong Chinese demand for crude and a weakening U.S. dollar.

Benchmark crude for February delivery was up 80 cents to $83.55 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, the contract rose 9 cents to settle at $82.75.

China said Sunday that oil imports rose 14 percent last year to a record high in December, part of a 56 percent surge in overall imports last month. The better than expected Chinese figures helped investors brush off Friday's disappointing U.S. jobless report, which showed the economy lost 85,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate was steady at 10 percent.

A weaker dollar also helped boost oil prices, as investors buy commodities as a hedge against inflation.

The euro rose to $1.4530 on Monday from $1.4430 on Friday while the dollar fell to 92.20 yen from 92.54.

Crude prices have spiked 20 percent in the last month as a rash of cold winter weather in parts of the U.S., Europe and Asia boost demand for oil products such as heating oil.

Supplies were threatened in Nigeria, where unidentified gunmen attacked a Chevron Corp. crude oil pipeline, cutting production by 20,000 barrels a day, a company spokesman said Saturday.

In other Nymex trading in February contracts, heating oil rose 2.09 cents to $2.22 a gallon and gasoline gained 2.15 cents to $2.18 a gallon. Natural gas futures were down 16.5 cents to $5.58.

In London, Brent crude for February delivery rose 72 cents to $82.08 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

The Associated Press , Singapore | Mon, 01/11/2010 6:34 PM | Business
Source:thejakartapost

Riau Arlines halts flights to Jakarta

2010-01-09T18:15:00.001-08:00

RAL launched its Pekanbaru-Jakarta route in December 2008 when Samudra Sukardi, a brother of former state enterprises minister Laksamana Sukardi, was its president director.

Riau Airlines (RAL), one of regional players in the country’s aviation industry, has terminated its Pekanbaru-Jakarta route, citing continual losses as a result of the tight competition.

For its future business, Teguh said RAL would focus on its commercial flight services in Sumatra. The company recently opened a new route to Jambi and will fly to Palembang in the near future.

RAL fleet now comprises two RJ-100 and five Fokker-50 planes.

Teguh said the company might resume flights to Jakarta when it could buy big airplanes.

thejakartapost

Garuda to go public in Q1 of 2010

2010-01-09T18:08:00.000-08:00

State SOE Miister Mustafa Abubakar said the government would privatizate state airline company PT Garuda Indonesia through an initial public offering in the first quarter of 2010.
“Let’s pray for positive market response, so that the shares that we sell will meet our target,” Mustafa said during the launch of a green campaign involving Garuda and Leuser International Foundation in Banda Aceh on Saturday.

Garuda will privatize 25 percent of its shares to raise US$300 million it needs to buy new planes and improve services.

Garuda president director Emirsyah Satar said the company would purchase nearly 50 planes to strengthen its fleet of 67 planes by 2014.

The national flag carrier is one of three state enterprises that will go public this year. The other two companies are steel producer PT Krakatau Steel and construction company PT Pembangunan Perumahan.

Source: thejakartapost

Oil rises to near $82 on stocks, cold weather

2010-01-06T01:31:00.000-08:00

The Jakarta Post , Tokyo | Tue, 01/05/2010 7:36 PM | Business

Oil rose to near $82 a barrel Tuesday after a jump in U.S. stock markets boosted investor confidence and helped extend a four-week rally in crude prices.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for February delivery was up 8 cents to $81.59 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract climbed $2.15 to settle at $81.51 on Monday.

Oil traders often look to stock markets as a measure of overall investor sentiment, and equities rose in the first trading day of 2010 as investors eyed signs of improvement in U.S. and Chinese manufacturing.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.5 percent on Monday while the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 1.6 percent. Most major Asian and European stock indexes were up Tuesday.

"Should the stock market maintain its upward momentum amid a further weakening of the dollar, it appears that the oil complex should be well equipped to advance further," Galena, Illinois-based Ritterbusch and Associates said in a report.

Crude prices also rose due to colder weather in the U.S., which traders expect will spur higher demand for oil products such as heating oil.

"On the weather front, the U.S. might experience its coldest winter since the 1980s," said JBC Energy in Vienna. "In Britain, the freezing cold temperatures are also likely to continue, after a record cold December."

Oil has surged about 15 percent since mid-December.

In other Nymex trading in February contracts, heating oil rose 0.15 cent to $2.1920 a gallon and gasoline gained 0.36 cents to $2.1080 a gallon. Natural gas was down 9.6 cents to 5.788 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude for February delivery rose 9 cents to $80.21 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Japan unveils growth plan for next decade

2009-12-30T04:24:00.000-08:00

Japan's Prime Minister, faced with fading support as the country struggles to maintain its fledgling economic recovery, Wednesday outlined a new set of measures to spur growth over the next decade.

The plan aims for the country's economy to expand at an average of 2 percent over the next 10 years, with gross domestic product to grow to 650 trillion yen ($7 trillion) from the 473 trillion yen projected for the current fiscal year.

Final details are to be set by June of next year, ahead of nationwide elections for the upper house of parliament. That vote is seen as a major test for the new government, which swept to power this year by winning a majority in the powerful lower house, but has seen its popularity plunge by double digits in recent polls.

"With the understanding that the new government's ability to take action is being tested at this time, we will do whatever it takes to achieve this," Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told a news conference.

Hatoyama also said Japan would look to become less reliant on the U.S. economically and increase trade with its Asian neighbors, targeting a free trade zone in the region by 2020.

"Until now our connection with the U.S. has been very strong. Naturally this will continue to be the case in maintaining security. But in terms of economic growth, it is necessary to look closely at Asia as a new frontier," he said.

While the world's second-largest economy has shown some signs of recovery recently, including higher exports from its factories, deflation remains a major concern, and domestic demand is in a prolonged slump.

The new plan includes creating a $540 billion market for environmentally friendly products and renewable energy that will create 1.4 million jobs. It also seeks to create 2.8 million jobs in the health and caregiving sectors, that will cater to Japan's aging population.

Last week, Japan unveiled a record $1 trillion budget for the next fiscal year, reflecting the prime minister's campaign pledge to boost spending for child support and cut wasteful outlays on public works.

The government forecast earlier this month that Japan's economy would grow 1.4 percent next year, the first expansion in three years.

The Associated Press , Tokyo | Wed, 12/30/2009 1:50 PM | Business

source :www.thejakartapost.com-

The oil rises on $73

2009-12-18T05:15:00.000-08:00

The prices of petroleum rose on $73 by barrel Fridays in Asia in the middle of plans of the expectations OPEC to leave to levels of the production without changes in their meeting the next week.

Benchmark crudefor January delivery was up 76 cents to $73.41 at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, the contract fell 1 cent to settle at $72.65

Investors are also awaiting the meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which will take place in Angola on Tuesday. The oil cartel isn't expected to announce any changes to production levels.

The trader also are looking for the demand of the evidence for gross petroleum and their products are improving. The Department of Energy that the data relesed at the beginning of this week demonstrated that it demands of the USA for the distillates such as fuel domestic and diesel they were in his more stop from March due to a colder time and an increasing economy, capital of Barclays said.

"Distillate demand showed the first signs of inspiration," Barclays Capital said in a report. "Cold weather should cmpliment the advent of greater trucking activity, thereby providing a boost to demand."

In other Nymex trading in January contracts, heating oil rose 0.6 cent to $1.9634 while gasoline rose 1.05 cent to $1.8625. Natural gas rose 5.7 cents to $5.825 per 1,000 cubic feet.

in London, the gross petroleum of Brent for the February delivery rose 62 cents to $73,99 in the interchange of the futures of the ICE.

Also on Globex Friday, January natural-gas futures gained 9 cents, or 1.6%, to $5.86 per million British thermal units.

Natural-gas prices rose more than 5% Thursday, after a report showed weekly U.S. stockpiles dropped sharply as cold temperatures across much of the nation boosted use of heating fuels.

source : The Associated Press, Marketwatch.

Pertamina secures $700m in loans to fund investment

2009-12-11T04:37:00.001-08:00

State oil and gas firm PT Pertamina Thursday secured US$700 million in a consolidated loan from a consortium of eight banks, to bump up capital spending next year by 77 percent from a year earlier.
Ferederick Siahaan, Pertamina’s finance director, said the loan commitment was signed on Thursday afternoon at Pertamina’s headquarters in Jakarta. The eight banks are BNP Paribas, ANZ, HSBC, RBS, BCA, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Panin Bank.

Ferederick said the loan with a tenure of five years is at the LIBOR interest rate plus 2.5 percent.
“The loan is part of the external financing for Pertamina’s capital expenditure in 2010,” Ferederick told reporters on the sideline of the 52nd Pertamina anniversary ceremony.

Ferederick had said that Pertamina’s capital expenditure would increase from Rp 22 trillion (US$2.3 billion), which was the company’s spending target in 2009, to Rp 39 trillion in 2010. “About Rp 26 trillion of this will be used for upstream activities,” Ferederick said on Nov. 12.

Pertamina is expected to launch more aggressive production activities next year.

President director Karen Agustiawan said the company expected to boost its oil production target to 193,900 barrels of oil per day next year, a 10.93 percent increase on the oil production target in 2009.

Ferederick said that, as much as $2.5 billion of the capital expenditure planned for next year would be financed from external sources, including the $700 million consolidated loan secured by the firm on Thursday.

He added that Pertamina expected to sign another $300 million consolidated loan next week.
“The loan will be from Bank Mandiri and Bank Rakyat Indonesia [BRI],” Ferederick said.

Earlier he said that Pertamina was also considering a proposal to issue $1 billion in dollar-denominated bonds and Rp 1 trillion in rupiah-denominated bonds.

Ferederick said Pertamina had already sent out requests for possible underwriters. “We expect to conduct the beauty contest this month,” he said.

He added, the firm could only issue the bonds after the financial audit for 2009 was completed, so as to base the issue on the latest audited figures, which would be available by March or April next year.

source : Alfian|Thejakartapost.com|Business

Steel makers to avoid prolonged downturn

2009-11-29T03:13:00.001-08:00

The Jakarta Post reported that the metal, iron and steel industries expect costs to fall and demand to level up next year, helping manufacturers to avoid continued contraction triggered by the 2008 global economic crisis.
The metal, iron and steel industries expect costs to fall and demand to level up next year, helping manufacturers to avoid continued contraction triggered by the 2008 global economic crisis.

Given extremely poor sales conditions and sky rocketing production costs, the extent of the contraction reached 7.19 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of this year. But there is likely to be a turn for the better next year.

The industry ministry said it expects up to 2.75 percent growth in sales by the end of 2010.

Mr Ansari Buchari steel ministry's director general for metal, machinery, textile and miscellaneous industries said that "We expect conditions will get back to normal in 2010, with more balanced costs and production structures."

Improvement in global market conditions, Ansari said, would help the basic metal, iron and steel industries to grow beyond 2 percent next year even though producers spent only limited amounts on new investment this year.

He said that improvement in global market conditions would help the basic metal, iron and steel industries to grow beyond 2% next year even though producers spent only limited amounts on new investment this year.

Investment by the big players, he said, would soon start with the signing of an agreement next week between state-owned steelmaker PT Krakatau Steel and South Korean steelmaker Pohang Iron and Steel Company (Posco) to build a new US$5 billion steel factory in Cilegon, Banten.

The factory is expected to produce 2.5 million tons of steel slabs and steel billets pear year in the first phase of operations.

Mr Hidajat Triseputro executive director of Indonesian Iron & Steel Industry Association said that the slump in global demand had forced many manufacturers to run on as little as 30% to 40% of their production capacity. He added that "Our utilized capacity has been only 30% to 40% since the third quarter of last year, in contrast to 70% of utilized capacity in the second quarter of 2008."

Mr Hidajat said that apart from enjoying a positive trend towards favorable global market conditions, steel producers were also hoping to benefit from the government's increased support for infrastructure projects starting next year. He added that "That is where our hope lies. With infrastructure projects running, there will be many steel manufacturers positively affected. Infrastructure and toll roads need steel."

Hidajat said apart from enjoying a positive trend towards favorable global market conditions, steel producers were also hoping to benefit from the government's increased support for infrastructure projects starting next year.

"That is where our hope lies. With infrastructure projects running, there will be many steel manufacturers *positively affected*. Infrastructure and toll roads need steel," Hidajat said.

However, he also warned of a possible rush of steel imports next year, when a free trade agreement between Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China begins to come into effect, which will include steel (among other products).

He said the association was gathering information after recent indications of increases in steel imports.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded that imports of iron and steel increased from US$279.6 million in July to $364.5 million in August and $434.1 million in September; and imports of iron and steel products stood at $237.5 million in July, $239.3 million in August and $184.4 million in September.

However, between January and September, overall imports of iron and steel declined from $6.6 billion last year to $2.7 billion this year and imports of iron and steel products declined from $2.4 billion last year to $2.1 billion this year, the BPS says.

Sourced from : Mustaqim Adamrah |www.The Jakartapost.com|

Oil jumps above $80

2009-11-15T06:57:00.001-08:00

Oil prices rose Wednesday ahead of a government report on crude supplies as the dollar tumbled and an independent report said the U.S. economy shed fewer jobs in October than September.

Benchmark crude for December delivery added 54 cents to $80.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for December delivery rose 55 cents to $78.66 on the ICE Futures exchange.

There are signs that the economy may have bottomed out, which could mean energy demand will bounce back.

Yet the speed at which crude and gasoline prices are rising has raised concern that the added burden for U.S. consumers and business could quash the very recovery that oil investors anticipate.

Crude prices have increased since the summer despite large petroleum stockpiles and a drop in American driving.

One big part of rising oil prices is the value of the dollar. Oil is traded in U.S. currency, and as the dollar falls, oil gets cheaper for investors holding euros and other strong international currencies.

Later Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve will release a statement on interest rates. Interest rates, which have a heavy influence on the dollar, are expected to be left unchanged near zero, though the language in the Fed statement will be parsed for any hints about the health of the economy and how soon rates might be increased.

Benefits outsourcer Automatic Data Processing Inc. said in a report Wednesday that fewer jobs were lost in October than September.

Meanwhile, analysts expect the government will say Wednesday that oil inventories grew last week, though a survey by American Petroleum Institute showed that crude stockpiles dropped.

Investors also have been pumping money into oil contracts on the expectation that Americans will start driving more as the economy recovers.

OPEC isn't "telling you that oil is a good buy at these prices," analyst Stephen Schork said. "The only people who are telling you that oil is worth $85 (a barrel) is Wall Street."

In other Nymex trading, heating oil rose less than a penny to $2.0757 a gallon. Gasoline for December delivery advanced 1.16 cents to $2.012 a gallon. Natural gas for December fell 6.3 cents to $4.859 per 1,000 cubic feet.(The Jakarta Post).

Oil prices top $80 in New York

2009-11-15T04:50:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK – Oil prices jumped Wednesday, pushing above $80 in New York, as traders digested data showing sliding crude stockpiles in the United States, a possible sign of firming economic conditions.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December spiked as high as $81.06 per barrel, before pulling back to close at $80.40, up 80 cents from Tuesday.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for December delivery climbed 78 cents to settle at $78.89 a barrel.

The US Department of Energy (DoE) announced Wednesday that US crude reserves sank by four million barrels in the week ending October 30, surprising analysts expecting a rise.

The DoE added that there were also small drops in stockpiles of gasoline (petrol) and distillates, which include heating fuel and diesel.

Andy Lipow at Lipow Oil Associates said the inventory data "was a very big surprise to the market and that coupled with a weaker dollar contributed to the market rallying."

He said the Federal Reserve announcement later in the day -- keeping near-zero interest rates with no hint of a change in policy -- also buoyed sentiment.

"The perception is that as the economy grows, people have more money in their pocket, they can spend more money that translates into higher petroleum demand," he said.

Mike Fitzpatrick at MF Global said traders were searching for signs of a pickup in economic activity, which would boost demand for energy and lift prices.

"Waxing and waning sentiment focusing on a recovery is again dominating participants' trading decisions," he said.

"Is there a recovery under way? Will a recovery be sustainable? Will consumers open their wallets again?"

He said the situation may become clearer after the monthly US jobs report on Friday, which is expecting to show job losses narrowing to around 175,000 in October.

"It will be recorded as a definite positive if job losses are 200,000 or less," Fitzpatrick said.

"As the economy appears to be improving, economists' repeated exhortations over the years for Americans to consume less and for the Chinese to consume more looks to be coming true.

Purvin and Gertz analyst Victor Shum said prices were unlikely to hold above $80 owing to concerns about weak energy demand amid mixed signals on the state of the global economy.

"When oil gets close to the $80 level and the market tends to focus more on the high inventories of crude oil and fuel globally, it is difficult to surge through $80 and sustain above the $80 level," Shum said.

Oil prices had already leapt on Tuesday as commodities gained a boost from gold futures, which have struck a series of record highs.

The price of gold surged to a record peak in the wake of the International Monetary Fund's massive sale of the precious metal to India.

Gold and other commodity prices have surged in recent months amid a move away from the dollar, which has been slumping. The move accelerated last month on a report that Gulf states may stop using the greenback for oil trading.

business.inquirer.net

PT Pertamina plans to spend Rp 39 trillion ($4.15 billion) in 2010

2009-11-13T05:55:00.000-08:00

State oil and gas company PT Pertamina plans to spend Rp 39 trillion ($4.15 billion) in capital expenditure in 2010, up by about 77 percent on this year's estimated spending, a director said Thursday.

Ferederick ST Siahaan, Pertamina's finance director, said the company's capital expenditure would increase from Rp 22 trillion, which is the spending estimate for this year, up to Rp 39 trillion in 2010.

"This is our prediction, but we still need approval from the shareholder meeting," Ferederick ST Siahaan, finance director, said.

He added that as much as $2.5 billion of the spending would be secured from loans, including from $1 billion of global (dollar-denominated) bonds and Rp 1 trillion of rupiah-denominated bonds.

"We can only issue the bonds after the financial audit for 2009 is finished. Thus, this will perhaps be in March or April next year," said Ferederick, adding that this was also subject to shareholders' approval.

Pertamina plans to use around Rp 26 trillion, about 66.67 percent of the planned capital expenditure in 2010, investing in upstream activities, he added.

Pertamina president director Karen Agustiawan said the company expected to boost oil production by 10.93 percent next year. The company estimates that it will produce 174,000 barrel oil per day (bopd) this year.

"We expect to increase the production target to 193,900 bopd in 2010," Karen said.

Karen added that the Cepu block was expected to contribute significantly to the targeted oil production increase in the coming year.

"We expect that the Cepu block will start its early production of 20,000 bopd by the beginning of 2010. Of this production, Pertamina expect to get 9,000 bopd," Karen said.

As for gas production, Pertamina expects to increase production from 1,314 million standard cubic feet per (MMSCFD) of gas, which is the 2009' gas production estimate, to 1,370 MMSCFD in 2010.

Ferederick said that Pertamina would also use part of the planned capital spending upgrading existing refineries and on the construction of new refineries.

In the period 2012 to 2016, Pertamina plans to upgrade production capacity at the refineries in Plaju, Cilacap, Balikpapan, Dumai, and Balongan.

It also plans to construct three new refineries, namely the Blue Sky Cilacap refinery in Cilacap, Central Java; the Banten Bay refinery in Banten; and the East Java refinery.

Ferederick said these upstream projects would require investment finance of between $17 billion and 19 billion. "The finance will be prepared next year," he added.

Pertamina has been the most profitable state owned company. This year, the company expects to book as much as Rp 15.39 trillion in profits, a major fall on the Rp 30.195 trillion booked by the firm in 2008, reflecting earlier higher oil prices.

(Alfian , The Jakarta Post)

Debit cards or credit cards

2009-11-12T03:48:00.000-08:00

Debit card

A debit card (also known as a bank card or check card) is a plastic card that provides an alternative payment method to cash when making purchases. Functionally, it can be called an electronic cheque, as the funds are withdrawn directly from either the bank account, or from the remaining balance on the card. In some cases, the cards are designed exclusively for use on the Internet, and so there is no physical card.

The use of debit cards has become widespread in many countries and has overtaken the cheque, and in some instances cash transactions by volume. Like credit cards, debit cards are used widely for telephone and Internet purchases, and unlike credit cards the funds are transferred from the bearer's bank account instead of having the bearer to pay back on a later date.

Debit cards can also allow for instant withdrawal of cash, acting as the ATM card for withdrawing cash and as a cheque guarantee card. Merchants can also offer "cashback"/"cashout" facilities to customers, where a customer can withdraw cash along with their purchase.

Credit card

A credit card is part of a system of payments named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system. It is a card entitling its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services. The issuer of the card grants a line of credit to the consumer (or the user) from which the user can borrow money for payment to a merchant or as a cash advance to the user.

A credit card is different from a charge card, where a charge card requires the balance to be paid in full each month. In contrast, credit cards allow the consumers to 'revolve' their balance, at the cost of having interest charged. Most credit cards are issued by local banks or credit unions, and are the shape and size specified by the ISO/IEC 7810 standard as ID-1. This is defined as 85.60 × 53.98 mm in size.

Debit cards or credit cards?

Credit or debit? That question will sound familiar to anyone who has presented their credit card or debit card when making an in-store purchase. But before you even get to the register, you should ask yourself that very same question in order to decide if you want a debit card or credit card in your wallet.

For consumers, the difference between a "debit card" and a "credit card" is that the debit card deducts the balance from a deposit account, like a checking account, whereas the credit card allows the consumer to spend money on credit to the issuing bank. In other words, a debit card uses the money you have and a credit card uses the money you don't have. "Debit cards" which are linked directly to a checking account are sometimes dual-purpose, so that they can be used as a credit card, and can be charged by merchants using the traditional credit networks. A merchant will ask for "credit or debit?" if the card is a combined credit+debit card. If the payee chooses "credit", the credit balance will be debited the amount of the purchase which is then withdrawn at a later date; if the payee chooses "debit", the bank account balance will be debited the amount of the purchase and the money will be withdrawn from the bank account immediately. Another option is to have a credit connected to the bank account so that if there is no money on it, the bank allows some negative balance according to a credit agreement. Then the customer does not have to choose credit or debit, the debit card turns into a credit card if there is not enough account balance.

Paying by debit is quick and easy, and will not result in you paying any interest. However, as mentioned earlier, debit card users do not experience the float enjoyed when making a check or credit card payment. When making debit card payments for large purchases, it is best to do so at a store that allows you to thoroughly inspect the merchandise before buying. Also, large purchases may need to go on your credit card due to the fact some debit cards carry a maximum daily spending limit. Finally, credit cards remain preferable for ordering merchandise over the phone or the Internet, as they allow the consumer greater recourse in case something goes wrong.

Remember, its prudent to live within one’s means, and in that regard the discipline of spending using one’s Debit card is a good one. Use your credit card only when you are confident that you have the capacity to repay your dues.

UK to shake up banking, 100s of branches for sale

2009-11-01T08:13:00.000-08:00

Associated Press , London | Sun, 11/01/2009 12:54 PM | Business

The Royal Bank of Scotland, Northern Rock, and Lloyds Banking Group are to sell off as many as 700 branches in the next few years in exchange for the public aid they received during the economic meltdown, a government official told The Associated Press.

The assets being put up for sale would be reserved for new entrants to the British banking market, effectively creating three new banks over the next five years or so, the official said late Saturday.

The official said that the banks were in negotiations with Britain's treasury and European regulators over how many assets they would have to give up in return for the help they received from taxpayers.

"Essentially, they are expected to have to divest - each of them - some of their branches," he said.

As many as 700 branches could be sold off, the official said. That figure would include all of Northern Rock's 100 or so branches, as well as chunks from the Lloyds Banking Group PLC's approximately 3,000 branches and just over 2,200 branches operated by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC.

Established players such as Barclays PLC or the Spanish Banco Santander S.A., which owns three UK banking businesses, would not be allowed to bid.

The official warned that the figures were subject to change, and spoke on condition of anonymity because the moves had yet to be finalized. He added that an official announcement could come within days.

The shake-up would come after Britain pumped billions of pounds (dollars) into its banking sector in an effort to stave off the collapse of its financial system in the wake of the credit crunch. Northern Rock was nationalized early last year after it struggled to raise funds from crunch-hit wholesale lending markets. The government has significant stakes in both RBS and Lloyds Banking Group.

Grows at fastest pace in 7 years

2009-10-28T05:58:00.000-07:00

South Korea's economy grew at its fastest pace in over seven years in the third quarter amid strength in manufacturing and capital spending, the central bank said Monday, as Asian countries lead the global recovery.

Gross domestic product grew 2.9 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30 compared with the previous quarter when it expanded 2.6 percent, the Bank of Korea announced. The figure is preliminary and subject to revision.

That marked the strongest growth since an expansion of 3.8 percent in the first quarter of 2002, according to bank data.

South Korea has been recovering from its worst downturn since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis as a weaker currency and government stimulus programs overseas boost exports. Record-low interest rates and government spending at home have also helped stimulate Asia's fourth-largest economy.

The unemployment rate fell in September to a nine-month low of 3.4 percent, consumer and business sentiment have risen and the current account - South Korea's broadest measure of trade - is firmly back in surplus after a deficit last year for the first time since 1997. Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., both major exporters, reported record quarterly net profit in the third quarter as sales rose.

The country's latest GDP figure marks the third straight three-month period that the economy has grown. It eked out a 0.1 percent expansion in the first quarter after having contracted 5.1 percent in the final three months of 2008.

The central bank also said Monday that South Korea's economy grew in the third quarter compared with the same period last year, expanding 0.6 percent. That snapped three straight quarters of year-on-year contraction.

Manufacturing expanded 8.7 percent in the third quarter, while capital spending grew 8.9 percent.

The latest growth figures also add to evidence that Asian countries are leading a recovery in the world economy after it slumped severely in the aftermath of the global financial meltdown last year.

China's economy, the world's third largest, grew 8.9 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, accelerating from an expansion of 7.9 percent in the second. Singapore's economy grew an annualized 14.9 percent in the third quarter, expanding for a second straight three-month period.

Japan, the world's second-largest economy, grew at an annual pace of 2.3 percent in the second quarter, following a yearlong contraction. Japan has yet to release figures for the third quarter.

Asia's performance contrasts with that of other major economies, some of which remain mired in recession. The German and French economies each grew a modest 0.3 percent in the second quarter. They have yet to release results for the third.

Britain's economy, however, shrank 0.4 percent in the third quarter, confounding expectations of growth.

The United States shrank 0.7 percent in the second quarter, though is expected to have expanded in the third after four straight quarters of decline.

Given South Korea's recovery, economists have been closely watching the Bank of Korea for signs it may begin to raise its key interest rate, which has been kept at a record low 2 percent for an eight months. At it most recent meeting this month, the bank largely doused speculation a rise could come this year. Economists expect it to lift borrowing costs, gradually beginning early next year.(TheJakartapost)