Archive for the ‘US’ Category
August 24, 2012
It is electricity price – rather than energy price – which is I think the more telling parameter for growth and investment. And it is electricity price which matters fundamentally. Winning “brownie points” for being virtuous and politically correct is irrelevant and often counter-productive.
Historically, a low (unsubsidised) electricity price has nearly always given high growth, increased exports to regions with higher electricity prices and an attractive climate to invest in. This simple observation will now lead to my shifting my (small) investments away from Australia for some time – at least as long they continue with their virtuous but meaningless carbon tax. On the other hand, the relatively low electricity prices resulting from the advent of shale gas in the US augur well for the US economy and for US exporters – irrespective of which party the President comes from.
In my own field of power generation I expect a gas turbine combined cycle boom in the US in 2014/15 (which will also be a boom for steam turbine manufacturers). So my message for the next 5 or 6 years is to shift your investments away from Australia (and other virtuous but economically silly countries) and into countries promoting low energy prices (US and other countries where the environmental regulations and tax regimes allow production of electricity at the lowest possible cost).
Sydney Morning Herald:
BHP Billiton head Marius Kloppers has told European investors that Australia’s carbon and mining taxes have helped to render the nation’s coal industry unworthy of further investment at this time. …….
In comments that appeared to be more pointed than those given in his Australian media conference, Mr Kloppers put some of the blame on the federal government’s two controversial new taxes.
”What I am seeing on the eastern seaboard in Australia is that the coal industry has been very heavily impacted by lower prices, higher operating costs, carbon taxes and increased royalties,” he said.
Royalties were increased by the New South Wales government as it sought to exploit a loophole in the federal government’s new mining tax, and a similar tactic is now being considered by the Queensland government. ….
Financial Times:
….. Today, few realise that the US stands on the cusp of significant economic gains stimulated by low energy costs. High quality global journalism requires investment. …..
The consensus view discounts the economic boost from natural gas, arguing that the energy sector cannot generate so many jobs. The doubters wear blinkers; they see nothing but the energy market. They commit the mistake made by forecasters in 1991. They miss the tectonic shifts in trade, ….
(The shale gas) advantage gives manufacturing plants in the US a 60 per cent, 70 per cent or even 80 per cent cost advantage over those operating in China, Japan, South Korea or European countries.
Read more: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/09fbb2ac-87b8-11e1-ade2-00144feab49a.html#axzz24QutnD2A
Tags:Australia, Carbon tax, electricity price and growth, investment, Shale gas, US
Posted in Australia, Business, Energy, US | Comments Off on Long term investment: Avoid the carbon taxers (Australia) and follow the shale gas (US)
May 11, 2012
It would seem that the wind lobby is more influential with the US Government than the wildlife lobby. Of course there is a lot more money involved in extracting subsidies for wind and solar energy than there is in wildlife.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service has been investigating the increased incidence of wildlife deaths (large birds, foxes and tortoises among others) at solar and wind energy project sites. The USFWS now proposes – presumably because these deaths will continue for a long time at such projects – that they be given a licence to kill for 30 years! But this support for solar and wind projects is a tacit acknowledgement by the US Fish and Wildlife Service that renewable projects are rather more dangerous to large birds and other wildlife than the enthusiasts would like us to believe.
Euphemistically, the USFWS obscures these licences to kill under the innocuous sounding “programmatic permits to authorize eagle take“.
The Foundry has this :
(more…)
Tags:Bald Eagle, Bird kills by wind turbines, licence to kill, Renewable energy, United States, United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Posted in Behaviour, Business, Energy, Politics, Renewable Energy, US, Wildlife | 4 Comments »
November 23, 2011
Data for 2010 is now available from the US Energy Information Administration. Solar and Wind power are still a long way from being commercial with just direct subsidies being equivalent to 7.8 and 5.6 cents/kWh respectively. Indirect subsidies and increased costs for alternate capacity are not included.
My view of subsidies in power generation is that they are usually counter productive and provide windfalls for developers and constructors but rarely lead to benefits for the consumers of electricity.
Factors Affecting Electricity Prices:
The average retail price of electricity in the United States in 2010 was 9.88 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). The average prices by type of utility customer were:
- Residential: 11.6¢ per kWh
- Transportation: 11.0¢ per kWh
- Commercial: 10.3¢ per kWh
- Industrial: 6.8¢ per kWh
(more…)
Tags:counterproductive subsidies, Electricity generation, electricity prices, Energy Information Administration, Renewable energy, Solar power, subsidies, United States
Posted in Economics, Energy, Renewable Energy, US | Comments Off on Subsidies for electricity production in the US show that renewables are far from commercialisation
November 7, 2011
Victor Roberto Muller has already tweeted that he is going back to the “drawing board” !!
But the pictures he draws are all illustrations for fairy tales.
Reuters:
General Motors Co said on Monday it had decided to sever its ties to Saab and its commitment to supply it with vehicle components and the 9-4X model because of the risks posed by the pending sale of the Swedish auto brand to Chinese owners.
“Although General Motors is open to the continued supply of powertrains and other components to Saab under appropriate terms and conditions, GM will not agree to the continuation of the existing technology licenses or the continued supply of 9-4X vehicles to Saab following the proposed change in ownership as it would not be in the best interests of GM shareholders,” GM spokesman Jim Cain said. ….
On Friday, GM had said that it would be difficult to support a sale of Saab if it hurt GM’s competitive position in Chinaand other key markets.
China’s Pang Da Automobile Trade Co and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile have struck a deal to buy Saab from its current Dutch owner, Swedish Automobile , in what amounts to a rescue plan for the Swedish auto brand formerly owned by GM.
But the deal had to be approved by GM, which still has preference shares in Saab and has supplied the Swedish auto brand with crucial components. …
The new deal which had been announced last week was for 100% ownership to pass to the Chinese. When asked if GM licences would be available if the plan went back to the Chinese buying just 53.9% of Saab – as originally envisaged – the GM spokesman refused to speculate.
Tags:China, General Motor, Pang Da Automobile Trade Co, SAAB, Victor Muller, Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile
Posted in Automobiles, China, Sweden, US | Comments Off on No GM licence to a Chinese-owned SAAB
October 12, 2011
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in 2006: Image via Wikipedia
The manager of the US South Pole Station suffered a stroke a month ago and the physician at the U.S.-run Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station recommended her immediate evacuation. But the station run by Raytheon Polar Services for the NSF have hired consulting doctors to disagree and have declined to evacuate her. Technical difficulties and budget constraints apparently!!
(I would not be surprised if the cost of the consulting doctors would have gone a long way towards bearing the cost of the evacuation!).
Discovery News:
The manager of the U.S. South Pole station wants to be evacuated, saying she suffered a stroke more than a month ago. But U.S. polar officials say she’ll have to wait until special ski-equipped airplanes can land at the frozen base several weeks from now.
The dispute between site manager Renee-Nicole Douceur, the National Science Foundation and the operator of the base, Raytheon Polar Services, has been simmering since Douceur said she suffered a stroke on Aug. 27. The physician at the U.S.-run Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station recommended her immediate evacuation. But consulting doctors hired by Raytheon and the NSF disagreed.
… In a phone interview with Discovery News, Douceur said she suffers from blurry vision and is worried about long-term effects to her health. She says she can’t wait another few weeks.
“I’m just hanging in there and I’m looking out my window and it’s nice and clear bright and sunny,” Douceur said. I’m saying to myself why isn’t there a plane here to get me out of here today or even yesterday?” …..
…. “I have not been treated fairly here,” Douceur said. “They have been making decisions based on budgets. Isn’t a stroke a serious thing?” ……
Douceur’s family has set up a website to gain support for her cause and enlisted the aid of U.S. Sen. Jean Shaheen, D-N.H. She’s also hired an attorney to help her plead her case. With a bit of luck she should now be evacuated on October 17th but bad weather could delay this to November.
Sounds incredibly callous from the NSF but perhaps not too surprising from Raytheon …..?
Tags:Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, National Science Foundation, Raytheon Polar Services Company, Renee-Nicole Douceur
Posted in Behaviour, Business, US | 1 Comment »
August 29, 2011
The much-hyped Hurricane Irene fizzled to a tropical storm and failed to deliver the massive devastation that the media was hoping for.
The wall-to-wall coverage of the expected destruction has now left the media desperately trying to show that apocalypse was only narrowly averted. But they cannot hide their terrible disappointment. Politicians are implying that “crying wolf” was not only the right thing to do but might actually have dampened the storm. Millions lost electricity as areas were shut down as a precaution against flooded sub-stations. But the 20 – 30 foot storm surges expected only managed to reach some 2 or 3 feet.
But water and gas and batteries and candles all sold very well.
The muted headlines on the day after cannot hide the disappointment –
Telegraph – Perfect Storm of Hype: US politicians, the media and the Hurricane Irene apocalypse that never was
New York Times – ‘Some Hurricane,’ New Yorkers Grumble as Danger Passes
Boston Globe – Tired Irene slaps N.E.
Washington Post – Hurricane Irene was not the powerhouse most expected
According to my son – “Well it was windy and quite wet”. Oh well!
Tags:Hurricane Irene, media, media alarmism, New Jersey, New York, tropical storm
Posted in Alarmism, Media, US, Weather | Comments Off on “The Irene show” bombs – media disappointment high
August 16, 2011
California-based rocket maker SpaceX said that it will make a test flight in late November to the International Space Station, now that NASA has retired its space shuttle program.The Dragon space capsule to be launched by a Falcon Heavy rocket has been given a November 30th launch date by NASA.
The Space X news release is here.
Space X Dragon capsule: image spacetourismnow.com
PhysOrg
“SpaceX has been hard at work preparing for our next flight — a mission designed to demonstrate that a privately-developed space transportation system can deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS),” the company, also called Space Exploration Technologies, said in a statement.
The mission is the second to be carried out by SpaceX, one of a handful of firms competing to make a spaceship to replace the now-defunct US shuttle, which had been used to carry supplies and equipment to the orbiting outpost.
“NASA has given us a November 30, 2011 launch date, which should be followed nine days later by Dragon berthing at the ISS,” the company said.
It said the arrival of the vessel at the space station would herald “the beginning of a new era in space travel.”
“Together, government and the private sector can simultaneously increase the reliability, safety and frequency of space travel, while greatly reducing the costs,” SpaceX said.
The company won $75 million in new seed money earlier this year, after it became the first to successfully send its own space capsule, the gumdrop-shaped Dragon, into orbit and back in December 2010.
Tags:Dragon, Falcon Heavy rocket, International Space Station, NASA, Space, SpaceX, Technology
Posted in Engineering, Space, Technology, US | 1 Comment »
August 2, 2011
After the high drama and late night sittings and doomsday rhetoric and slap-stick performances in the US congress over the last few weeks, I can’t help feeling that Vladimir Putin has a point. The agreement reached last night could – and should – have been reached 2 months ago but the Congressmen and Senators could not resist trying to show how tirelessly they work for the nation’s benefit. Sometimes they remind me of the players in a cheap musical farce where the terrible music is only topped by the dreadful actors.
Wall Street Journal
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called the U.S. “a parasite” because of its huge debt load. …..
In a speech Monday, Mr. Putin said Russia and other countries should seek new reserve currencies to hedge against “a systemic malfunction” in the U.S. Both Russia and China in the past have questioned the dollar’s pre-eminence as a reserve currency and its role in international trade and investment. Russia keeps almost half its reserves in dollar assets. “The country is living in debt,” Mr. Putin told a pro-Kremlin youth rally in central Russia. “It is not living within its means, shifting the weight of responsibility on other countries and in a way acting as a parasite.”
Kipper Williams US debt crisis: The Guardian 02.08.2011
The U.S. government’s debt will hit 100% of gross domestic product this year, up from 62% in 2007, according to the International Monetary Fund. Russia has low sovereign debt compared with the U.S. and other countries, with its state debt representing just over 10% of GDP. Still, when all the debt of its state-controlled companies is taken into account, the state is on the hook for an amount equal to 20% of GDP, according to a Deutsche Bank report. Russia’s state debt is expected to rise to 30% of GDP by 2020, according to Deutsche Bank.
The deal to raise the U.S. debt limit announced Sunday by President Barack Obama was a relief, Mr. Putin said, “but it simply delayed a more systemic solution.”
Uncertainties about the U.S. economy already have pushed Russia to seek alternatives such as gold and other sovereign debt. Russia curtailed its purchase of Treasurys in the past year, down from $176 billion last October to $125 billion in April, according to Treasury Department data.
Tags:parasitism, United States, US Congress, US debt, US debt ceiling, Vladimir Putin
Posted in Economics, Economy, Politics, US | Comments Off on US debt ceiling parasitism
July 1, 2011
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde (L) talks with International Monetary Fund's Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn (R):Image via Wikipedia
The New York Times broke this story and it makes me wonder if the anti- DSK faction in France were behind all of this just to get him out of the running for French President and – incidentally – to replace him with a Sarkozy-friendly Christine Lagarde at the IMF. With the internecine nature of French politics reality is often much more convoluted than the most fanciful conspiracy theories. Perhaps Sarkozy – who loves devious political machinations – was behind all of this?
The sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn is on the verge of collapse as investigators have uncovered major holes in the credibility of the housekeeper who charged that he attacked her in his Manhattan hotel suite in May, according to two well-placed law enforcement officials. ….
Since her initial allegation on May 14, the accuser has repeatedly lied, one of the law enforcement officials said. Senior prosecutors met with lawyers for Mr. Strauss-Kahn on Thursday and provided details about their findings, and the parties are discussing whether to dismiss the felony charges. Among the discoveries, one of the officials said, are issues involving the asylum application of the 32-year-old housekeeper, who is Guinean, and possible links to people involved in criminal activities, including drug dealing and money laundering. ….
The revelations are a stunning change of fortune for Mr. Strauss-Kahn, 62, who was considered a strong contender for the French presidency before being accused of sexually assaulting the woman who went to clean his luxury suite at the Sofitel New York.
Prosecutors from the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., who initially were emphatic about the strength of the case and the account of the victim, plan to tell the judge on Friday that they “have problems with the case” based on what their investigators have discovered, and will disclose more of their findings to the defense. The woman still maintains that she was attacked, the officials said.
“It is a mess, a mess on both sides,” one official said.
According to the two officials, the woman had a phone conversation with an incarcerated man within a day of her encounter with Mr. Strauss-Kahn in which she discussed the possible benefits of pursuing the charges against him. The conversation was recorded.
That man, the investigators learned, had been arrested on charges of possessing 400 pounds of marijuana. He is among a number of individuals who made multiple cash deposits, totaling around $100,000, into the woman’s bank account over the last two years. The deposits were made in Arizona, Georgia, New York and Pennsylvania.
The investigators also learned that she was paying hundreds of dollars every month in phone charges to five companies. The woman had insisted she had only one phone and said she knew nothing about the deposits except that they were made by a man she described as her fiancé and his friends.
In addition, one of the officials said, she told investigators that her application for asylum included mention of a previous rape, but there was no such account in the application. She also told them that she had been subjected to genital mutilation, but her account to the investigators differed from what was contained in the asylum application.
Tags:Christine Lagarde, conspiracy theory, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, International Monetary Fund, New York City, Nicolas Sarkozy, Politics of France
Posted in France, Politics, US | 3 Comments »
June 30, 2011
The cost of wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan are estimated at 225,000 lives and up to $4 trillion in U.S. spending, in a new report by scholars with the Eisenhower Research Project at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies.
Nearly 10 years after the declaration of the War on Terror, the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan have killed at least 225,000 people, including men and women in uniform, contractors, and civilians. The wars will cost Americans between $3.2 and $4 trillion, including medical care and disability for current and future war veterans, according to a new report by the Eisenhower Research Project based at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies. If the wars continue, they are on track to require at least another $450 billion in Pentagon spending by 2020.
The group’s “Costs of War” project, which involved more than 20 economists, anthropologists, lawyers, humanitarian personnel, and political scientists, provides new estimates of the total war cost as well as other direct and indirect human and economic costs of the U.S. military response to the 9/11 attacks. The project is the first comprehensive analysis of all U.S., coalition, and civilian casualties, including U.S. contractors. It also assesses many of the wars’ hidden costs, such as interest on war-related debt and veterans’ benefits.
The Costs of War has released its findings online, at www.costsofwar.org, to spur public discussion about America at war.
But the institution of war is vital to a modern economy and massive spending of taxpayer’s money – in whatever form – is nothing more than a stimulus package for any economy. Infrastructure spending , sometimes on little needed infrastructure, is a commonly used vehicle for injecting a stimulus. The building industry for example has a vested interest in promoting bridges and roads to nowhere and the car industry supports public schemes for scrapping old cars. That the weapons industry has a vested interest in promoting wars is obvious. And war is also a commonly used vehicle for propping up or revitalising a flagging economy.
Industrial economies are intimately connected with the production of military technology and military capacity. Because of this, the elimination of war would prove economically devastating as large sectors of society, both in technology and manufacturing, would be wiped out.
After the first gulf war in 1991, the New York Times assessed the economic benefits of the conflict
As a result of the war in the Persian Gulf and its aftermath, the United States is likely to borrow far less from abroad this year than last. Many forecasters expect the deficit in the current account — the broadest gauge of the nation’s imports and exports of goods and services — to shrink sharply in 1991.
According to a report released by the Department of Commerce yesterday, the United States’ current account deficit amounted to $99.3 billion in 1990, down from $110 billion in 1989. The $99.3 billion figure is the smallest gap since 1984.
Here is how the gulf war could narrow the gap even more: For starters, the invasion of Kuwait helped touch off the recession, cooling the nation’s appetite for imports. Then, the allied victory caused crude prices to plunge, slashing the bill for imported oil.
In addition, America’s allies are contributing about $51 billion to the United States’ war kitty, money that otherwise would have had to have been borrowed from private investors overseas.
Finally, postwar rebuilding in the Middle East will increase business for American construction companies and equipment producers. United States arms makers are also expected to benefit as countries restock their arsenals.
In fact, if the allies anted up the bulk of their share of war costs right away, analysts said, the United States could become a net foreign lender, at least for a month or two, for the first time in a decade.
But whether the economic, social and political benefits of the $4 trillion and 225,000 lives spent on the War on Terror have been worthwhile is a question that will not be properly answered except in the light of historical perspective.
Tags:Brown University, economic benefits of war, United States, war, War in Afghanistan (2001–present), War on Terror
Posted in Economics, Politics, US | 2 Comments »
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