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Posted
Sep 16 2009, 10:58 AM
by
Jim Jubak
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 When I added Exxon Mobil (XOM) to Jubak's Picks on Dec. 23, 2008, I thought it was a reasonable way to balance risk and reward.
The stock was a good way to reach for some upside return in case the global economy -- and oil prices -- rebounded more quickly than I expected in 2009, while at the same time using Exxon Mobil's dividend to give me some protection against the risk that oil prices would tumble further.
For much of 2009, the stock lagged the market, but I was content to collect my dividend while waiting for the shares to get moving. But recently Exxon Mobil has also started to lag the rest of the energy sector.
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Posted
Aug 19 2009, 09:35 AM
by
Minyanville
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 This article was written by Minyanville's Keith Fitz-Gerald
If you’re looking for the next “Big Oil” play, bet on Beijing. As my firm has been reporting for the past several years, China has been on a global commodities shopping spree, which includes locking up every source of oil that it can. The Red Dragon has cut deals in Africa, South America, Russia, and the Middle East -- and won’t stop there. Even the mainstream news media is finally becoming aware of this crucial trend. But here’s the thing. It’s not enough just to know that this is happening. In order to profit, an investor really needs to understand why it’s happening -- and to invest accordingly. Investors who lack this insight may make the strategic misstep of betting heavily (or exclusively) on the Western heavyweights-- Exxon Mobil (XOM), BP PLC (BP) or Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) -- while ignoring the oil sector’s real growth story, which is China. See, "Four Oil and Gas Stocks Powering Ahead."
Bing: More on Chinese Oil
Just this year alone:
China and Russia have signed a multi-billion-dollar, intergovernmental agreement to construct an oil line from Russia that will supply directly to China. Actually seven agreements in one, the terms depict a deal worth trillions of dollars -- including a 20-year oil contract to pump Russian oil to the Chinese market. In return, China has agreed to provide a total of $25 billion in loans to Russian oil companies Transneft and OAO Rosneft Oil Co. China even gets a cut of Rosneft’s production, as part of the deal.
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Posted
Jul 14 2009, 07:47 AM
by
Jon Markman
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
ExxonMobil's decision to tie its future to pond scum (news) really has the alternative-energy skeptics buzzing today. But the concept of generating transportation fuel out of algae is not really so far fetched.
Fossil fuels like crude oil, natural gas and coal are nothing more than organic matter compressed over a few hundred million years into liquid, vapor or solid form. Mass-producing special forms of algae in the way that the oil giant's new partner, Synthetic Genomics, has proposed is just a matter of speeding the process up a bit.
I profiled Synthetic and its chief scientist, Craig Ventner, a year ago in a column, "Genomics: Our oil-crunch cure?" As I explained then, it's helpful to think of algae as an efficient biological system for turning sunshine and carbon dioxide into fuel. If you then think of of creating super-algae out of DNA strands in the same way that computer engineers create software code, and you're a little farther toward understanding why algae is considered to be Fuel 2.0. Here is a video of Ventner explaining the concept at a TED conference in 2007.
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Posted
Jul 14 2009, 03:38 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
A piece of news no one expected is that Exxon Mobil (XOM) will put $600 million into a project that seeks to convert algae into liquid fuel for transportation. The huge oil company says that any commercial success of the project is five to 10 years off, but Exxon has to be concerned that, at some point in the next several decades, the amount of fossil fuel in the ground and under the oceans will begin to drop.
According to The New York Times, the biofuel investment will be done in partnership with Synthetic Genomics, a leader in the field of research and production of renewable energy. Exxon says algae could yield more than 2,000 gallons of fuel per acre of production each year, the Times reports. That compares to only 250 gallons from corn.
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Posted
Jul 01 2009, 03:29 PM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Over the last few months almost every asset class rose at an incredible pace as it looked as though the economy was beginning to stabilize.
Stocks are up 38% as consumer confidence swelled and earnings stabilized. Metals and other basic materials jumped on stockpiling in China and signs the world's factory were about to restart. And of course, oil prices have nearly doubled.
In their excitement, traders forgot all about the impact high energy prices would have on vulnerable and shell-shocked American shoppers. With easy money courtesy of the Federal Reserve and other central banks, the momentum trade was on. No time to think about basic economic relationships. But this is changing now. And as it does, crude oil will suffer. Here's why
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Posted
Jun 23 2009, 03:28 PM
by
James Dlugosch
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
You have to love OPEC. It's not uncommon for the barons of the giant cartel to voice their interest in seeing oil at such and such a price.
Recently, OPEC reiterated its desire to see oil prices at $80 per barrel. This, they claim, is the price needed to spur additional investment in crude projects. Apparently, anything less will result in oil sitting idle in the ground.
Personally, I'd like to make a million dollars a year watching grass grow. But since that particular work only yields that particular paycheck in Jamie-Dlugosch-World, I spend my energy on more realistic ways to put food on the table
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Posted
Jun 16 2009, 09:50 AM
by
Catherine Holahan
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 Drivers are shelling out far more to fill their tanks this summer than last
winter, despite the severe economic downturn. And there's likely more pain to
come at the pump.
Gasoline prices have risen sharply in the past month. This week,
the average price for a gallon rose to $2.67, according to automotive group
AAA. That's up more than 35% since December 2008.
To be sure, gas prices are still far less than consumers paid
last summer. Oil prices hit a record high of $147 per barrel on July 11,
2008, pushing the average price of regular gasoline to $4.11. But the price of
crude has soared in recent weeks. Prices jumped past $72 a
barrel late last week, though they fell slightly on Monday as the dollar
strengthened. (A stronger dollar reduces the desire to buy commodities as a
hedge against inflation.)
Speculation shares some of the blame for price hikes Read More...
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Posted
Jun 12 2009, 09:47 AM
by
Charley Blaine
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Updated at 6:10 p.m. ET. Think you have it tough when your computer crashes?
Think what a glitch means to the New York Stock Exchange, which was forced to halt floor trading on some 242 stocks late this morning.
The group apparently included no fewer than seven stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU), including Exxon Mobil (XOM), General Electric (GE), Bank of America (BAC) and Merck (MRK).
The halt lasted more than 30 minutes, resuming at 12:10 p.m. ET, Bloomberg News said
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Posted
May 05 2009, 11:53 AM
by
MSN Editors
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
MSN Money investing columnist Jim Jubak frequently updates recent columns and offers insights on economic news. These updates appeared in his most recent column, "Why investors can't oust bad CEOs," published May 5. To see more of Jim's picks and their performance, click here.
Exxon Mobil (XOM) has got 'em just where it wants 'em. The company certainly hasn't escaped the plunge in oil industry revenue and earnings caused by the drop in oil prices to $50 a barrel from nearly $150. For the first quarter of 2009, the company saw revenue drop 45% and earnings fall 58% from the first quarter of 2008. Production rose a meager 2%, and the company announced it would reduce its purchase of its own stock from $7.1 billion in the first quarter to a rate of $5 billion per quarter. (The company did raise the dividend on its stock to a quarterly 42 cents a share from 40 cents.)
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Posted
Mar 17 2009, 10:42 AM
by
MSN Editors
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
MSN Money investing columnist Jim Jubak frequently updates recent columns and offers insights on economic news. These updates appeared in his most recent column, "Higher food prices are on the way," published March 17. To see more of Jim's picks and their performance, click here.
"Exxon Mobil to profit from the pain": The pain in the oil patch is becoming excruciating. The credit squeeze first forced companies to curtail drilling and exploration, then pushed them to sell off noncore assets. And now, some banks are using their annual reviews of borrowers' debt levels to force companies to pay off existing debts. With the equity markets still closed to many companies, small oil and natural-gas producers are looking at selling off key oil and gas wells and acres in development for future production. That is, if they can find buyers.
In recent weeks, companies such as Pacific Energy Resources and DayStar Oil & Gas have been forced into bankruptcy. Edge Petroleum (EPEX) is a typical victim of the squeeze.
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