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March 8th, 2008:

Associated Press: Malaysia’s Ruling Party Suffers Losses (*Is Shell about to lose influence in Malaysia?)

By VIJAY JOSHI – 2 hours ago

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s ruling coalition suffered its biggest electoral upset in nearly four decades Saturday, losing control of three state governments and many parliamentary seats in a show of frustration over racial tensions, crime and corruption.

It was a humiliating outcome for the National Front coalition, which has governed Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957, and raised questions about the political future of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

rigzone.com: Grabbing the Bull by the Horns: Oil Could Hit $130 by Year’s End

Friday, March 07, 2008 

Crude oil may reach a record $130 a barrel this year because pension funds are investing more in commodities, according to one hedge fund executive.

The outlook for oil over the next five years is also “bullish” as producers find it hard to replenish reserves and demand outpaces supply, said Pierre Andurand, the chief investment officer of BlueGold Capital Management LLP.

Oil companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch-Shell and BP are finding it tougher to replace their findings and are drilling for harder-to-reach deposits while energy demand and crude prices surge to records. With commodities prices surging to all-time highs, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the largest U.S. pension fund, said it plans to boost investments. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Associated Press: Oil exec gets prison for UN scheme

3/7/2008, 11:44 a.m. PST
By LARRY NEUMEISTER

NEW YORK (AP) — A Texas oil executive was sentenced Friday to two years in prison for approving the payment of millions of dollars in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein’s Iraq regime so he could secure large oil shipments through a United Nations program.

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin also fined David Chalmers $9 million. He sentenced Chalmers’ companies, Bayoil USA and the Bahamas-based Bayoil Supply & Trading Ltd., to three years probation. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Daily Mail: Shell settles after 2004 scandal

City & Finance, Page 96
Friday,March 7, 2008

ROYAL Dutch Shell is close to settling the last remaining legal action brought against it from the 2004 scandal where it overstated its oil reserves.

The Anglo-Dutch giant said it had reached an agreement in principle to settle a £40m pending American class action brought by two pension funds from Pennsylvania.

The deal, subject to approval from the courts, will bring to a close the incident which saw the departure of chief executive Sir Phil Watts and shocked investors as Shell was forced to restate its oil reserves on five different occasions. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Financial Times: Cleaner fuel is now a global commodity

By Ed Crooks
Published: March 7 2008 17:09 | Last updated: March 7 2008 17:09

You could tell that something had changed in the world’s natural gas markets when British consumers were told their bills were rising because of an earthquake in Japan.

In a recent round of price rises by most of the main domestic energy suppliers in the UK, one of the factors cited was that expected imports of liquefied natural gas had been diverted to Japan instead.

The earthquake in July that forced a shutdown in a nuclear power plant meant that gas-fired power stations were running for longer, pushing up the price of gas in Japan. If suppliers could obtain about 80p a therm in the Japanese market, why would they settle for 55p or so in the UK? read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: If history is a reliable guide, the recession of 2008 is now unavoidable.

Published: March 8, 2008
By DAVID LEONHARDT

The dismal jobs report released Friday showed overall employment to be lower than it was three months ago. Every time such a slump has occurred since the early 1970s, a recession has followed — or already been under way.

And if the good times have really ended, they were never that good to begin with. Most American households are still not earning as much annually as they did in 1999, once inflation is taken into account. Since the Census Bureau began keeping records in the 1960s, a prolonged expansion has never ended without household income having set a new record. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Guardian: US dumping of biofuels will ruin us, says UK firm

Shares in D1 Oils plunge as talks start on axing jobs · Subsidised American fuel undercuts UK raw material

Jill Treanor 
Saturday March 8 2008

The US is flooding Europe with subsidised biofuels that threaten to destroy Europe’s domestic refining market, the head of the biofuel company D1 Oils warned yesterday as its shares lost a third of their value.

Admitting that some 35 jobs could be lost as a result of the cheap imports, Elliott Mannis, chief executive, said: “The simple fact is that you can buy the subsidised American imported material cheaper than you can buy virgin oil for processing.” read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Times: Climate change: the burning issues

Thoughtful use of solid science must underpin environmental protection

March 8, 2008

Climate change is one of the unfolding calamities of our times. It is our moral responsibility as a country, and as individuals, to address the global threat that may engulf our children. We are compelled to make difficult choices and change our lifestyles. It is essential that we make changes based on reason, but not group-think. There is a danger that the green herd, in pursuit of a good cause, stumbles into misguided campaigns. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.