Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Winners and losers as $100 oil approaches

From MarketWatch:
As crude-oil prices continue their assault on the century mark, no one needs to tell consumers what it all means. They feel it every time they pull up to a gas pump or order a load of heating oil for that cranky furnace in the basement.

But economists and investors are taking stock of the new numbers, mapping changes in the flow of capital, and adjusting portfolios to capture the gains or at least limit the losses.
Some of those twists and turn lead down obvious paths. Others are more obscure. Here is a smattering of both.

The losers ...
With nationwide gasoline prices are averaging more than $3 for a gallon of regular unleaded, there's not a lot of public sympathy for the plight of Big Oil. But not all oil companies are created equal.

Sifting through the industry's third-quarter scorecards shows nearly all of them saw profits pinched by the rising cost of crude. That's because very few of the big brands produce as much oil as they sell through their service stations. What they don't produce, they have to buy on the global market....MORE

Industrialists brace for the $100 barrel of oil
Weak dollar adds to upward pressure on crudel
J.P. Morgan has a positive view of Russian oil sector