Lunes
Eventos economicos
Subasta de bonos
Entre los indicadores mas importantes de la semana tenemos el GDP, las ganancias corporativas, las ventas de casas existentes y el indice de las casas el Miercoles, las ordenes de bienes duraderos, el sentimiento del consumidor, la venta de casas nuevas el Jueves. Jueves medio dia, Viernes cerrado por Navidad.
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Lunes 20/12/10 Semana del GDP - Feliz navidad
Lunes 20/12/10 Semana del GDP - Feliz navidad
por admin » Dom Dic 19, 2010 10:49 am
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Re: Lunes 20/12/10 Semana del GDP - Feliz navidad
por admin » Dom Dic 19, 2010 10:53 am
Se espera que el GDP sea revisado al alza a 2.6% de 2.5%
Se espera que las ordenes de bienes duraderos caigan 0.8%
Se espera que la venta de casas nuevas suban de 283,000 a 305,000
Spotlight on Next Week: Durable Goods Data
Dow Jones Newswires’ Nathan Becker reports:
Genzyme has an investor meeting slated for Monday to review long-term sales projections for controversial multiple sclerosis drug alemtuzumab. The potential of the drug is a key part of the company’s claim that an $18.5 billion takeover offer from Sanofi-Aventis SA is too low. The drug is still in the testing phase, but Genzyme expects sales to hit $3.5 billion in 2017–much higher than Sanofi’s estimate. Adobe Systems Inc. also reports earnings on Monday.
Walgreen Co. and Nike Inc. both slated to report quarterly results Tuesday, are expected to post broad growth from last year. But ConAgra Foods Inc., which has struggled because of discounting and rising costs, is expected to release weaker year-over-year results on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the third estimate on third-quarter gross domestic product on Wednesday is expected to be revised upward to 2.6% from 2.5%.
November durable goods orders to decline 0.8% from year-earlier levels when the report comes out Thursday. November durable goods orders come out Thursday. The reading measures the dollar volume of orders, shipments and unfilled orders of durable goods. The figure is considered a top indicator of manufacturing activity. Also, New-home sales for November are expected to show the seasonally adjusted annual rate climbing to 305,000 from October’s 283,000 pace, when they’re released Thursday.
Trading is closed next Friday for the coming holiday.
Se espera que las ordenes de bienes duraderos caigan 0.8%
Se espera que la venta de casas nuevas suban de 283,000 a 305,000
Spotlight on Next Week: Durable Goods Data
Dow Jones Newswires’ Nathan Becker reports:
Genzyme has an investor meeting slated for Monday to review long-term sales projections for controversial multiple sclerosis drug alemtuzumab. The potential of the drug is a key part of the company’s claim that an $18.5 billion takeover offer from Sanofi-Aventis SA is too low. The drug is still in the testing phase, but Genzyme expects sales to hit $3.5 billion in 2017–much higher than Sanofi’s estimate. Adobe Systems Inc. also reports earnings on Monday.
Walgreen Co. and Nike Inc. both slated to report quarterly results Tuesday, are expected to post broad growth from last year. But ConAgra Foods Inc., which has struggled because of discounting and rising costs, is expected to release weaker year-over-year results on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the third estimate on third-quarter gross domestic product on Wednesday is expected to be revised upward to 2.6% from 2.5%.
November durable goods orders to decline 0.8% from year-earlier levels when the report comes out Thursday. November durable goods orders come out Thursday. The reading measures the dollar volume of orders, shipments and unfilled orders of durable goods. The figure is considered a top indicator of manufacturing activity. Also, New-home sales for November are expected to show the seasonally adjusted annual rate climbing to 305,000 from October’s 283,000 pace, when they’re released Thursday.
Trading is closed next Friday for the coming holiday.
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Re: Lunes 20/12/10 Semana del GDP - Feliz navidad
por admin » Dom Dic 19, 2010 10:58 am
Se espera que el consumo suba 0.2%
El pronostico de aumento de ventas por Navidad fue mejorado a 4% de 3.5%
Consumer, Business Spending Probably Increased as U.S. Economy Accelerated
By Courtney Schlisserman - Dec 19, 2010 12:00 AM ET
Fewer firings and rising incomes are boosting consumer confidence, making it more likely spending will keep improving. Photographer: Aaron M. Sprecher/Bloomberg
Spending by U.S. consumers and businesses probably accelerated in November, a signal the economy is speeding up at the end of the year, economists forecast before reports this week.
Household purchases rose 0.5 percent after a 0.4 percent increase in October, according to the median estimate of 62 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News ahead of Dec. 23 figures from the Commerce Department. The same day, another report from the agency may show demand for durable goods excluding cars and aircraft climbed 2 percent.
Fewer firings and rising incomes are boosting consumer confidence, making it more likely spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy, will keep improving. At the same time, factories are ramping up production as gains in exports reinforce growing demand from U.S. companies, pointing to a more balanced and durable recovery.
“We really have started to see improvements in momentum and more broad-based improvements,” said Russell Price, a senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Inc. in Detroit. “We’re on the precipice of getting to an economy that’s sustainable without Fed stimulus.”
The consumer spending report also will show incomes rose 0.2 percent last month after increasing 0.5 percent in October, according to the survey median.
Improving household balance sheets may be helping boost demand during the Christmas holiday period. The International Council of Shopping Centers on Dec. 14 revised its November- December holiday-season sales forecast up by 0.5 percentage point to a range of 3.5 percent to 4 percent.
‘Great Christmas’
“All the brands around the world are having, so far so good, a very great Christmas,” John Demsey, group president of Estee Lauder Cos., said in a Bloomberg Television interview Dec. 15. “Consumer confidence is up and it’s really about the power of the brands and pent up demand that consumers have.”
Auto dealers also are among retailers seeing improved demand. Car sales in November rose to a 12.26 million unit pace, the highest since the government’s cash-for-clunkers program in August 2009, industry data showed this month. Demand over the past three months is the strongest in two years.
The Commerce Department’s report on durable goods will show total orders fell 0.7 percent, reflecting a drop in aircraft demand. Bookings for business equipment excluding defense and planes, items like computers and machinery, rose 3 percent, according to the Bloomberg survey.
‘Extended’ Gains
“We have seen now an extended period of time of recovery in the components business,” Paul Reilly, chief financial officer of Arrow Electronics Inc., said last week at a conference in New York. Melville, New York-based Arrow is a distributor of electronic components and computer products to industrial customers.
The improving economy has boosted stock prices. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has risen 22 percent since reaching a 10-month low on July 2. It is up 5.4 percent so far this month.
The economy grew at a 2.8 percent annual pace in the third quarter, more than the 2.5 percent estimated last month, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The Commerce Department is scheduled to release its second revision for the period on Dec. 22.
Economists in the past two weeks have boosted projections for fourth-quarter growth after the government reported better- than-projected retail sales for November and the Obama administration reached a compromise with congressional Republicans to extend Bush-era tax cuts and introduce new reductions.
Raising Forecasts
JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief U.S. economist Michael Feroli forecast the economy will grow at a 3.5 percent pace from October through December, up from a prior estimate of 2.5 percent.
Housing, the industry that triggered the worst recession in seven decades, is struggling to recover after a homebuyers’ tax credit expired and foreclosures keep adding to inventory.
Sales of new and existing homes increased to a combined 5.05 million annual rate in November from 4.71 million the prior month, according to economists surveyed. Purchases averaged a 5.7 million pace in the first six months of the year when the tax break was in effect, and then slumped to 4.12 million in July, the weakest since comparable records began in 1999.
The National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release figures on existing home sales Dec. 22. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected demand for previously owned houses rose 7.2 percent to a 4.75 million rate last month.
The Commerce Department will issue new-home sales data Dec. 23. Purchases climbed 6 percent to a 300,000 pace, according to the Bloomberg survey.
Other reports this week will show initial jobless claims held at 420,000 last week and the Thomson Reuters University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment for December increased to 74.5, the highest reading in six months, according to the survey median.
El pronostico de aumento de ventas por Navidad fue mejorado a 4% de 3.5%
Consumer, Business Spending Probably Increased as U.S. Economy Accelerated
By Courtney Schlisserman - Dec 19, 2010 12:00 AM ET
Fewer firings and rising incomes are boosting consumer confidence, making it more likely spending will keep improving. Photographer: Aaron M. Sprecher/Bloomberg
Spending by U.S. consumers and businesses probably accelerated in November, a signal the economy is speeding up at the end of the year, economists forecast before reports this week.
Household purchases rose 0.5 percent after a 0.4 percent increase in October, according to the median estimate of 62 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News ahead of Dec. 23 figures from the Commerce Department. The same day, another report from the agency may show demand for durable goods excluding cars and aircraft climbed 2 percent.
Fewer firings and rising incomes are boosting consumer confidence, making it more likely spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy, will keep improving. At the same time, factories are ramping up production as gains in exports reinforce growing demand from U.S. companies, pointing to a more balanced and durable recovery.
“We really have started to see improvements in momentum and more broad-based improvements,” said Russell Price, a senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Inc. in Detroit. “We’re on the precipice of getting to an economy that’s sustainable without Fed stimulus.”
The consumer spending report also will show incomes rose 0.2 percent last month after increasing 0.5 percent in October, according to the survey median.
Improving household balance sheets may be helping boost demand during the Christmas holiday period. The International Council of Shopping Centers on Dec. 14 revised its November- December holiday-season sales forecast up by 0.5 percentage point to a range of 3.5 percent to 4 percent.
‘Great Christmas’
“All the brands around the world are having, so far so good, a very great Christmas,” John Demsey, group president of Estee Lauder Cos., said in a Bloomberg Television interview Dec. 15. “Consumer confidence is up and it’s really about the power of the brands and pent up demand that consumers have.”
Auto dealers also are among retailers seeing improved demand. Car sales in November rose to a 12.26 million unit pace, the highest since the government’s cash-for-clunkers program in August 2009, industry data showed this month. Demand over the past three months is the strongest in two years.
The Commerce Department’s report on durable goods will show total orders fell 0.7 percent, reflecting a drop in aircraft demand. Bookings for business equipment excluding defense and planes, items like computers and machinery, rose 3 percent, according to the Bloomberg survey.
‘Extended’ Gains
“We have seen now an extended period of time of recovery in the components business,” Paul Reilly, chief financial officer of Arrow Electronics Inc., said last week at a conference in New York. Melville, New York-based Arrow is a distributor of electronic components and computer products to industrial customers.
The improving economy has boosted stock prices. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has risen 22 percent since reaching a 10-month low on July 2. It is up 5.4 percent so far this month.
The economy grew at a 2.8 percent annual pace in the third quarter, more than the 2.5 percent estimated last month, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The Commerce Department is scheduled to release its second revision for the period on Dec. 22.
Economists in the past two weeks have boosted projections for fourth-quarter growth after the government reported better- than-projected retail sales for November and the Obama administration reached a compromise with congressional Republicans to extend Bush-era tax cuts and introduce new reductions.
Raising Forecasts
JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief U.S. economist Michael Feroli forecast the economy will grow at a 3.5 percent pace from October through December, up from a prior estimate of 2.5 percent.
Housing, the industry that triggered the worst recession in seven decades, is struggling to recover after a homebuyers’ tax credit expired and foreclosures keep adding to inventory.
Sales of new and existing homes increased to a combined 5.05 million annual rate in November from 4.71 million the prior month, according to economists surveyed. Purchases averaged a 5.7 million pace in the first six months of the year when the tax break was in effect, and then slumped to 4.12 million in July, the weakest since comparable records began in 1999.
The National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release figures on existing home sales Dec. 22. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected demand for previously owned houses rose 7.2 percent to a 4.75 million rate last month.
The Commerce Department will issue new-home sales data Dec. 23. Purchases climbed 6 percent to a 300,000 pace, according to the Bloomberg survey.
Other reports this week will show initial jobless claims held at 420,000 last week and the Thomson Reuters University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment for December increased to 74.5, the highest reading in six months, according to the survey median.
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Re: Lunes 20/12/10 Semana del GDP - Feliz navidad
por admin » Dom Dic 19, 2010 2:13 pm
SPANISHDECEMBER 19, 2010, 12:52 P.M. ET
Sindicatos de España amenazan con otra huelga general
MADRID (EFE Dow Jones)—Miles de personas se manifestaron el sábado en toda España, convocadas por los sindicatos CCOO y UGT, para exigir al gobierno de José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero que rectifique en sus políticas sociales y laborales si no quiere afrontar otra huelga general como la del 29 de septiembre pasado.
En la manifestación de Madrid, el secretario general de Comisiones Obreras, Ignacio Fernández Toxo, advirtió de que en enero habrá una nueva huelga general si Zapatero no retira su propuesta, ratificada este viernes, de elevar la edad legal de jubilación de los 65 años actuales a los 67 años.
Para Toxo, los 67 años es "la frontera entre el acuerdo y el desacuerdo", por lo que, si no se retira esta propuesta, habrá "una movilización de toda la sociedad".
El secretario general de la Unión General de Trabajadores, Cándido Méndez, eludió fijar un plazo para una nueva convocatoria de huelga general, y dijo que la decisión de convocarla se adoptará "en el ámbito de la movilización que tengamos que tomar", aunque precisó que será "cuanto antes", para que quede claro el rechazo de su sindicato.
Recalcó que los sindicatos van a impedir que se incremente de forma obligatoria la edad de jubilación, y denunció el "giro copernicano" del discurso y la política del presidente del Gobierno, que a principios de este año defendía el control de los mercados financieros y la reducción de las bonificaciones a los directivos, mientras que ahora recorta las pensiones y los salarios de los empleados públicos.
Tanto Toxo como Méndez aprovecharon para rechazar que con sus críticas al Gobierno estén facilitando la llegada al poder de la "derecha", y dijo que un Ejecutivo "de progreso" no puede eliminar los 426 euros para los parados que hayan agotado su prestación y condenarles a la "miseria".
La de Madrid fue una de las 39 manifestaciones convocadas en ciudades de toda España bajo el lema "La movilización continúa. Recuperar derechos, defender el estado social y no a la jubilación a los 67 años".
Sindicatos de España amenazan con otra huelga general
MADRID (EFE Dow Jones)—Miles de personas se manifestaron el sábado en toda España, convocadas por los sindicatos CCOO y UGT, para exigir al gobierno de José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero que rectifique en sus políticas sociales y laborales si no quiere afrontar otra huelga general como la del 29 de septiembre pasado.
En la manifestación de Madrid, el secretario general de Comisiones Obreras, Ignacio Fernández Toxo, advirtió de que en enero habrá una nueva huelga general si Zapatero no retira su propuesta, ratificada este viernes, de elevar la edad legal de jubilación de los 65 años actuales a los 67 años.
Para Toxo, los 67 años es "la frontera entre el acuerdo y el desacuerdo", por lo que, si no se retira esta propuesta, habrá "una movilización de toda la sociedad".
El secretario general de la Unión General de Trabajadores, Cándido Méndez, eludió fijar un plazo para una nueva convocatoria de huelga general, y dijo que la decisión de convocarla se adoptará "en el ámbito de la movilización que tengamos que tomar", aunque precisó que será "cuanto antes", para que quede claro el rechazo de su sindicato.
Recalcó que los sindicatos van a impedir que se incremente de forma obligatoria la edad de jubilación, y denunció el "giro copernicano" del discurso y la política del presidente del Gobierno, que a principios de este año defendía el control de los mercados financieros y la reducción de las bonificaciones a los directivos, mientras que ahora recorta las pensiones y los salarios de los empleados públicos.
Tanto Toxo como Méndez aprovecharon para rechazar que con sus críticas al Gobierno estén facilitando la llegada al poder de la "derecha", y dijo que un Ejecutivo "de progreso" no puede eliminar los 426 euros para los parados que hayan agotado su prestación y condenarles a la "miseria".
La de Madrid fue una de las 39 manifestaciones convocadas en ciudades de toda España bajo el lema "La movilización continúa. Recuperar derechos, defender el estado social y no a la jubilación a los 67 años".
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Re: Lunes 20/12/10 Semana del GDP - Feliz navidad
por carl_ » Dom Dic 19, 2010 2:24 pm
Chile copper port could close for a month
Today at 18:16 | Reuters
SANTIAGO, Dec 19 (Reuters) - A port serving Chile's Collahuasi mine, the world's No. 3 copper deposit, could shut down for a month after an accident that killed three workers, a port official said on Sunday. Collahuasi, owned by Xstrata and Anglo American, extracts some 535,000 tonnes a year, or 3.3 percent of global mined copper.
Today at 18:16 | Reuters
SANTIAGO, Dec 19 (Reuters) - A port serving Chile's Collahuasi mine, the world's No. 3 copper deposit, could shut down for a month after an accident that killed three workers, a port official said on Sunday. Collahuasi, owned by Xstrata and Anglo American, extracts some 535,000 tonnes a year, or 3.3 percent of global mined copper.
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Re: Lunes 20/12/10 Semana del GDP - Feliz navidad
por admin » Dom Dic 19, 2010 10:12 pm
El conflicto entre las Koreas se intensifica afectando las bolsas en el Asia.
Korea y China mas del 1% a la baja.
Los futures del Dow Jones sin cambio a esta hora.
Korea y China mas del 1% a la baja.
Los futures del Dow Jones sin cambio a esta hora.
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Re: Lunes 20/12/10 Semana del GDP - Feliz navidad
por admin » Dom Dic 19, 2010 10:13 pm
Asia Falls on Korea Worries
By SHRI NAVARATNAM
SINGAPORE -- Asian stock markets were mostly lower on Monday, as renewed geopolitical tensions on the Korean peninsula hurt shares in Seoul and Tokyo.
South Korea's Kospi Composite fell 1.1%, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was off 0.1%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was 0.2% higher and New Zealand's NZX-50 was off 0.6%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down four points in screen trade.
Regional sentiment was hit by news South Korea is pushing ahead with a U.S.-backed artillery test, prompting an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council at Russia's request.
The test is planned at the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, which North Korean forces shelled last month. The shelling killed four South Koreans, two of them civilians. The military has told civilians on five South Korea border islands to take shelter.
The Seoul market was rattled by concerns that North Korea may respond to the tests aggressively.
"Considering that foreign investment and institutions are net buyers, the negative impact (from geopolitical risks) is unlikely to continue for too long," said Shinhan Investment Corp analyst Seo Joon-hyeok.
Large-cap stocks were mostly down with Samsung Electronics off 0.9%, LG Electronics down 1.7% and Hyundai Motor down 1.1%.
Woori Finance Holdings rebounded by 2.1% after opening lower on the South Korean government's decision on Friday to halt the sale of its 57% stake in the firm.
The Tokyo market was weighed by geopolitical tensions on the Korean peninsula.
"There is a tendency for downward corrections when the market momentum is sluggish with foreign investors away," said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.
Aeon was up 0.9% after the Nikkei reported the Japanese retailer is likely to have posted a 70% on-year increase in group operating profit to Y93 billion for the nine months ended Nov. 30.
Most technology stocks were down, with Nikon off 0.3%, Sony off 0.1% and Sharp down 0.3%. Car makers were mixed, with Honda Motor up 0.9%, while Toyota was off 0.4%. Toyota appeared to be pressured by a Nikkei report on Saturday that the automaker is anticipating a drop of more than 10% in domestic car sales in 2011, due to the expiry of government subsidies for fuel-efficient vehicles.
Shares in Sydney were modestly higher with materials stocks outperforming the broader market after copper prices rose on Friday.
BHP Billiton advanced 0.5% and Rio Tinto tacked on 0.8%. "Resources are still the flavor of the month," said BBY senior institutional trader Peter Copeland. "I would have thought Australian bank dividend payments will flow into the market and I still favor the upside. The strong Chinese economy is likely to outweigh concerns about Europe. An improving U.S. economy could also push equities higher."
Santos rose 5.4% to 13.67 Australian dollars ($13.5) after the company said it raised A$500 million from an institutional placement at A$12.55 a share; the capital raising was launched after Santos secured a liquefied natural gas offtake deal with Korea Gas Corp., and agreed to sell a 15% stake in its Gladstone LNG project to Korea Gas and France's Total for A$665 million.
The euro remained under pressure as concerns over Europe's debt crisis continued to weigh.
The single currency was dented by Moody's Investors Service downgrading Ireland to Baa1 from Aa2 on Friday, saying the government's financial strength could deteriorate due to pressures from its ailing banks or because of slower-than-expected growth. The mood was further dimmed by the International Monetary Fund's warning of a "significant" threat of contagion from Ireland.
"We wouldn't be surprised to see more pain inflicted on the euro this week," said Mike Jones, a currency strategist at the Bank of New Zealand in Wellington. "The prospect of material good news on the European fiscal crisis appears unlikely, while this week's deluge of U.S. data is likely to show U.S. economic momentum is slowly but surely gathering pace," Jones said.
The euro was fetching $1.3163 against the U.S. dollar, from $1.3182 late in New York on Friday, and 110.62 against the yen, from 110.66 yen. The dollar was at 84.04 yen, compared with 83.96 yen.
The Korean won fell on the firing-drill news, and extended its early losses against the U.S. dollar. The dollar was recently at 1,167.40 won, from 1,163.40 won earlier.
Lead Japanese government bond futures were up 0.14 at 139.95 points on Friday's rise in U.S. Treasurys. The yield on 10-year cash JGBs was flat at 1.195%.
Spot gold was at $1,382.20 per troy ounce, up $6.70 from its New York close on Friday. January Nymex crude oil futures were up 38 cents at $88.40 per barrel on Globex.
Write to Shri Navaratnam at shri.navaratnam@dowjones.com
By SHRI NAVARATNAM
SINGAPORE -- Asian stock markets were mostly lower on Monday, as renewed geopolitical tensions on the Korean peninsula hurt shares in Seoul and Tokyo.
South Korea's Kospi Composite fell 1.1%, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was off 0.1%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was 0.2% higher and New Zealand's NZX-50 was off 0.6%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down four points in screen trade.
Regional sentiment was hit by news South Korea is pushing ahead with a U.S.-backed artillery test, prompting an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council at Russia's request.
The test is planned at the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, which North Korean forces shelled last month. The shelling killed four South Koreans, two of them civilians. The military has told civilians on five South Korea border islands to take shelter.
The Seoul market was rattled by concerns that North Korea may respond to the tests aggressively.
"Considering that foreign investment and institutions are net buyers, the negative impact (from geopolitical risks) is unlikely to continue for too long," said Shinhan Investment Corp analyst Seo Joon-hyeok.
Large-cap stocks were mostly down with Samsung Electronics off 0.9%, LG Electronics down 1.7% and Hyundai Motor down 1.1%.
Woori Finance Holdings rebounded by 2.1% after opening lower on the South Korean government's decision on Friday to halt the sale of its 57% stake in the firm.
The Tokyo market was weighed by geopolitical tensions on the Korean peninsula.
"There is a tendency for downward corrections when the market momentum is sluggish with foreign investors away," said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.
Aeon was up 0.9% after the Nikkei reported the Japanese retailer is likely to have posted a 70% on-year increase in group operating profit to Y93 billion for the nine months ended Nov. 30.
Most technology stocks were down, with Nikon off 0.3%, Sony off 0.1% and Sharp down 0.3%. Car makers were mixed, with Honda Motor up 0.9%, while Toyota was off 0.4%. Toyota appeared to be pressured by a Nikkei report on Saturday that the automaker is anticipating a drop of more than 10% in domestic car sales in 2011, due to the expiry of government subsidies for fuel-efficient vehicles.
Shares in Sydney were modestly higher with materials stocks outperforming the broader market after copper prices rose on Friday.
BHP Billiton advanced 0.5% and Rio Tinto tacked on 0.8%. "Resources are still the flavor of the month," said BBY senior institutional trader Peter Copeland. "I would have thought Australian bank dividend payments will flow into the market and I still favor the upside. The strong Chinese economy is likely to outweigh concerns about Europe. An improving U.S. economy could also push equities higher."
Santos rose 5.4% to 13.67 Australian dollars ($13.5) after the company said it raised A$500 million from an institutional placement at A$12.55 a share; the capital raising was launched after Santos secured a liquefied natural gas offtake deal with Korea Gas Corp., and agreed to sell a 15% stake in its Gladstone LNG project to Korea Gas and France's Total for A$665 million.
The euro remained under pressure as concerns over Europe's debt crisis continued to weigh.
The single currency was dented by Moody's Investors Service downgrading Ireland to Baa1 from Aa2 on Friday, saying the government's financial strength could deteriorate due to pressures from its ailing banks or because of slower-than-expected growth. The mood was further dimmed by the International Monetary Fund's warning of a "significant" threat of contagion from Ireland.
"We wouldn't be surprised to see more pain inflicted on the euro this week," said Mike Jones, a currency strategist at the Bank of New Zealand in Wellington. "The prospect of material good news on the European fiscal crisis appears unlikely, while this week's deluge of U.S. data is likely to show U.S. economic momentum is slowly but surely gathering pace," Jones said.
The euro was fetching $1.3163 against the U.S. dollar, from $1.3182 late in New York on Friday, and 110.62 against the yen, from 110.66 yen. The dollar was at 84.04 yen, compared with 83.96 yen.
The Korean won fell on the firing-drill news, and extended its early losses against the U.S. dollar. The dollar was recently at 1,167.40 won, from 1,163.40 won earlier.
Lead Japanese government bond futures were up 0.14 at 139.95 points on Friday's rise in U.S. Treasurys. The yield on 10-year cash JGBs was flat at 1.195%.
Spot gold was at $1,382.20 per troy ounce, up $6.70 from its New York close on Friday. January Nymex crude oil futures were up 38 cents at $88.40 per barrel on Globex.
Write to Shri Navaratnam at shri.navaratnam@dowjones.com
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Re: Lunes 20/12/10 Semana del GDP - Feliz navidad
por admin » Dom Dic 19, 2010 10:15 pm
Euro down 1.3149
Australia -0.01%
Yen up 83.90
El Nikkei -0.32%, el Hang Seng -0.57%, el Shanghai -1.62%
Australia -0.01%
Yen up 83.90
El Nikkei -0.32%, el Hang Seng -0.57%, el Shanghai -1.62%
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Re: Lunes 20/12/10 Semana del GDP - Feliz navidad
por admin » Dom Dic 19, 2010 10:17 pm
Oil up 88.20, Au up 1,384.6
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Re: Lunes 20/12/10 Semana del GDP - Feliz navidad
por admin » Dom Dic 19, 2010 10:17 pm
Copper December 19,21:58
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Uranium Dec 13, 2010
Ux U308 price: 61.75
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Change +0.0331 +0.80%
Low/High 4.1285 - 4.1998
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Nickel December 19,21:58
Bid/Ask 11.2511 - 11.2551
Change +0.0095 +0.08%
Low/High 11.2189 - 11.3091
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Bid/Ask 1.0400 - 1.0406
Change +0.0061 +0.59%
Low/High 1.0338 - 1.0452
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Zinc December 19,21:59
Bid/Ask 1.0408 - 1.0433
Change +0.0027 +0.26%
Low/High 1.0356 - 1.0550
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Lead December 19,21:58
Bid/Ask 1.0966 - 1.1010
Change +0.0024 +0.22%
Low/High 1.0919 - 1.1074
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Uranium Dec 13, 2010
Ux U308 price: 61.75
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Re: Lunes 20/12/10 Semana del GDP - Feliz navidad
por admin » Dom Dic 19, 2010 10:23 pm
Practicas aumentan las tensiones en Korea
El Lunes en la maniana S Korea se preparaba para probar su artilleria en la misma isla que fue atacada por Korea del Norte el mes pasado. S. Korea ordeno a sus residentes a buscar refugio en caso N Korea cumpla con sus amenazas de bombardear el lugar.
China defendio a N Korea ante las Naciones Unidas obligando a esta organizacion a no emitir un comunicado que culpaba a N Korea por los ataques del mes pasado.
Firing Drill Increases Tensions in Korea
By EVAN RAMSTAD
SEOUL—South Korea on Monday morning prepared to test artillery from an island North Korea attacked last month, and ordered residents into bomb shelters in case the North carried out on threats to open fire at the drill.
South Korean marines unload equipment at a port on Yeonpyeong Island on Sunday in preparation for the live-fire artillery drill.
The test on Yeonpyeong Island is a pivotal moment in the two Koreas' fractious relationship, which has been drawn to the brink of open fighting by North Korea's apparent effort to redraw the maritime boundary in the Yellow Sea off the countries' west coast.
South Korean authorities urged residents on four other islands in the disputed maritime area to also seek shelter. North Korea on Friday and Saturday issued several statements that said it would lash out at South Korea if it again tested artillery on Yeonpyeong.
The United Nations Security Council, meeting Sunday in New York, didn't agree on a statement to defuse the dispute. China blocked a statement that would have blamed North Korea for the attack on Yeonpyeong Island last month that set off the current crisis.
The Security Council met at Russia's request, underscoring pressure on South Korea from both Moscow and Beijing to cancel the test.
U.S. officials have said North Korea shouldn't view South Korea's coming drills as a threat. A State Department official said Sunday that the U.S. was supporting the South Koreans on whatever decisions they made concerning the military drill. Pentagon officials in Washington didn't respond Sunday to requests for comment.
North Korea attacked Yeonpyeong Island on Nov. 23, a few hours after South Korea last conducted an artillery test on the island. The attack killed four South Koreans, two of them civilians. Until then, South Korean drills from the island had been a routine for decades. The South's marine post on the island guards a water passage from North Korea to the South's major port city of Incheon.
South Korea: Called the test 'usual and justifiable,' and said 'We won't take into consideration North Korean threats and diplomatic situations before holding the live-fire drill. If weather permits, it will be held as scheduled.'
North Korea: 'It is necessary to clearly state in advance that the hostile forces will be accountable for the second Yonphyong Island incident in the light of the fact that they tried to paint the first Yonphyong Island clash as a 'provocation' of the DPRK,' the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
.With the new test, South Korea is walking a tightrope by trying to defend waters it has controlled since the Korean War of the 1950s in a way that doesn't escalate into more fighting, which would threaten the safety of its 50 million people and the vibrancy of its economy, the world's 15th biggest. Asian markets opened mostly lower Monday as tensions mounted. South Korea's Kospi Composite fell 1.1%, and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was off 0.1% in early trading.
On Sunday, South Korean defense officials called the planned test "usual and justifiable."
"We won't take into consideration North Korean threats and diplomatic situations before holding the live-fire drill. If weather permits, it will be held as scheduled," a spokesman for South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said.
By late Sunday afternoon, according to Western diplomats at the U.N., Russia had agreed with the U.S. and other members on a common statement on the crisis that, among other things, blamed the North for an attack on Yeonpyeong Island last month. However, China was refusing to allow mention of the island in a common statement, according to the diplomats.
.Diplomats and analysts say China is growing increasingly frustrated by North Korea's behavior but worries its relations with Pyongyang would be irreparably damaged if it blamed North Korea for the artillery raid, or the sinking of the Cheonan, a South Korean navy ship, in March.
Beijing's proposed solution to the crisis is to revive the so-called "six-party" talks on North Korea between China, Japan, the U.S., Russia and North and South Korea.
After the council failed to act Sunday night, Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the U.N., warned, "Within hours there may be a serious aggravation of tension, a serious conflict for that matter. … So we reiterate a call for restraint on both sides."
Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said she did not believe it possible to close the remaining "gaps" for an agreement.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and an ally of President Barack Obama, met over the weekend with leaders in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, where he urged calm.
In an interview with CNN from Pyongyang on Saturday, Mr. Richardson said he urged North Korean officials to show "maximum restraint" in response to South Korea's planned military drills.
"Right now, my objective is to say, 'tamp things down, let the routine exercise take place, if it does,' " he said.
Acting in an unofficial capacity after being invited by North Korean officials, Mr. Richardson said there was "enormous tension" on the peninsula and the "potential for miscalculation."
On Saturday, the North Korean Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that "It is necessary to clearly state in advance that the hostile forces will be accountable for the second Yonphyong Island incident in the light of the fact that they tried to paint the first Yonphyong Island clash as a 'provocation' of the DPRK." The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as North Korea is officially known, uses a different spelling of Yeonpyeong.
Amid all the official statements and diplomatic maneuvering over the weekend, there were few signs of tension in South Korea.
Residents still living on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong fear reprisals from the North if South Korea's planned live fire drill goes ahead. Video courtesy of Reuters.
.There have been no signs of unusual troop movement or war preparations in North Korea, a person familiar with military surveillance of North Korea said. And, while North Korea has issued several threats of retaliation if a new test is conducted, most came from relatively low-level agencies and news publications rather than the offices associated with its dictator, Kim Jong Il.
Nonetheless, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency on Sunday, North Korea had raised the military readiness of its artillery unit along the west coast.
U.S. military officials have in recent weeks attempted to send a message to South Korea not to escalate hostilities. But they haven't attempted to stop South Korea from conducting the exercises.
In a visit to Seoul earlier this month, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that in times of high tensions, "normal" exercises should be scrutinized carefully, and that care should be taken not to expand hostilities.
Still, many American officials believe the exercises are needed both to deter the North and to prepare South Korea. Some officials remain distressed about certain South Korean defense capabilities, particularly the South's ability to counter a submarine attack and its artillery skills. The artillery counterbarrage from Yeonpyeong Island on Nov. 23 failed to do much damage to North Korean artillery tubes, according to some publicly released satellite photos.
South Korean residents of Yeonpyeong Island fear a military drill could provoke fresh aggression from North Korea. Video courtesy of Reuters.
.Recent South Korean and joint exercises have been designed to improve those skills.
South Korea has controlled Yeonpyeong Island and the waters around it since before the Korean War and placed artillery positions after the war to defend water passages to the South Korean port city of Incheon.
North Korea has repeatedly said it fired on the island because the South's artillery test on Nov. 23 lobbed shells into its territory. Seoul countered that it fired away from North Korean waters on that day. Later, Pyongyang claimed it controls all the waters around the island and said that any artillery testing from Yeonpyeong is an assault on its territory.
While South Korea is betting North Korea will do nothing in response to the drill, it has proceeded carefully. The South Korean military briefly planned to hold such a drill a week after the attack. Instead, it rebuilt the damaged marine post on the island and reinforced its artillery guns with multiple rocket launchers. Last Thursday, the military said the drill would happen as soon as Saturday, but then pushed it to Monday, citing weather conditions.
The U.S.-led United Nations Command, responsible for overseeing the armistice agreement, will observe the drill, with about 20 Americans and a handful of soldiers from other countries on hand.
North Korea has disputed the Yellow Sea boundary for more than a decade with naval incursions and has repeatedly stated a desire to redraw the inter-Korean maritime border that was created in the armistice agreement that ended hostilities in 1953.
Its reasons for escalating the matter with the Nov. 23 attack are unknown. Analysts have speculated that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is trying to solidify support for a power transition to his son Kim Jong Eun and force Seoul to restart financial assistance that was cut off in 2008.
Before announcing the new test on Yeonpyeong, South Korean defense officials said they would strike back at any further attacks by the North. They haven't disclosed plans for a counterattack if North Korea reacts to this week's test.
—Jeremy Page, Joe Lauria, Adam Entous and Julian E. Barnes contributed to this article
El Lunes en la maniana S Korea se preparaba para probar su artilleria en la misma isla que fue atacada por Korea del Norte el mes pasado. S. Korea ordeno a sus residentes a buscar refugio en caso N Korea cumpla con sus amenazas de bombardear el lugar.
China defendio a N Korea ante las Naciones Unidas obligando a esta organizacion a no emitir un comunicado que culpaba a N Korea por los ataques del mes pasado.
Firing Drill Increases Tensions in Korea
By EVAN RAMSTAD
SEOUL—South Korea on Monday morning prepared to test artillery from an island North Korea attacked last month, and ordered residents into bomb shelters in case the North carried out on threats to open fire at the drill.
South Korean marines unload equipment at a port on Yeonpyeong Island on Sunday in preparation for the live-fire artillery drill.
The test on Yeonpyeong Island is a pivotal moment in the two Koreas' fractious relationship, which has been drawn to the brink of open fighting by North Korea's apparent effort to redraw the maritime boundary in the Yellow Sea off the countries' west coast.
South Korean authorities urged residents on four other islands in the disputed maritime area to also seek shelter. North Korea on Friday and Saturday issued several statements that said it would lash out at South Korea if it again tested artillery on Yeonpyeong.
The United Nations Security Council, meeting Sunday in New York, didn't agree on a statement to defuse the dispute. China blocked a statement that would have blamed North Korea for the attack on Yeonpyeong Island last month that set off the current crisis.
The Security Council met at Russia's request, underscoring pressure on South Korea from both Moscow and Beijing to cancel the test.
U.S. officials have said North Korea shouldn't view South Korea's coming drills as a threat. A State Department official said Sunday that the U.S. was supporting the South Koreans on whatever decisions they made concerning the military drill. Pentagon officials in Washington didn't respond Sunday to requests for comment.
North Korea attacked Yeonpyeong Island on Nov. 23, a few hours after South Korea last conducted an artillery test on the island. The attack killed four South Koreans, two of them civilians. Until then, South Korean drills from the island had been a routine for decades. The South's marine post on the island guards a water passage from North Korea to the South's major port city of Incheon.
South Korea: Called the test 'usual and justifiable,' and said 'We won't take into consideration North Korean threats and diplomatic situations before holding the live-fire drill. If weather permits, it will be held as scheduled.'
North Korea: 'It is necessary to clearly state in advance that the hostile forces will be accountable for the second Yonphyong Island incident in the light of the fact that they tried to paint the first Yonphyong Island clash as a 'provocation' of the DPRK,' the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
.With the new test, South Korea is walking a tightrope by trying to defend waters it has controlled since the Korean War of the 1950s in a way that doesn't escalate into more fighting, which would threaten the safety of its 50 million people and the vibrancy of its economy, the world's 15th biggest. Asian markets opened mostly lower Monday as tensions mounted. South Korea's Kospi Composite fell 1.1%, and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was off 0.1% in early trading.
On Sunday, South Korean defense officials called the planned test "usual and justifiable."
"We won't take into consideration North Korean threats and diplomatic situations before holding the live-fire drill. If weather permits, it will be held as scheduled," a spokesman for South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said.
By late Sunday afternoon, according to Western diplomats at the U.N., Russia had agreed with the U.S. and other members on a common statement on the crisis that, among other things, blamed the North for an attack on Yeonpyeong Island last month. However, China was refusing to allow mention of the island in a common statement, according to the diplomats.
.Diplomats and analysts say China is growing increasingly frustrated by North Korea's behavior but worries its relations with Pyongyang would be irreparably damaged if it blamed North Korea for the artillery raid, or the sinking of the Cheonan, a South Korean navy ship, in March.
Beijing's proposed solution to the crisis is to revive the so-called "six-party" talks on North Korea between China, Japan, the U.S., Russia and North and South Korea.
After the council failed to act Sunday night, Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the U.N., warned, "Within hours there may be a serious aggravation of tension, a serious conflict for that matter. … So we reiterate a call for restraint on both sides."
Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said she did not believe it possible to close the remaining "gaps" for an agreement.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and an ally of President Barack Obama, met over the weekend with leaders in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, where he urged calm.
In an interview with CNN from Pyongyang on Saturday, Mr. Richardson said he urged North Korean officials to show "maximum restraint" in response to South Korea's planned military drills.
"Right now, my objective is to say, 'tamp things down, let the routine exercise take place, if it does,' " he said.
Acting in an unofficial capacity after being invited by North Korean officials, Mr. Richardson said there was "enormous tension" on the peninsula and the "potential for miscalculation."
On Saturday, the North Korean Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that "It is necessary to clearly state in advance that the hostile forces will be accountable for the second Yonphyong Island incident in the light of the fact that they tried to paint the first Yonphyong Island clash as a 'provocation' of the DPRK." The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as North Korea is officially known, uses a different spelling of Yeonpyeong.
Amid all the official statements and diplomatic maneuvering over the weekend, there were few signs of tension in South Korea.
Residents still living on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong fear reprisals from the North if South Korea's planned live fire drill goes ahead. Video courtesy of Reuters.
.There have been no signs of unusual troop movement or war preparations in North Korea, a person familiar with military surveillance of North Korea said. And, while North Korea has issued several threats of retaliation if a new test is conducted, most came from relatively low-level agencies and news publications rather than the offices associated with its dictator, Kim Jong Il.
Nonetheless, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency on Sunday, North Korea had raised the military readiness of its artillery unit along the west coast.
U.S. military officials have in recent weeks attempted to send a message to South Korea not to escalate hostilities. But they haven't attempted to stop South Korea from conducting the exercises.
In a visit to Seoul earlier this month, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that in times of high tensions, "normal" exercises should be scrutinized carefully, and that care should be taken not to expand hostilities.
Still, many American officials believe the exercises are needed both to deter the North and to prepare South Korea. Some officials remain distressed about certain South Korean defense capabilities, particularly the South's ability to counter a submarine attack and its artillery skills. The artillery counterbarrage from Yeonpyeong Island on Nov. 23 failed to do much damage to North Korean artillery tubes, according to some publicly released satellite photos.
South Korean residents of Yeonpyeong Island fear a military drill could provoke fresh aggression from North Korea. Video courtesy of Reuters.
.Recent South Korean and joint exercises have been designed to improve those skills.
South Korea has controlled Yeonpyeong Island and the waters around it since before the Korean War and placed artillery positions after the war to defend water passages to the South Korean port city of Incheon.
North Korea has repeatedly said it fired on the island because the South's artillery test on Nov. 23 lobbed shells into its territory. Seoul countered that it fired away from North Korean waters on that day. Later, Pyongyang claimed it controls all the waters around the island and said that any artillery testing from Yeonpyeong is an assault on its territory.
While South Korea is betting North Korea will do nothing in response to the drill, it has proceeded carefully. The South Korean military briefly planned to hold such a drill a week after the attack. Instead, it rebuilt the damaged marine post on the island and reinforced its artillery guns with multiple rocket launchers. Last Thursday, the military said the drill would happen as soon as Saturday, but then pushed it to Monday, citing weather conditions.
The U.S.-led United Nations Command, responsible for overseeing the armistice agreement, will observe the drill, with about 20 Americans and a handful of soldiers from other countries on hand.
North Korea has disputed the Yellow Sea boundary for more than a decade with naval incursions and has repeatedly stated a desire to redraw the inter-Korean maritime border that was created in the armistice agreement that ended hostilities in 1953.
Its reasons for escalating the matter with the Nov. 23 attack are unknown. Analysts have speculated that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is trying to solidify support for a power transition to his son Kim Jong Eun and force Seoul to restart financial assistance that was cut off in 2008.
Before announcing the new test on Yeonpyeong, South Korean defense officials said they would strike back at any further attacks by the North. They haven't disclosed plans for a counterattack if North Korea reacts to this week's test.
—Jeremy Page, Joe Lauria, Adam Entous and Julian E. Barnes contributed to this article
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Re: Lunes 20/12/10 Semana del GDP - Feliz navidad
por admin » Dom Dic 19, 2010 10:28 pm
MCP respondiendo a la disminucion de la oferta global reabrira la mina que produce los "metales raros" que son criticos para la fabricacion de los high-tech productos desde iPhones hasta carros electricos.
Rare-Earth Miner in U.S. Tackles China, Its Own Past
By JAMES T. AREDDY
MOUNTAIN PASS, Calif.—Responding to China's recent squeeze on the global supply of rare earths, a U.S. company plans to reopen its mine that produces the unusual metals, which are critical to making high-tech products ranging from iPhones to electric cars.
And this time, it said, it will observe stringent environmental-safety measures.
The Mountain Pass mine was at one time the world's dominant rare-earth supplier. But mining was suspended in 2002 amid environmental complaints, including that its wastewater had damaged the desert's delicate ecosystem. In the years that followed, China achieved world dominance in the production of rare-earth metals, in part by shunning costly environmental controls.
Molycorp's mine in Mountain Pass, Calif., which will reopen in 2011.
Now, the new investors that own Molycorp Inc. are eager to prove that producing rare earths can be both clean and economical. They say they will invest $531 million to modernize the mine's facilities, spending about a third of the total on a system designed to recycle nearly all wastewater.
On Monday, Molycorp announced it has begun mine-preparation work called prestripping ahead of restarting active mining in 2011. It also said it has secured final permits to begin construction of plants that will process the mined rare-earth oxides. And earlier this month, Molycorp said Japan's Sumitomo Corp. agreed to buy $100 million, or more than 3%, of its shares and provide $30 million in financing as part of a seven-year rare-earth supply agreement.
The U.S.'s ability to relaunch a domestic rare-earths industry depends on ramping up production at this mine, which is perched 5,000 feet above the Mojave Desert some 50 miles southwest of Las Vegas.
Rare-earth metals are found in many places around the world, including several other sites in the U.S. But rare-earth mines can take a decade to develop, and only Mountain Pass and Lynas Corp.'s Mount Weld in Australia provide high-grade rare earths in sufficient concentrations to offer much promise of rebalancing the world supply away from China any time soon.
Recently, Scott Honan, the site's environmental manager, wheeled a Ford pickup truck around a funnel-shaped pit filled with tropical-green water as he explained Molycorp's plans to modernize the facility. "It's really going to be a world of difference if you look at how this current plant is designed and where we're going," Mr. Honan said.
Rare earths have a clean, futuristic image. But extracting and processing them can be dirty, dangerous work, blackening the soil with mine waste and polluting the water with hydrochloric acid and the air with radioactive dust.
Snow guns like those used at ski areas spray water being drained from Molycorp's rare-earth mine in Mountain Pass., Calif., which it is reopening.
.The Mountain Pass deposit was discovered in the 1950s, and the mine became the world's primary producer of rare earths in the 1980s and 1990s. But each year from 1990 to 1998, Mountain Pass was also among California's top 15 industrial emitters of toxic chemicals, the Environmental Protection Agency found. (A Molycorp spokesman said miners often place high on the EPA's Toxic Release Inventory rankings because they displace large amounts of material during digging, not necessarily because of air or water pollution.)
The mining process included piping 850 gallons of wastewater a minute into a desert lake bed 13 miles away, according to Molycorp, now based in Greenwood Village, Colo. By 2002, digging at Mountain Pass had been suspended amid protests from environmentalists.
As U.S. dominance ended, China increased its low-cost output. But rare-earth mining was a stodgy industry in those days, selling mostly to petroleum producers. There were few signs that green technology or miniaturized electronics would soon boost demand for items like magnets that use the rare earth neodymium.
Pivotal events for the industry included the U.S. introduction of Toyota Motor Corp.'s hybrid Prius car in 2000 and the debut of Apple Inc.'s iPhone in 2005.
The current near total reliance on China as a global supplier is increasingly worrisome to U.S. policy makers. Recently, Chinese authorities have compounded the worries by slashing exports, citing their need to limit environmental degradation. China's Ministry of Finance has announced plans to tax metal exports in 2011.
Mountain Pass itself won't break China's stranglehold. By tonnage its output should easily satisfy U.S. military demand, but not commercial high-tech industries. A recent U.S. Energy Department report said Mountain Pass won't produce dysprosium and terbium, two of the five rare earths it says will face critical shortages in the short term. Molycorp says its technology could allow it to produce the metals.
Soon, though, Mountain Pass and Australia's Mount Weld together should begin to erode China's near total monopoly. By 2014, according to Lynas's figures, China's output will be 67% of the global total of 169,800 metric tons and Mountain Pass and Mount Weld will contribute 13% and 12%, respectively, of world production.
Miners promoting rare-earth operations from Greenland to Australia echo Molycorp in saying that modern processes for handling wastes will improve the industry's image and lower costs.
"We've gone through our own history," Molycorp Chief Executive Mark Smith said in an interview. "An industry that has a bad environmental or safety reputation is not a good industry."
Still, Molycorp isn't breaking completely with the past. For instance, it initially intends to funnel wastewater into evaporation basins opened in 2000, not into the newly designed recycling system on its drawing boards. Many of the same people who ran the mine when it topped EPA pollution charts will be hired back, albeit with new training and equipment. Mr. Smith himself, an expert in environmental law, headed the business when it was owned by Unocal Corp. and then Chevron Corp.
Some of the problems associated with the site that haven't gone away aren't Molycorp's responsibility. They still have to be solved by Chevron because of the way the mining company was restructured when it became independent, according to the Bureau of Land Management, which is monitoring the cleanup.
During the recent tour of Mountain Pass, Mr. Honan explained how new "pasting" technology will reduce the likelihood that the slightly radioactive waste will blow toward the Joshua trees and jackrabbits that populate the area.
Wearing a dosimetry badge on his shirt to monitor his own exposure to radiation, he stopped his truck at a spot overlooking a slope that will be used to store waste "tailings," the 91.5% of the mine's output that will be unusable.
At least one environmental group is giving Molycorp the benefit of the doubt. In 2003, the Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson, Ariz., protested the mine's "abysmal environmental record," according to a statement at the time.
"Since that time the mine has changed ownership, the problematic pipeline is no longer used, the containment ponds have been lined, cleanup is under way, and much better water-quality monitoring is now in place," said Brendan Cummings, the center's public-lands director.
But, he added, "Molycorp would have to clearly demonstrate that they can operate it cleanly and safely before any expansion should be considered."
Write to James T. Areddy at james.areddy@wsj.com
Rare-Earth Miner in U.S. Tackles China, Its Own Past
By JAMES T. AREDDY
MOUNTAIN PASS, Calif.—Responding to China's recent squeeze on the global supply of rare earths, a U.S. company plans to reopen its mine that produces the unusual metals, which are critical to making high-tech products ranging from iPhones to electric cars.
And this time, it said, it will observe stringent environmental-safety measures.
The Mountain Pass mine was at one time the world's dominant rare-earth supplier. But mining was suspended in 2002 amid environmental complaints, including that its wastewater had damaged the desert's delicate ecosystem. In the years that followed, China achieved world dominance in the production of rare-earth metals, in part by shunning costly environmental controls.
Molycorp's mine in Mountain Pass, Calif., which will reopen in 2011.
Now, the new investors that own Molycorp Inc. are eager to prove that producing rare earths can be both clean and economical. They say they will invest $531 million to modernize the mine's facilities, spending about a third of the total on a system designed to recycle nearly all wastewater.
On Monday, Molycorp announced it has begun mine-preparation work called prestripping ahead of restarting active mining in 2011. It also said it has secured final permits to begin construction of plants that will process the mined rare-earth oxides. And earlier this month, Molycorp said Japan's Sumitomo Corp. agreed to buy $100 million, or more than 3%, of its shares and provide $30 million in financing as part of a seven-year rare-earth supply agreement.
The U.S.'s ability to relaunch a domestic rare-earths industry depends on ramping up production at this mine, which is perched 5,000 feet above the Mojave Desert some 50 miles southwest of Las Vegas.
Rare-earth metals are found in many places around the world, including several other sites in the U.S. But rare-earth mines can take a decade to develop, and only Mountain Pass and Lynas Corp.'s Mount Weld in Australia provide high-grade rare earths in sufficient concentrations to offer much promise of rebalancing the world supply away from China any time soon.
Recently, Scott Honan, the site's environmental manager, wheeled a Ford pickup truck around a funnel-shaped pit filled with tropical-green water as he explained Molycorp's plans to modernize the facility. "It's really going to be a world of difference if you look at how this current plant is designed and where we're going," Mr. Honan said.
Rare earths have a clean, futuristic image. But extracting and processing them can be dirty, dangerous work, blackening the soil with mine waste and polluting the water with hydrochloric acid and the air with radioactive dust.
Snow guns like those used at ski areas spray water being drained from Molycorp's rare-earth mine in Mountain Pass., Calif., which it is reopening.
.The Mountain Pass deposit was discovered in the 1950s, and the mine became the world's primary producer of rare earths in the 1980s and 1990s. But each year from 1990 to 1998, Mountain Pass was also among California's top 15 industrial emitters of toxic chemicals, the Environmental Protection Agency found. (A Molycorp spokesman said miners often place high on the EPA's Toxic Release Inventory rankings because they displace large amounts of material during digging, not necessarily because of air or water pollution.)
The mining process included piping 850 gallons of wastewater a minute into a desert lake bed 13 miles away, according to Molycorp, now based in Greenwood Village, Colo. By 2002, digging at Mountain Pass had been suspended amid protests from environmentalists.
As U.S. dominance ended, China increased its low-cost output. But rare-earth mining was a stodgy industry in those days, selling mostly to petroleum producers. There were few signs that green technology or miniaturized electronics would soon boost demand for items like magnets that use the rare earth neodymium.
Pivotal events for the industry included the U.S. introduction of Toyota Motor Corp.'s hybrid Prius car in 2000 and the debut of Apple Inc.'s iPhone in 2005.
The current near total reliance on China as a global supplier is increasingly worrisome to U.S. policy makers. Recently, Chinese authorities have compounded the worries by slashing exports, citing their need to limit environmental degradation. China's Ministry of Finance has announced plans to tax metal exports in 2011.
Mountain Pass itself won't break China's stranglehold. By tonnage its output should easily satisfy U.S. military demand, but not commercial high-tech industries. A recent U.S. Energy Department report said Mountain Pass won't produce dysprosium and terbium, two of the five rare earths it says will face critical shortages in the short term. Molycorp says its technology could allow it to produce the metals.
Soon, though, Mountain Pass and Australia's Mount Weld together should begin to erode China's near total monopoly. By 2014, according to Lynas's figures, China's output will be 67% of the global total of 169,800 metric tons and Mountain Pass and Mount Weld will contribute 13% and 12%, respectively, of world production.
Miners promoting rare-earth operations from Greenland to Australia echo Molycorp in saying that modern processes for handling wastes will improve the industry's image and lower costs.
"We've gone through our own history," Molycorp Chief Executive Mark Smith said in an interview. "An industry that has a bad environmental or safety reputation is not a good industry."
Still, Molycorp isn't breaking completely with the past. For instance, it initially intends to funnel wastewater into evaporation basins opened in 2000, not into the newly designed recycling system on its drawing boards. Many of the same people who ran the mine when it topped EPA pollution charts will be hired back, albeit with new training and equipment. Mr. Smith himself, an expert in environmental law, headed the business when it was owned by Unocal Corp. and then Chevron Corp.
Some of the problems associated with the site that haven't gone away aren't Molycorp's responsibility. They still have to be solved by Chevron because of the way the mining company was restructured when it became independent, according to the Bureau of Land Management, which is monitoring the cleanup.
During the recent tour of Mountain Pass, Mr. Honan explained how new "pasting" technology will reduce the likelihood that the slightly radioactive waste will blow toward the Joshua trees and jackrabbits that populate the area.
Wearing a dosimetry badge on his shirt to monitor his own exposure to radiation, he stopped his truck at a spot overlooking a slope that will be used to store waste "tailings," the 91.5% of the mine's output that will be unusable.
At least one environmental group is giving Molycorp the benefit of the doubt. In 2003, the Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson, Ariz., protested the mine's "abysmal environmental record," according to a statement at the time.
"Since that time the mine has changed ownership, the problematic pipeline is no longer used, the containment ponds have been lined, cleanup is under way, and much better water-quality monitoring is now in place," said Brendan Cummings, the center's public-lands director.
But, he added, "Molycorp would have to clearly demonstrate that they can operate it cleanly and safely before any expansion should be considered."
Write to James T. Areddy at james.areddy@wsj.com
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Re: Lunes 20/12/10 Semana del GDP - Feliz navidad
por admin » Dom Dic 19, 2010 10:33 pm
El Asia empeora notablemente, el euro baja mas
El Shanghai C. -2.84%,, el Hang Seng -1.32%, el Nikkei -0.80%
Euro down 1.3140
En media hora comienza el drill de S Korea, N Korea amenazo que si S Korea lo hacia la atacaria. Todos pendientes.
Australia -0.26%
El Shanghai C. -2.84%,, el Hang Seng -1.32%, el Nikkei -0.80%
Euro down 1.3140
En media hora comienza el drill de S Korea, N Korea amenazo que si S Korea lo hacia la atacaria. Todos pendientes.
Australia -0.26%
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Re: Lunes 20/12/10 Semana del GDP - Feliz navidad
por admin » Dom Dic 19, 2010 10:34 pm
Yen up 83.89
Dolar up
Dolar up
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Re: Lunes 20/12/10 Semana del GDP - Feliz navidad
por admin » Dom Dic 19, 2010 10:34 pm
Korea -1.27%
Los futures del Dow Jones 24 puntos a la baja.
Los futures del Dow Jones 24 puntos a la baja.
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