Market views and news (updated)

China Soybean, Rubber Importers Renege on Deals By Huileng Tan March 27, 2014, Wall Street Journal; http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304688104579464772427185240?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304688104579464772427185240.html;
Chinese importers of soybeans and rubber are backing out of deals, adding to a wide range of evidence showing rising financial stress in the world's second-biggest economy.

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Moody's sees crude palm oil prices to average US$700 to US$800 per tonne this ...; The Malaysian Insider  - ‎Mar 24, 2014‎; http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/moodys-sees-crude-palm-oil-prices-to-average-us700-to-us800-per-tonne-this; Crude palm oil prices are expected to hover around US$700 range thanks to food-based usage and demand for biodiesel. - The Malaysian Insider pic, March 24, 2014Moody's Investors Service expects crude palm oil (CPO) prices to average between ...

Mistry Bullish on Palm Oil as El Nino Threatens to Parch Trees; Businessweek By Ranjeetha Pakiam   March 21, 2014 ; http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-03-21/mistry-bullish-on-palm-oil-as-el-nino-threatens-to-parch-trees; Palm oil may extend its advance in April to the highest level since 2012 after dry weather in ... The southwest monsoon in India is likely to be impacted....

CPO Exports Seen to Rise 10% to $22 Billion in 2014;Jakarta Globe By Investor Daily on 01:25 pm Mar 19, 2014; http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/cpo-exports-seen-rise-10-22-billion-2014/ ;
Jakarta. The Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) predicts that 2014 exports of crude palm oil are set to reach $22 billion, up 10 percent from last ...

Palm Production in Indonesia Rising for First Time in 6 Months;  Jakarta Globe By Yoga Rusmana on 09:17 am Mar 21, 2014; http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/palm-production-indonesia-rising-first-time-6-months/; The percentage change for exports is derived from the February figure from the Indonesian Palm Oil Association, known as Gapki. Comparisons for ...

Consumers Pinched as Palm Oil, Soybean Prices Rise; Wall Street Journal By Isabella Steger,  Debi Nayak and  Huileng Tan  March 14, 2014 5:26 a.m. ET; http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304914904579438610824940936?mg=reno64-wsj ; Palm oil in China is now more expensive than soy oil, the most commonly used cooking oil, which is an unusual development, said Jane Peng, ...

Agriculture Prices Hold Up Despite China Jitters; Wall Street Journal (blog); http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/03/19/auto-draft-17/; Fears over China's slowing growth so far in 2014 have hurt prices for ... Dry weather in Brazil and Southeast Asia has hurt supply of palm oil, as has ...

Crude palm oil may rise to RM3,177, says Oil World; The Star Online  - ‎Mar 4, 2014‎; http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2014/03/05/Crude-palm-oil-may-rise-to-RM3177-says-Oil-World/;   KUALA LUMPUR: Riding on the current rally in crude palm oil (CPO) prices, CPO could average at the RM3,177 level a tonne this year, 14% higher than 2013's average.
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Energy

US expands gas exports in bid to punish Putin for Crimea; theguardian.com, Tuesday 25 March 2014; http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/25/us-expands-gas-exports-in-bid-to-punish-putin-for-crimea; One of the most advanced U.S. LNG export projects, Cameron LNG--a project in which GDF SUEZ holds an ownership share--has received conditional non-Free Trade Agreement approval from the U.S. Department of Energy.  Senate energy committee told exporting natural gas would end Russia’s 'energy blackmail'

Big energy's climate strategy & clean power

 High Cost of Climate Earns Exxon Rare Environmental Win By Tom Randall Mar 22, 2014; http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-21/exxon-wins-by-having-the-highest-cost-of-climate.html; For years, Exxon Mobil has walked around with an environmentalist target on its chest. So it was news when the world’s biggest oil company by market value agreed yesterday to share its plans for dealing with climate change. A look at what we already know about Exxon’s climate strategy shows why disclosure may be a savvy move.... The longer the global community waits to address climate change, the more invasive future climate policies may need to be. The risk is that oil and coal companies worth more than $7 trillion may be sinking billions of dollars into projects that will never make sense to finish... Exxon is the first U.S. oil-and-gas major to commit to reporting on its risk of stranded assets due to climate change, a step that may pressure competitors to do the same. About ten energy companies are awaiting votes on shareholder resolutions similar to the one that triggered Exxon's agreement to report its climate data.... Exxon has the world’s second-largest stockpile of carbon embedded in oil and gas, after Russia’s Gazprom. According to Bloomberg’s Carbon Risk Valuation Tool, Exxon’s share price could be worth 45 percent less in a carbon-stranding scenario where prices decline 5 percent a year from 2020.

 

 

 Global Energy Thirst Threatens Water Supplies, UN Says By Tara Patel Mar 22, 2014; http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-21/global-energy-thirst-threatens-to-worsen-water-woes-un.html; ...Energy production will increasingly strain water resources in the coming decades even as more than 1 billion of the planet’s 7 billion people already lack access to both, according to a United Nations report... “There is an increasing potential for serious conflict between power generation, other water users and environmental considerations,” said the UN World Water Development Report published today that focused on water and energy. Ninety percent of power generation is “water-intensive,” it said. (link to UN report: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/water/wwap/wwdr/)

 

How much progress have corporations made on their 100% clean power goals? theguardian.com, Tuesday 25 March 2014;  http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/gallery/sap-renewable-clean-energy-goal-intel-microsoft-kohls-walmart; Software giant SAP on Monday said it plans buy enough renewable-energy credits to figuratively power 100% of its worldwide operations with clean energy. The company joins a growing number of businesses gunning for 100% green energy. Which corporations have made the most progress so far?

 

U.S. Court Declares Ecuador Judgment Against Chevron Corporation Fraudulent, Unenforceable

http://www.chevron.com/chevron/pressreleases/article/03042014_uscourtdeclaresecuadorjudgmentagainstchevroncorporationfraudulentunenforceable.news
March 4, 2014 – The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York today ruled that the $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron Corporation in Ecuador was the product of fraud and racketeering activity, finding it unenforceable... The nearly 500-page ruling finds that Steven Donziger, the lead American lawyer behind the Ecuadorian lawsuit against the company, violated the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), committing extortion, money laundering, wire fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, witness tampering and obstruction of justice in obtaining the Ecuadorian judgment and in trying to cover up his and his associates' crimes..."Today's decision is unequivocal: The Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron is a fraud and is the result of criminal acts by a handful of corrupt lawyers looking to enrich themselves," said Hewitt Pate, Chevron vice president and general counsel. "Chevron's reputation was taken hostage and held for a multibillion-dollar ransom. Rather than give in and pay these criminals off, Chevron exposed the truth. Chevron is pleased with today's judgment. We are confident that any court that respects the rule of law will likewise find the Ecuadorian judgment to be illegitimate and unenforceable."....