Futures Markets
17/2/2005
Markets rally to oil futures
Story link: Markets rally to oil futures by Brian Turner
As US stock inventories rose, concerns that OPEC would cut output led to an increase in the price of oil futures, leading to crude reaching $48 a barrel again.
The issue of supply was underlined by the US Department of Energy, who stated that OPEC cuts could lead to difficulties for refiners to meet demand.
OPEC also [...]
3/2/2005
Royal Dutch shells massive profits
Story link: Royal Dutch shells massive profits by Brian Turner
The Royal Dutch/Shell group reported net profits of $17.5bn (£9.3bn) in 2004, and in doing so broke the record for the highest ever recorded for a UK-listed company.
They also made a downgrade of their oil reserves by 1.4 billion barrels, after previous scandals of exaggerated figures led to a fundamental reorganisation of the executive board [...]