Statoil: High activity and good operations

July 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Statoil’s (OSE:STL, NYSE:STO) second quarter 2010 net operating income was
NOK 26.6 billion, compared to NOK 24.3 billion in the second quarter of
2009.

The quarterly result was affected by a 32% increase in liquids prices
measured in NOK, a 6% increase in equity production and a 12% decrease in
gas prices measured in NOK. Also impairments, loss on derivatives and a
provision for an onerous contract influenced net operating income.

Adjusted earnings in the second quarter 2010 were NOK 36.4 billion, up 25%
from second quarter 2009 when adjusted earnings were NOK 29.2 billion.

Net income in the second quarter of 2010 was NOK 3.1 billion. This result
reflects higher oil prices and increased liftings, lower net financial
losses and lower tax rates partly offset by lower gas prices,
impairments, losses on derivatives and an onerous contract compared to
the second quarter of 2009, when net income was zero and the tax rate
unusually high.

Adjusted earnings after tax were NOK 10.6 billion in the second quarter of
2010, up 21% from second quarter 2009 when adjusted earnings after tax
were NOK 8.8 billion. Adjusted earnings after tax excludes the effect of
financial items and the tax on net financial items, and represents an
effective adjusted tax rate of 71% in the second quarter of 2010 and 70%
in the second quarter of 2009.

“Statoil’s second quarter is characterised by strong operational
performance and a high activity level,” says Statoil’s Chief Executive
Officer Helge Lund.

“We are making good progress on important projects. The Gjoa production
platform is now anchored at the field in the North Sea. The Gudrun
development was approved by the Norwegian Parliament in June, and key
contracts have now been awarded. In Brazil, the Peregrino field
development is moving forward and we have agreed to bring in Sinochem as
a 40% partner in the project,” says Lund.

“Statoil’s production is on track. Equity production is up 6% compared to
second quarter last year. However, planned maintenance turnarounds will
heavily impact production in the third quarter,” says Statoil’s CEO Helge
Lund.

Highlights since first quarter 2010:

* Equity production is up 6%
from second quarter 2009 to 1,957 mboe per day. For the first six months
of the year, equity production is 2,029 mboe per day.

* Entitlement production is up 2% from second quarter last year to 1,765
mboe per day.

* Average prices measured in NOK are up 32% for liquids and down 12% for
gas compared to second quarter last year. Gas prices continue to be low
in a historical perspective.

* On 19 May pressure change and loss of drilling fluid occurred in the C-
06 well at Gullfaks C, causing production on Gullfaks C, Gimle and Tordis
to be shut down. Production on Gullfaks and Gimle was resumed 14 July,
and Tordis will be back on stream after a planned pipeline operation,
which started on 20 July.

* On 21 May Statoil announced its agreement with the Sinochem Group to
sell 40% of the Peregrino field offshore Brazil.

* On 27 May a six months drilling moratorium was imposed in the Gulf of
Mexico.

* On 16 June the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget) approved the plan for
development and operation (PDO) for Gudrun.

* On 1 July the Agbami equity determination process was completed
increasing Statoil’s share in the Nigerian field from 18.85% to 20.21%.

Further information from:

Investor relations
Lars Troen Sorensen, senior vice president investor relations,
+ 47 90 64 91 44
(mobile)
Morten Sven Johannessen, vice president investor relations USA,
+ 1 203 570 2524 (mobile)

Press
Ola Morten Aanestad, vice president for media relations,
+ 47 480 80 212
(mobile)

This information is subject of the disclosure requirements acc. to
Section 5- 12 vphl (Norwegian Securities Trading Act)

[HUG#1434644]

Financial statements and review 2nd quarter 2010:

http://hugin.info/132799/R/1434644/380201.pdf

Presentation 2nd quarter 2010:

http://hugin.info/132799/R/1434644/380203.pdf

Press release complete version 2nd quarter 2010:

http://hugin.info/132799/R/1434644/380199.pdf

This announcement is
distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of Thomson Reuters clients. The
owner of this announcement warrants that:

(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other
applicable laws; and

(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Statoil via Thomson Reuters ONE

Copyright 2010, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Statoil: Statoil: High activity and good operations

July 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Statoil’s (OSE:STL, NYSE:STO) second quarter 2010 net operating income was NOK 26.6
billion, compared to NOK 24.3 billion in the second quarter of 2009.

The quarterly result was affected by a 32% increase in liquids prices measured in NOK, a
6% increase in equity production and a 12% decrease in gas prices measured in NOK. Also
impairments, loss on derivatives and a provision for an onerous contract influenced net
operating income.

Adjusted earnings in the second quarter 2010 were NOK 36.4 billion, up 25% from second
quarter 2009 when adjusted earnings were NOK 29.2 billion.

Net income in the second quarter of 2010 was NOK 3.1 billion. This result reflects
higher oil prices and increased liftings, lower net financial losses and lower tax rates
partly offset by lower gas prices, impairments, losses on derivatives and an onerous
contract compared to the second quarter of 2009, when net income was zero and the tax
rate unusually high.

Adjusted earnings after tax were NOK 10.6 billion in the second quarter of 2010, up 21%
from second quarter 2009 when adjusted earnings after tax were NOK 8.8 billion. Adjusted
earnings after tax excludes the effect of financial items and the tax on net financial
items, and represents an effective adjusted tax rate of 71% in the second quarter of
2010 and 70% in the second quarter of 2009.

“Statoil’s second quarter is characterised by strong operational performance and a high
activity level,” says Statoil’s Chief Executive Officer Helge Lund.

“We are making good progress on important projects. The Gjøa production platform is now
anchored at the field in the North Sea. The Gudrun development was approved by the
Norwegian Parliament in June, and key contracts have now been awarded. In Brazil, the
Peregrino field development is moving forward and we have agreed to bring in Sinochem as
a 40% partner in the project,” says Lund.

“Statoil’s production is on track. Equity production is up 6% compared to second quarter
last year. However, planned maintenance turnarounds will heavily impact production in
the third quarter,” says Statoil’s CEO Helge Lund.

Highlights since first quarter 2010:

* Equity production is up 6% from second quarter 2009 to 1,957 mboe per day. For the
first six months of the year, equity production is 2,029 mboe per day.
* Entitlement production is up 2% from second quarter last year to 1,765 mboe per day.
* Average prices measured in NOK are up 32% for liquids and down 12% for gas compared to
second quarter last year. Gas prices continue to be low in a historical perspective.
* On 19 May pressure change and loss of drilling fluid occurred in the C-06 well at
Gullfaks C, causing production on Gullfaks C, Gimle and Tordis to be shut down.
Production on Gullfaks and Gimle was resumed 14 July, and Tordis will be back on stream
after a planned pipeline operation, which started on 20 July.
* On 21 May Statoil announced its agreement with the Sinochem Group to sell 40% of the
Peregrino field offshore Brazil.
* On 27 May a six months drilling moratorium was imposed in the Gulf of Mexico.
* On 16 June the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget) approved the plan for development and
operation (PDO) for Gudrun.
* On 1 July the Agbami equity determination process was completed increasing Statoil’s
share in the Nigerian field from 18.85% to 20.21%.

Further information from:

Investor relations
Lars Troen Sørensen, senior vice president investor relations, + 47 90 64 91 44 (mobile)
Morten Sven Johannessen, vice president investor relations USA, + 1 203 570 2524
(mobile)

Press
Ola Morten Aanestad, vice president for media relations, + 47 480 80 212 (mobile)

This information is subject of the disclosure requirements acc. to §5-12 vphl (Norwegian
Securities Trading Act)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

US lawmakers agree to let banks trade most swaps

June 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 25 (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers finalizing sweeping financial reforms agreed on Friday to allow banks to trade in-house many types of over-the-counter derivatives, watering down a controversial plan that would have required banks to spin off much of their lucrative swaps dealing desks.

Bonds | Global Markets | Funds News | ETFs News

Under the deal, banks can trade in-house foreign exchange and interest rate swaps, gold and silver swaps, and derivatives designed to hedge their own risk.

But banks will need to spin off dealing desks to affiliates to handle agricultural, energy and metals swaps, equity swaps, and uncleared credit default swaps. (Reporting by Charles Abbott, Rachelle Younglai, Roberta Rampton, editing by Jackie Frank)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Banks could trade many swaps under new compromise

June 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Banks would be allowed to trade in-house many types of over-the-counter derivatives under a new proposal designed to break an impasse in the U.S. Congress over financial regulation reform, Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson said on Friday.

Politics

Banks could trade foreign exchange and interest rate swaps in house, as well as gold and silver swaps, and derivatives designed to hedge their own risk, said Peterson, citing a compromise worked on by members of a House and Senate financial reform panel as well as Obama administration officials.

But banks would need to spin-off desks to affiliates to handle agricultural, energy and metals swaps, equity swaps, and uncleared credit default swaps, Peterson said.

(Reporting by Charles Abbott and Roberta Rampton)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Banks could trade many swaps under new compromise

June 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 25 (Reuters) – Banks would be allowed to trade in-house many types of over-the-counter derivatives under a new proposal designed to break an impasse in the U.S. Congress over financial regulation reform, Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson said on Friday.

Stocks | Bonds | Global Markets | Funds News | ETFs News

Banks could trade foreign exchange and interest rate swaps in house, as well as gold and silver swaps, and derivatives designed to hedge their own risk, said Peterson, citing a compromise worked on by members of a House and Senate financial reform panel as well as Obama administration officials.

But banks would need to spin-off desks to affiliates to handle agricultural, energy and metals swaps, equity swaps, and uncleared credit default swaps, Peterson said. (Reporting by Charles Abbott and Roberta Rampton)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

S.Korean won rises 1.6 pct after FX curbs

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 14 (Reuters) – The South Korean won rose as much as 1.6 percent against the dollar early on Monday, with traders relieved after the government unveiled long-anticipated restrictions on derivatives largely in line with expectations.

The won KRW= KRW=KFTC rose to as high as 1,226.2 per dollar from Friday’s domestic close of 1,246.1.

Short-end non-deliverable won forwards KRWNDFOR= were also trading more than 1 percent higher than their previous closing levels against the dollar. (Reporting by Yoo Choonsik; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

S.Korea curbs banks’ fx trades to limit volatility

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 13 (Reuters) – South Korea on Sunday unveiled new curbs on financial firms’ currency trading, saying it aimed to smooth volatile capital flows and stressing that the new rules were not intended to guide the won’s exchange rate.

The well-flagged new restrictions put limits on banks’ and other financial institutions’ currency forwards, cross-currency swaps as well as non-deliverable currency forwards.

“These measures are aimed at reducing the volatility in capital flows that poses a systemic risk in the country instead of driving the exchange rate into a specific direction,” South Korea’s finance ministry, its two financial regulators and the central bank said in a joint statement.

The authorities, alarmed by the won’s KRW= sharp swings in turbulent markets, have been priming markets for weeks for some form of controls.

As already suggested by various officials the new rules will cap domestic banks’ and non-bank financial institutions’ currency forwards and derivatives at 50 percent of their equity capital. The cap for foreign bank branches was set at 250 percent of equity to account for their lower capital, which on average is just 1/30 of that held by domestic banks.

The regulations are expected to come into force in October and banks will have up to two years to fully comply with the new limits, the authorities said.

The won weakened in the past week in anticipation of the curbs and their possible dampening impact on market liquidity and investors had looked for assurances that banks will be given sufficient time to adjust to limit the impact of the new rules.

The authorities said they would review data every quarter to make possible adjustments to the introduced ceilings. (Reporting by Yoo Choonsik and Cheon Jong-woo: Editing by Tomasz Janowski)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Risk aversion could hurt JPMorgan’s Q2 -Staley

June 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 11 (Reuters) – A reduction in clients’s risk appetite could affect JPMorgan’s (JPM.N) second-quarter performance, its investment banking chief Jes Staley said on Friday.

Stocks | Global Markets | Funds News | ETFs News | Financials

“Client activity has reduced. Clients are taking risk off … People are a little more wary, and that may have an impact on Q2, but I think it’s way too early to tell right now,” Staley told reporters on the sidelines of a financial industry conference in Vienna.

Investment banks are experiencing more difficult markets than in the first quarter, and Switzerland’s UBS (UBSN.VX)(UBS.N) on Thursday said it faces weaker second quarter earnings after capital markets turbulence. [ID:nLDE65911O]

Staley said JPMorgan would also be affected by a drop-off in primary issuance and said while the bank had enjoyed market share gains, its top priority was serving clients.

“If you get overly focused on market share you may lose sight of your clients — and that’s the surest way to lose market share,” he said.

“It’s very hard to hypothesise what the economic impact” of proposed derivatives regulation would be, Staley added.

(Reporting by Quentin Webb; editing by Simon Jessop)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

MOVES-M.Stanley hires UBS banker for Asia listed derivatives

June 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 11 (Reuters) – Morgan Stanley (MS.N) has hired a banker from UBS (UBSN.VX) to oversee the marketing of listed derivatives in Asia, sources told Reuters, as the U.S. bank seeks to boost its share in the listed futures business.

Financials

Chris Chong has been hired as an executive director responsible for marketing listed derivatives in Asia, one of the sources, who was aware of the move, told Reuters.

His role will be to coordinate the listed derivatives marketing strategy with the prime brokerage division, which serves hedge funds, Morgan Stanley electronic trading and the traditional trading floor, sources said.

Chong was previously chief operating officer for UBS Futures in Singapore. UBS confirmed his departure.

Morgan Stanley was not available for comment.

Last year Morgan Stanley had hired Clark Hutchison and Bill Templer, who were co-heads of exchange-traded derivatives at UBS.[nBNG380841]

(Reporting by Saeed Azhar in SINGAPORE and Mia Shanley in STOCKHOLM)

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Tradefair Offer Sign-Up Bonus Plus ‘Little Black Book’ To Entice New Spread Betting Customers

June 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, Jun 10 (MARKET WIRE) —
On the day that the Prime Minister has warned of unavoidable cuts to
tackle the budget deficit caused by recession, one area that has defied
the current economic trend is spread betting. To capitalise on this
increase, Tradefair, one of the leading spread betting platforms for
private investors, have launched a promotion to entice new customers to
try their service.

In order to qualify for the credit offer, customers simply need to apply
for an account with Tradefair, deposit GBP 100 into it and place five
bets (not on shares). Tradefair will then match the first initial deposit
value up to a maximum of GBP 100.

The practice of spread betting – speculating on the outcome of an event
rather than on a simple ‘win or lose’ result – has been growing in
popularity in the UK amongst both city traders and, crucially, smaller
investors.

A spokesperson for Tradefair said today “Private individuals spread
betting in the UK on the stock markets are playing a fast-growing role in
the global business of foreign exchange and Tradefair are looking to
entice people to try out our platform to place their bets.”

“We provide an unparalleled level of service, advice and information
through our trading platform and are now offering new customers a sign-up
bonus of up to GBP 100 plus a Little Black Book of easily digestible
spread betting information to set you up in your trading career.”

About Tradefair

Tradefair Spreads is the home of one of the most simple and intuitive
spread betting platforms on which to trade.

Tradefair is funded by and is part of Betfair, the world’s largest
internet betting exchange. The Tradefair Spreads platform allows bettors
to speculate on the movement of stocks and shares through the ‘buying’
and ‘selling’ of derivatives.

For more information please visit http://www.tradefair.com.

Spread betting carries a high level of risk and you can lose more than
your initial deposit, so you should ensure spread betting meets your
investment objectives.

Contacts:
Tradefair
Ben Mosalski
+44 (0) 203 192 2547
www.tradefair.com

Copyright 2010, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Three BP fuel oil traders in U.S. quit

June 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Resignations from BP Plc’s (BP.L) fuel oil team have extended globally, with the departure of three traders from its U.S. office, including the team leader, and the head trader in London, three industry sources said on Monday.

These take the total number of departures from the unit to 14 worldwide, after Reuters reported that five fuel oil traders in Singapore and four support staff quit last Wednesday, following the resignation of global fuel oil head Quek Chin Thean a week before that.

When contacted, a BP spokeswoman in Singapore declined to comment. The reason for the resignations was not immediately clear.

The fuel oil traders in the United States and London resigned over the past three to four weeks, the sources said.

“Most of BP’s fuel oil team, including the global head and the heads of the three trading centers, have left in the past month,” a U.S.-based source said.

BP has been a major player over the past 15 years in the fuel oil market. In Asia, it regularly trades 500,000-600,000 tonnes of physical cargoes monthly.

The departures in the U.S. of fuel oil leader, Tim Gawne, another physical trader and the third who traded derivatives, left the team with one derivatives trader, the sources said.

Its European fuel oil team head, Chris Paine, left about a month ago, but the six other traders remain on the desk. Paine, who has been its London-based team leader for about two years, was BP’s youngest book leader when he was appointed to the position at the age of 28, sources said.

The void left by the departures of key traders globally, including Asia team leader Edmund Lau, has removed important support for the fundamentally weak Asian fuel oil market, where BP had been engaged in a bull trading play for the past two months for the May and June contracts, traders said.

In the immediate aftermath of the resignations of its Asia fuel oil team, BP’s marine fuels division in Singapore has not offered spot ex-wharf bunkers on Wednesday and Thursday. But it has since resumed offers of bunkers on Monday, traders said.

The fuel oil market remained weak by midday Monday, with traders attributing this to the recovery of crude oil prices after a recent slide and a lack of confidence in the residual fuel market, which has been saddled with heavy supplies for five months up till July.

Reflecting the weakness, fuel oil’s June crack spread to Dubai crude was valued at a discount of $6.68 a barrel by midday, down 24 cents from a day ago and the lowest since May 6.

The weakness in its timespreads extended further down the 12-month forward curve, with June/July to January/February at a contango of $3.00 a tonne or weaker for a third session.

Before the resignations, BP bought large volumes of 180-centistoke (cst) grade fuel oil for the June contract for a two-week period, amid sliding global crude oil benchmarks.

The major picked up at least 30,000-40,000 tonnes daily, in what traders say is a bull-trading play on the product’s crack spreads to Dubai crude, and bought as much as 100,000-150,000 tonnes on some days, Reuters data show.

BP has combined storage capacity of about 600,000 cubic meters in the Universal and Tankstore oil terminals in Singapore and for the past three years has been the top supplier of marine fuels in the city state, the world’s top bunker port by volume, with 400,000-500,000 tonnes a month.

(Editing by Ramthan Hussain)

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Obama to stress derivative oversight in meeting

April 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will argue for strong oversight of derivatives as he meets on Wednesday with top Democratic and Republican lawmakers to discuss a sweeping package of financial regulatory reforms, a senior administration official said.

Currencies | Regulatory News | Bonds | Global Markets

Derivatives are the same financial products that led to the near collapse of insurer AIG and a part of Wall Street reform many Republicans have been fighting to weaken, the official said.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, editing by Jeff Mason)

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U.S. expects acceleration of job creation – economic adviser

April 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Obama administration expects U.S. job creation to accelerate and Congress to approve financial reform legislation, White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers said on Sunday.

Employers created jobs in March at the fastest rate in three years as private firms stepped up hiring. It was the strongest signal yet the economic recovery is on more solid footing.

Speaking on ABC’s “This Week” program, the former U.S. Treasury Secretary said employment figures fluctuate from month to month but steps taken by the administration to support the economy are paying off.

“I would expect continued progress in job creation,” Summers said.

Nonfarm payrolls rose 162,000 and the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent for a third straight month, the Labor Department said on Friday.

Private employers hired more workers than expected.

Additionally, Summers said he expects the U.S. Senate to approve a regulatory reform bill, saying the measure sponsored by Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Democrat, makes a compelling case.

“It won’t be easy,” Summers said, adding that the administration was confident that a sufficient majority would vote to support it.

Dodd’s bill would set up a council of regulators to oversee financial risk, create a process for liquidating distressed financial firms, crack down on derivatives markets, and take other steps meant to avert another financial crisis.

Increasing exports is the best way to bring back lost U.S. manufacturing jobs, Summers told CNN in a separate interview, adding that commercial practices in a number of countries, including China, must be addressed to achieve this.

Summers declined to say whether the U.S. saw China as manipulating its currency.

(Reporting by John Crawley; editing by Todd Eastham)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , ,

Income of NPS Trust to be exempt from income tax

July 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, July 6 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in his Budget Speech informed the Lok Sabha on Monday that he proposes to exempt the income of New Pension System (NPS) Trust from the income tax and any dividend paid to this Trust from Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT).

The Finance Minister also added that all purchases sales of equity shares and derivatives by the NPS Trust will also be exempt from this Securities Transaction Tax (STT).

Mukherjee further proposed to enable self-employed persons to participate in the NPS and avail of the tax benefits available thereto.

Underlining that NPS will continue to be subjected to the Exempt-Exempt-Taxed (EET) method of tax treatment of savings, he said that it is proposed to provide necessary fiscal support to the NPS for the establishment of much needed social security system.

“The New Pension System is an important milestone in the development of a sustainable, efficient, voluntary and defined pension system in India,” said Mukherjee. (ANI)

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Singapore Exchange reports 45.5 per cent drop in profits

April 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Singapore – Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) Wednesday said its net profit for the third quarter of this year fell by 45.5 per cent year-on-year to 55.3 million Singapore dollars (36 million US dollars).

The net profit was also down by 25.9 per cent from the second quarter of the financial year 2009.

Operating revenues decreased 30.9 per cent to 119.8 million Singapore dollars for the third quarter ended 31 March 2009 from 173.3 million Singapore dollars for the same period of last year.

“The quarter has been challenging with all revenue categories affected,” SGX chief executive officer Hsieh Fu Hua said.

“Nonetheless, there are opportunities that SGX can take advantage of in derivatives, commodities and OTC clearing.”

As regulator, SGX would continue to work closely with market professionals and listed companies to uphold governance standards, he assured. (dpa)

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Malaysia IOI sees CPO price rising to RM2,600-2,800/T

April 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment

KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 (Reuters) – Malaysia’s IOI Corp (IOIB.KL), the world’s third-largest listed palm oil producer, said that the price of crude palm oil would rise to 2,600-2,800 ringgit per tonne in the remainder of the year.

Malaysian crude palm oil futures hit a 7-month high on Friday as a slew of industry data warned of tightening domestic inventories, with the benchmark June contract KPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closing at 2,299 ringgit ($636.3) per tonne.

“Six months ago I foresaw prices would likely surpass 2,000 ringgit a tonne,” IOI’s Executive Chairman Lee Shin Cheng told Monday’s Business Times newspaper.

IOI shares have rallied along with other planters as palm oil prices have recovered. The stock closed at 4.30 ringgit on Friday, up from an Oct. 28 12-month low of 2.08 ringgit.

(Reporting by David Chance, editing by Kim Coghill)

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Antibiotic treatment may offer cystic fibrosis treatment

April 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr 8 (ANI): Researchers from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed a novel antibiotic treatment for human genetic diseases, including cystic fibrosis (CF).

By modifying the properties of the antibiotic gentamicin, commonly used to treat bacterial infections, the researchers claim to have developed a novel treatment for many human genetic diseases, including cystic fibrosis (CF), Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Usher Syndrome and numerous cancers.

Gentamicin belongs to a class of antibiotics called aminoglycosides.

The team led by Professor Timor Baasov of the Technion Faculty of Chemistry have modified existing aminoglycoside antibiotic drugs, and carefully monitored biological and toxicity tests of the resulting derivatives.

They came across “NB54,” a new chemical derivative of gentamicin.

“We’ve created a new purpose for aminoglycosides by removing their traditional, natural actions as antibiotics,” said Baasov.

“The loss of their antibacterial activity makes them highly selective, less toxic, and allows for their use in repairing ‘wrong’ genes in human beings,” he added.

The findings were published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. (ANI)

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Urine test may help detect cancer

April 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr 5 (ANI): A researcher from Missouri University has devised a method of detecting cancer with the help of urine samples.

Dr. Yinfa Ma has developed a method for pre-cancer screening and hopes to be able to predict types of cancer as well as severity.

“Cancer is the second-highest cause of death among all diseases,” said Ma, a Curators’ Teaching Professor of chemistry at Missouri University of Science and Technology.

“Early diagnosis of cancer is crucial, but not many people want to go to the hospital to undergo costly, invasive cancer screening,” he added.

During the study, the researchers identified six pteridine derivatives, compounds that help regulate the metabolism of cells, in the urine samples.

The levels of some pteridines increased significantly if there is a tumour inside the body.

Ma also discovered a molecule, called oncopterin that exists in the urine of cancer patients but not in healthy human samples.

He said that the oncopterin level in urine indicates whether cancer is likely to develop, and varying levels of the six pteridines can actually provide a “fingerprint” of the type of cancer.

“I won’t give up. “I will continue to work on this project until we have succeeded and can market the instrument to save people’s lives,” he added. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Now, a computer that can work like a scientist to derive natural laws

April 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, April 3 (ANI): Researchers at Cornell University, US, using a computer, have developed an algorithm which can derive natural laws from observed data, just like scientists.

What the researchers have done is to teach a computer to find regularities in the natural world that become established laws – yet without any prior scientific knowledge on the part of the computer.

They have tested their method, or algorithm, on simple mechanical systems and believe it could be applied to more complex systems ranging from biology to cosmology and be useful in analyzing the mountains of data generated by modern experiments that use electronic data collection.

Their process begins by taking the derivatives of every variable observed with respect to every other – a mathematical way of measuring how one quantity changes as another changes.

Then, the computer creates equations at random using various constants and variables from the data.

It tests these against the known derivatives, keeps the equations that come closest to predicting correctly, modifies them at random and tests again, repeating until it literally evolves a set of equations that accurately describe the behavior of the real system.

Technically, the computer does not output equations, but finds “invariants” – mathematical expressions that remain true all the time.

“Even though it looks like it’s changing erratically, there is always something deeper there that is always constant,” said Hod Lipson, Cornell associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.

“That’s the hint to the underlying physics. You want something that doesn’t change, but the relationship between the variables in it changes in a way that’s similar to what we see in the real system,” Lipson explained.

Once the invariants are found, potentially all equations describing the system are available.

“All equations regarding a system must fit into and satisfy the invariants,” Schmidt said. “But of course we still need a human interpreter to take this step,” he added.

The researchers tested the method with apparatus used in freshman physics courses: a spring-loaded linear oscillator, a single pendulum and a double pendulum.

Given data on position and velocity over time, the computer found energy laws, and for the pendulum, the law of conservation of momentum.

Given acceleration, it produced Newton’s second law of motion.

The researchers point out that the computer evolves these laws without any prior knowledge of physics, kinematics or geometry.

According to researchers, computers will not make scientists obsolete, but will take over the grunt work, helping scientists focus quickly on the interesting phenomena and interpret their meaning. (ANI)

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POLL – Inflation seen at 0.18 pct on March 21

April 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Inflation rate is forecast to have dropped closer to zero in the third week of March, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.

The median forecast of 11 analysts was for a 0.18 percent rise in the wholesale price index in the 12 months to March 21, below the 0.27 percent rise the previous week.

It would be the lowest inflation rate since records started in 1977/78 and comes a little more than seven months after the inflation rate peaked 12.91 percent in early August.

Inflation has fallen sharply as commodity prices plunged due to the deepening global economic and financial crisis.

The median forecast is consistent with the actual price index remaining steady at the previous week’s reading of 227.0.

Madan Sabnavis, economist with National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, forecast a negative reading in the data, which is due around noon (0630 GMT) on Thursday..

“We are expecting the inflation to move into the negative zone mainly because of prices of agri-commodities, such as gram and mustard, and international metal prices had come down,” he said.

The weekly wholesale price index is more closely watched than the monthly consumer price index (CPI) because it includes more products.

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