CFA Institute submits:

The affiliated member CFA societies for investment professionals in nine Middle Eastern countries have unveiled the full results from their first Middle East Market Sentiment Survey, tracking the views of nearly 200 CFA charterholders in the region on the outlook for markets, the importance of trust and ethics, and the role of education in professional excellence.

In the United Arab Emirates, 59% of CFA charterholders and members expect 2011 to be a year of growth for their businesses or organizations, compared to 43% of their peers elsewhere in the region. And despite political, environmental, and economic troubles seen around the region and the world, most respondents believe stocks will be the best-performing asset class this year, followed by commodities.

Still, CFA charterholders anticipate divergent performance from the region’s equity markets. Stocks in Qatar are expected to be the strongest performers in 2011, followed by Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, the

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Dennis U. Atuanya submits:

Japan imported about 80% of its primary energy requirement in 2008. It is the world’s largest importer of both coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) as well as the third-largest net importer of crude oil. The shallow-focus earthquake off the country’s coast last week generated three-meter high tsunami waves, rendering about 25% of the country’s nuclear power generating capacity offline. Market response has ranged from initial stock-selling frenzies to re-evaluation of the nuclear power option. Oil and gas supply-demand re-balancing, even if on a regional basis, is also expected. While long-term outcomes may be currently unclear, certain trends are indicated.

Oil and Gas

Japan has an interesting energy mix: About 30% of its power needs are met by nuclear capacity, but it also has gas-fired, coal-fired and oil-fired power generating installations. Japan is only one of a few countries with the oil-fired variety. With a significant proportion of its nuclear

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Dennis U. Atuanya submits:

Japan imported about 80% of its primary energy requirement in 2008. It is the world’s largest importer of both coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) as well as the third-largest net importer of crude oil. The shallow-focus earthquake off the country’s coast last week generated three-meter high tsunami waves, rendering about 25% of the country’s nuclear power generating capacity offline. Market response has ranged from initial stock-selling frenzies to re-evaluation of the nuclear power option. Oil and gas supply-demand re-balancing, even if on a regional basis, is also expected. While long-term outcomes may be currently unclear, certain trends are indicated.

Oil and Gas

Japan has an interesting energy mix: About 30% of its power needs are met by nuclear capacity, but it also has gas-fired, coal-fired and oil-fired power generating installations. Japan is only one of a few countries with the oil-fired variety. With a significant proportion of its nuclear

Complete Story »

Old Trader submits:

With all of the tumult throughout the MENA region, attention has been focused on Libya, Saudi Arabia (based on the fears, quite justifiable, that upheaval will spread there, thus interrupting oil production), Kuwait, and the UAE. Iraq has sort of slipped under the radar. So far, it seems that the political situation in Iraq has not been worsened by the situation in other countries in the region. There was a pipeline sabotage incident involving the pipeline from Mosul to Turkey, but the damage was relatively minor, and operations resumed within 5 days of the incident.

It’s worthwhile to recall that Iraq has extensive oil reserves, with fields up in the Kurdish north, with the majority of its reserves in the Shiite-dominated south/southeast. 9 fields are considered super giants (over 5B barrels), with another 22 falling into the giant (over 1B barrels) category. Iraq’s reserves are widely assumed to be the

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Carlos X. Alexandre submits:c

The initial excitement that sent the Saudi Arabia market up 3% on Saturday, March 12, (Saturday is the first day of the work week) was not based on what the “experts” were suggesting – that oil demand associated with Japan’s reconstruction after the earthquake and tsunami, especially with the added injury caused by the blowout of the nuclear plant. The market reaction was driven by the Arab League’s unexpected and very surprising statement.

Let’s look at Japan and the U.S. first for a quick view of the energy landscape. First, nuclear power replaces mainly coal and natural gas, not oil, and many know that. In the United States coal is the main resource used in electricity generation – and has stayed somewhat constant – while natural gas grew from 14% to 23% between 1998 and 2009. Oil’s contribution dropped from 3.5% to slightly less than 1% during the same period

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Carlos X. Alexandre submits:c

The initial excitement that sent the Saudi Arabia market up 3% on Saturday, March 12, (Saturday is the first day of the work week) was not based on what the “experts” were suggesting – that oil demand associated with Japan’s reconstruction after the earthquake and tsunami, especially with the added injury caused by the blowout of the nuclear plant. The market reaction was driven by the Arab League’s unexpected and very surprising statement.

Let’s look at Japan and the U.S. first for a quick view of the energy landscape. First, nuclear power replaces mainly coal and natural gas, not oil, and many know that. In the United States coal is the main resource used in electricity generation – and has stayed somewhat constant – while natural gas grew from 14% to 23% between 1998 and 2009. Oil’s contribution dropped from 3.5% to slightly less than 1% during the same period

Complete Story »

Carlos X. Alexandre submits:c

The initial excitement that sent the Saudi Arabia market up 3% on Saturday, March 12, (Saturday is the first day of the work week) was not based on what the “experts” were suggesting – that oil demand associated with Japan’s reconstruction after the earthquake and tsunami, especially with the added injury caused by the blowout of the nuclear plant. The market reaction was driven by the Arab League’s unexpected and very surprising statement.

Let’s look at Japan and the U.S. first for a quick view of the energy landscape. First, nuclear power replaces mainly coal and natural gas, not oil, and many know that. In the United States coal is the main resource used in electricity generation – and has stayed somewhat constant – while natural gas grew from 14% to 23% between 1998 and 2009. Oil’s contribution dropped from 3.5% to slightly less than 1% during the same period

Complete Story »

Carlos X. Alexandre submits:c

The initial excitement that sent the Saudi Arabia market up 3% on Saturday, March 12, (Saturday is the first day of the work week) was not based on what the “experts” were suggesting – that oil demand associated with Japan’s reconstruction after the earthquake and tsunami, especially with the added injury caused by the blowout of the nuclear plant. The market reaction was driven by the Arab League’s unexpected and very surprising statement.

Let’s look at Japan and the U.S. first for a quick view of the energy landscape. First, nuclear power replaces mainly coal and natural gas, not oil, and many know that. In the United States coal is the main resource used in electricity generation – and has stayed somewhat constant – while natural gas grew from 14% to 23% between 1998 and 2009. Oil’s contribution dropped from 3.5% to slightly less than 1% during the same period

Complete Story »

Carlos X. Alexandre submits:c

The initial excitement that sent the Saudi Arabia market up 3% on Saturday, March 12, (Saturday is the first day of the work week) was not based on what the “experts” were suggesting – that oil demand associated with Japan’s reconstruction after the earthquake and tsunami, especially with the added injury caused by the blowout of the nuclear plant. The market reaction was driven by the Arab League’s unexpected and very surprising statement.

Let’s look at Japan and the U.S. first for a quick view of the energy landscape. First, nuclear power replaces mainly coal and natural gas, not oil, and many know that. In the United States coal is the main resource used in electricity generation – and has stayed somewhat constant – while natural gas grew from 14% to 23% between 1998 and 2009. Oil’s contribution dropped from 3.5% to slightly less than 1% during the same period

Complete Story »

Carlos X. Alexandre submits:c

The initial excitement that sent the Saudi Arabia market up 3% on Saturday, March 12, (Saturday is the first day of the work week) was not based on what the “experts” were suggesting – that oil demand associated with Japan’s reconstruction after the earthquake and tsunami, especially with the added injury caused by the blowout of the nuclear plant. The market reaction was driven by the Arab League’s unexpected and very surprising statement.

Let’s look at Japan and the U.S. first for a quick view of the energy landscape. First, nuclear power replaces mainly coal and natural gas, not oil, and many know that. In the United States coal is the main resource used in electricity generation – and has stayed somewhat constant – while natural gas grew from 14% to 23% between 1998 and 2009. Oil’s contribution dropped from 3.5% to slightly less than 1% during the same period

Complete Story »