Two Takes on Effects of Oil Touching Record USD140(ERRATA 400 corrected!)

On the local front, from The Star Online:

Friday June 27, 2008 MYT 11:33:02 AM (Msian time)
Stocks fall, oil at record US$140
By JOSEPH CHIN


KUALA LUMPUR: Stocks opened sharply lower Friday as investors’ sentiment took another round of battering, weighed down by the fall on Wall Street as oil spiked to a new record high of US$140.39.

At 9.30am, the KLCI was down 16.75 points to 1,187.14. Turnover was 37 million shares valued at RM83.88mil. There were 25 gainers, 224 losers and 71 counters unchanged.

Asian markets fell, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 280 points or 2.03% to 13,542.27, Singapore’s Straits Times Index lost 1.73% to 2,929.51 while Shanghai’s A Sahre index opened 3.58% lower at 2,935.23.

In New York, US stocks plunged Thursday, with the Dow sliding about 360 points to a 21-month low as oil hit a record and Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs urged investors to sell bank and automaker shares, escalating concern about the outlook for profits.

Reuters reported that oil surged above US$140 a barrel in New York trading, compounding fears that soaring inflation will hamper a global economy already on the ropes.

General Motors' stock sank to its lowest level in 53 years, after Goldman warned that the big US automaker could have to raise capital and cut dividends in a brutal slowdown for the auto industry.

The Dow Jones industrial average slid 358.41 points, or 3.03%, to 11,453.42, putting it within the grasp of a bear market.

At Bursa, the major losers were BAT and DiGi, down 50 sen each to RM43.25 and RM23.90, TM International 35 sen lower to RM6.35, KL Kepong 30 sen to RM17.20 while Genting lost 25 sen to RM5.55 and Public Bank and IJM 20 sen each to RM10.30 and RM5.25.

Luxchem, which made its debut, fell 16.5 sen to 93.5 sen.

Aictively-traded AirAsia fell 2.5 sen to 82.5 sen while Resorts and Gamuda gave up three sen each to RM2.68 and RM2.30 respectively, MRCB shed two sen to RM1.14.

DESIDERATA: You punters out hear -- giving benefit of the doubt to some of my Esteemed Readers who still have spare cash to play on the Bursa Malaysia, a caution from YL, a newshound of 'some' Business experience, things are going to get worse before it gets better. Trust my instincts -- post US presidential elections in November, 2008, the lightning and thunder will slay the sleeping punters, some may even lose their pants, eexposing the colour of their underwear. Please spare the underwear, lest you be also chatrged for indecent exposure!

PS: You chance of winning at Tai-Sai at Genting's is 50-50 except for the six combinations of all 0s, all 1s, etc, to all 6s, which you BUY INSURANCE at certain intyervals to win handsomely by placing timely bets.

DISCLAIMER: Blardy health, I don't offer professional tips so IF you take positions, frontal, back or sideways, it's at your own risk. Don'tsend me no letter letter -- I am allergic to any letterheads from legal offices. I had had a bad experience since age 22. (The two digits add up to 4, which is SEI in Kantonis...) So if you don't have cash to punt, please forget having read my Post today:(
:

On Down Under front or back, from NEWS.com.au

Petrol to jump after oil hits fresh record
By staff writers
June 27, 2008 11:17am (Oz time)


Prices likely to break $1.70 a litre next week
Could go as high as $1.80 over the next month
Related story: How to reduce your petrol bill

PETROL prices could push back through $1.70 next week, after the price of crude oil broke through $US140 a barrel overnight.

NRMA boss Alan Evans said last night's oil spike wouldn’t be felt at the petrol pump until this time next week when prices are likely to be "in the $1.70s" per litre.

"That rise (in oil) should probably see the highest price in the week (increase) by about 5c, and we should see it this time next week," Mr Evans said.

Commsec economist Savanth Sebastian said record oil prices would only affect Australian drivers if they proved to be sustained increases.

"Any sort of price on one day, and a fall back is not going to have an impact," he said.

Australian petrol prices are set against an international benchmark, Singapore Mogas 95 Unleaded, this is a refined petrol not crude oil.

Mr Sebastian said because the Singapore petrol prices have recently fallen, Australian prices could actually fall to a national average of $1.58 a litre over the next couple of weeks. But if the record oil prices are sustained, petrol could hit as high as $1.80 a litre within a month.

"While motorists may see some benefits over the next fortnight, it's likely that if the price continues to remain at these levels (of $140 per barrel) then it's going have a strong impact over the coming months."

The price of crude oil broke through $US140 a barrel overnight. OPEC president Chakib Khelil predicted further price spikes could push oil up to $US170 a barrel later this year because of the ailing US dollar.

Mr Sebastian backed this outlook, saying there was a "good chance" the oil price could reach that in the short term.

"If you start seeing prices rise by those sort of levels, you're probably looking at the national average petrol price getting up to $2 a litre (by the end of the year), so you'd see prices around $2.10, $2.15 at the higher end of the cycle."

Expect a record pump price

Caltex spokesperson Richard Beattie said any change in petrol price from the latest spike wouldn't be significantly higher than what we've seen before, as the crude price wasn't "materially different to the previous peak crude price".

"You wouldn't expect there to be any significant difference in the peak petrol price from what it's peaked at previously."

But Mr Evans said that was unlikely.

"That's a record price for a barrel of crude oil, so we'd expect to see a record price at the pump," Mr Evans said.

Mr Beattie reiterated prices wouldn't spike at the bowser straight away.

"We can expect changes in prices do take a week to two weeks to flow through to the Australian market, as the market is based on a seven working day rolling average of the Singapore petrol price."

DESIDERATA: If you are concerned about Malaysians who migrated to Ozland (many of my friends did, some 10-15 years back -- I wonder if they once a while think of Desi?) -- DON'T. While they are taxed lots, they also enjoy WELFARE BENEFITS IN HARD & BAD TIMES. You heard of the Dole, yes?

(Yaeh, yeah, yeah, some mornoic APs will AP in the steal of the night to call Desi names like Moron of a socialist, but dare not engage in rational discourse. Hiding beind cowardly wolf's clothing!:( Damn you, the ilk of big mac!)

If you are laid off a job, or suddenly become unable to work due to unforeseen circumstances, please help thyself. The Government has no "fallback" plan for you.
If you have EPF savings, lucky you. If you have working child/children who are still filial, God has blessed thee a thousand fold, say a grareful prayer every night that your children continue to hold to their jobs, and yes, drink lots of tehtarik or PUerh tea to stay healthy.

To others less fortunate, you can borrow a phrase from mGf and whisper ludly: Go eat shit and die. One fan responded: Go eat more shit and die slowly. I think their targets is the blardy BN government,Yes/No/Mayhaps? Okay, let's leave PETRONAS alone for now.