 | Qatar boosts aid to N Africa WITH a plan to deposit $2 billion
in Egypt´s central bank, Qatar is
becoming one of the top financial
backers of the struggling country
as it signals an intention to play a
big role in rebuilding North
African economies after last year´s
uprisings.
Larger foreign donors have been
cautious about lending...
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| | GM´s Opel may cut working hours |  US AUTOMAKER General
Motors´ German unit Opel is
in talks with workers to cut
their hours at its main
Ruesselsheim plant in
response to weakening
demand for cars in Europe,
and could seek government
subsidies to compensate lost
wages.
GM lost $747 million on its
European operations last year
as a weak economy hit car
sales in the region, forcing
carmakers to confront high
fixed costs and excess production
capacity that GM has
said equates to 10 plants.
The "deteriorating market
situation in Europe" had led it
to negotiations with the
works council and labour
union IG Metall over reduced
working hours, the company
said in an e-mailed statement
on Thursday, confirming an
earlier newspaper report.
Opel said it ... | | | BP-led Azeri venture cuts
oil output to 5-year low |  THE BP-led Azerbaijan
International Operating
Company (AIOC) cut its oil
output by 11.6 percent in the
first six months of 2012 to a 5-
year low reflecting work being
done to help extend the lifespan
of the oilfields.
AIOC, a consortium of
petroleum companies, operates
the Azeri, Chirag and
Guneshli (ACG) oilfields in
the Azeri sector of the
Caspian Sea as well as the
country´s huge Shah Deniz
gas field.
"We are carrying out works
on production optimisation
and extending the lifetime of
the field´s output plateau,"
BP-Azerbaijan spokeswoman
Tamam Bayatly said.
ACG accounts for the lion´s
share of Azeri production and
is the main source of crude for
a pipeline which runs via
Georgia to the Mediterranean
port of Ceyhan in Turkey... | | | US natural
gas futures
up 1% ahead
of govt data |
 US NATURAl gas futures rose
about 1 percent in early trading
on Thursday ahead of
weekly government data
expected to show another
below-normal injection into
storage.
Most traders and analysts
expect weekly data from the
US Energy Information
Administration to show a
build of about 24 billion cubic
feet when it is released today
at about 10:30 am EDT, a
Reuters poll showed.
Stocks rose an adjusted 43
bcf in the same week last year,
and on average over the past
five years have gained 43 bcf
that week.
A recent stir in tropical
activity also had some traders
cautious, but mild weather on
tap for consuming regions of
the nation was expected to
dull any late-season cooling
demand.
Most said prices will have a
hard time... | |
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