[Rob Hood]

http://www.autoextremist.com/current/2008/7/8/rants-453.html

Was listening to some newsradio today - many analysts are painting a bleak picture. Heard that Hummer and Saab were going to be let go, maybe more. I've already seen where Chevy is not sponsoring several NASCAR races next year.

Rick Wagoner is supposed to deliver an announcement tomorrow morning at 0830 EST. Should be worth listening to.

This post has been edited by Rob Hood: Jul 15 2008, 05:59 AM

[trackbird]

Seems that this is a second report to back up the one I posted earlier about prices hitting a wall. Suddenly "extra stock". Hmm...


http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/16/markets/oi...dex.htm?cnn=yes

Oil's 2-day decline: $11 a barrel
Futures plummet after surprise growth in crude, gasoline stockpiles hints at impact of high prices on usage.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices plummeted Wednesday, bringing a two-day selloff to more than $11 a barrel, after the government's weekly inventory report suggested record high gasoline prices may be reducing the nation's energy consumption.

At 11:19 a.m. ET, light, sweet crude for August delivery was down $5.09 to $133.65 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil was down $1.17 before the report's release. Wednesday's drop followed a $6.44 plunge Tuesday that was the second largest decline ever on a dollar basis.

The government's weekly stockpile report showed that crude supplies rose by 3 million barrels in the week ended July 11. Analysts were looking for a drop of 3 million barrels according to a poll by energy research firm Platts.

Gasoline supplies rose by 2.4 million barrels, rather than the 1.1 million decline analysts expected.

Distillates, used to make diesel fuel, jet fuel and heating oil, rose by 3.2 million barrels. Analysts were looking for an increase of only 1.7 million barrels.

Bernanke: The two-day oil selloff also reflected the gloomy economic picture being painted by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in his Congressional testimony.

On Tuesday, Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee that high energy prices and slower economic growth have limited ability of U.S. households to purchase fuel and other necessities. Bernanke appeared Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee.

The price of gasoline and diesel fuel in the U.S. touched new records Wednesday, according to a daily survey from motorist group AAA. Gasoline is more than 35% more expensive than last year.

"The weaker economic outlook, the inventory build all contribute," said Amanda Kurzendoerfer, commodities analyst with Summit Energy. However she warned that long-term investors may see the price decline as a buying opportunity.

"The one thing we can be sure of is that we're looking at a lot of volatility going forward," she said.

OPEC, Brazil: The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which supplies about 40% of the world's oil, cut its demand forecast for 2009 Tuesday to an increase of 900,000 barrels a day, 100,000 barrels less than 2008.

There were also reports that production in Brazil had not been hurt as much as originally feared by a labor strike in the Campos Basin, which supplies about 80% of the country's oil, and tensions eased with Iran, the second largest producing member of OPEC.

State-owned oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA said production had not been affected by the ongoing strike at 33 offshore platforms that began on Monday.