| Sunday, August 3, 2003 |  |
| Halliburton Profits Skyrocket On Iraq Deals | 5 comments |
 3 Aug 2003 @ 22:34Halliburton Profits Skyrocket On Iraq Deals By Sheila McNulty in Houston The Financial Times 8-3-3 Halliburton, the second biggest oilfield service company in the world, on Thursday said work in Iraq had boosted revenue as it swung from a loss to record second-quarter net income of $26m , or 6 cents a share, compared with the year-earlier period. The Houston-based company credited the quarter's 11 per cent rise in revenue, to $3.6bn largely to increased activity in its Engineering and Construction Group (ECG) projects, including government services work in the Middle East. The second quarter of 2002, to which this past quarter's results were compared, included charges for asbestos liabilities, losses at its Barracuda-Caratinga project in Brazil and restructuring and sales charges. Halliburton is in the process of finalising a $4bn settlement of asbestos claims. The Barracuda-Caratinga project continues to weigh on its results, with a $173m pre-tax loss on the project in the second quarter of 2003. Nonetheless, the results this past quarter included a foreign exchange gain of $19m because of a significant strengthening of the British pound against the US dollar during the period. "We expect earnings per share from continuing operations for the third quarter to be at least 32 cents per share, excluding any impact of the proposed asbestos settlement," David Lesar, Halliburton chairman, president and chief executive, said. The company's ECG revenues increased 23 per cent, with government services more than doubling, mainly because of activity in Iraq. Nonetheless, ECG recorded an operating loss of $148m, narrower than the loss of $450m in the year-earlier quarter. That was because Halliburton had taken a $330m asbestos charge in 2002 and this year had recorded heightened activity in Iraq. Halliburton ended the second quarter with cash and equivalents of $1.9bn, up from $1.1bn at the end of 2002. More > |
| Stars and Stripes Fly over Caspian Sea | 0 comments |
 3 Aug 2003 @ 22:26Stars and Stripes Fly over Caspian Sea Russia, Saint-Petersburg Date: 2003.07.04 12:19 Over the last few years the United States has openly admitted that the Caspian Sea region is of strategic interest to it. This has been set out clearly in the US' energy doctrine. In contrast to Iraq, US companies have managed to take control of 16% of the Caspian's oil reserves and 11.4% of its gas reserves without firing a shot. If you add joint US-British companies to this list, then Washington and London control 27% of the Caspian's oil reserves ad 40% of its gas reserves. Of course, the allies needed 10 years to achieve this in the Caspian, compared to a couple of months in Iraq, but the result is much the same. The US already feels itself to be in charge in the region. A recent Chinese attempt to negotiate greater participation in Kazakh oil and gas projects met fierce US opposition. Kazakhstan itself has little chance of having its own energy policy: 73% of the country's proven oil reserves are controlled by Western oil companies. The interest from George Bush's administration in Caspian oil can be explained by the fact that neither Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan nor Turkmenistan are members of OPEC. This means that energy supplies from these countries will be less dependent on the cartel's pricing policy. It is clear that the US has gained the upper hand over the world's energy masters. Many politicians now in Bush's administration were involved in strengthening the position of US business in the Caspian region. Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security advisor, was a director at Chevron. Incidentally, Rice now has a Chevron tanker named after her. Vice-President Dick Cheney was a founder, and remains a major shareholder, of Halliburton, which is a leading supplier of services to oil workers in the Caspian. The future of the oil industry in the Caspian region looks very bright indeed. Proven hydrocarbon reserves in the region amount to 7.8 billion barrels. By 2010 the region will be producing 3.8 million barrels of oil a day, which is roughly 60% of the North Sea's current, but declining output. By the same year the Caspian will be producing more oil than Norway or Brazil and experts believe that its proven oil reserves will be 1.5-2 times higher than those of the Gulf of Mexico. Unsurprisingly, at a spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Caspian Sea region was named a key centre of European energy security. US and British companies have concentrated their main resources in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, which have about half of the region's hydrocarbon reserves. Iran, which owns the Caspian's southern shores, is the most awkward country in the region for the US: American oil companies have yet to find a way there. The Iranian parliament even removed aspects of the government's programme for 2003 that concerned attracting foreign investment into projects in the Caspian basin. Iran is the main obstacle to US plans to develop international oil and gas projects in the Caspian. Turkmenistan is in many ways similar to Iran, but with one main difference: it is much less able to stand up to US pressure. The balance of power in the Caspian with regard to the status and division of oil and gas reserves has not changed much recently. On the one hand, Iran and Turkmenistan are in favour of dividing the Caspian Sea equally between the five countries that share its coastline. On the other hand, Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan want to split the sea according to the length of coastline each country owns. On May 15, Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed a trilateral contract on dividing the sea floor to allow natural resources to be exploited. They also appear to be drawing closer on other issues. However, Iran and Turkmenistan refuse to recognise this agreement. The seemingly endless arguments will no doubt arise again when the working group for drawing up a convention on the Caspian's legal status meets for its tenth session in Moscow in early July. The positions of the different countries are clear. Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have lined up together, which makes the business of gaining access to Caspian energy reserves much easier for international oil corporations. If this position remains unchanged, a significant part of the Caspian's riches will find themselves controlled by Russia's strategic partner: Time will tell how wise this policy is. Meanwhile, the process of dividing the Caspian's energy resources is drawing to a close. Alexei Frolov, Rosbalt News Agency. St. Petersburg Translated by Robin Jones |
| 0 comments |
 3 Aug 2003 @ 22:19De Niro, Stern Licensed to Pack Pistols Sun Aug 3, 3:45 PM ET By The Associated Press NEW YORK - Actors Robert De Niro (news) and Harvey Keitel (news), radio host Howard Stern and developer Donald Trump are among the New Yorkers licensed to carry a loaded gun, according to police records. But some stars — including Joan Rivers, action-movie star Steven Seagal (news) and conservative commentator William F. Buckley — were rejected when they applied to have their gun licenses renewed by New York City police this year, the New York Post reported Sunday. Police told the Post only that Rivers had an "incident" on her record. She was reportedly in a fight with a car-rental clerk last year but was not criminally charged. Police declined to say why Seagal and Buckley were turned down for permits. Seagal's permit was a premise license — which allows gun owners to keep their weapons unloaded and locked in a safety box when they travel. About 3,600 New Yorkers are authorized to carry a loaded weapon, down from 4,500 at the end of 2001. Police have been re-examining records to make sure gun owners have up-do-date licenses and clean criminal records. |
| The Most Sweeping Gun Ban Ever Introduced in Congress | 1 comment |
 3 Aug 2003 @ 22:14The Most Sweeping Gun Ban Ever Introduced in Congress--Clinton Gun Ban "Reenactment" Bans Millions More Guns H.R. 2038, introduced by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), does not just "reenact" or "reauthorize" the 1994 Clinton ban, the so-called "assault weapon" law. It bans millions more guns. And it begins backdoor registration of guns. All told, it's a giant step closer to the goal stated by Clinton gun ban sponsor Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), on CBS 60 Minutes "If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an outright ban, picking up every one of them, Mr. and Mrs. America, turn them all in, I would have done it." There is no 10-year sunset provision in the bill. H.R. 2038 permanently bans every gun that is currently banned and, with numerous, overlapping provisions: Bans every gun made to comply with the Clinton ban. The Clinton ban dictated the kinds of grips, stocks and attachments new guns can have. Manufacturers and gun owners complied and new guns conform to the Clinton requirements. H.R. 2038 bans the new guns too. Bans guns exempted by name or type under the Clinton ban. Commonplace Ruger Mini-14s, Mini-30s, Ranch Rifles, .30 Caliber Carbines, and fixed-magazine semi-automatic center-fire rifles. Bans all semi-automatic shotguns. Bans Remington, Winchester, Beretta, Benelli, and other shotguns commonly used for hunting, trap, skeet, sporting clays, and self-defense. Bans them by banning their main component, called the "receiver" (Sec. 2(a)(30)(J)), and bans them because they have "any characteristic that can function as a grip"(Sec. 2(H)(ii) and (b)(42)). Any characteristic. Bans all detachable-magazine semi-automatic rifles because they have "any characteristic that can function as a grip." (Sec. 2(a)(30)(D)(iii) and (iv), and (b)(41) and (42)). Any characteristic. Bans target shooting rifles. Bans the three centerfire rifles most popular for marksmanship competitions: the Colt AR-15, the Springfield M1A and the M1 "Garand." Bans guns for self-defense. Bans any semi-automatic shotgun or rifle an Attorney General one day claims isn't "sporting," even though the U.S. Constitution, the constitutions of 44 states, and the laws of all 50 states recognize the right to use guns for defense. Bans 65 named guns (the Clinton law bans 19); Bans semi-auto fixed-magazine pistols of over 10 rounds capacity; Bans frames, receivers, and parts used to repair or refurbish guns; Bans importation of magazines exempted by the Clinton ban; Bans selling a legally-owned "assault weapon" with a magazine of over 10 rounds capacity. Bans guns rarely used in crime. A fact demonstrated by every state and local law enforcement agency report on the subject. The Congressionally-mandated study of the Clinton ban found that the guns "were never used in more than a fraction of all gun murders." Begins backdoor registration. Requires manufacturers of guns, frames, receivers, and other parts to report the names of their dealers. Requires dealers to report any of the guns and parts they have in stock. Bans private sales of the guns and parts. The next step is to register individual purchasers. More > |