2 May 2011 14:30 Africa/Lagos
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Chevron, ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips and BP
PR Newswire
CHICAGO, May 2, 2011
CHICAGO, May 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS.A), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) and BP plc (NYSE: BP).
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Here are highlights from Friday's Analyst Blog:
Chevron Profits Soar Past Estimates
U.S.energy giant Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) reported a jump in its first-quarter 2011 profits, benefiting from higher oil prices and stronger refining margins.
Earnings per share (excluding adjustments for foreign-currency effects) came in at $3.17, above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.99 and the year-ago adjusted profit of $2.37.
Following ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) and Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS.A), Chevron stepped up as the third member of 'Big Oil' to post solid results. The other two constituents of the exclusive group – ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) and BP plc NYSE: (BP) – have reported disappointing quarterly profits.
Quarterly revenue rose 25.2% year-over-year (from $48,179.0 million to $60,341.0 million) and was 10.9% above our projection.
Segmental Performance
Upstream: Chevron's total production of crude oil and natural gas decreased marginally (by 0.8%) from the year-earlier level to 2,760 thousand oil-equivalent barrels per day (MBOE/d), as volume gains in Brazil, Nigeria, Thailand and Canada were more than offset by normal field declines, the effect of higher prices on cost-recovery volumes and other contractual provisions, as well as downtime associated with weather and maintenance issues.
U.S. output dipped 5.5% year-over-year though Chevron's international operations (accounting for 75% of the total) experienced a modest 0.8% rise in volumes. Gains on the overseas production front were supported by higher realized liquids prices, resulting in a 26.5% year-over-year rise in upstream earnings to $5,977.0 million.
Despite the slight dip in Chevron's quarterly volumes, we believe its production outlook remains one of the most robust in its peer group, with a number of major deepwater projects scheduled to come online during the next few years. Major start-ups during the last few months include the Tahiti and Perdido in the Gulf of Mexico, Frade offshore Brazil and Tombua-Landana in Angola.
Chevron continues to progress its major capital projects that include deepwater developments in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and multiple liquefied natural gas (LNG) mega-projects in Angola and Australia. Importantly, during the quarter, Chevron got the green light for conducting the first 'completely new exploration' in the GoM. (i.e. tapping a reservoir from which oil or gas has never been produced) since BP's oil rig disaster in April last year.
Downstream: Chevron's downstream segment's earnings soared to $622 million during the quarter, as against just $196 million in the previous-year period. The improvement can be attributed to improved refined products margins and higher earnings from chemical operations (primarily from the 50%-owned Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC), partially negated by lower refined product sales.
Capital Expenditure, Balance Sheet & Share Repurchases
The second-largest U.S. oil company by market value after ExxonMobil spent $5,046.0 million in capital expenditures during the quarter. Approximately 92% of the total outlays pertained to upstream projects. As of March 31, 2011, the company had $13,149.0 million in cash and total debt of $11,575 million, with a debt-to-total capitalization ratio of about 9.5%. As part of the stock repurchase program announced in 2010, Chevron repurchased $750 million worth of shares in the March quarter.
Dividend Hiked
Recently, the San Ramon, California-based company announced an 8.3% increase in its quarterly dividend to 78 cents per share, or $3.12 per share annualized. The dividend is payable on June 10 to shareholders of record on May 19, 2011.
Our Recommendation
Chevron is one of the largest integrated energy companies in the world and has an impressive business model. Its current oil and gas development project pipeline is among the best in the industry, boasting large, multiyear projects. Additionally, Chevron possesses one of the healthiest balance sheets among peers, which helps it to capitalize on investment opportunities with the option to make strategic acquisitions.
However, due to its integrated nature, Chevron is particularly susceptible to the downside risk from continued weakness in the global economy. We are also concerned by the company's high level of capital spending, which may result in reduced returns going forward. As such, we see the stock performing in line with the broader market and maintain our long-term Neutral recommendation, supported by a Zacks #3 Rank (short-term Hold rating).
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Monday, May 2, 2011
American Muslims are happy that Osama Bin Laden is dead
As news is released that Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan, Americans react to the news.
2 May 2011 06:13 Africa/Lagos
CAIR Welcomes Elimination of Osama Bin Laden
PR Newswire
WASHINGTON, May 2, 2011
WASHINGTON, May 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today welcomed the announcement of the elimination of Osama bin Laden as a threat to America and the world.
[MEDIA ADVISORY: CAIR will hold a news conference on Monday, May 2nd to offer the American Muslim community's reaction to Osama bin Laden's death. The news conference will take place at 11 a.m. in CAIR's Capitol Hill headquarters, 453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com Other CAIR chapters may hold similar news conferences. Go to: http://www.cair.com/Chapters.aspx ]
In a statement issued following President Obama's announcement of bin Laden's death, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said:
"We join our fellow citizens in welcoming the announcement that Osama bin Laden has been eliminated as a threat to our nation and the world through the actions of American military personnel. As we have stated repeatedly since the 9/11 terror attacks, bin Laden never represented Muslims or Islam. In fact, in addition to the killing of thousands of Americans, he and Al Qaeda caused the deaths of countless Muslims worldwide. We also reiterate President Obama's clear statement tonight that the United States is not at war with Islam."
CAIR coordinated one of the first joint American Muslim statements condemning the 9/11 terror attacks, issued just hours after they occurred.
To read about CAIR's anti-terror initiatives, go to:
http://www.cair.com/AmericanMuslims/AntiTerrorism.aspx
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook
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CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com
SOURCE CAIR
Web Site: http://www.cair.com/AmericanMuslims/AntiTerrorism.aspx
Online Labor Demand Dips 123,800 in April, The Conference Board Reports
Book of the Month: A Love Rekindled
Myne Whitman is the most hardworking Nigerian romance novelist. She is also the most active online. Her second romance novel A Love Rekindled is our Book of the Month. You will enjoy it.
Ten years ago, Efe Sagay dreams of winning the United States Visa Lottery, until she meets Kevwe Mukoro in University. Kevwe is happy to remain in Nigeria; only he wants Efe by his side. Over time, Efe finds true love with Kevwe, and promises to marry him. Their dreams unravel when Efe wins an American Visa, and fresh violence erupts between their warring ethnic groups. Now, Efe is back in Nigeria, and she knows it’s a matter of time before Kevwe returns to her life. They finally meet again, but renewed desire is no match for bitter memories of heartbreak. Efe wants the traumatic events of the past resolved before she gives in to rekindled love.
A Love Rekindled is the second romance novel of Myne Whitman, a Nigerian author based in the US.
Myne Whitman is my pen name. I was born and raised in Enugu, Nigeria, where I spent most of my time, studying, reading and daydreaming or climbing trees and playing with the boys. I have a Master's degree in Public Health Research but have chosen my childhood dream of spinning stories. After a few years in Edinburgh, Scotland, I now live with my husband in Seattle, USA. I write and blog full-time, and also volunteer as an ESL tutor for a local charity. I critique with the Seattle Eastside Writers Meet-up and I'm also a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association.
The Pacific Northwest of America is a great place but during the drizzling winter rains, I dream of long, hot, Nigerian days and the red palm oil of Banga Soup. A self-confessed adrenaline junkie, I love theme park rides and my wildest ride yet would be the Simpsons at Universal studios, Hollywood. Or maybe it was that reverse bungee jump I did in Scotland, hmm...lol.
In addition to writing popular fiction to get people reading, I am passionate about using the internet and social media to promote the book industry and literacy levels in Nigeria. To this end, I facilitated a session, "Social Media and the Book Publishing Industry", for the Publisher's Forum at the 2010 Garden City Literary Festival, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. I also founded and work as the publisher and managing editor of NaijaStories.com, a critique website for aspiring Nigerian writers.
Click here to buy Myne Whitman's novels
The end of Osama Bin Laden
Nobody expected the breaking news of the death of the most dreaded Islamic terrorist Osama bin Laden announced by U.S. President Barack Obama after American Navy Seals shot and killed him in a compound in Abbotabad, a town of about 60 miles from the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Sunday.
Osama bin Laden
But the end of Osama bin Laden does not mean the end of the Al Qaeda or the end of Islamic terrorism.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Over aged Nigerian Players in African Youth Championship Exposed
Over aged Nigerian Players in African Youth Championship Exposed
Cheating starts with lying.
In Nigeria lying is a way of life to make ends meet and to catch up the Joneses.
Couples shamelessly lie to cheat themselves.
Boyfriends lie to their girlfriends and girlfriends lie to their boyfriends in their two can play games of conceit and deceit to cheat themselves.
Politicians, pupils, students, scholars, professors and other professionals lie and cheat to succeed.
The most successful people in Nigeria lied and cheated their way to the top.
Nigerian soccer players are perhaps the worst cheats in the game. They lie about their ages to compete in both CAF and FIFA youth competitions. You see a young Nigerian who is almost 40 years old claiming to be less than 21 years and joining the Flying Eagles and playing in the African Youth Championship, FIFA U-20 World Cup or the FIFA World U-17 World Cup. But a former national soccer team star Adokiye Amiesimaka has been exposing them all. The following is Barrister Amiesimaka’s testimony on the current Flying Eagles team playing in the final of the 2011 African Youth Championship.
“The process for 2011 elections has been highly commended for being very credible. There have been a dramatic turnaround for the better, now we are getting there in politics but we are not getting there in sports. What do I mean? I’m saying that in politics, it used to be very bad, talking about rigging and all that. In football it has been very bad and it is still very bad.
This is 2011, why do we keep deceiving ourselves. Stanley Okoro, for instance, has no business in that team which everybody knows; he cannot be anything less than 33 or 34. Olarenwaju Kayode was also my player in the Sharks feeder team in 2002, he played alongside Fortune Chuwkudi, both of them were mates, he too cannot be less than 29 or 30. Abdul Ajagun was one of the highest goal scorers in the league. He was also in Command Secondary School in Kaduna or so, he dropped out of school in SSS2 in the 1990s and so cannot be U-20.
They have no business in that team, so why are we rejoicing and celebrating. We are not helping ourselves and our football, we are just cheating and ridiculing ourselves and then making nonsense of the whole thing. Even if other countries are cheating, let them cheat because of their ignorance, we know better than them.
Age grade teams are meant to help us develop a serious senior national team but we are not doing that. I passed through the age grade level, I played for my secondary school, played for the Lagos team in the National Sport Festival, I played for the national academicals team, and I played for the University and the senior national team. I went through a process and that is how it should be, that is the truth."
Saturday, April 30, 2011
The Real Heroes of the 2011 Elections in Nigeria
The Real Heroes of the 2011 Elections in Nigeria
The incumbent and reelected President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria and Professor Attahiru Muhammadu Jega, Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)) have been receiving accolades for the overall conduct of the 2011 elections in spite of the terrifying and horrifying post election violence caused by the allegations of electoral malpractices and recurrent acts of terrorism propelled by Islamic fundamentalism. But those who truly deserve the accolades are not Mr. Jonathan or Prof. Jega, but the patriotic Nigerian voters who thronged the polling booths to cast their votes regardless of the weather, risks of being attacked by unpatriotic political opportunists and their hired thugs. These millions of patriotic Nigerian voters in every state of the federation are the real heroes of the 2011 elections and the standard bearers of democracy and governance in Nigeria.
“Ultimately, it was the judgment on the fairness of the election process by the Nigerian people that is most important. The various international observer organizations have pronounced the elections as credible, but it was the words of a driver yesterday that appeared to echo the sentiment of most Nigerians, "We did it this time!"
~ William Strassberger, a Public Affairs Officer in the Bureau of African Affairs of US STATE DEPARTMENT
The President of Nigeria and Chairman of INEC had their glaring shortcomings in the most important challenge of the elections, SECURITY of the lives and properties of Nigerian voters. They both failed even when they were duly warned of the dangers before the elections. If one single Nigerian voter Adamu Bologi who is a devout Muslim could be so brave to dare to risk his precious life by confronting the ruthless marauding lunatics on rampage and using words of persuasion to appeal to them and succeeded in saving the threatened lives of his Christian neighbours in the conflagration of the post presidential election violence, then what stopped the well armed Nigerian police and army from preventing the murder of over 500 innocent Nigerians if they were doing their ultimate duty of policing the streets, guarding voters at the polling booths or polling stations and other places and making sure that there was no breakdown of law and order?
The Nigerian voters, and the hundreds of innocent citizens who sacrificed their precious lives in the post election violence are the real heroes we should celebrate and remember in the history of Nigeria.
~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima
Friday, April 29, 2011
Most Americans Not Willing to Pay to Read News Content Online
29 Apr 2011 16:34 Africa/Lagos
Most Americans Not Willing to Pay to Read News Content Online
Even fewer than said they would pay 15 months ago
PR Newswire
NEW YORK, April 29, 2011
NEW YORK, April 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As businesses explore best practices for success in the changing landscape created by the Internet, some companies have discussed charging for access to online content that was previously free. Some media outlets have discussed doing this, and The New York Times recently began charging online readers who view over 20 articles per month. But there may be trouble ahead as a recent Adweek/Harris Poll found that a large majority said they would be willing to pay "nothing" per month to read a daily newspaper's content online (80%). Of the one in five who would pay, 14% said they would pay between $1 and $10 per month while very few said that they would be willing to pay between $11 and $20 (4%) or more than $20 per month (2%).
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These are some of the findings of a new Adweek/ Harris Poll, survey of 2,105 U.S. adults surveyed online between March 29 and 31, 2011 by Harris Interactive.
Interestingly, while online paywalls are becoming more common, fewer people say they would be willing to pay to read content online now, than said so in late 2009—20% say they would be willing to pay for a daily newspaper's content online today, compared to 23% who said so in December 2009.
Other findings of the recent poll include:
* Younger adults are more likely than those older to pay for a daily newspaper's content online—over a quarter of adults aged 18-34 say they would (26%) compared to between 15% and 18% of all other age groups;
* Men are more willing to pay than women are—a quarter of men say they would (25%) with 18% saying they would pay between $1 and $10 per month, while only 15% of women say they would pay anything to read a daily newspaper's content online; and,
* The more education a person has the more likely they are to be willing to pay to read a daily newspaper's content online—over a quarter of college graduates say they would pay (28%) compared to one in five people who have attended some college (19%) and just 15% who have not attended any college at all.
So What?
Currently several major publications charge readers for their content online including the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and most recently The New York Times . Unfortunately it seems that as these companies are adapting to a business environment increasingly dominated by the Internet, their readers are slower to embrace, or are resistant to, certain changes, especially when it comes to paying for something that has been free for so long. This raises several questions and areas for more research, including: how many Americans rely on the Internet for their news content, how particular are Americans about what publication or source they go to for their news, and, how do people think that media companies with large online presences should pay for the work that they do.
Click here for the complete details.
Obama Reshuffles his national security team
President Barack Obama named CIA Director Leon Panetta as his nominee to succeed Robert Gates at the Pentagon, with Gen. David Petraeus chosen to succeed Panetta at the CIA. Jon Decker reports.
© 2011 Reuters
President Barack Obama and his security chiefs.
The San Francisco Chronicle provoked the White House after the paper posted an unauthorized video of a protest at a San Francisco fundraiser for President Obama last week. This could be connected to reshuffling of the security team since coverage of events at the White House is within the purview of national security. In such matters, the White House cannot be queried if national security is at risk. And posting an unauthorized video of such an event could be inappropriate. No reporter should be allowed to compromise or violate the security procedures of the White House as stated by Office of the Press Secretary on August 18, 2010.
Islamic Terrorism or Lunatic Muslims On Rampage?
Islamic Terrorism Or Lunatic Muslims On Rampage?
If there is anything the repressive Arab regimes of the middle east and north Africa and the traditional institutions in parts of northern Nigeria share, it is the deliberate misinterpretation of Islam to hold on to power while abusing human rights and dignity. There is often a convenient convergence of culture and the clergy to perpetuate this fraud on the people. In Saudi Arabia, less than 1,000 princes and members of the royal family control a country that earns about $1 billion every day when oil prices climb above 100 dollars a barrel.
~ By Salisu Suleiman
April 29, 2011 01:18AMT
Islamic Terrorism is is defined by Wikipedia as "a term for acts of terrorism committed by extremist Muslims for the purpose of achieving varying political and/or religious ends."
The history of Islamic Terrorism is as old as the religion of Islam and trying to separate the sheep from the goats as Mr. Suleiman has attempted is not as simple as ABC, because terrorism is an instrument of violent agitation for the realization of a cause, no matter the purpose and the question of its justification is subject to the interpretation of the terrorists and their apologists.
Osama bi Laden in a 1998 photograph
The gory images of the horrors of Islamic Terrorism have been haunting the world from the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia, and the United States since the 1970's to date The horrors have become recurrent nightmares in our lives. The history of humankind will not be complete without the inclusion of the atrocities of the Al-Qaeda of Osama Bin Laden.
FORENSIC FORCE: ‘Arab awakening' in Arewa? by Salisu Suleiman is on the website of the 234 Next on April 29, 2011 01:18AMT. It is worth reading, because it is perhaps the most critical analysis of the political crisis plaguing Nigeria of which the most recent is the last post election violence in some northern states after the disputed results of the presidential election of April 16, 2011. The lunatic fringe of Muslim youths revolted against the victory of President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the southern state of Bayelsa, because he defeated their fellow Muslim and northern hero Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd), a former military head of state.
You can also read my own report on The Causes and Consequences of the 2011 Post Election Violence in Nigeria.
~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima
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