04 August 2010;timesofindia.indiatimes.com:NEW DELHI: HPCL will sell jet fuel to Vijay Mallya-run Kingfisher Airlines only against cash as it has failed to provide bank guarantee cover against payment defaults. HPCL is Kingfisher’s largest aviation turbine fuel (ATF) supplier. The airline, which buys 1,300-1,350 kilolitre of jet fuel worth some Rs 133 crore every month, has defaulted on its payments. "Currently, Kingfisher Airlines has been put on cash-and-carry arrangement by HPCL as they have been unable to fulfil the obligations imposed by HPCL board," minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Jitin Prasad told Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Kingfisher buys jet fuel on a 60-day credit cycle. The cash-strapped airline has defaulted on payment of Rs 224.9 crore.
04 August 2010;economictimes.indiatimes.com:DETROIT: General Motors' venture capital unit is buying a minority stake in electric car start-up Bright Automotive to advance the development of fuel-efficient vehicle technologies. GM and Indiana-based Bright Automotive said on Tuesday they have agreed to pursue a strategic partnership under which GM will invest $5 million to help accelerate Bright's production of its IDEA plug-in hybrid commercial vehicle. GM is also launching this year its highly anticipated Chevrolet Volt electric car for the consumer market, a program it started four years ago in part to shake an association with gas-guzzling trucks and to show it could compete with the likes of Toyota Motor Corp on hybrid technology. The Bright deal marks the first investment by General Motors Ventures LLC, a $100 million venture capital arm set up by the US automaker in June with the aim of investing in auto and transportation start-ups in areas such as lightweight materials, clean engine technology and on-board electronics. "Funding early-stage start-up companies is a new way of doing business at GM to accelerate the introduction of innovative technology to support our core automotive business and give us a competitive advantage," said Jon Lauckner, president of GM Ventures. "In this case, our funding of Bright Automotive will accelerate the introduction of advanced propulsion and lightweight technologies in the commercial vehicle market." The companies signed a memorandum of understanding in July. GM Ventures provided funding to Bright this week, and the companies intend to complete the formal agreements later this year. Upon completion of the agreements and other terms, GM Ventures will have a minority stake in Bright, and Bright will have access to GM technologies, and advanced engine and transmission systems, for its vehicle. The size of the GM stake in Anderson, Indiana-based Bright was not disclosed. "With this deal, Bright gets financial support that puts us on the fast-track toward mass production of the IDEA," said Reuben Munger, Bright chairman and chief executive. Bright, which was founded in early 2008, said the investment will allow it to begin ramping up development of the production program for the IDEA in the current quarter. The Bright commercial van, like those used by cable, telecommunications or utility companies, was originally intended to launch in 2012 but the recession delayed that to 2013 or 2014, Bright officials said. Munger said the potential market in North America is 900,000 units a year and the company expects to be able to produce initially at least 50,000 units annually. The vehicle's price and where it will be built have not been determined, but Bright sees more than 1,000 jobs created. Where the Bright vehicle will be distributed and serviced has not been determined. Bright has applied for a low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Energy under a program that also has been used to support Tesla Motors, Nissan Motor Co and Ford Motor Co. The IDEA is designed to operate on electric power for about 38 miles before switching to hybrid mode where it would get an estimated 36 miles per gallon for about 400 miles of total range. Last month, GM said it would offer the Volt starting at $41,000 before federal tax credits. It is designed to be recharged overnight for about 40 miles of electric driving and will also include a small gas engine expected to give the vehicle a total range of about 340 miles. The U.S. automaker expects to produce 10,000 Volts for the 2011 model year and about 30,000 for 2012. Tesla, a Silicon Valley start-up that went public in June, has the only highway-ready electric car now on US roads with the $109,000 Roadster. It also formed an alliance to develop electric vehicles with Toyota, which is planning to bring a plug-in hybrid to market in 2011. Ford has said it will introduce five electric vehicles by 2013, including a battery-powered version of its Transit Connect light delivery van. Nissan's battery-powered Leaf claims a driving range of 100 miles and has a US retail price of $32,780, while Honda Motor Co has said it plans to launch a plug-in hybrid and battery electric model in 2012.
04 August 2010;deccanherald.com:Washington/New Orleans: Oil company BP Plc Tuesday began the long-awaited pumping of mud into the ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico - the so-called ''static kill'' to permanently seal the shaft. If the mud injection succeeds in overcoming the upward pressure of oil in the well, which stretches five-kilometre below the sea floor, engineers would follow by pumping in cement. A spokesman for BP in London told DPA that the static kill attempt at the well, 60 km off the Louisiana coast, had begun at 3 p.m. The well exploded April 20 and has become what federal scientists say is the biggest accidental oil spill in world history. The heavy mud is specially engineered to weigh down against the pressure of oil being pushed out of the deep oil reservoir. BP has several ships with high pressure pumps to inject the mud. Testing on the well cap to see if the mud injection could proceed was successful earlier Tuesday. The testing had been delayed Monday night by a hydraulic leak discovered in the well cap. The static kill manoeuvre is expected to last until at least late Wednesday and perhaps until Friday, said retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, who is overseeing the containment and kill operations for the US government. A similar procedure, the so-called top kill, was tried and failed two months ago. The oil flow has been temporarily blocked since the installation of a new, tighter cap July 15. The permanent closure of the rupture can only be done through a parallel relief well, designed to intersect the original well shaft and allow injection of cement. This could happen as early as next week. Federal scientists estimate that 4.9 million barrels of oil have gushed from the well - worth $400 million at Tuesday's oil price. BP has collected about 800,000 barrels from the spill. The accidental outflow exceeds a 1979 spill in Mexican waters to rank as the biggest ever. BP has made a $20-billion commitment to the US government for cleanup and damage compensation. The Mexican government is planning to sue BP for possible damage in its own waters, should any of the oil reach there, according to the newspaper Milenio, citing Mexico's Environmental Minister Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada. Mexico is seeking immediate payment of $70 million for the indirect ecological damage.
03 August 2010;business-standard.com:Washington/houston:BP said on Monday it might still attempt the first of two operations to permanently plug its ruptured Gulf of Mexico well on Tuesday despite the technical delay of a crucial test. Optimism about the planned "static kill," which will involve the injection of drilling mud into the top of the well, helped fuel a rally in BP and other energy shares on Monday despite reports that US regulators are investigating insider trading in the British energy giant's stock. But BP said a test ahead of the operation, which had been planned for Monday, would now likely take place Tuesday because a hydraulic leak was detected. BP had been aiming to begin the static kill itself on Tuesday and remained cautiously optimistic it could still do so. "It is anticipated that the injectivity test and possibly the static kill will take place Tuesday," BP said in a brief statement late on Monday, after US markets had closed. The well was temporarily sealed two weeks ago but the static kill followed by the completion of a relief well later in August are seen as the permanent solutions to the leaking well, which US government scientists estimate has released almost 5 million barrels of oil since late April. The worst oil spill in US history has been an environmental and economic nightmare for the Gulf coast and even if the crude is no longer flowing unchecked, the legal and political fall-out is still spreading unabated. At the same time, the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating insider trading in shares of BP, including whether BP employees profited illegally from the spill. FLOW REVISION The full extent of the disaster was given added clarity on Monday when US government scientists refined estimates of how much oil had flowed into the Gulf from the well. The Flow Rate Technical Group and a team of scientists with the US Department of Energy say 4.9 million barrels of oil have been released. The flow rate was put at 62,000 barrels a day at the start of the spill in late April. That rate dropped to 53,000 barrels a day immediately before the well was sealed on July 15, the group said. Officials also said BP had siphoned about 16 per cent of the 4.9 million barrels to vessels at the ocean's surface, but the rest went into the sea. The group's previous leak estimate ranged from 35,000 to 60,000 barrels a day. Investors will scrutinize these figures closely as BP's final costs may be tied to how much oil is estimated to have flowed into the Gulf from the spill. BP has already announced plans to sell $30 billion in assets over the next 18 months to help cover its liabilities related to the disaster. The US insider trading probe will also rivet investors. Two sources familiar with the preliminary SEC probe said the alleged insider trading took place after the start of the BP oil spill on April 20. At issue is whether people illegally profited from trading on non-public information at BP. Investigators are also looking at whether the company properly disclosed information on risks related to its deepwater Gulf operations, one source said. BP did not return calls for comment, but the investigation comes as the British company is trying to rehabilitate its image and tamp down public anger in the United States over its handling of the spill. "BP can do no right by anybody and the US government today -- it's not surprising they're trying to throw the whole book at BP for anything they can," said Robert Lutts, president, chief investment officer at Cabot Money Management. STATIC KILL But Lutts said investors were focused on BP's "static kill," when it plans to inject drilling mud into the top of the well to push oil back where it came from -- a reservoir 13,000 feet/ (4,000 metres) beneath the seabed. BP's stock gained ground in New York, climbing 2.5 per cent in afternoon trading, despite news of the SEC investigation. "The stock has rallied since they may finally have a 'cap' to their problems. Now if we get a permanent fix, shareholders will be much more pleased going forward," Lutts said. Energy shares had a strong rally, fueled by optimism over BP's plans and a 3 per cent jump in crude oil prices. Companies linked to the Macondo oil field rallied, with Transocean Ltd up 9.6 per cent to $50.68. The Philadelphia exchange oil services sector index climbed 4.5 per cent. The White House said it was "cautiously monitoring" the situation, mindful of previous setbacks in efforts to permanently kill the well. President Barack Obama's approval rating has slipped in part because voters have frowned on his handling of the spill The top US official overseeing the spill response, retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, said the kill would take 33-61 hours to complete once it got under way. "I think everybody would like to have this thing ended as soon as possible," Allen said. To ensure the ruptured well is permanently sealed, BP will also proceed with its plans for a relief well that will intersect the damaged well and pump more heavy drilling mud and cement in from below to plug any openings. Kent Wells, BP's senior vice president of exploration and production, said the company expected the relief well to intercept the blown-out well between Aug. 11-15. A permanent seal to the well would end the months-long technical nightmare that began in April with an explosion on the rig that killed 11 workers and triggered the leak. Gulf communities are still counting the costs after the forced the closure of large swaths of rich fishing grounds and the blow dealt to wildlife and tourism by the spill.
03 August 2010;dailypioneer.com:New Delhi:The country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India on Monday raised the prices of all its models, expect Alto, by up to Rs 7,500, citing a sharp increase in input costs. The new prices are applicable with immediate effect, the company said. “Due to a sharp increase in the input costs, Maruti Suzuki India has decided to pass on a part of this cost impact to customers,” the company said in a statement. The price revision, however, will not include its largest selling model Alto, it added. “The approximate price revision on various models (Ex Showroom, Delhi) ranges between Rs 2,000 and Rs 7,500. The price increase ranges between 1 per cent and 1.5 per cent,” the statement said. The hike comes on a day when the company reported its best ever domestic monthly sales for July at 90,114 units, a 33.45 per cent increase from 67,528 units in July 2009.
Oil hovers above $81 after surging to 3-month high
03 August 2010;economictimes.indiatimes.com:SINGAPORE: Oil prices hovered above $81 a barrel Tuesday in Asia after surging stock markets and a weaker dollar helped boost crude to nearly a three-month high. Benchmark crude for September delivery was up 9 cents to $81.43 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.39, or 3 percent, to settle at $81.34 on Monday, the highest since May 4. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 2 percent Monday on better than expected manufacturing results in the U.S. and Europe. Most Asian stock markets advanced Tuesday, a key signal oil traders watch as a gauge of overall investor sentiment. A weaker dollar also helped boost crude since that makes commodities cheaper for investors with other currencies. The euro fell to $1.3164 on Tuesday from a three-month high on Monday of $1.3178 and the dollar eased to 86.35 yen from 86.46 yen. Investors will be closely watching weekly U.S. crude inventory data later Tuesday and Wednesday and July employment figures Friday. ``The more important price driver will be forthcoming at week's end in the form of the monthly employment report,'' Ritterbusch and Associates said in a report. In other Nymex trading in September contracts, heating oil rose 0.62 cent to $2.160 a gallon, gasoline was steady at $2.169 a gallon and natural gas jumped 2.9 cents to 4.730 per 1,000 cubic feet. Brent crude was up 9 cents to $80.91 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange.
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