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WBE.Net
Newsletter
Release
Date: 5-23-08
Believe It
or Not - Some Good Oil News!
In spite of all the doom and
gloom surrounding the pricing and supply of petroleum
lately, there are some encouraging developments about
the fuel that runs the world. For starters, a potentially-huge
new oil deposit has just been discovered in Atlantic
waters off the coast of Brazil. Petrobras, Brazil's
state-run oil company, says the new source of medium-grade
oil sits 22,000 feet below the waves, 150 miles offshore,
and is not far from Brazil's massive Tupi field -
one of the largest oil finds ever in the Western Hemisphere.
In addition, Nigeria has increased its oil output
by 200 thousand barrels a day...Iraq has kicked up
its yield by 300 thousand barrels a day...and Saudi
Arabia - in response to a personal plea from President
George Bush - has also added 300 thousand extra barrels
per day. These developments argue toward a near-term
easing of US gasoline prices, which hover near $4/gallon.
Of course, the Big Picture remains: Shrinking reserves
of oil in the earth's crust will push crude oil prices
higher over time. Smart nations will search for -
and implement - alternative fuels before runaway oil
costs cripple their economies.
Meantime,
Back in The Motor City...
Ford is slashing its 2008
production of pickups and sport utility vehicles in
North America by an average of 15 percent through
the rest of the year. The reason? Consumers are flocking
to vehicles that offer better gas mileage. Sales of
Ford pickups and SUVs have crashed in recent months,
thanks to the higher fuel prices. Smartly, Ford will
adjust by hiking production of small cars and crossovers,
such as its smallest offering, the Focus sedan and
the crossover Ford Edge....both of which have recently
seen a big jump in sales. (A crossover combines SUV
design features such as tall interior packaging, high
seating and ground-clearance, and all-wheel-drive
- with design features from an automobile platform
such as car-like handling, ride and economy).
Turmoil South
of the Border
As you've read here in these
WBE.Net Newsletter pages, Mexico is the US's Number
Two Trading Partner, right behind Canada, and so we
pass along some important concerns about heading to
Mexican soil in search of business - or pleasure.
America's State Department is warning that serious
fighting is taking place across the US border, between
Mexican police and army forces, and heavily-armed
drug cartels. Says the warning, "conflicts have
escalated to military combat and have included the
use of machine guns and fragmentation grenades."
Biggest trouble spots include the tourist mecca Tijuana
in Baja California, as well as Chihuahua City and
Ciudad Juarez in the state of Chihuahua. The US State
Department warns that the situation south of San Diego
remains very fluid - no one knows where trouble might
erupt next - and that US citizens in the area are
at risk of kidnap and murder. Note: heavily armed
attackers sometimes wear the uniforms of the Mexican
police or military. Americans doing trades with Mexico
should do so by phone or email, until this situation
is resolved. Also, don't divulge too much personal
information until you know and trust your client -
some Mexican kidnappers actually cross the US border
to snatch American hostages!
The Power
to Help
In the aftermath of the recent,
deadly cyclone and earthquake which brought devastation
to Myanmar-Burma and China, recovery efforts will
increasingly center on clean-up and rebuilding. A
major problem is, electrical power has been wiped
out across many hard-to-reach areas. Anticipating
that mobile, battery-based tools will be utilized
in the fix-up efforts, we pass along this potential
resource which you might turn to, as a WBE-trained
exporter: California-based Battery Universe is a supplier
of high-quality aftermarket replacement batteries
for autos, laptop computers, two-way radios, wheelchairs,
camcorders, digital cameras, cell phones, Uninterruptible
Power Supplies and more. Contact info: Battery Universe.
Address: 1450 Harbor Blvd., West Sacramento, California
95691. Phone: 916 374-9750. Toll Free: 800 995-9750.
Fax: 916 374-9745. On the Net: www.batteryuniverse.com.
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