…goes to The Argus.
Favorite line:
Kazakhstan, the country in Central Asia proper with a lot of oil is already working on increasing exports to China. “Team Neo-con”Â? has apparently failed there too despite the having a base so secret none but the author under discussion knows it exists.
But you have to read the original article and read Nathan’s commentary to get it. Funniest registan.net article since “if Central Asia stories weren’t passed around amongst news agencies like a bong at a drum circle…”
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IJ
June 27, 2005
2:54 pm
The article quotes an energy consultant in Beijing: "A popular saying abroad is that oil is just a commodity that anyone who has money can buy," Mr. He said. "But this saying is most popular in the countries that already control the supplies."
The energy market has long been a (great) game without rules. There's little enthusiasm for discipline in the global economy.
Simon World
June 28, 2005
4:02 am
* Colin Powell puts China's military build-up into realistic contexts. * Happy blogday, Mia. * The big risks of China's looming power shortages. The relevant point is when energy, like any good, is allocated by fiat rather than by markets, you get a ...
Alfred Russel Wallace
June 29, 2005
1:10 am
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/230010_chinadeals25.html
Already, more than 40 members of Congress have signed a joint letter to President Bush, urging the administration to conduct a thorough review of the Chinese bid (for Unocal).
Meanwhile, some prominent industry executives have warned against political meddling in a commercial deal.
Lee Raymond, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, said Thursday that it would be a "big mistake" for Congress to interfere with a bid by CNOOC that could backfire on American companies seeking to do business abroad.
But for all the political attention the bid by CNOOC is receiving, it may never overcome a number of basic business obstacles.
Chevron's ability to hold the line rests in large part on a provision in the merger agreement it signed with Unocal in April that gives Chevron the right to call a shareholder vote on its offer before Unocal can allow its shareholders to consider any other deal.
Chevron is expected to call such a vote of Unocal shareholders in August.
IJ
June 29, 2005
3:38 pm
Unocal is only one example of the fix that politics is in. At root, combining a largely unregulated international economy with national democracy (191 nations) is not conducive to peace. After WW2, checks and balances were put in place to prevent a repeat. However since that time controls have been gradually dismantled, not improved.