08/19/2008

'China's dream is the world's dream,' professor says
One World, One Dream. That's the slogan chosen by the Chinese for these Olympics. Do they mean it? Or are they saying, We're No. 1?

China's economic freedoms come with a price
Are these modern China's best days? The country's been at peace for 30 years. Throughout that period, economic growth has lifted 681 million Chinese out of absolute poverty. The average income is almost $2,000 a year. And when measured against other nations, the purchasing power of the average income is more like $4,500, by World Bank estimates.

China is no leading light in energy efficiency
BEIJING – China's ballooning appetite for energy has helped push global prices higher for oil and coal, much of which is wasted.

China's low costs are on the rise
We've come to know "the China Price" as the mark of the cheapest goods in the world, dreaded by competing manufacturers, irresistible to buyers.

Worsening security makes restarting Nigerian oil wells risky
WASHINGTON – While President Bush has concentrated on getting the Saudis to produce more oil, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is trying to cool the oil-price fever by getting Nigeria to restart wells caught in a tangle of corruption and insurrection.

06/24/2008

Saudis show off $10 billion Khurais mega-project to ease doubts

JIM LANDERS/DMN

By June 2009, Saudi Aramco expects to finish the $10 billion Khurais mega-project and add 1.2 million barrels a day to Saudi Arabia’s production capacity.

By June 2009, Saudi Arabia's national oil company expects to finish the $10 billion Khurais oil field mega-project and add 1.2 million barrels a day to the kingdom’s production capacity. The Saudis invited more than 100 journalists to have a look at the Khurais project Monday as part of an effort to stem market perceptions that they’re running into problems with their oil.

Skeptics doubt Saudi Arabia can boost oil supply
The Saudis have had their big show on the Red Sea. Now the oil markets will test the peak oil theory.

Saudi Arabia says it will meet oil demand
Saudi Arabia Sunday said it would supply enough oil to meet global demand for the rest of the year, but differed sharply with the Bush administration by blaming speculators for the sharp increase in oil prices.
Survival guide: Cheaper gas, smarter driving
Gas prices: Find the best Dallas-Fort Worth deals

Saudi oil summit to seek answers
Despite participants' promises of measures to bring prices down, industry analysts predict the meeting will change little as traders peg oil prices to expectations of future shortages.
Survival guide: Cheaper gas, smarter driving
Gas prices: Find the best Dallas-Fort Worth deals

05/06/2008

U.S. kids losing education race to peers in China, India
Math, science and engineering educators have been warning for years that American failings are pushing jobs and investment to better-trained foreign workers. The issue hasn't caught fire in the presidential campaign. And the public doesn't seem to share the urgency, either.

Brazil seeing sweet profit from sugar cane-based ethanol

JIM LANDERS/DMN

Field workers toss sugar cane stalks into a plowed field to be chopped into seedlings at a farm in Costa Rica, Brazil, owned by Brenco.

The other side of ethanol, vilified as a cause of soaring food prices and hunger, can be seen in Brazil, where farmers are pushing down energy costs – both at the pump and the electricity meter. A $2.7 billion ethanol project is getting started.
Video: Brazil expands ethanol imports

05/02/2008

Energy firm cultivates sugar-cane ethanol operation in Peru

JIM LANDERS/DMN

Maple Energy’s seed crop flourishes in Peru.

Maple Energy -- an oil, gas and electricity company with roots in Dallas -- plans to lauch its sugar-cane ethanol exports from Peru into the international marketplace next year.
Video: Maple Energy's plans in Peru

04/22/2008

Clinton, Obama merely echo NAFTA anxiety
In Pennsylvania, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are campaigning for president by yet again threatening to lead the United States out of NAFTA.

Brazilians' income is up, but U.S. firms' investments in Brazil aren't
SÃO PAULO, Brazil – The U.S. may be in a recession, but these are the best economic times in Brazil's history. By government estimates, 20 million Brazilians raised their incomes enough to join the middle class in the last two years.

04/08/2008

Cheaper ethanol outselling gasoline in Brazil
Car owners in this giant city of 11 million people are giving the oil companies fits. Ethanol outsells gasoline here by a large margin. This year, it became the most popular fuel throughout Brazil.