P.R. is having some serious economic problems right now
Puerto Rico closes dozens of schools as economic woes deepen
http://news.yahoo.com/puerto-rico-closes-dozens-schools-economic-woes-deepen-144525966.html
Possible NBA Expansion Team in Montreal?
- Thread starter K-Apps
- Start date
P.R. is having some serious economic problems right now
Puerto Rico closes dozens of schools as economic woes deepen
http://news.yahoo.com/puerto-rico-closes-dozens-schools-economic-woes-deepen-144525966.html
Some bigtime northern egos may attempt that franchise. just saw a story bout them caking on oil exports to the u.s. and giving the Saudis that work. many billionaires love owning sports teams.
Saudi turns to China as oil exports to US drop
David Sheppard and Anjli Raval in London
Saudi Arabia’s oil exports to the US have fallen to the lowest level since the financial crisis, showing the impact of the shale boom and fast-growing imports from Canada.
The US has bought an average of less than 1m barrels a day of Saudi crude over the past year, weekly and monthly US government data show.
The kingdom has been compensating for the loss of sales by accelerating its pivot towards Asia, with China vying with the US as one of the biggest buyers of Saudi crude. But any weakening of the economic ties that bolster Saudi Arabia’s relations with the US may still provoke concern in Riyadh, as it undergoes a major power shift.
“The behaviour of the kingdom over the past year suggests they recognised the US was going to be a declining market and east of Suez was their growth market,” said Jason Bordoff, founding director of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.
“But this argument has limitations. They want to be diversified and need a presence in the US for geopolitical reasons.”
The last time that Saudi crude exports to the US averaged less than 1m b/d for a significant period was 2009, when the financial crisis had slashed demand for crude. There have been individual months when imports have fallen below that milestone level, but not for a prolonged period.
The only similar experience in recent memory was during the 1980s, when the kingdom slashed its own oil production in a failed attempt to prop up the price.
As recently as 2013, the US imported an average of more than 1.5m b/d.
While a sharp increase in US oil output has already taken the place of much of the crude that the country used to import from west Africa, rising imports from Canada appear to be the other driving force behind the need to bring in less crude from the Middle East.
Canadian exports to the US are now averaging more than 3m b/d, an increase of roughly 1m b/d since 2011.
The shift comes as Saudi Arabia has vowed to battle to hold on to its share of the oil market, leading to the Opec cartel’s decision last November to keep production high despite excess global supplies, triggering a price collapse.
Last week, it said it was succeeding in its policy to squeeze out higher-cost producers by keeping output high despite the 60 per cent price drop between June and January, sparking an angry reaction from one of the leading architects of the US shale revolution.
Saudi Arabia remains the second-biggest oil exporter to the US after Canada, and owns stakes in refineries and petrochemical plants in the country.
Oil exports to the US this year have been almost a third lower than during the same period last year, and have declined by about 400,000 b/d since 2012.
But they have strengthened since late March, weekly US government data show, indicating that the kingdom may not be prepared to give up on its share of the US market.
The history of the two country’s relationship has been steeped in oil. Just six years after Saudi Arabia was formed in 1932, Standard Oil of California struck black gold, transforming a desert kingdom into a major player on the world stage. State-backed oil group Saudi Aramco pumps roughly one in every nine barrels consumed globally.
Relations between the two countries have been strained recently, however.
Last week, King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, who took the throne in January, pulled out of a trip to visit President Barack Obama. The US president said that the two countries had “an extraordinary friendship” and sought to emphasise Washington’s commitment to the kingdom’s security.
Saudi Arabia is now aggressively marketing its crude to Asia, having lost market share to Iran and Iraq. Veteran oil minister Ali al-Naimi said in April during a trip to Beijing that Saudi Arabia was now sending China more than 1m b/d, having recovered from a dip last year, according to customs data.
The kingdom has also launched a number of refining joint ventures in Asia, including South Korea, similar to deals it already has with Shell through Motiva in the US, which operates the country’s biggest refinery.
“Asian demand for oil remains strong and we are ready to supply whatever is required,” Mr Naimi said.
Additional reporting by Gregory Meyer in New York
Saudi turns to China as oil exports to US drop
David Sheppard and Anjli Raval in London
Saudi Arabia’s oil exports to the US have fallen to the lowest level since the financial crisis, showing the impact of the shale boom and fast-growing imports from Canada.
The US has bought an average of less than 1m barrels a day of Saudi crude over the past year, weekly and monthly US government data show.
The kingdom has been compensating for the loss of sales by accelerating its pivot towards Asia, with China vying with the US as one of the biggest buyers of Saudi crude. But any weakening of the economic ties that bolster Saudi Arabia’s relations with the US may still provoke concern in Riyadh, as it undergoes a major power shift.
“The behaviour of the kingdom over the past year suggests they recognised the US was going to be a declining market and east of Suez was their growth market,” said Jason Bordoff, founding director of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.
“But this argument has limitations. They want to be diversified and need a presence in the US for geopolitical reasons.”
The last time that Saudi crude exports to the US averaged less than 1m b/d for a significant period was 2009, when the financial crisis had slashed demand for crude. There have been individual months when imports have fallen below that milestone level, but not for a prolonged period.
The only similar experience in recent memory was during the 1980s, when the kingdom slashed its own oil production in a failed attempt to prop up the price.
As recently as 2013, the US imported an average of more than 1.5m b/d.
While a sharp increase in US oil output has already taken the place of much of the crude that the country used to import from west Africa, rising imports from Canada appear to be the other driving force behind the need to bring in less crude from the Middle East.
Canadian exports to the US are now averaging more than 3m b/d, an increase of roughly 1m b/d since 2011.
The shift comes as Saudi Arabia has vowed to battle to hold on to its share of the oil market, leading to the Opec cartel’s decision last November to keep production high despite excess global supplies, triggering a price collapse.
Last week, it said it was succeeding in its policy to squeeze out higher-cost producers by keeping output high despite the 60 per cent price drop between June and January, sparking an angry reaction from one of the leading architects of the US shale revolution.
Saudi Arabia remains the second-biggest oil exporter to the US after Canada, and owns stakes in refineries and petrochemical plants in the country.
Oil exports to the US this year have been almost a third lower than during the same period last year, and have declined by about 400,000 b/d since 2012.
But they have strengthened since late March, weekly US government data show, indicating that the kingdom may not be prepared to give up on its share of the US market.
The history of the two country’s relationship has been steeped in oil. Just six years after Saudi Arabia was formed in 1932, Standard Oil of California struck black gold, transforming a desert kingdom into a major player on the world stage. State-backed oil group Saudi Aramco pumps roughly one in every nine barrels consumed globally.
Relations between the two countries have been strained recently, however.
Last week, King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, who took the throne in January, pulled out of a trip to visit President Barack Obama. The US president said that the two countries had “an extraordinary friendship” and sought to emphasise Washington’s commitment to the kingdom’s security.
Saudi Arabia is now aggressively marketing its crude to Asia, having lost market share to Iran and Iraq. Veteran oil minister Ali al-Naimi said in April during a trip to Beijing that Saudi Arabia was now sending China more than 1m b/d, having recovered from a dip last year, according to customs data.
The kingdom has also launched a number of refining joint ventures in Asia, including South Korea, similar to deals it already has with Shell through Motiva in the US, which operates the country’s biggest refinery.
“Asian demand for oil remains strong and we are ready to supply whatever is required,” Mr Naimi said.
Additional reporting by Gregory Meyer in New York
Piff Huxtable
Delaney 2020,2024,2028...
since when was Seattle this basketball mecca that deserves a franchise at all costs? I remember no Microsoft billionaire wanting to buy the team in the mid-00s. I remember attendance not looking too good in the Ray Allen/rookie KD years. I remember Key Arena being mad quite at times. It sucks that Seattle lost its franchise but it was avoidable.
Piff Huxtable
Delaney 2020,2024,2028...
I know this little film made by Sonics fans
doesn't change the fact that nobody from Seattle stepped up to buy the damn team
The team was already under possession of Clay Bennet and the Oklahoma group. You can't buy something that belongs to someone else.The team was sold to him by Seattle billionaire, Starbucks owner Howard Schultz in good faith he wouldn't move them. Clay Bennet is a lying scumbag, and the OKC Thunder were acquired in shady terms.
tremonthustler1
aka bx_representer
The one shot Seattle had went by the wayside once Ballmer bought the Clippers. Now they just gotta wait for Glen to die
Piff Huxtable
Delaney 2020,2024,2028...
everybody but Schultz saw it coming
The team was sold to him by Seattle billionaire, Starbucks owner Howard Schultz in good faith he wouldn't move them. Clay Bennet is a lying scumbag, and the OKC Thunder were acquired in shady terms.
be a self-made billionaire but naive as fukk brehs
Adebisi_Said
Truth is Power
Will Pittsburgh ever get an NBA team? They seem to support their other sports.
fixedain't that where most canadians speak nasal french?
i speak fluent french and i had problems understanding that sht they call french...
newworldafro
DeeperThanRapBiggerThanHH
Seattle fans like
....... so they can cop an expansion team if it fails in Quebec......Surprised they haven't tried to add a team to Mexico City.....that would be big...
We not taking the Timberwolves breh.
Within the next 5 years it's the Bucks, the Clippers, or expansion. We already lost on the Kings.Whatever. I'm over how it happened now, just waiting to get our team back.
I will stick up for the Seattle public. Schultz's ignorance, Clay Bennett's and David Stern's shady dealings, and the notoriously slow moving indecisive Seattle government is to blame for losing the Sonics.
