ices increased a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent last month from January, the biggest rise since June 2009. However, gas prices rose 9.11 percent, driving the increase, after prices had fallen during the previous four months. That hike in gas prices represents three-fourths of the total consumer spending figure. For example, food prices increased just 0.1 percent. Later on Friday, the Federal Reserve posts industrial production numbers. Most economists believe output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities increased 0.3 percent last month. Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. An insider's guide to politics and policy, available on the iPad or as a PDF download.
By JOE McDONALD, Associated Press BEIJING (AP) Italian oil producer ENI says it has sold a 20 percent stake in a gas field in Mozambique in southern Africa to China's biggest state-owned energy company for $4.2 billion. The sale announced Thursday to PetroChina Ltd, http://www.cheaptomsshoesoutletstore.us - toms shoes discount . adds to a string of foreign acquisitions by Chinese mining and energy companies as they try to become global competitors. ENI S.p, http://www.cheaptomsshoesoutletstore.us - toms shoes sale .A., headquartered in Milan, said it will retain 50 percent of the Area 4 field while three other partners each will own 10 percent. The Italian company said it also signed an agreement with PetroChina, a unit of China National Petroleum Corp., to jointly study development of a shale gas block in southwestern China. China's state-owned energy companies, flush with cash from the country's economic boom, are spending billions to acquire assets abroad in hopes of profiting from future demand. Acquisitions so far this year total $7 billion, on top of last year's $34 billion and 2011's $17.1 billion, according to financial information company Dealogic Ltd. Some are aimed at acquiring oil and gas to import to China, the world's biggest energy consumer. But companies also are investing in assets in Africa and Latin America that supply North America and Europe. ENI has described Area 4 in Mozambique as one of the biggest gas discoveries of the past decade. The deal also gives the Italian company a foothold in China's growing shale gas industry. The Rongchang block that ENI and PetroChina will study "has proven to be the most promising in the country," the Italian company said. China's government is promoting shale gas exploration in hopes of curbing rising dependence on imported oil and gas. Its companies control access to promising fields but lack the advanced technology needed to extract shale gas. So they are forging partnerships with global energy companies that supply know-how. China's No. 2 state-owned energy producer, http://www.cheaptomsshoesoutletstore.us - toms kids shoes , Sinopec Ltd., announced a partnership in December with U.S. oil giant ConocoPhilips Co. to explore for shale gas in a different portion of the Sichuan basin. In December, PetroChina agreed to invest $2.2 billion for a 49.9 percent stake in a Canadian shale gas field being developed by Encana Corp. Last month, another Chinese state-owned oil
Related articles:
- http://www.mzcut.com/bbs/home.php?mod=space&uid=4633&do=blog&id=11882 - discount toms shoes which tracks stocks
- http://www.peanutu.hk/home.php?mod=space&uid=55241&do=blog&id=826791 - toms shoes online AP
- http://www.miniemotomaniaci.it/nuovo/index.php?option=com_xijc&view=captcha - toms shoes sale appliances
|