Everything You Wanted To Know About Global Oil Fundamentals (But Were Afraid To Ask)

Everything You Wanted To Know About Global Oil Fundamentals (But Were Afraid To Ask)

Tyler Durden on 05/10/2014 16:16 -0400

There’s more than one oil price around the world and as the following comprehensive (but brief) overview from Morgan Stanley’s Global Energy Teach In shows, crude oil pricing across the world is dynamic and multi-factorial – from fundamental factors (such as simple supply and demand and seasonality) to macro factors (such as USD strength, macro sentiment, and “burden”) and risk premia (e.g. geopolitics), the following provides everything you wanted to know about global crude oil fundamentals, but were afraid to ask… Read more of this post

Is Corporate Storytelling Replacing The News Business?

2014-05-08

Is Corporate Storytelling Replacing The News Business?

One former USA Today editor says that he’s jumping ship to the world of content marketing because editorial is dead. Is there any business model that can save the future of news? Read more of this post

Why Taco Bell Won’t Win At Breakfast

http://www.businessinsider.sg/why-taco-bell-wont-win-at-breakfast-2014-4/#.U2CwkYGSxLM

Why Taco Bell Won’t Win At Breakfast

BURGERBUSINESS.COM RETAIL  APR. 29, 2014, 11:35 PM

Will Taco Bell’s breakfast program be a success? Well, yes, if the standard it uses is Woody Allen’s quip that “80% of success is showing up.” Read more of this post

How Sports Direct won a place in the premier league of retail

April 14, 2014 5:18 pm

How Sports Direct won a place in the premier league of retail

By Andrew Hill and Andrea Felsted

Sports Direct has no official outpost in Verbier. But most weeks in winter, Mike Ashley, the sporting goods retailer’s mercurial founder, rewards small groups of top-performing staff with a stay in his chalet, complete with private chef. The association of the upmarket Swiss ski resort and the value-driven chain – with its racks of discounted trainers and tracksuits – feels unlikely. But the chalet perks are emblematic of the group’s unorthodox management, inbuilt contradictions and extraordinary ambition. Read more of this post

Bottled iced coffee comes in from the cold; “The flavour profile of ready-to-drink coffee is changing from sweet and mild, to strong and artisanal,”

April 1, 2014 11:02 am

Bottled iced coffee comes in from the cold

By Shannon Bond in New York

It is a quick fix for the coffee purist. High-end US coffee boutiques are rushing to market with bottled cold drinks that satisfy connoisseurs’ cravings for caffeine. Read more of this post

Mining bosses doubt private equity investors can strike gold

Mining bosses doubt private equity investors can strike gold

2:03pm EDT

By Silvia Antonioli and Dmitry Zhdannikov

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) – Private equity firms, which have been showing an increased interest in investing in the mining industry, will have a hard time even if they are betting on recovery in the longer term, the bosses of Anglo American (AAL.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Glencore Xstrata (GLEN.L:Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday. Read more of this post

Watchmakers Craft Timepieces From Exotic Materials; Designers Use Moon Dust, Metal From Sports Cars, Even Material From Statue of Liberty

Watchmakers Craft Timepieces From Exotic Materials

Designers Use Moon Dust, Metal From Sports Cars, Even Material From Statue of Liberty

JOHN REVILL

The Statue of Liberty, Apollo 11 and the Titanic are just some of the materials used to make the timepieces on display at the Baselworld watch fair, which can cost between $400 and $55 million. Read more of this post

How Chick-Fil-A Is Outselling KFC With A Fraction Of The Restaurants; Chick-fil-A’s sales in 2013 passed $5 billion, compared with KFC’s $4.2 billion; Chick-fil-A has 1,775 U.S. stores, while KFC has 4,491

How Chick-Fil-A Is Outselling KFC With A Fraction Of The Restaurants

ASHLEY LUTZ RETAIL  APR. 1, 2014, 1:26 AM

Chick-fil-A has surpassed KFC as the top chicken fast food chain.   Read more of this post

US fizzy drinks lose pop on health fears

March 31, 2014 9:04 pm

US fizzy drinks lose pop on health fears

By Shannon Bond in New York

Americans drank fewer fizzy drinks last year, accelerating a sales decline dogging Coca-Cola and PepsiCo as they face mounting health concerns over sugar and artificial sweeteners. Read more of this post

Banks’ retreat empowers commodity trading houses

March 31, 2014 6:09 pm

Banks’ retreat empowers commodity trading houses

By Neil Hume, Commodities Editor

Over the past decade, the world’s largest banks have with little fanfare become immersed in a business far removed from their traditional lending activity: the trading of physical commodities. Read more of this post

Hugo Boss taps S Korean star power in China

March 30, 2014 10:05 am

Hugo Boss taps S Korean star power in China

By Demetri Sevastopulo in Hong Kong

As Gwyneth Paltrow, the actress and face of Hugo Boss, sparked headlines about the end of her marriage last week, the German fashion house was using the allure of Asian stars to create a different kind of buzz in China. Read more of this post

How a Giant Kazakh Oil Project Went Awry; Developed by Western Oil Companies, Giant Project Off Kazakhstan Is Years Late, More Than $30 Billion Over Budget

How a Giant Kazakh Oil Project Went Awry

Developed by Western Oil Companies, Giant Project Off Kazakhstan Is Years Late, More Than $30 Billion Over Budget

SELINA WILLIAMS, GÉRALDINE AMIEL and JUSTIN SCHECK

March 30, 2014 10:38 p.m. ET

ATYRAU, Kazakhstan—Kazakh workers were recuperating from the frigid temperatures of the Caspian Sea over cups of tea when their Italian supervisor interrupted their break, demanding they return to work. Read more of this post

M&M’s newest flavor: Birthday cake?

M&M’s newest flavor: Birthday cake?

March 28, 2014: 1:06 PM ET

The growing cake-flavored food fad helps you celebrate your birthday every day, but without the candles.

By Erika Fry, reporter

FORTUNE — Now you can have your cake and chew it too, thanks to birthday cake-flavored gum. Or drink it, with birthday cake batter white wine. Or add a birthday cake-flavored protein to a health shake. Read more of this post

Tory Burch Is Launching A Lululemon Killer

Tory Burch Is Launching A Lululemon Killer

HAYLEY PETERSON RETAIL  MAR. 29, 2014, 2:37 AM

Lululemon has a new threat to its activewear empire.  Read more of this post

Wal-Mart Says This Is The Delivery Truck Of The Future

Wal-Mart Says This Is The Delivery Truck Of The Future

BENJAMIN ZHANG TRANSPORTATION  MAR. 29, 2014, 5:16 AM

Wal-Mart has unveiled a new prototype for a delivery truck it says will significantly reduce its delivery fleet’s emissions. Read more of this post

Latin America’s economies: Life after the commodity boom; Instead of the crises of the past, mediocre growth is the big risk-unless productivity rises

Latin America’s economies: Life after the commodity boom; Instead of the crises of the past, mediocre growth is the big risk—unless productivity rises

Mar 29th 2014 | LIMA | From the print edition

ONE morning last month Louis Dreyfus, a big commodity-trading house, formally opened a new $10m storage depot in the Peruvian port of Callao. Two of its six bunkers were piled high with 55,000 tonnes of fine brown dust covered by white tarpaulins—copper and zinc concentrate, awaiting blending and shipment. The warehouse is “a bet that Peruvian mining will continue to be competitive,” says Gonzalo Ramírez, a Dreyfus manager. That looks like a sound wager. Blessed with high-grade ores and cheap energy, Peru’s output of copper—already the world’s third-largest—will more than double in the next three years (see article), thanks to the opening of several low-cost mines. Read more of this post

Exclusive: Wal-Mart manager speaks out about his store’s ugly reality

MAR 25, 2014 08:30 PM MPST

Exclusive: Wal-Mart manager speaks out about his store’s ugly reality

From no time off, to working multiple roles at once, here’s what’s really going on at the mega-chain

JOSH EIDELSON   Follow

President Obama sparked a new round of big business ire this month, directing the Labor Department to reform rules that exclude salaried managers making over $23,660 a year from overtime protections. Read more of this post

Here Comes $75 Oil; Lower energy costs will have a salutary effect on the U.S. economy. Not so Russia, where oil provides 50% of government income

SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 2014

Here Comes $75 Oil

By GENE EPSTEIN | MORE ARTICLES BY AUTHOR

Lower energy costs will have a salutary effect on the U.S. economy. Not so Russia, where oil provides 50% of government income.

The long-term outlook for global oil prices is lower, perhaps much lower, giving a strong boost to the U.S. economy while potentially crippling the economy of Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Vast new discoveries of oil and natural gas in the U.S. and around the globe could drive the oil price to as low as $75 a barrel over the next five years from a current $100. Read more of this post

Franchisees trounce company-owned stores in major study, but McDonalds still wants both

Michael Bailey Deputy editor

Franchisees trounce company-owned stores in major study, but McDonalds still wants both

Published 28 March 2014 12:46, Updated 28 March 2014 14:51

McDonalds maintains a mix of franchisee and company-owned clusters within metro areas, avoiding direct competition between two stores under different models wherever possible. Photo: Glenn Hunt Read more of this post

LVMH shakes up watches and jewellery product-mix and strategy

March 26, 2014 9:05 pm

LVMH shakes up watches and jewellery product-mix and strategy

By Adam Thomson

When it comes to managing its brands, France’s LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton likes to take a laisser-faire approach. Autonomy and independence rank highly on its list of priorities. So when in January the group, controlled by Bernard Arnault, the French billionaire, announced a reshuffle of top management overseeing its watches and jewellery division, the luxury industry took note. Read more of this post

Cargill, Copersucar to form world’s No. 1 sugar trader

Cargill, Copersucar to form world’s No. 1 sugar trader

By Sarah McFarlane and Reese Ewing

LONDON/SÃO PAULO (Reuters) – U.S.-based agribusiness trader Cargill CARG.UL and Brazil’s Copersucar announced plans on Thursday to form a business to create the world’s biggest sugar trader through a 50-50 joint venture. Read more of this post

When retailers compete with … themselves: Walgreens edition

When retailers compete with … themselves: Walgreens edition

By Claire Zillman, reporter March 26, 2014: 5:58 PM ET

As the drug store chain plans to shutter 76 locations, some of which are very close to other Walgreens locations, it’s worth asking, why were these stores opened in the first place? Read more of this post

LME halts plan to cut metals queues after court ruling

March 27, 2014 11:41 am

LME halts plan to cut metals queues after court ruling

By Xan Rice

The London Metal Exchange has been forced to halt plans to reduce queues at its global warehouse network after a UK High Court judge ruled that its industry consultation was “unfair and unlawful”. Read more of this post

The Marketing Decoder: La Brea Bakery; The company is remaking its brand image for the first time in its 25-year history

The Marketing Decoder: La Brea Bakery

The company is remaking its brand image for the first time in its 25-year history

SARAH NASSAUER

Updated March 26, 2014 11:28 p.m. ET

La Brea Bakery, a company known for its crusty loaves sold in Costco, COST -1.26%Albertsons and other large grocery stores, is attempting to remake its brand image for the first time in its 25-year history. Read more of this post

Nike’s Forum Shows the Promise and Peril of Community

Nike’s Forum Shows the Promise and Peril of Community

by Sarah Judd Welch  |   10:00 AM March 25, 2014

A New Year’s Eve tweet announced the launch of the Nike Community Forum. You could be forgiven for not noticing. Today, promotion of the forum has been removed from the site’s navigation bar, and social media conversations regarding the forum are next to none. Yet the Nike Community Forum is one of Nike’s greatest opportunities — a way to bring its Nike+ mobile users to their website (an e-commerce conversion opportunity) and create a truly active and engaging ecosystem of athletes. Read more of this post

Fonterra profits sour as Mengniu’s jump

Last updated: March 26, 2014 3:00 am

Fonterra profits sour as Mengniu’s jump

By Jamie Smyth in Canberra and Reuters

The diverging fortunes of Asia Pacific’s dairy groups came into the spotlight on Wednesday when New Zealand’s Fonterra reported a halving in first-half profits, while China Mengniu Dairy said 2013 profit jumped by a quarter year-on-year. Read more of this post

Hermès’ Message to LVMH: Cash Out; New Chief of Design House Says Family Will Fight to Remain Independent

Hermès’ Message to LVMH: Cash Out

New Chief of Design House Says Family Will Fight to Remain Independent

CHRISTINA PASSARIELLO

March 25, 2014 3:37 p.m. ET

New Hermès CEO Axel Dumas on maintaining the luxury firm’s exclusive image while selling more goods. Read more of this post

A Question of What’s a Reasonable Reward: A money manager claims Coca-Cola allocated as much as $24 billion toward stock-based rewards for its senior people

MARCH 24, 2014, 8:51 PM  Comment

A Question of What’s a Reasonable Reward

By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN

Earlier this month, Coca-Cola sent out its annual report and proxy statement to shareholders.

The red-and-white report was relatively predictable. Until you get to Page 85.

That’s the page that stopped an analyst who works for David Winters, a longtime money manager and founder of Wintergreen Advisers, in his tracks. Read more of this post

Checkmate for cheap unconventional gas; Shale reserves are not a miracle; they are a high-cost source of fuel

March 21, 2014 7:21 pm

Checkmate for cheap unconventional gas

By John Dizard

Shale reserves are not a miracle; they are a high-cost source of fuel, writes John Dizard

If you listen to the whisperings in the chancelleries of the great powers of Europe, or the musings of editorialists, US shale gas has become a key strategic asset in the chess game of global power. The US can move its gas castle to block the Russian knight from putting Europe in check . . . or whatever. Read more of this post

The biggest lease holder in Canada’s oil sands isn’t Exxon Mobil or Chevron. It’s the Koch brothers

The biggest lease holder in Canada’s oil sands isn’t Exxon Mobil or Chevron. It’s the Koch brothers.

By Steven Mufson and Juliet Eilperin, Updated: March 20 at 11:59 am

You might expect the biggest lease owner in Canada’s oil sands, or tar sands, to be one of the international oil giants, like Exxon Mobil or Royal Dutch Shell. But that isn’t the case. The biggest lease holder in the northern Alberta oil sands is a subsidiary of Koch Industries, the privately-owned cornerstone of the fortune of conservative Koch brothers Charles and David. Read more of this post