PRIME MERIDIANS: A JOURNEY ALONG COPPER’S NEW SILK ROAD

This week in Pierce Points: E&Ps kept their good credit. A survey of U.S. oil and gas producers shows bank lines have been cut much less than expected. China hinted at a plan to control Asia’s copper. Officials want to buy concentrate and build smelters along the Silk Road. Ecuador’s mining sector rebranded itself. The government is offering better tax rates to … Read more

DOES THIS “PANIC INDEX” SHOW A MAJOR CRISIS COMING IN OIL AND GAS?

Little-reported but extremely critical data point for the oil and gas industry emerged yesterday. With insiders in the debt business saying that risk levels in the sector have risen to unprecedented levels. That came from major ratings service Moody’s. With the firm saying that one of its proprietary indexes of credit problems in the oil and … Read more