Top Stories
India Cuts Subsidies for Fuels.—reliability
high.
"The Indian government on Friday reduced popular fuel subsidies, a
long-delayed change that will help policy makers reduce a big budget
deficit but one that will also worsen already high inflation. Policy
makers said the government would stop subsidizing gasoline. Diesel,
kerosene and natural gas would continue to receive support at a
slightly lower level. India spent about $5.6 bn to subsidize fuel in
the last fiscal year, which ended in March. State-owned energy
companies added the equivalent of an additional $4.4 bn by selling fuel
below its cost. ... Even after the increase, analysts at
Citigroup estimate that the government and state-owned oil
companies will spend about $11.5 bn on fuel subsidies this fiscal year,
down from a previous estimate of $16.7 bn." Story in The
New York Times. [Many
consequences. For example see Tata item below.]
Curators, crude oil and an outdated cultural
mix.—reliability medium.
Letter criticizes the Tate gallery for "celebrating 20 years of BP
sponsorship ... We represent a cross-section of people from the arts
community that believe that the BP logo represents a stain on Tate's
international reputation. Many artists are angry that Tate and other
national cultural institutions continue to sidestep the issue of oil
sponsorship. Little more than a decade ago, tobacco companies were seen
as respectable partners for public institutions to gain support from –
that is no longer the case. It is our hope that oil and gas will soon
be seen in the same light." Letter to the editor of The
Guardian. [No
matter how much culture they sponsor oil firms will have a hard time
being seen as good corporate citizens in years to come.]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
The View from the C-Suite: P&G's Len
Sauers.—reliability high.
Interview. "The VP of Sustainability at the world's largest household
and personal products company talks about Procter & Gamble's
9,000-member innovation team, how it impacts chemical giants like Dow
and Dupont, and what it takes to get people to do their washing in cold
water." See Greener
World Media.
Tata May Lure Hyundai, Suzuki Buyers as
India Frees Fuel Prices.—reliability high.
"Tata Motors Ltd., challenging Hyundai Motor Co. as India’s No. 2
automaker, may gain an edge over the South Korean carmaker from India’s
decision to end state controls on gasoline prices. Tata may lure
drivers from Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., the nation’s biggest
carmaker, as it has a wider range of diesel models, said Mahantesh
Sabarad, a Mumbai-based analyst at Fortune Equity Brokers India Ltd.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week freed gasoline prices to pare
spending, while keeping diesel subsidies for the time being." From Bloomberg
Businessweek.
Google eyes more home energy jobs for
PowerMeter.—reliability high.
"'We're starting with electricity and we're interested in moving on to
natural gas and other utilities [such as water] in the home,' Reicher
said, speaking to utility industry executives. ... Reicher said that
the application could be extended to let consumers take advantage of
off-peak rates when using electricity-hungry devices such as
appliances." See CNET News.
London, the dirty man of Europe.—reliability
medium.
"With the first of many London sites this week breaching – before the
end of June – the annual allowance for "bad air days", it is blindingly
obvious now why the European Commission sent the UK a second and final
written warning for breaching these same legal standards, as has
occurred every year since 2005 in London, less than a month ago. These
"bad air days" matter because they warn us there are high
concentrations of dangerous airborne particles (PM10s) in the air which
can penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream to trigger
respiratory problems, heart attacks and strokes" Writer criticizes UK
politicians for stalling on efforts to reduce these pollutants. "Mayor
Johnson will say he was right to suspend LEZ3 last February to save
£30m of one-off costs for operators (when it is obvious that this is
financial fairyland when compared to his estimate of £300m every year
for potential EU fines for each of two pollutants)." Opinion piece in The
Guardian.
Government and
Regulation
G20 urges phasing out of fossil fuel
subsidies.—reliability high.
"The G20 communique in Toronto calls for the 'phase out over the
medium term of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage
wasteful consumption, taking into account vulnerable groups and their
development needs,' said the sources, who provided the language to
Reuters. The leaders also said they would review progress toward that
goal at future summits. The sources said the United States had pushed
to removed watered-down language from an earlier draft." See Reuters
story. [Subsidy
cuts are inevitable as governments try to reduce deficits. They will be
harder in countries where rich companies benefit from them.]
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]
