my journal 3

...As part of a transition toward around-the-clock trading, the Chicago Board of Trade announced this week its grain contracts would begin trading expanded hours, trading nearly uninterrupted from Sunday night through Friday afternoon. The new 22-hour-per-day schedule is slated to begin later this month and will apply to corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, oats, ethanol, soybean oil and soybean meal.

http://www.cmegroup.com/trading/agricultural/files/cbot_hour_extention_faq_5-4-12.pdf

CME Group Adds Ethanol to Expanded CBOT Grain and Oilseed Trading Hours on CME Globex - May 3, 2012

Effective May 20, 2012, for trade date May 21, 2012, electronic trading hours for CBOT Corn, Mini-Sized Corn, Soybeans, Mini-Sized Soybeans, Wheat, Mini-Sized Wheat, Soybean Meal, Soybean Oil, Rough Rice, Oats, and Ethanol futures and options plus all related calendar spread options and inter-commodity spread options will be extended to:

Sunday to Monday, 5:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT
Monday to Friday, 6:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT.

Futures Magazine - April 2012

Yamato · May 5, 2012

H2O Car - Water Powered Car - YouTube

Water-fuelled car - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yamato · May 5, 2012

Gas Hole - YouTube

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gashole#Synopsis

The documentary starts with describing of the technology that they claim has been 'buried and hidden, despite of its ability of gas mileage improvement in cars and also reducing oil consumption'.

Ok, so here's my understanding of these last few weeks of research. Oil has already peaked (in 2006) and yet consumption will only keep on going up. So we're headed for disaster (not enough oil for everyone needing it). However, word doesn't get out because the world is run by oil companies which do not want to hurt their immediate profit, which would happen if alternative sources of energy became effective, so executives use all means possible (even murder) to keep that from happening. And since they only care about their salary now and not about what happens to the rest of the world now and later, the heads of these companies are setting the world up for disaster. But things may not be irreparable: it all depends on when the politicians will break free from the oil companies, and curb their greed for profit. If they break free soon enough, all the knowledge necessary to use other sources of energy will also resurface, and then the world will adapt (in the US, transportation accounts for 75% of oil consumption: this need could simply go to zero). But if the politicians have their hands tied (by these lobbies) and the public is blindfolded by the oil company executives until the last minute, then the world will not have time to adapt. But even in that case - even if they keep hiding the truth until the end - probably oil prices will still rise, and that will in turn force the world to adapt, little by little, just in time to avoid disaster.

Whether I am wrong or right about how the world will adapt, I think we will keep on seeing rising oil prices until it all runs out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirsch_report
http://www.acus.org/docs/051007-Hirsch_World_Oil_Production.pdf

Concluding Remarks
Over the past century, world economic development has been
fundamentally shaped by the availability of abundant, low-cost oil. Previous
energy transitions (wood to coal, coal to oil, etc.) were gradual and
evolutionary; oil peaking will be abrupt and revolutionary.
The world has never faced a problem like this. Without massive
mitigation at least a decade before the fact, the problem will be pervasive
and long lasting.
Oil peaking represents a liquid fuels problem, not an “energy crisis” in
the sense that term has been used. Accordingly, mitigation of declining
world oil production must be narrowly focused, at least in the near-term.
A number of technologies are currently available for immediate
implementation once there is the requisite determination to act.
Governments worldwide will have to take the initiative on a timely basis,
and it may already be too late to avoid considerable discomfort or worse.
Countries that dawdle will suffer from lost opportunities, because in every
crisis, there are always opportunities for those that act decisively.
The world is faced with a daunting risk management problem.

http://vimeo.com/34571708

Yamato · May 6, 2012

Why US natural gas prices are so low – Are changes needed? | Our Finite World

Natural gas prices in Europe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Prices of natural gas for end-consumers vary greatly throughout Europe.[16] One of the main objectives of the projected single EU energy market, is a common pricing structure for gas products. Europe's main natural gas supplier is Russia. Since the major pipelines pass through Ukraine there is an ever arising dispute on the supply and transition prices between Ukraine and Russia.

Now Is The Time To Invest In Natural Gas | Forexpros

...Right now, there is no pathway for U.S. gas to reach higher paying markets. But exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are right around the corner. That will be a game-changer, where if nothing else, arbitrage will cause global prices to converge.

Japan Says in Talks to Start Importing LNG From Continental U.S. - Bloomberg

Japan, the world’s biggest importer of liquefied natural gas, is in talks to start shipping the fuel from the continental U.S. after the ***ushima disaster last year shut most of the country’s nuclear power plants.

Japan is seeking to buy part of the combined 30 million metric tons a year of LNG to be shipped from Cameron in Louisiana, Cove Point in Maryland and Freeport in Texas, Hisayoshi Ando, director general of natural resources and fuel at the trade ministry, said in an interview.

LNG imports have risen as only two of Japan’s 54 reactors are operating after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered the worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl. Increased U.S. gas output from shale formations drove prices to a 10-year low and led owners of LNG import terminals to consider exports.

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Anxious Japan prepares for life without nuclear power