Market Currents

• Wednesday, December 2, 2009

• 12:12 PM No. 3 European oil producer Total SA (TOT) will reach out to national oil companies in China, Russia and Brazil to raise output, while setting investment in 2010 at $18B, about the same as this year. Comment!

• Friday, November 27, 2009

• 11:47 AM Tumbling crude futures (now -3.4%, to $75.35/barrel) are taking their toll on oil stocks - notably Exxon Mobil (XOM -1.8%), Chevron (CVX -1.6%), BP (BP -2.1%), ConocoPhillips (COP -1.9%) and Total (TOT -2.6%). Comment!

• Wednesday, November 4, 2009

• 00:05 AM Notable premarket earnings: ABK, ADP, AGU, BDX, BHI, CMCSA, DVN, FWLT, GRMN, HUN, IAG, LIZ, MFA, MMC, PHM, PWR, RDN, RIG, RRD, TAP, TEL, TOT, TRW, TWX, WTR, XTO 1 Comment

• Monday, November 2, 2009

• 10:27 AM ExxonMobil (XOM) pays C$250M ($230M) for UTS Energy's stakes in three oil-sands prospects in western Canada. UTS beat off a hostile takeover bid by Total (TOT) in April. Comment!

• Tuesday, September 29, 2009

• 15:48 PM Analysts are skeptical of reports CNOOC (CEO) is bidding for a 6B-barrel, $30B stake in Nigeria's oil fields. A direct sale by the government would be highly disruptive to the block, of which Western majors (RDS.A, CVX, XOM, COP, TOT, ENI) already own 50%. And if CNOOC is planning to turn directly to its rivals, what might they be willing to sell? Comment!
• 07:35 AM Sources say Chinese state-owned oil company CNOOC (CEO) is in talks with Nigeria to buy a large stake in some of Africa's richest oil blocks, at a possible value of $30B. A successful buy would put CNOOC in competition with western oil majors with a strong presence in the area (TOT, RDS.A, CVX, XOM). 2 Comments

• Friday, September 4, 2009

• 12:01 PM Morgan Stanley lifts French oil giant Total (TOT +1.6%) to Buy, saying it replaces BP (BP) as the "fastest growing large-cap next year" and saying it has "little to call in terms of valuation." With sentiment at a low point, "it can only improve from here," firm says. Comment!

• Friday, July 31, 2009

• 08:30 AM Total (TOT): Q2 net profit of €2.17B, less than half of €4.73B last year. Adjusted profit of €1.72B (-54%), in line with consensus. Sales of €31.43B (-35%). European refining margins narrowed 69% from a year ago. (DJ) Comment!
• 00:05 AM Notable earnings before Friday's open: AEP, AGN, AIV, AN, CEG, CVX, D, ITT, PEG, PKD, SRE, TOT, WY Comment!

• Wednesday, May 27, 2009

• 08:28 AM Shell's (RDS.A) restructuring is a case of too-little-too-late, ING's Jason Kenney says, though it's good they're admitting "their overheads are too heavy and costs unsustainable." Rivals Total (TOT) and ExxonMobil (XOM) already have similar plans in place; today's announcement is an admission Shell has no clear line of sight. "It's going to be a slow-burn restructuring process." Comment!

• Friday, April 24, 2009

• 09:02 AM Premarket gainers: DDR +34%. F +24%. RVBD +13%. CAKE +13%. RAD +12%. INFA +11%. STAR +10%. AXP +9%. JNPR +8%. HMY +7%. TS +6%. GFI +6%. SLB +6%. LVS +5%. FIG +4%. FIG +4%. MSFT +4%. TOT +4%.
  Losers: UCBH -19%. IBKR -15%. CPN -9%. CYBS -8%. MAR -4%. ACI -4%. NFLX -3%. VOD -3%. SD -3%. Comment!

• Tuesday, April 14, 2009

• 09:01 AM Premarket losers: AIB -11%. QGEN -8%. ABK -8%. RBS -7%. SXL -6%. MT -4%. AXA -5%. TS -4%. MS -4%. AXP -3%. GS -3%. IFX -4%. CS -3%. TOT -3%. USB -3%. BP -3%. UN -3%. AAUK -3%. RDS.A -3%. Comment!

• Thursday, February 12, 2009

• 11:21 AM Total (TOT): Q4 net profit fell 8% to €2.87B, beating consensus estimates of €2.63B. Total notes "how solid its E&P prospects still look" and says the company's a "good, low-risk core holding." TOT +0.2%. (PR) Comment!

• Monday, January 26, 2009

• 09:52 AM Stocks moving on Barron's recommendations: ORLY +3.1%. KYO +2.5%. HNZ +3.25%. XOM +1.1%. TOT +3.9%. BP +2.1%. Comment!

• Friday, December 19, 2008

• 08:46 AM Premarket losers: IPI -14%. HL -7%. GNW -5%. GFI -5%. AUY -5%. SLW -5%. FLR -4%. RTP -4%. POT -4%. RBS -3%. ABX -3%. TOT -3%. SAY -3%. BP -3%. Comment!

• Wednesday, December 10, 2008

• 10:31 AM Total (TOT), Europe's third-largest oil company, says it needs crude oil at $85-$90/barrel to make its Canadian oilsands projects profitable.The firm also cited falling crude for an H2 that will be worse than H1. Comment!