www.vheadline.com Posted: Friday, February 21, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

President Hugo Chavez Frias says he is very pleased with the arrest of Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Fedecamaras) president Carlos Fernandez the DISIP security police has carried out and is calling for other magistrates to issue similar arrest orders against other leaders of the two month work stoppage that began on December 2 before being called off in all sectors except the petroleum industry, with thousands of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) workers still striking, although most of whom have now been fired.

• "One of the coup-plotters was arrested last night, it was about time, and see how the others are now running to hide!"

The President then called for similar arrests, telling magistrates "don't be afraid to issue arrest warrants against other coup-plotters."

As for the Fernandez' arrest, the President said that when he heard the news late in the evening "I went to bed with a smile."

www.vheadline.com Posted: Friday, February 21, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

VHeadline.com Business Editor Robert Rudnicki writes: Although the detention of Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Fedecamaras) president Carlos Fernandez has obviously shocked most people in Venezuela and many overseas observers, is it really such a surprise?

President Hugo Chavez Frias has been threatening to take action against the strike leaders for many many weeks, so it is probably only surprising that it has taken this long to materialize.

When Fernandez and Confederation of Trade Unions (CTV) president Carlos Ortega called for Venezuelans not to pay their taxes not long after their work stoppage commenced on December 2 they were both obviously feeling as if they were in control and safe in the assumption that they would soon be victorious in their quest to oust the President, so confident they obviously failed to get legal advice.

• It now seems this confidence was misguided as the strike failed in all but the petroleum sector and even that is slowly but surely recovering.

Since then the President has consolidated power, brought oil production to somewhere approaching two million barrels per day, sacked over 12,000 Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) workers and launched action against the opposition media, so surely now was as good a time as any to have the two Carloses arrested.

Although the arrest was not carried out in the most conventional manner, the circumstances are hardly the most conventional eother. Initial claims were made surrounding the lack of a warrant, which have already proved to be completely false.

What we now need to focus on is whether or not the two men have done anything illegal. As OAS secretary general Cesar Gaviria said in his statement on the subject, an independent hearing needs to be achieved to decide if the two men have a case to answer, if they do then they should not be above the law ... if they don't they they should be freed.

www.forbes.com Reuters, 02.21.03, 4:16 AM ET SINGAPORE, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Oil prices rebounded on Friday from a sharp fall, with an eye on slim fuel stocks and cold weather in the United States and next week's diplomatic play at the United Nations over a possible war in crude exporter Iraq. U.S. light crude climbed 51 cents to $35.25 a barrel. In London, benchmark Brent crude leapt 43 cents at the open to $31.99 a barrel, partly reversing a 67-cent fall on Thursday. Thursday's sharp drop in prices came as U.S. crude inventories showed a modest gain from 28-year lows and traders moved to collect profits after six days in a row of gains, which saw oil hit a 29-month peak above $37. "After yesterday's very sharp sell off, the market is really trying to adjust but it's not easy to trade at the moment. This is really a technical rebound," said Lawrence Eagles at London-based GNI-Man Research. Analysts said crude was unlikely to come under significant downward pressure as much of the United States remained blanketed by snow, pushing up demand for winter heating fuels. National stocks of heating oil are running at about 40 million barrels, almost 31 percent below levels a year ago, government statistics released on Thursday showed. Total crude inventories are just three million barrels above the minimum required 270 million barrels to ensure operation of U.S. refineries. Gasoline tanks are also on a contra-seasonal decline as refiners raise output of heating fuels, which has ignited concerns of a possible supply crunch at the pump in summer months when vacation season is in full swing. Apart from winter demand, U.S. stocks have also been crimped by a cut in supplies from Venezuela, which is struggling to bring its oil exports back to normal from the ongoing anti-government strike, now in its 11th week. Venezuela used to supply 13 percent of U.S. oil imports before the strike.

DIPLOMATIC PLAY Adding to concerns over tight oil supplies is the possibility of a military attack on Iraq, the world's eight biggest crude exporter, and potential disruptions to crude flows from other Middle East producers. The region supplies about 40 percent of globally traded crude oil. The United States said on Thursday that it had amassed a big enough military force in the Gulf region to launch an invasion of Iraq, if President George W. Bush decides to go to war. Washington plans to propose a new resolution to the U.N. Security Council next week, authorising a strike against Baghdad to force it to give up any banned weapons it has hidden. But the United States, backed by ally Britain, is likely to face strong opposition from France, Russia and China, who want U.N. arms inspectors to be given more time to search for Iraq's alleged stockpiles of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons. Baghdad denies it has such weapons. The new draft resolution is expected to say Iraq is in "further material breach" of a November 8 resolution, wording that Washington and London claim can be used as justification for war.

www.delawareonline.com By MAUREEN MILFORD Staff reporter 02/21/2003

In a clear indication that world events are dampening Delaware's economy, 40 percent of manufacturers in the region said geopolitical uncertainties are impeding their 2003 hiring and spending plans, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported Thursday.

As part of its monthly survey of the region's manufacturing sector, the bank asked 100 companies in Delaware, southern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania about the impact of world politics on their businesses. The threat of a war with Iraq, domestic turmoil in Venezuela, terrorism and rising tensions between the United States and North Korea are among the unsettled questions affecting the economy, the bank said.

Most companies - 58 percent - said lack of business demand has been a drag on hiring and capital spending, but two out of five businesses said world events are having an adverse affect.

Of the group concerned about geopolitical uncertainties, 79 percent said the negative impact on hiring is slight, while 12 percent characterized it as significant.

When it comes to capital spending, or expenditures on land, buildings, equipment, furniture and fixtures, 36 percent of the regional companies reported a significant harmful impact from geopolitical uncertainties, while another 58 percent reported the impact as slight.

In recent weeks, economists have said Delaware's economy will not pick up steam until the crisis with Iraq has been resolved. Unlike other economic recoveries that followed recessions since World War II, employment and business investment have not rebounded. That has led some economists to call it a jobless recovery.

Once geopolitical questions are eliminated, 59 percent of the businesses said they would increase hiring within six months and 10 percent said hiring would grow immediately. In addition, 53 percent said capital spending would increase within six months.

As for its monthly survey of manufacturing health, the Philadelphia Fed reported that its general business activity index fell to 2.3 in February, down from 11.2 in January and well below economists' expectations for the month.

"Although manufacturers still expect economic conditions to improve over the next six months, they have generally grown much less optimistic," the bank said.

The Philadelphia Fed, which has been doing a monthly business outlook survey since 1968, said it surveys the manufacturing sector because it is one of the first sectors to feel the effects of an economic downturn.

The Fed's monthly indexes, covering current activity, employment, shipments, inventories and prices, show the difference between the percentage of manufacturers that saw increases and percentage of companies that saw declines.

Simply put, anything above zero signals growth, while a negative number indicates a contraction, according to Katherine Woodbury, spokeswoman for the bank.

Manufacturing employment in February remained negative with the index at minus 0.9. However, that's an improvement from minus 6.1 in January.

Looking ahead six months, the future employment index rose to 16 from 5.4.

The index for future capital spending also rose, from 9.5 in January to 12.9 in February.

Reach Maureen Milford at 324-2881 or at mmilford@delawareonline.com.

www.troyrecord.com By:, The Associated Press February 21, 2003

The middle of winter looks more like the heart of summer at gas stations nationwide, as fuel prices surge past $2 a gallon in some places and motorists grumble about being gouged.

Political instability in Venezuela and the prospect of war in Iraq are triggering price hikes that normally don't kick in until the peak driving season. And experts warn prices could shoot up even more as the political situations and the weather heat up. The average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded, $1.66, has risen 56 cents since the beginning of the year. But because wholesale gas prices have increased just 14 cents over the same period of time, some consumers suspect oil companies are trying to cash in on market uncertainties. "I think it's just an excuse to raise prices," said Corina Alba, 22, of Anaheim, Calif. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., called on the Federal Trade Commission this week to investigate industry practices. In a letter to FTC chairman Timothy Muris, the senator said: "It appears as if price gouging is taking place across the country." The American Automobile Association supports Schumer's request, but stopped short of using the word gouging. "We feel that most of the increase has been due to fear and speculation, rather than any change in the supply or demand for crude oil or gasoline," AAA spokesman Jeff Sunstrom said. Regardless of the reasons, Sunstrom said today's high prices could be a harbinger of even costlier fuel by the end of April. Tom Kloza, director of Oil Price Information Service, a Lakewood, N.J., publisher of industry data, said the imports lost after Venezuela's oil workers went on strike in December have not been adequately replaced and that could be a problem when the weather heats up and demand rises. Gas prices typically rise during spring, when refiners shift from winter- to summer-grade fuel. The switch to cleaner-burning gas requires shutting down equipment, scrubbing it clean and starting it up all over again - a process that causes supplies to contract and prices to move higher even under the best conditions. The impact of this switch already has been magnified by the possibility of a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, analysts said. The petroleum industry contends gasoline prices are higher mainly because of traders' fears of supply disruptions in the event of a war in Iraq and the impact of the Venezuelan oil strike. "The fundamental thing is that crude prices have gone up dramatically," said John Felmy, chief economist at the American Petroleum Institute. About 40 percent of the retail cost of gasoline is attributed to the price of crude oil, which has risen 19 percent since the start of the year to $36.79 per barrel. Gas station owners say they are frustrated by accusations of profiteering and insist they are not to blame. They say suppliers have been raising their "rack" prices for weeks and that station owners are merely passing along those increases to customers. "I realize that the price of a barrel of oil has gone up tremendously, but the way that rack prices have gone up for the last two weeks is just not right," said Richard Loeber, owner of a gas station in Union Beach, N.J. Loeber said his supplier has raised the rack price by 16 cents a gallon in less than three weeks and that he has maintained his 8-cent-per-gallon margin all along. "People know they're getting gouged, but believe me, it's not from the dealers," Loeber said.