sg.biz.yahoo.com Saturday March 22, 1:31 AM By Masood Farivar OF DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--U.S. crude oil prices stretched their losses Friday, falling to a new three-month low as the U.S.-led coalition seemed to be making rapid progress against the Iraqi regime.

Admiral Michael Boyce, chief of the British defense staff, confirmed that allied forces had secured all key components of the oil fields in southern Iraq, including the strategic port in the southern Iraqi city of Umm Qasr and the nearby al-Faw peninsula - Iraq's access point to the Persian Gulf and the site of major oil facilities. Only seven wells had been set ablaze by Iraqi forces, not the original estimate of 30, Boyce said.

"This alleviates fears that there would be wide-scale destruction of the oil wells in Iraq," said Peter Beutel, an analyst at Cameron Hanover. "It is going to put additional selling pressure on the market."

About 60% of Iraq's oil production comes from the rich fields near the southern city of Basrah, and about half of the country's U.N.-sanctioned oil exports flow through the Persian Gulf port of Mina al-Bakr.

Iraq's 1.7 million barrels a day in exports have effectively stopped, though oil from the country's northern fields continues to flow through a pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The seizure of the southern oil fields raised hopes that Iraqi oil there could start flowing again shortly, analysts said.

Northern Fields Said Contested

May light, sweet crude oil futures fell as much as $1.42 at the New York Mercantile Exchange to a low of $26.70 a barrel, the lowest price for a contract nearest to expiration since Dec. 4. May Brent blend futures fell as much as $1.10 to a low of $24.40.

A sustained drop in oil prices would be welcome news for the U.S. economy, which has been struggling to mount a recovery while burdened with high energy costs, and U.S. consumers, who are paying record prices for gasoline.

Control of oil fields in Northern Iraq was still being contested. ABC News reported that U.S. forces were still conducting air strikes near the northern city of Kirkuk and that there were several fires burning in the area.

Oil prices rallied briefly in New York and London Thursday on reports that some oil wells in southern Iraq were on fire, raising concerns about long-term damage to Iraq's production capabilities.

But such concerns have been swamped by expectations that the war won't greatly affect oil output or transport in the Persian Gulf. A lack of wider disruptions could cause the market to get flooded with extra oil pumped by producers to head off a supply shortage, traders fear.

"World energy supplies are more than adequate to compensate for any disruption these acts may cause," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Thursday.

Nymex crude oil futures, after soaring to nearly $40 a barrel ahead of the war, have dropped 28% in the past seven trading days in what more or less has been a replay of the first Persian Gulf War. Then, oil prices fell by a third on the day after the air attack began.

The price decline has come as officials in both producing and consuming countries reassured the market that they won't allow supply shortages to develop.

Supply Disruptions Minimal

In a departure from the events of the Persian Gulf War in 1991, however, neither the International Energy Agency, the Paris-based energy watchdog for the West, nor the U.S. has ordered the release of crude oil from their strategic reserves, saying supply disruptions haven't been sufficient to warrant the step.

U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said Friday that global oil production has remained steady despite the loss of Iraqi and some Venezuelan output.

Analysts said such comments helped assuage fears that a war in Iraq - which produces 3% of the world's oil - could create severe supply shortages.

"Assuming that everything goes well, the fundamentals look fairly bearish," said Aaron Brady, an analyst at Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Mass. "OPEC is pumping at a high rate, Venezuela is back, and even if Iraqi oil is cut off for some period of time, it is manageable."

The possibility of further prices declines is of concern to OPEC members, who have already begun to talk about the need to cut output to head off a plunge in prices.

"If prices go through the floor, we will decide about cutting production in the same way that we put oil in the market when prices go through the roof," OPEC Secretary-General Alvero Silva said.

-By Masood Farivar, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2094; masood.farivar@downones.com

Get Smart’ will help you do just that

www.communitynewspapers.com By Adam Shaffer

Carole Bernstein went out shopping for a few toys, but came back with an entire store instead.

“I was looking for a place to purchase educational toys for my own child and I couldn’t find very much,” said Bernstein. “I decided to open my own store because I have a PhD in elementary education and I knew what I wanted.”

That was back in 1979. The first store was one block away from the current West Kendall location at 8700 SW 137 Ct. and was only 2,000 square feet, only one-seventh the size of the current store in that area. Another Get Smart is located in Miami-Dade at 11751 S. Dixie Hwy. in Pinecrest. The operation has two other locations, one in Pembroke Pines and another in Palm Beach Gardens.

“We supply teachers with the materials that they need for the classroom from chalkboards to chairs, to the bulletin boards to decorations and all of the reading materials to help them with their lesson plans,” said Bernstein. “We have practically all of the supplementary educational materials that a teacher could need.”

According to Bernstein, most teachers spend on average $250 a year out of their own pocket on school supplies. Students can find books to help with math skills and reading comprehension, along with FCAT test prep materials. A wide range of school supplies is available for any type of school project.

A 500-page catalog is mailed to all area schools with their needs in mind, but it is just not teachers that buy at Get Smart. Bernstein lists cruise ship playrooms, hotels and jail libraries among her customers. She adds that employee award certificates and stickers are popular with local businesses. The store has a special Christian section that caters to churches and vacation Bible schools.

Bernstein wants people to know that there are a lot of fun things in stock, something they might not expect from a store specializing in educational items.

“Now, since Sept. 11, people are staying home more with their kids and bonding with them,” she said. “As far as activities that are great for the whole family to do, besides puzzles, we have games for adults like Tantrix, priced at only $5.95. It’s a set of tiles and you have to keep making a line, and as you add more tiles it keeps changing and making closed curves.”

The age range for the games available at Get Smart begins at the infant/toddler stage. For example, a game called Mr. Mighty Mind prepares three-year-olds for an IQ test. The learning of foreign languages is promoted through a selection of CDs, videos and talking dolls.

Although Bernstein is proud of the store’s toys and games, she is quick to make the distinction between her store and a toy store.

“A toy store will have everything,” she said. “We, on the other hand, select things based on how they will enhance a child’s development. There has to be a very good reason for something to go on our shelves.”

Customer service is important to Bernstein, from her trained staff, many of who are tutors, education majors or retired teachers, to ensuring satisfaction with items before they are purchased.

“We will open any package for you so that you can see what you are getting,” said Bernstein. “We will play any video or if you want to try out a computer program you can put it in and look at it before you buy it.”

If a customer can’t find the item they are looking for at Get Smart, either in-store or online, Bernstein and her staff will search for it.

We really try to get anything the person needs if it’s educationally related,” she said. “We will call all around the country to find your specific item. There is no request that we don’t try to fulfill.”

Get Smart can export products to Central and South America and distributors sell the store’s merchandise in Panama, Nicaragua, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. Camp care packages can be put together as well as get-well baskets. And although there are thousands of items at Get Smart, there are some things you won’t  find.

“I’m pretty good at picking educationally sound products,” said Bernstein. “You won’t find violence here, we promote peace. We screen everything before we stock it; we try it and check it out. We are very careful as far as safety is concerned.”

One way Get Smart gives back to the community is by keeping track of the purchases made by everyone on their mailing list and then two percent of each total is donated to a school, church or other non-profit organization at the discretion of the customer.

Bernstein and her buyer reach out to students by making career day presentations on how a store works. A free lamination service is offered to reinforce positive effort in local schools.

“If there’s something in the newspaper about your child that is good news, you can bring it in and we will laminate your article for free,” said Bernstein. “We are committed to congratulating children on their success.”

For more information, please call 305-378-0834 or log on to www.getsmart.biz

www.bangkokpost.com Yuthana Praiwan

Security measures have been beefed up at all petroleum-related installations across the country in the wake of US troops invading Iraq.

Energy Minister Prommin Lertsuridej met yesterday with senior executives of all oil companies and power plant operators to discuss precautionary measures to prevent sabotage attempts on oil depots, refineries, power plants, oil transport system, oil and gas pipelines and onshore and offshore oil drilling platforms.

Dr Prommin warned operators to thoroughly check all equipment and systems related to alarms, fire extinguishers and safety.

As well, the oil companies were asked to put in place contingency plans to secure enough oil supplies in case the war did not end quickly.

The terrorism concerns arose after Thailand expelled three Iraqi diplomats and a report from a western news agency that the country was a silent supporter of the US military action.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Wednesday said Thailand would not commit any troops or other forms of support to the campaign in Iraq.

``All oil refineries have fully met the 5% oil reserve as required while those previously shut down for annual maintenance have already started their operations. So, disruption of oil supplies is no worry,'' said Dr Prommin.

Shell and Caltex have increased security at their refineries, oil depots and offices to as high as that seen after the Sept 11, 2001 events.

Tiraphot Vajarabhaya, chairman of Shell Company in Thailand, said Shell had sought co-operation from the police to provide security to its facilities and was making regular contacts with foreign embassies to help provide information about possible terrorism and sabotage attempts.

On the oil supply side, Mr Tiraphot said he was confident that oil procurement would continue as usual if no untoward events took place.

``Our parent company abroad has promises to supply sufficient oil to Thailand,'' he said.

If the war was not swift, Mr Tiraphot said he was uncertain whether oil prices would rise, since global supplies remained high.

Opec has also reaffirmed its intention to produce more oil to make up for the loss of Iraqi oil.

Mr Tiraphot also downplayed concerns that the reported burning of oil wells in Iraq would trigger a price jump. ``We should take the supply and demand into account before jumping to such a conclusion,'' he said.

He believed global oil supplies would not be disrupted despite the absence of 2.4 million barrels per day of output from Iraq, as Opec still produced 30 million barrels per day.

In addition, Venezuela has resumed its oil production of two million barrels per day after a protracted civil dispute.

A Unocal Thailand source said the company had increased security measures at its six gas production and exploration platforms in the Gulf of Thailand. The company had sought co-operation from security agencies and the Royal Thai Navy.

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) had also raised the security level of its power plants to 200+2 from 200+1.The maximum level is 200+3.

Vincent Boland: This bull isn't running

news.ft.com Published: March 21 2003 17:35 | Last Updated: March 21 2003 17:35

It looks like we've had our "war rally". In the few days since it became obvious that diplomacy at the United Nations had failed and that a US-led attack on Iraq was inevitable, the S&P 500 index has risen 9 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average 9.6 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite 10 per cent.

These figures are impressive enough to be 12-month returns, though they apply only since March 12. Tobias Levkovich at Salomon Smith Barney has written about how the market can expect "short but vigorous rallies" in what is essentially a war environment (Iraq, Afghanistan, terrorism).

This week's was one, based on the view that the imminence of war suggested the beginning of the end of the Iraq crisis; there will be more in the weeks ahead. It was also the longest daily winning streak for nearly three years, which shows just how volatile trading has been since the start of the bear market.

And that is not the only good news: oil prices have fallen by 20 per cent; the yield on long-dated US Treasury bonds has risen by 40 basis points; and the US dollar is improving against the yen and the euro. Financially, when it comes to war, what is not to like?

Rather a lot, according to a queue of Wall Street observers. For a start, they point out that stock prices are going nowhere. Market rallies such as the one we saw this week are the equivalent of running to stand still. Since the start of the year, the Dow and the S&P 500 index are slightly down (roughly 0.5 per cent each).

Only the Nasdaq stock market has posted a gain - of a respectable 5 per cent, symptomatic of the short- term, trade-the-volatility nature of the market in the past few months.

According to David Bowers, the chief investment strategist at Merrill Lynch, investors are still extremely risk-averse, though sensitive to any change in the perception of that risk. He ascribes this week's rally to just such a change. "Any slight reduction in risk will see money go into the market," he says.

According to Merrill's latest survey, investors believe the US market is the most expensive relative to other major regions, in spite of an ostensibly improving outlook for corporate profits. Some 46 per cent of investors say the US market is fairly valued and 22 per cent believe it is overvalued. This is not the basis for a resumption of the equity bull market.

Investors consider that stocks elsewhere are cheap, but not necessarily a "buy". They also are "unambiguously bearish" about long-term interest rates and the economy. Almost two-thirds of the investors surveyed believe that global bond markets are over- valued.

This suggests that the end of the bull market in bonds may simply have been postponed rather than cancelled, because of the current uncertainty.

On the broader economic front, there is little evidence that capital spending is being increased; there is even less reason to believe that an end to the war will be the stimulus required to get it going again.

So, with little basis for the view that the market is about to benefit from a post-war recovery, the attack on Iraq is entirely marginal to the fate of stock prices.

The post-UN rally has already in effect run out of steam as investors were reminded that some of the longer-term problems that plague the market have not gone away.

The crisis in Venezuela is merely on hold while North Korea bubbles in the background. There is also the unsettling prospect of what the rift in transatlantic relations means in the longer term.

www.upi.com By Hil Anderson UPI Chief Energy Correspondent From the National Desk Published 3/21/2003 7:13 PM

LOS ANGELES, March 21 (UPI) -- Oil prices continued in a virtual freefall, dropping more than $1 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in unusually bearish trading for a Friday when the vital Persian Gulf was at war as American and British forces rolled through the southern oilfields of Iraq.

NYMEX had been expected to test downward resistance at $27 per barrel and did just that, closing at $26.91, down $1.21 on the day and nearly $9 below the end of last week. Heating oil and gasoline both dipped around 6 cents per gallon.

Traders generally tend to buy up oil on Fridays during times of uncertainty so as not to be caught short if the situation deteriorates and prices soar over the weekend. The past week, however, has been primarily bearish with the market looking ahead to a quick end to the campaign and the erasure of the "war premium" that has tacked around $4 to the price of a barrel of crude and has sent gasoline prices sky-high at the pump.

World wartime oil production this week was only slightly below what it had been last November, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said Friday in his latest announcement aimed at reassuring nervous energy markets and consumers.

Abraham said that OPEC production as of Thursday was 26.5 million barrels per day, less than a half-million barrels below output levels seen last November.

"This is despite losing all production from Iraq and also incurring other production losses from Venezuela and Nigeria," Abraham pointed out. "Working with International Energy Agency partners, we continue to monitor global oil market conditions. We appreciate the continued commitment by oil producing countries to ensure stability in the world oil markets."

On the military front, U.S. and British forces secured the southern port of Umm Qasar and were reportedly pressuring the larger oil city of Basra. The Basra, Umm Qasar and the nearby tanker terminal at Mina al-Bakar will give the allies control of Iraq's deep-water harbors on the Persian Gulf.

Umm Qasar is located downriver from Basra and the southern oilfields that allied troops moved into on Friday. Although said to be in a state of disrepair, Umm Qasar was nevertheless functional up until the start of the war and could be ramped up in order to handle both supplies for post-war reconstruction and oil exports that will help pay for the task. Mina al-Bakar was heavily damaged in the first Gulf War but was one of the few oil facilities Saddam Hussein's regime repaired in the subsequent years and is the only Iraqi port on the Persian Gulf capable of accommodating larger oceangoing tankers.