The Japan Times OnlineBy JANE REES Love was in the air a few days ago on the sun-kissed Hawaiian island of Maui when Tokyo's Taro Koki took as his bride the lovely and glamorous Malena Carolina Bello Bolivar of Tokyo and Caracas, Venezuela.

The wedding took place at the scenic Sky Ranch, holiday home of Sky Lewis, who generously made it available for the late-afternoon nuptials. Breathtaking beauty surrounded the trellised marriage arbor bedecked with fragrant plumeria blossoms, gentle waves crested on the Pacific shore below the terraced gardens, and now and then soft tropical showers blessed the newlyweds. (The Greeks have a phrase for wedding-day rain: "Showers promise fertility for the good earth and also for the bride and groom.")

Friends and relatives of Malena and Taro arrived from far and wide to celebrate with the happy pair. Accidental guests included inquisitive neighbors as well as the stern but good-natured local police, who made sure that the "drop-ins" behaved. Never mind, Taro's adorable kimono-clad mother, Eiko, and courtly father, Takamitsu, graciously bowed to the uninvited, while Taro presented the leader of the local group with a beautiful flower lei. Very nice.

Meanwhile, all the guests were also merrily given ceremonial white plumeria wedding leis by the bride's niece Fabiana Lucas and nephew Guillermo Andres Lucas. The youngsters were accompanied to the wedding by their parents, Fabiola (Malena's sister) and Guillermo Sr. In addition, Senora Elena Bolivar, the very beautiful mother of Malena, came from Caracas to see her daughter married in Maui. Malena is, of course you all must know, a highly successful fashion model. . . . She was attended by her sister and Taro's sister Yoko, along with Frances Van Rensburg (another Tokyo model), who comes from South Africa.

I do declare, I have never seen so many good-looking people all in one place. I know that I have told you before that Taro and Malena have been nicknamed the "movie star" couple by Japan's famous artist Toko Shinoda.

Taro is as charming as he is good-looking; he is also the enterprising founder and president of Zigzag Asia. Takamitsu Koki was dispatched three different times by Mitsui Bussan to the U.S., and Taro attended school in New York, Houston and Chicago, returning to Japan and then graduating from Waseda University.

His friends also came from all over to attend the wedding. Francisco Gomez de la Torres, a Houston classmate of Taro's, was best man. Born in Ecuador, Francisco now lives in San Francisco. Masa Kuji, another classmate of Taro's and an usher at the wedding, and his bride, Naomi, have just bought a house in Palos Verdes, Calif.

As the sun was setting over the Pacific Ocean, some gorgeous hula dancers wriggled and swayed . . . and then all those handsome men I have been writing about took to the floor and hulaed away. It was some party to remember. Norman Tolman flew in from Boston, and caused a stir in a fabulous summer kimono. He, too, wanted to join the hula dancers, but the kimono wouldn't wriggle.

Until the next time . . .

The Japan Times: June 7, 2003

Fri June 6, 2003 11:21 AM ET (Adds analyst comment, detail)

NEW YORK, June 6 (<a href=reuters.com>Reuters) - Shares of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. APC.N fell as much as 7 percent in early Friday trade after the independent oil and gas producer reduced its 2003 output forecast for the second time this year, indicating no growth in output from last year.

Anadarko, the second-largest U.S. independent following Devon Energy Corp. DVN.A , late Thursday announced it was lowering its 2003 production targets by 5 percent to 190 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) from 200 million boe. That is essentially flat with 2002 volumes.

The Houston-based company blamed the shortfall on "production problems" in the Gulf of Mexico, Algeria and Qatar. Anadarko shares were down $2.08, or 4.4 percent, to $45.28 in morning trade.

Equity analysts reduced their ratings on Anadarko and expressed concern that Anadarko now has twice revised its forecasts this year, losing credibility with investors.

At an April 30 investor conference, Anadarko Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Allison reaffirmed the company would meet production goals. The company on January 31 reduced its output goal by 3 million to 200 million boe, citing the impact of higher prices and the oil-worker strike in Venezuela

Merrill Lynch analyst John Herrlin, who downgraded Anadarko to "neutral" to "buy" today, told clients most of the shortfall was due to temporary glitches. However problems in the Gulf of Mexico could set the company back next year as well.

Banc of America Securities analyst Robert Morris concurred, telling investors, "While the problems in Algeria and Qatar can be resolved, the offshore Gulf is still being evaluated but will most likely impact 2004 volumes."

In response Herrlin reduced his 2003 earnings estimate to $5.07 a share from $5.65 a share and cut his 2004 forecast to $4.12 a share from $4.85.

Morris, who rates the company "buy," though he cut his earnings forecast to $4.75 a share from $5.45 and next year's forecast to $3.90 a share from $4.40. Morris reduced his price target for Anadarko shares by $4 to $50.

Anadarko was expected to earn $5.22 and $4.43, according to the average analyst estimate compiled by Reuters Research.

In a statement yesterday, Anadarko emphasized that earnings would be stronger than expected thanks to high energy prices. The company also touted a gas discovery at its third eastern Gulf of Mexico deepwater prospect, Atlas, and that it expected to soon announce a $200 million acquisition.

By Myra P. Saefong, <a href=cbs.marketwatch.com>CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 3:20 PM ET June 6, 2003

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Oil futures closed above $31 a barrel Friday to end the week with a 6 percent gain ahead of OPEC's decision on production levels next week.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for July delivery traded as high as $31.15 a barrel, a level not seen in futures prices since April 1. The contract closed at $31.28 a barrel, up 54 cents. It ended last week at $29.56.

July unleaded gasoline also rose by 0.83 cent to close at 89.35 cents a gallon and July heating oil closed at 78.18 cents a gallon, up 0.95 cent.

OPEC members are scheduled to consider production targets at their meeting June 11 in Doha, Qatar.

Over the past week, "OPEC members have been sending mixed messages on whether they should cut at next week's meeting," Michael Fitzpatrick, an analyst at Fimat USA told clients in a note Friday.

Some oil producers have said they'll push for a quota cut, while others said a reduction isn't needed at this time with prices still in the cartel's $22 to $28 a barrel target range for its basket prices of seven types of crude oils.

Among those arguing that a cut isn't needed are Indonesia and Venezuela, according to Fizpatrick.

But on Thursday, Kuwait reportedly said it will urge its fellow OPEC member nations to adopt another production cut. A day before that, Qatar said the cartel won't likely change the quota, according to news reports.

And it was on Tuesday that OPEC President Abdullah al-Attiyah was quoted as saying the cartel might not need to cut production because Iraq's output hasn't resumed at prewar levels.

Still, "all indications suggest OPEC is ready, willing and able to cut production at a moment's notice," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Alaron Trading in Chicago.

Non-OPEC member weighs in

OPEC may get help from non-OPEC producer Mexico, Flynn said.

The "group of three" -- Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Venezuela -- were meeting in Madrid on Friday.

After the energy futures market closed, no news on the Madrid meeting surfaced.

Tim Evans, senior analyst at IFR Pegasus in New York, takes the lack of news from the meeting as a "neutral to bearish" sign.

"If they had something bullish to report, we are sure they would publicize it," he said.

Still Evans said the Saudis and Venezuelans can "sweet talk" the Mexicans all they want, "but if OPEC is not cutting quotas, then Mexico is unlikely to reduce either production or exports on their own."

Iraq uncertainty lingers

OPEC also has a tough decision to make with uncertainty surround Iraq's oil production.

Iraq reportedly received a great deal of interest in the planned sale of about 10 million barrels of oil that's currently in storage. Read the Financial Times story.

But news that northern oil exports may be shut down for two months has surfaced on reports that thieves stole pipeline equipment that links Iraqi oil fields to the world market, said Alaron's Flynn.

Evans noted that the 10 million-barrel tender out of storage would "certainly give the market something to chew on" as it ponders Iraq's return to the "ongoing export market."

U.S. supplies climb

On another front, recent concerns of tightening U.S. supplies were eased quite a bit Wednesday when the Energy Department reported a 2.3 million-barrel rise in motor gasoline inventories last week. Separately, the API pegged the size of the week's increase at 3 million barrels.

Even after the latest build, however, total gasoline inventories stand at 207.3 million barrels -- 5.2 percent below their year-ago level, the government said.

The Energy Department said refinery utilization rose 2.8 percent from the previous week to 98 percent of capacity. The American Petroleum Institute said refineries were running at 97.2 percent of capacity, up from 94.9 percent a week earlier.

Crude-oil refinery inputs were at 16.1 million barrels per day -- their highest level ever recorded, the government said.

Meanwhile, crude inventories rose 2.8 million barrels to 289 million barrels in the latest week, the Energy Department said. Total supplies remain 11.4 percent below the year-ago level. The API reported a 2 million-barrel rise to 288.4 million barrels. See full story.

Crude imports rose by nearly 500,000 barrels per day last week to average more than 10.5 million barrels, the government said, adding that the rise is likely due to the "relatively large" imports from Saudi Arabia and higher imports from Venezuela.

IFR Pegasus' Evans said the lack of Iraqi oil "does not put the market in a deficit, as the 10.5 million barrel per day in U.S. imports last week should attest."

Evans believes the oil market is already "essentially dead, it just doesn't know it yet."

"It can turn lower now, or crash and burn from a higher altitude later, but it cannot sustain the current level in our view," he added.

Natural gas prices fall back

Elsewhere on Nymex, natural gas for July delivery fell by 1.1 cents to close $6.51 per million British thermal units following a triple-digit increase in last week's supplies. A week ago, prices closed at $6.25.

Many energy experts believe the natural-gas market is overbought "particularly without any broad-based heat wave around to boost air conditioning demand," said Fimat's Fitzpatrick.

Early Thursday, the government said natural-gas supplies in storage rose by 114 billion cubic feet during the week ended May 30. Market estimates called for a build of 95 billion to 110 billion cubic feet.

Total supplies of 1.199 trillion cubic feet in storage are still 755 billion cubic feet less than the year-ago level and 484 billion below the five-year average, the Energy Department said.

In the equity arena, oil-service shares traded lower, as reflected by activity in the Philadelphia Oil Service Index ($OSX: news, chart, profile). See Energy Stocks.

Elsewhere, Nymex gold futures ended the week with about a $1-an-ounce loss on the back of an upbeat unemployment report. See Metals Stocks.

The Reuters/CRB Index, a broad-based measure tracking commodity futures prices, rose by 0.5 percent to 237.4. Myra P. Saefong is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in San Francisco.

More FUTURES MOVERS •Oil futures close below $31 4:12pm ET 06/13/03 •Nymex oil closes under $32; natural gas drops 10% 3:28pm ET 06/12/03 •Oil closes atop $32; stocks fall, OPEC output untouched 3:11pm ET 06/11/03 •Oil futures close higher; OPEC summit in closer view 3:42pm ET 06/10/03 •Oil prices close off a three-month high 3:57pm ET 06/09/03

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Reuters, 06.06.03, 9:41 AM ET NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters) - NYMEX crude futures were called to move higher on Friday as oil ministers from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Mexico unexpectedly meet in Madrid to discuss oil production policy prior to OPEC's June 11 meeting. News of the meeting on Thursday helped boost prices and offset the effect of Wednesday's bearish U.S. inventory report that showed U.S. crude and gasoline supplies rising last week. NYMEX July crude was called to open 15 cents to 25 cents higher after ending ACCESS trade up 19 cents at $30.93 a barrel, trading $30.74 to $31.00. The ACCESS high duplicated the high trade from Wednesday. "We're seeing continued strength and we should take a look above $31 and see what happens," said a New York broker. "There should be some heavy resistance at $31.30." Traders will watch any rally that challenges the double top of the $31.25 April 21 high and the $31.30/$31.32 highs reached on March 31 and April 1. Technical analysts on Friday expect nearby resistance for NYMEX July crude at $31.25, with support slated at $29.65 [nL06604353]. In London at 9:36 a.m. EDT (13:36 GMT), the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) July crude contract traded 21 cents higher at $27.65 a barrel. The one-day talks [nL06566136] in Madrid, set for 1600 GMT, will have Saudi Arabia's Ali al-Naimi, Venezuela's Rafael Ramirez and Mexico's Ernesto Martens, representing the three countries that were architects of drastic oil curbs that helped revive depressed prices in 1998 and 1999. OPEC has been trying to encourage Mexico, and its other major producer rivals Russia and Norway, to remain aligned with OPEC on output policy to prop up prices when they fall. The return of Iraq exports will also be on OPEC's agenda. The U.S. advisor to the Iraqi oil ministry said on Friday he expected exports to reach about one million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of June [nL06557069]. However, analysts said on Thursday recent high prices could have make OPEC reluctant to cut output [nL04178763]. Iraqi oil exports were poised to return to the market as the State Oil Marketing Organization announced a tender on Thursday to sell crude from storage, lifting in the second half of June. But a return to prewar production levels must overcome the post-war looting that has damaged the infrastructure. Products futures, weakened by rising inventories earlier in the week, are still very sensitive to any refinery glitches, even with refiners inhaling crude oil at record rates, using 98 percent of capacity in the week to May 30, according to government data. NYMEX July gasoline was called to open 0.25 cent to 0.35 cent higher after ending ACCESS trade up 0.36 cent at 88.88 cents a gallon. Nearby resistance is expected by chart watchers at 89.60 cents. Support should appear at 86.74 cents, a key resistance point pierced on Thursday. NYMEX July heating oil futures were called to open 0.20 cent to 0.30 cent higher after ending ACCESS trade up 0.32 cent at 77.55 cents a gallon. Resistance is expected at 77.83 cents, with support due at 75.11 cents. Copyright 2003, Reuters News Service

<a href=www.zwire.com>LitchfieldCountyTimes.com By: David Lombino 06/06/2003 Although the development plan, as designed by local landscape architect Dirk Sabin, details extensive efforts to protect the fragile area, including the donation of more than 60 percent of the property to a land trust through a conservation easement, some critics assert that the project is too ambitious, will threaten an important ecosystem and sets a dangerous precedent. An ad hoc town commission designated the area as critical habitat because state-designated species of special concern live near the site and there is a diversity of amphibians. In addition, the property contains the headwaters of Sprain Brook, along with clusters of vernal pools and a closed-canopy forest. The designation is not meant to prevent development, but to draw attention to environmentally sensitive areas and to encourage good plans that will not have a negative impact on the area. On May 28, the Inland Wetlands Commission voted to continue the public hearing on the application for a fourth session, set for Wednesday. Board member Mark Picton cast the only vote against continuing the hearing. All board members were contacted for telephone interviews, but only Mr. Picton and Candace Korzenko were available, and Ms. Korzenko explained that commission members could not discuss the issue outside of the public hearing. The applicants are Roxbury builder Ed Cady, who is known for the en vogue building method of importing materials from antique barns from other regions and using them to create houses in Litchfield County, and Roxbury resident Maria Eugenia Maury. She is the wife of Diego Arria, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations under UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and a former governor of Caracas, Venezuela. Mr. Cady constructed a home for the Arrias' 66-acre Roxbury property that they purchased for $1.6 million in March 2001, to go alongside a restored Federal-style farmhouse. The sale of the Washington estate where the development is proposed, from George Murphy to Ms. Maury and Mr. Cady is contingent on approval of the application by the town's land-use commissions. The 73-acre tract, which borders property owned by Mayflower Inn owners Robert and Adriana Mnuchin, makes up part of the headwaters of Sprain Brook, which meanders down Nettleton Hollow Road toward Woodbury, where it feeds the Weekeepeemee River, which eventually meets the Pomperaug River, both highly touted trout streams. In a telephone interview, Mr. Sabin explained that the plan proposes to take three existing parcels and combine them into two, accessible from one driveway. It then aims to place more than 60 percent of the property, or about 43 acres containing the vernal pools and central wetlands, into a conservation easement that would be held by the town, the Steep Rock Association or another entity. The two housing lots will be developed, and two ponds will be constructed from wetlands and upland areas, for protection from fire, to add esthetic value and to create habitat diversification. The larger, 0.8-acre pond would disturb around half an acre of existing wetlands, and the smaller, 0.4-acre pond would disturb between a quarter and a third of an acre of existing wetlands. The conservation easement would connect to an existing easement that belongs to Steep Rock, directly to the south. Susan Payne of the Steep Rock Association said that the organization had a preliminary discussion with Mr. Sabin, but no formal application had been submitted, no review had been undertaken and no decision made. Mr. Sabin, who has served on the Inland Wetlands Commission, the Conservation Commission and was chairman of the ad hoc committee that created the town's natural resource inventory report, has contended that the plan is preferable to another potential application to put six houses on the property, with up to four wetlands crossings. He has submitted documentation asserting that the town's soil-based zoning regulations permit up to six lots, with more wetlands crossings and less land in easement on the property than is proposed. At the most recent public hearing, he said the commission should not compare this application to an alternative of no development. "I suppose no development is an option, but I don't see anyone lining up to donate this to the town," he said at last week's hearing. "You need to consider potential development scenarios in a spot like this." Janet Hill, Washington's longtime zoning enforcement officer and former wetlands enforcement officer, said in a telephone interview she could not think of a project of this scale proposed for as sensitive an area during her tenure. Mike Ajello, Washington's wetlands enforcement officer, has visited the site and said he could not predict the direction of the commission's vote. "From my point of view there are some wetlands we don't need to spend a lot of time protecting. And there are pristine wetlands that have never been impacted or touched ... and much of the Maury/Cady site are of the latter description," he said in a telephone interview. "Protection is relative. We can never do too much, but we have to do what's reasonable. From my experience, a little bit of protection is almost worthless in the sensitive areas. A lot is necessary. How much is too much? Everything you do will have some impact." "The most difficult thing a commissioner faces is weighing those two things-how much can be accomplished before we impact the wetlands, and [balancing] that against a homeowner's personal rights to do what they want to do with their property," he said, explaining the philosophical dilemma. "Mr. Sabin has done an excellent job representing it and doing as much as he can possibly do to secure something for the town. Is it enough? What's enough? Then it's a judgment call." Curtis Read, a water specialist who serves on the Bridgewater Inland Wetlands Commission and the Pomperaug River Coalition, and is chairman of the Northwest Conservation District, spoke against the project at an April 23 public hearing. He argued the plan would permanently change the habitat by causing the water to get warmer, damaging breeding ground for salamanders, fish, frogs and mosquitoes. "In my presentation, I likened it to the SUV of development in that, unfortunately, they are proposing activity in upland wetlands that is critical habitat for known endangered species, and they are proposing to change that with ponds, grading, swimming pools and tennis courts," he said in a telephone interview. "I would think, when there is this kind of sensitive area, they would at least pull back out of the wetlands areas and maintain as much environmental integrity as possible. ... But the sense is, it's Washington, Connecticut and you need to pile on the amenities to make the house attractive." Mr. Read said he hopes the commission will consider other less harmful alternatives and weigh the long-term effects of accepting the plan. "The impact is fairly major. It's indicative of the building pressure in the county that we are going to sites like this to build McMansions," he explained. Betsy Corrigan, a Conservation Commission member and a neighbor of the proposed development, argues that the project is too big and has too many unknowns. Even though she claims she will not be able to see the development, and its acceptance may actually make her property value rise, she is asking the commission to deny the application without prejudice and ask the applicants to reapply with a scaled-down plan. She believes the commission is fearful of litigation. "If this thing passes as is, it will set a bad precedent and clear the way for other people to do the same. It will have historical repercussions for the region in similarly sensitive areas," said Ms. Corrigan in a telephone interview. "I really thought that Washington had a big conservation ethic-a big proposal like this comes around and no one turns out for it." Mr. Sabin admits that the project is getting "a hard look" by the wetlands commission and its consultants, but he argues that it is not because it's a "huge project," or really complex, but because there are natural resources present. "Obviously I'm asking for some regulated activity. I've made no bones about it from the beginning that there are going to be impacts ... but we are very cognizant of the wetlands and watercourses ... " he explained at the hearing last week, arguing for the commission to close the hearing that night and make a swift decision. The commission sought the advice of Michael Klemens, a herpetologist and a consultant whose fee was paid by the applicants. Mr. Klemens made a site visit, submitted a written report and attended the April 23 and May 14 meetings. Mr. Klemens noted the importance and fragility of the property's vernal pools, and he advised commission members to make sure the planned ponds do not compromise Sprain Brook with an inflow of nutrients or through thermal alterations. He also worried that a proposed driveway came too close to a vernal pool. In response to Mr. Klemens' suggestions, Mr. Sabin said he has altered the original plan, moved and reduced the size the ponds, lessened the wetlands impact and added an additional natural wetland filtration area. At last week's meeting, commission member Marguerite Purnell questioned whether an owner would actually comply with regulations and keep extensive protective measures, or just mow and fertilize green lawns right up the banks of ponds. Mr. Sabin answered that owners would be aware of complex management plans, and deed restrictions could force future owners to comply. Commission members also wondered whether there was any way to ensure that the owners would only build two houses, and not subdivide down the road. Mr. Arria said later in a telephone interview that Ms. Maury and Mr. Cady could ensure that only two houses are built with a deed restriction. In May, 2001 Roxbury's Inland Wetlands Commission issued notices of violations to the Arrias for cutting trees within a 200-foot buffer along the Shepaug River without a permit. Banks were denuded and trees were placed across the river so workers could reach an island in the river to mow and selectively cut trees and shrubs. An estimated 100 tress were cut down. Mr. Arria hired an environmental firm, ESM Associates of Danbury, which submitted a environmental review and impact assessment report to the Roxbury's wetlands commission. Commission chairman Russ Dirienzo said at the time that the commission probably would have granted the necessary permit had the applicant originally filed one. Mr. Dirienzo was so pleased with how the Arrias mitigated the problem, he later singled them out as models for how to deal with wetland violations. In a telephone interview from Manhattan, Mr. Arria emphasized that the Carmel Hill Road project in Washington belonged to his wife and Mr. Cady. But since his wife was unavailable, Mr. Arria pointed out that she and Mr. Cady had opted to build only two homes instead of six, and hired Mr. Sabin because of his reputation in the area as a highly respected landscape architect. He noted that more than 60 percent of the Washington property was to be preserved, and said that he and his wife were undecided about whether to sell their property in Roxbury and move into one of the houses in Washington, if the project is approved. The wetlands commission is to discuss the project again Wednesday at 6 p.m.