Highly

With the continuing global shakeup in the banking industry, a highly profitable joint venture commodity trading business between the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and San Diego-based Sempra Energy could eventually unravel, although Sempra moved Monday to put the situation in perspective for U.S. financial markets. Sempra CEO Donald Felsinger issued a statement in response to news reports that RBS may divest its interest in the RBS Sempra Commodities joint venture.

ExxonMobil Corp. will ramp up more natural gas output from Colorado’s Piceance Basin “across the balance of the year,” and will continue to evaluate leaseholds in British Columbia’s Horn River Basin and in the Marcellus Shale, among others, the company’s vice president of investor relations said Thursday.

North American producers of all sizes have reduced their spending and drilling plans this year, and some highly leveraged companies are attempting to hold their operations together in the face of low commodity prices and a tight credit market. The acquisition and divestiture (A&D) market is slow, but some smaller players with solid balance sheets and liquidity are letting it be known that they might be interested in a few choice assets.

With the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) spewing red ink and heavily propped up by the British government, the high-profile, highly profitable joint venture trading operation between a unit of the bank and San Diego-based Sempra Energy has become the subject of much speculation and questioning.

North American producers of all sizes have reduced their spending and drilling plans this year, and some highly leveraged companies are attempting to hold their operations together in the face of low commodity prices and a tight credit market. The acquisition and divestiture market is slow, but some smaller players with solid balance sheets and liquidity are letting it be known that they might be interested in a few choice assets.

With the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) spewing red ink and heavily propped up by the British government, the high-profile, highly profitable joint venture trading operation between a unit of the bank and San Diego-based Sempra Energy has become the subject of much speculation and questioning.

January natural gas futures fell sharply as traders had to deal with a highly negative employment report. Labor Department figures showed the most jobs lost in 34 years, yet the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed in positive territory following the release of an upbeat forecast by a major insurer. January natural gas fell 27.5 cents to $5.742 and February lost 28.3 cents to $5.767. February crude oil continued its losing ways, dropping $2.86 to $40.81/bbl.

Although cooling load would remain about as strong for Thursday as it was Wednesday, highly negative guidance from the previous day’s 48.2-cent plunge by August futures caused a large majority of cash trading points to fall Wednesday.

As expected, the preceding day’s 41.5-cent dive by May futures had a highly negative impact on Friday’s cash prices, which fell by double-digit amounts everywhere except the Florida citygate. The spread of moderate springtime weather into nearly all of the U.S. except along sections of the Canadian border and the decline of industrial load that accompanies a weekend market were other bearish factors.