THE DAILY COLLEGIAN Oil prices on the rise By Sandy Shore ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER NEW YORK Oil prices surged Wednesday as the dollar weakened and prospects improved for oil and gas demand in a strengthening global econ omy. Benchmark crude for November delivery gained $1.34 to settle at $83.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. At the pump, gas prices rose to a national average of $2.820 for a gallon of regular, according to a survey by AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service. The price was almost 7 cents more than a week ago and 34.2 cents more than a year ago. A series of events boosted optimism for the economy, from a forecast for stronger global oil demand to improved corporate earnings. The International Energy Agency raised its forecast for global oil_ demand this year and next, based on stronger than-expected economic growth in larg er, developed economies. The Paris based agency expects global demand for crude to reach 86.9 million barrels a day this year, compared with its forecast last month of 86.6 million barrels a day. Oil demand in 2011 was forecast at 88.2 mil lion barrels a day, up from a previous estimate of 87.9 million barrels a day. Drilling in Gulf still pending By Chris Kahn ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER NEW ORLEANS A day after the end of the federal moratorium on deep water drilling, the Gulf oil industry was a mix of furious activity and tortured wait ing around. Companies that are helping the indus try meet new regulations are scrambling to keep up with increased business while oil rigs must remain idle until the new requirements are met. Industry officials fear that's the way things will be for months to come. The Obama administration lifted its moratorium on deepwater drilling Tuesday, six weeks earlier than expect ed. But that doesn't allow the 30 or so rigs idled by the moratorium to immedi ately get back into position and "drill, baby, drill." Rig operators face bureau cratic and technical hurdles that could delay the resumption of most drilling in waters deeper than 500 feet into next year. "The lifting of the moratorium is sym bolic because it shows what direction the government is going in," said Marvin Odum, president of Shell Oil, in a recent interview. "But there's a big difference between lifting the moratorium and get ting back to work." Among the industry's biggest con cerns include how regulators will con- Candidate in hot water after anti-gay remarks By Michael Gormley ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER ALBANY, N.Y. Republican candi date for governor Carl Paladino rails against gay marriage and called the bumping-and-griding at gay pride parades disgusting. He also once was the landlord for two gay clubs in Buffalo. The real estate deal, first reported Wednesday by the New York Daily News, left Democrats calling him a hypocrite. Paladino's campaign said it proved that he supports gay rights, just not gay mar riage. Meanwhile, a rabbi who represents an umbrella organization of ultra-Orthodox clerics said he was dropping his endorsement of Paladino because the candidate had apologized for the harsh wording of some of his comments about gays. Paladino's campaign has acknowl edged recent mistakes have hurt his campaign, which is trying to overcome Democrat Andrew Cuomo's double-digit lead in the polls. The Republican's poll numbers had been slipping since late September, when he was caught on video loudly arguing with a reporter over Paladino's unsubstantiated claim that Cuomo had extramarital affairs. The latest conflict began Sunday night, when Paladino told Orthodox Jewish leaders in New York that he opposes gay marriage and doesn't want children being "brainwashed into think ing that homosexuality is an equally Meanwhile, China imported a record 5.67 million barrels of crude a day in September a 35 percent increase from a year ago and another sign that the country's economy is still growing. "Even though we've had a pretty good overhang of supply in the world, it looks like things are becoming a little bit more balanced lately," said Tom Bentz, an analyst at BNP Paribas Commodity Fhtures. Crude prices have risen for more than a week in large part because the dollar has weakened against other currencies. Since oil and other commodities are priced in dollars, a weaker dollar makes them more attractive to traders who buy with those currencies. Traders are also watching stock mar kets for clues about consumer senti ment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all rose after JPMorgan Chase, Intel and CSX all beat earnings forecasts, raising hopes the economic recovery would not falter. The Dow closed up over 75 points. Looking ahead, analysts expect oil markets to remain volatile, as the Energy Department releases new inven tory figures on Thursday and oil minis ters from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meet. "The plunge in the dollar could throw the market a curve ball," said trader and analyst Stephen Schork Rusty Costanza/Associated Press Though the moratorium on deep water drilling has been lifted, oil rigs are not allowed any activity until new regulations are met. duct environmental reviews of projects and how they will require companies to plan for worst-case oil spill scenarios. Officials also wonder what new regula tions may be coming as more is learned about the incident that prompted the moratorium: the Deepwater Horizon explosion and ensuing oil spill. In the meantime, some companies that support the industry are going all out to perform the extra work required to meet some of the new regulations enacted since June. For example, one new rule requires that operators have equipment that pre vents a well from blowing out certified by a third party Gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino walks alongside members of the New York Jewish community on Sunday, Oct. 10. valid and successful option." He also told the rabbis, "That's not how God created us, and that's not the example that we should be showing our children." The next day, he said he was referring only to his opposition to gay marriage, then added that young children shouldn't be exposed to homosexuality, especially at gay pride parades. On Tuesday, Paladino apologized for using harsh words, such as "brain washed," but not his opposition to gay marriage. "I sincerely apologize for any com ment that may have offended the gay and lesbian community or their family members. Any reference to branding an entire community based on a small rep resentation of them is wrong," he said in a statement. NATION Eric Gay/Associated Press Texas game warden Jake Mort travels with an M-16 on a Parks and Wildlife boat on Falcon Lake, which straddles the U.S.-Mexico border in Zapata, Texas on Thursday, Oct. 7. Mexico attracting U.S. tourists despite warnings By April Castro ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER FALCON LAKE, Texas Although a bloody drug war is raging just across the bor der, some Americans living near Mexico act as if it's still a backyard playground. In the last two weeks alone, two American tourists have been killed in Mexico in vicious attacks one while riding a Jet Ski and another when his bus was hijacked. And a Mexican police commander investigating one of those deaths was killed this week, his severed head delivered in a suitcase to a local Army post. But Texas officials keep encouraging boaters to enjoy the bass fishing on a border lake. And Gov. Rick Perry has not urged peo ple to take any special precautions, suggest ing only that U.S. and Mexican authorities increase the law enforcement presence in the area. "There's like a psychological aspect to these kinds of warnings, that folks just don't take them seriously, or perhaps they believe the authorities are simply issuing these for liability reasons," said Fred Burton, vice president of intelligence for Stratfor Global Intelligence, which analyzes the drug war. "There are people that say, 'Well, I know this area. I'm comfortable. Nothing will ever happen to me." Tiffany and David Hartley may have been two of those people. They were working in Reynosa, a Mexican border town rife with drug violence, when Hartley's company moved them to McAllen, Texas, just across the Rio Grande, for safety. The couple decided to take Jet Skis across Falcon Lake, which is divided by the border, to photograph a historic church. They were on their way home *hen pirates opened fire, killing Hartley, according to Tiffany Hartley. Just days later, a student from the University of Texas-Brownsville was shot THURSDAY, Ocr. 14, 2010 I 9 and killed in Mexico. Jonathan William Torres, 19, was one of two people killed when his bus was hijacked in Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville. David Hartley's father, Dennis, said his son was not aware of any violence on the lake. "My son is a history buff. He wanted to get a picture of that church. Not hearing of any recent activity there, David and Tiffany decided to go there and snap some pictures." The State Department has issued repeat ed travel warnings to Americans traveling to or living in Mexico, with a particular focus on the area just south of the border. The warn ings say that kidnappings are occurring at "alarming rates" with U.S. citizens often the target. In response, Texas universities have can celed their sponsored spring break trips across the border and have warned spring breakers at South Padre Island near the bor der not to cross into Mexico. In May, the Texas Department of Public Safety warned boaters to avoid the interna tional boundary that zig-zags through Falcon Lake, which is 25 miles long and 3 miles across at its widest point. The warnings came after men armed with assault rifles twice robbed fishermen on the Mexican side of the lake. They traveled in the low-slung, underpowered commercial Mexican fishing boats that are familiar here. They asked for money, drugs and guns, and took what cash was available. No one was hurt. Even as the headlines carry grisly reports of murders and torture, thousands of Americans still trek across the border for work and to visit family "People here on the border go back and forth all the time," said state Rep. Aaron Pena, who represents a portion of the border near his hometown of Edinburg. "Many peo ple have to go because they have family over there. Flinerals happen, weddings happen."
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