9/13/07: Buffet dumps PetroChina, positive news for airlines, job numbers look good, while Goldman Sachs loves solar

This is a selection of today’s most popular blog articles from Inveslogic.com where you will find the highest-rated stock market and investment blogs, videos and podcasts on the web.

Buffett dumping PetroChina shares

Warren Buffett has sold a substantial portion of Berkshire Hathaway’s holdings of massive Chinese oil concern PetroChina. According to a post from Seeking Alpha China editor Eli Hoffman, “Buffett sold another $136 million (HK $1.1 billion / 92.66 million shares) of his large stake in top Chinese oil company PetroChina Inc.” This comes amidst news that Berkshire has received a six-fold return on investment since it originally bought into PetroChina several years ago. According to Hoffman’s post “Buffett paid $488 million for the stake in 2003, which was worth about $3.3 billion at the end of 2006.”

This is the second time within the past few months that Berkshire has sold off PetroChina stock, according to Hoffman “Buffett also sold 16.9 million shares in late July.” The move reportedly comes as a surprise to investors considering the fact that “PetroChina shares are up about 35% over the last year amid rising oil prices and surging Chinese demand.”

The post points to shareholder activism within the ranks of Berkshire Hathaway as one of the key motivating factors behind the sale. In fact, some investors are calling for Buffett to dump PetroChina altogether. Hoffman noted in his post that “there have been calls by Berkshire shareholders to sell the entire stake, in protest of PetroChina's parent company China National Petroleum's operations in Sudan, a country accused of genocide.”

Job numbers beat expectations

Another sign today that US economic conditions may not be as doom and gloom as many investors predict. New data from the United States Labor Department indicates that first-time jobless claims were below expectations. According to a post from Between the Hedges, a financial commentary blog, this news should illustrate the fact that firings or layoffs aren’t accelerating dramatically due to economic fall-out from the sub-prime fiasco and the subsequent credit crunch.

The data reveals that “Initial Jobless claims rose to 319K versus estimates of 325K and a downwardly revised 315K.” Continuing jobless claims also fell by five thousand. Economists have stated that these numbers are consistent with the creation of about 100,000 to 150,000 jobs per month. Additionally, “the unemployment rate among those eligible for benefits, which tracks the US unemployment rate, held steady at a relatively low 2%.”

In regards to the current data, Between the Hedges noted that they “continue to believe the labor market, while loosening modestly in the near-term, will remain healthy over the intermediate-term as companies gain confidence in the sustainability of the current expansion.”

Despite energy prices, airlines soar

Considering the fact that the price of crude oil topped $80 in intraday trading this week, one would imagine that it would be a dark time for airline stocks. However, a post today from Schaeffers Research revealed that things are actually looking rosy for America’s beleaguered airlines with “the AMEX Airline Index adding more than 1.5% on the session so far.” According to recent data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, various positive factors have given the airline industry much to cheer about.

According to the BTS data, “U.S. airline load factors reached a record high in June, as higher ticket sales and trimmed capacity growth resulted in fuller planes.” Effectively, airlines have been able to offset high fuel costs by running less flights with more people on them. This past summer has been especially kind to the industry, “June's load factor jumped to 85.8%, topping the previous high set in July 2006. Load factor for domestic flights reached 86.4%.”

Air travel continues to have a positive impact on the economy as more and more Americans are taking to the skies. Schaeffer’s Research also reports that “during the first half of the year, U.S. airlines carried 379.5 million scheduled domestic and international passengers, 2.7% more than the year-ago period.”



Goldman Sachs bullish on Solar Sector



A report from Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Molnar declared that he is bullish on the solar sector for the next six months “as he expects increasing demand relative to supply and news on continued government support of solar energy efforts.” This was reported by Financial Nirvana- a business blog focused on energy. Specifically, Molnar stated that companies with “manufacturing efficiencies and low production costs” could be expected to shine.



Things are beginning to heat up in the solar sector as increased attention from venture capitalists while state and federal research grants continue to provide funding for solar start-ups. However, the post also noted that Molnar saw a potential problem within the next 18 months. The post stated that Molnar believes “solar oversupply is possible in mid-to-late 2008 but believes in an oversupply situation.”



Track this or any other Stock Market, Investment, Economic or Business topic of your choice in the top expert blogs on the web using “Your Blog Reports” from Inveslogic. 



ABOUT INVESLOGIC

InvesLogic is something new. It's the first company to organize expert financial and business blogs worth reading into a new form of market intelligence different from anything being provided by the mainstream investment media. We're focused on providing the most valuable and timely market and business insight available in blogs today. Not just information about a specific stock or company but expert opinion and commentary about the insiders, sectors, trends, industries, and commodities a company is involved in. For more information, visit inveslogic.com