begin quote from:
OPEC
has persuaded 11 non-member oil producers to cut production in an
attempt to raise the low prices that have squeezed government finances
in resource-dependent countries. Qatari Energy Minister Mohammed bin
Saleh al …
Non-OPEC Oil Producers to Cut Output 558,000 Barrels a Day
The Associated Press
OPEC has persuaded 11 non-member oil producers to cut production in an
attempt to raise the low prices that have squeezed government finances
in resource-dependent countries.
Qatari Energy Minister Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada, OPEC's president,
said Saturday that non-members agreed to cut 558,000 barrels per day,
less than the 600,000 barrels a day that OPEC had hoped for.
Those non-member cuts come on top of an OPEC decision Nov. 30 to reduce member output by 1.2 million barrels a day.
Saudi oil minister Khalid Al-Falih called Saturday's deal "historic" and
said it would stabilize the market through next year and encourage
industry investment. The announcement came after OPEC member states met
with Russia and other non-OPEC countries in Vienna for talks on
production cuts.
The 11 non-OPEC countries taking part in the agreement are: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan and South Sudan.
Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo said much of the production cuts
were expected to come from Russia, which was co-chairing the meeting.
Russian energy minister Alexander Novak called the meeting "a unique
window of opportunity for oil producers to help the market find
equilibrium. And missing this chance would just be wrong."
Major oil producers such as Russia and Saudi Arabia have seen an oil glut send prices lower and cramp their state budgets.
It remains to be seen whether the cutbacks will do much to raise prices,
given OPEC members' track record of exceeding agreed-upon production
quotas.
Oil fell from over $90 per barrel in early 2014 to as low as $40 earlier
this year, briefly sending the average price of regular gasoline at the
pump to under $2 for motorists in the United States. Oil closed at
$51.58 on Friday, up 6 percent since the OPEC production cut was
announced.
Crude prices have risen since the OPEC agreement was announced. That's
despite doubts about how much impact any OPEC-led cutback will have due
to weak demand from a sluggish global economy.
Poll: Americans Skeptical Over Key Trump Agenda Items, Disapprove of Trump's Handling of Transition
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
A new poll released by the Pew Research Center today indicates that a majority of Americans oppose any loosening of environmental regulations or a repeal of the Affordable Care Act,
two of President-elect Donald Trump's campaign pledges. The survey also
suggests that a minority of Americans approve of Trump's picks for his
Cabinet so far.
On Wednesday, Trump named Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as his
choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt is an
outspoken critic of environmental regulations and believes the EPA has
crippled the U.S. energy industry.
But 59 percent of people surveyed by Pew say stronger environmental laws
and regulations are worth any potential costs to the economy.
And when it comes to repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, 53
percent said they expect the ACA’s major provisions to be eliminated
while 39 percent expect them to continue. Thirty-nine percent of
respondents want to repeal the law all together; 15 percent favor
leaving it as is; and 39 percent want to expand it.
The Pew poll highlights the significant challenges Trump faces once he takes office in January.
Americans view Trump’s Cabinet choices less favorably than previous
president-elects. Only 40 percent approve of Trump’s Cabinet choices and
other high level appointments. That compares to 71 percent who approved
of President Obama’s Cabinet choices in December of 2008 and 58 percent
who expressed positive views of George W. Bush’s appointments in
January of 2001.
While the Trump transition team has moved quickly to pick Cabinet
members, the process has had a flair for the dramatic, with candidates
filing through the Trump Tower lobby and reports of infighting among
Trump’s confidantes, most recently over the choice of secretary of
State.
And there is criticism that Trump is not delivering on his campaign
promise to “drain the swamp” of establishment figures and insiders in
Washington, D.C. Currently, his Cabinet is stacked with wealthy GOP
donors and Wall Street insiders.
On Thursday night in Des Moines, Iowa, Trump pushed back on criticism of his Cabinet picks.
“One newspaper criticized me, ‘Why can't they have people of modest
means?’” Trump said. “Because I want people that made a fortune because
now they are negotiating with you. OK?”
Americans are also concerned about Trump’s Twitter habit. Eighty-two
percent of people surveyed say once Trump enters the White House he
“will need to be more cautious about the kinds of things he says and
tweets.” And a majority -- 54 percent -- think Trump has not done enough
to distance himself from the white nationalists who supported his
campaign.
Thirty-five percent of respondents think Trump will be a good or great
president; 18 percent say he will be average and 38 percent say he will
be poor or terrible. But when Trump was just a president candidate, 25
percent of those polled by Pew in October said he would make a good or
great president, while 57 percent said he would be poor or terrible.
Pew Research Center surveyed 1,502 adults from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
