Oil price soars above 50 dlrs

NEW YORK: Oil prices jumped above 50 dollars Thursday after the Federal Reserve moved to inject another trillion dollars into the US financial system to boost the world's biggest economy. New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, ended 3.47 dollars higher from Wednesday's close to 51.61 dollars per barrel, topping 50 dollars for the first time in four months. In early trading Thursday, the contract surged to 52.25 dollars -- the highest level since November 28, 2008. Brent North Sea crude for May delivery rose 3.01 dollars to 50.67 in London after breaching 51 dollars. Analysts attributed the price jump to Wednesday's announcement by the US Federal Reserve that it would pump 1.15 trillion dollars into the financial system. The move also has pulled down the US dollar against key currencies. "You need to put this action in the context of what has happened in the last few weeks in the market. There has been a shift in market sentiment," said Constanza Jacazio of Barclays Capital. "From a market where demand was the only driver of price action and sentiment, there seems to have been a shift in a more balanced view," he said. Crude futures had slid Wednesday on news of a larger-than-expected increase in US energy reserves that highlighted weak American energy demand, but trimmed losses after news of the Fed plan. "Oil prices took a rollercoaster ride yesterday (Wednesday), with bearish (US) inventory data ... firstly prompting a fall in the April (New York) contract to 47 dollars before the Fed's surprising announcement," said Dresdner Kleinwort analyst Eugen Weinberg.The US central bank said Wednesday that it would buy up to 300 billion dollars in long-term US Treasury bonds over the next six months "to help improve conditions in private credit markets."

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India's swine flu death rate is increasing

Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...

Tennis: Clijsters wins US Open, second time

NEW YORK: Kim Clijsters of Belgium won the US Open on Sunday by defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 7-5, 6-3 in the final.She is the first mother to win a Grand Slam title since Evonne Goolagong in 1980, the victory coming just five weeks after she returned to the sport following a 27-month retirement. She was the first wildcard, man or woman, to win a US Open title in the history of the tournament.

42 killed in wave of Iraq bombings

BAGHDAD: At least 42 people were killed and nearly 100 wounded in a spate of bomb attacks near the restive northern Iraqi city of Mosul and in the capital Baghdad on Monday, police said. In the deadliest single attack, two booby-trapped lorries exploded before dawn in the village of Khaznah, east of Mosul, leaving 25 people dead and 70 others wounded. Thirty-five houses were destroyed in the village, which is home to members of the tiny Shabak community, a sect of Kurdish origin. In Baghdad, two car bombs went off as day labourers were gathering in the early morning hours looking for jobs.The first bomb exploded at Hay al-Amel, in the west of the capital, killing nine people and injuring 46. The second bomb attack in Shurta Arbaa in the north of the city killed seven people and wounded 35 others.

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