Daily Archives: November 17, 2007

Venezuela’s Chavez Threatens US With Oil Prices In “Hundreds Of Dollars”

Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, does not seem to be a stable sort, but he does have a flare for the dynamic. Opening the current meeting of OPEC, he threatened the the West saying ”If the U.S. attacks Iran or Venezuela, the price of oil will jump to hundreds of dollars, not just 100,” according to the AP.

The US is unlikely to attack the South American country, but, with tensions around Iran’s role in terrorist activity in Iraq, it is possible that there could be a dust up between the countries.

Chavez’s comments point once again to the likelihood that oil is going higher and not lower over the next few months. There is no reason to believe that OPEC will increase production or that the the West and China will decrease their use of crude. The man from Venezuela wants to remind everyone that any political instability among the cartel’s members could make matters much, much worse.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: November 17, 2007 – 2:33 pm in Oil & Gas

Microsoft (MSFT) Zune: Finally Sold Out

Since Microsoft (MSFT) first launched its Zune portable multimedia player over a year ago, there has been no good news. Most research puts it in fourth place in sales among similar devices, way behind the No.1 product, the Apple (AAPL) iPod.

But, recent news is that the relaunched and improved product, which has gotten good reviews, is selling out ahead of the holiday season. According the The Associate Press "the 80-gigabyte Zune media player Microsoft Corp. launched Tuesday has sold out across the Web, to the dismay of online shoppers and delight of the world’s largest software maker."

Microsoft should hardly be delighted. It should be troubled. At the peak of the holiday buying season, with a chance to gain market share from Apple, it is low on inventory. Of course, there is no word that Apple is having similar problems. Their manufacturing controls seem to be a little better.

The "sold out" Zune may make Microsoft fell good, but it is a significant opportunity lost.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: November 17, 2007 – 6:39 am in Consumer Electronics, ,