It could be a year or more before Libya produces enough oil to start exporting it in large amounts again. But once the oil starts flowing, it should bring the price of gasoline down even further. International oil prices fell Monday because of the prospect that those shipments will hit the market again. The shipments stopped six months ago as the rebellion in Libya raged. The conflict damaged pipelines and fields and forced out foreign oil engineers who once helped the nation export 1.5 million barrels of oil every day. Before the country can begin producing oil in large amounts again, security must be re-established, a new government must be formed, the United Nations must lift international sanctions, and damage to oil fields and pipelines must be repaired.
Greek economy worse than expected in 2011
Greece’s finance minister says the crisis-afflicted economy will shrink more than expected this year, putting pressure on the country’s deficit-cutting effort. Evangelos Venizelos said Monday that the ministry forecasts the economy to shrink between 4.5 percent and 5.3 percent in 2011 — considerably worse than initially estimated.
3M to pay $3 million to settle age lawsuit
Technology giant 3M has agreed to pay a total of $3 million to several hundred former employees who accused the company of age discrimination, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Monday. The EEOC sued 3M in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis on behalf of a class of former employees who said the company laid off hundreds of workers over the age of 45 from July 1, 2003, to Dec. 31, 2006. The lawsuit alleged 3M terminated many highly paid older employees and directed leadership training to younger workers. The agency said its investigation found an employee email describing then-CEO Jim McNerney’s “vision for leadership development” as “we should be developing 30 year olds with General Manager potential.” McNerney is now the CEO at the Boeing Co.
T-bill rates fall in Monday auction
The Treasury Department auctioned three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.015 percent, down from 0.035 percent last week. Six-month bills were auctioned at a discount rate of 0.045 percent, down from 0.08 percent last week and the lowest rate ever, according to Treasury. The discount rates on the Treasury bills auctioned Monday reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,999.61. A six-month bill sold for $9,997.72. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.015 percent for the three-month bills and 0.046 percent for the six-month bills. Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for changing adjustable-rate mortgages, was 0.11 percent last week, unchanged from the previous week.
From Herald news services
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