The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

Is Barron’s Bob O’Brien reading this board? I used the word
allay in the header of #msg-38360380 and now O’Brien has
used the word in his Barron’s piece published later today.
Allay is not the kind of word that appears in an article
header every day :- )

http://blogs.barrons.com/stockstowatchtoday/2009/06/03/update-from-hess-fails-to-allay-concerns-about-progress-in-brazil

›Update from Hess Fails to Allay Concerns About Progress In Brazil

by Bob O'Brien
June 3, 2009, 12:08 pm

Hess (HES) has attempted to stem some worries about the progress of its drilling efforts at what’s been considered a promising project off the coast of Brazil, and while the efforts have slowed the pace of the selloff the stock suffered Tuesday, it hasn’t arrested the decline in the shares.

The 4% loss in Wednesday’s trading, compounding what had been an 11% tumble in Tuesday’s late trading, suggested that investors remained apprehensive about the progress of the exploration efforts in what’s know as the Guarani well in the offshore Santos Basin.

Investors haven’t been taking quite as big a bite out of Exxon Mobil (XOM), which like Hess, has a 40% interest in the project. Obviously, the development project would represent a significantly smaller share of Exxon’s exploration investment opportunities than it does for Hess [duh].

Hess tumbled Tuesday after a filing Exxon Mobil made with oil regulators in Brazil failed to mention the presence of oil or natural gas at the well. The report showed the well had reached terminal depth and that more work was under way. Hess said drilling work continued, and both it and Exxon suggested that it would be premature to conclude what kind of production can be generated at what’s expected to be one of the largest opportunities in the Western Hemisphere.‹