Month of April, 2008

UtiliPoint® International, Inc. (UtiliPoint) announces that it has released the second book in it’s UtiliPoint Expert Series focused on the implementation of Energy Trading, Transaction and Risk Manaement Software. The book, ‘Selecting and Implementing Energy Trading, Transaction, and Risk Management Software - A Primer‘ co-authored and edited by Patrick E. Reames and Dr. Gary M. Vasey is now available for purchase.

“The popularity of our first book on ETRM software has convinced us that a book on implementing ETRM software was both long overdue and demanded by the marketplace,“ said Dr. Vasey. “The new book draws upon UtiliPoint’s extensive research and expertise in this area to deliver an experiential guide to selecting and implementing ETRM software.“

The new book focuses in on selecting and implementing ETRM software and includes UtiliPoint’s research in this area as well as the combined expertise of its two principal authors. Additionally, it draws upon the expertise of the book‘s sponsors, reputable and leading consulting and sevices firms, to present a compehensive primer on the topic.

The world of hedge funds is often viewed somewhat suspiciously by those in the mainstream energy industry though traders will tell you that it is increasingly likely that many of their counterparties are investment vehicles these days. Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Mr. Michael Laznicka, CEO of Gardner Finance based in Zug, Switzerland. Mr. Laznicka’s firm is the investment advisor to two fund of hedge fund products in the energy space and I think you will find his quite candid views on a range of issues very interesting……

Vasey: Gardner advises a variety of investment vehicles in energy and the broader natural resources space including an index and two fund of hedge funds in energy. Can you explain what a fund of hedge funds is and why energy should be a focus for such a vehicle?

After several weeks of essentially one way movement – up – there was a commodities correction a week ago and that begs the questions is this correction the end of the commodities bull run? Assessing that question is difficult because economic news from the United States suggests recession and therefore decreased demand for commodities yet demand from Asian economies remains extremely high in tight commodity markets. In a sense, investors are seeking a dichotomy in which demand slumps in the west but Asian demand levels more than compensate for that slump.

The US “recession” is also spreading to impact various European countries most notably the UK. It will continue to spread into various European economies in my view. At the core of the issue though is the US Dollar and while the European Central Bank remains focused on inflationary fears and the US Federal Reserve on economic growth, it would seem that the US Dollar will continue its downward spiral thus impacting commodity prices.

UtiliPoint's Executive Summit in Prague is rapidly approaching so if you haven't registered it might be time because it is filling up very quickly. We have a really good agenda lined up too;

Monday, April 28, 2008

8:30 am – 9:00 am Registration for the Executive Forum

9:00 am – 9:10 am WELCOME & OPENING REMARKS BY EVENT CHAIRMAN
Gary M. Vasey, Ph.D., General Manager, Europe
UTILIPOINT INTERNATIONAL, INC.

9:10 am – 10:00 am EUROPEAN UNION DIRECTIVE 3: WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR YOUR UTILITY?
Martin Dunlea, UtiliPoint Advisory Board Member and former CIO, BORD GAIS EIRANN
The EU Directive 3 will soon be the topic of discussion for utilities operating in the European Union. What does it mean? What will be required? How does it compare to Directive 1 and 2? How difficult will it be to comply? These issues will be addressed in this informative presentation.

10:00 am – 10:30 am Morning Networking Break

10:30 am – 11:15 am PROVISION OF GLOBAL TRADING SYSTEMS
Neil Vig, Trading Systems Manager, INTERNATIONAL POWER PLC

t is always good to see a project completed and so it is with a book. Writing a book is often portrayed somewhat romantically in movies and so on but in fact, as Patrick Reames and I can both vouch, it is a real pain. Every time you think you are done, a new round of edits are passed back to you and you wearily go through the stuff again wondering if it still makes any sense. But finally – there is light at the end of the tunnel and it’s done. Last week, the second in the ‘expert’ series of books on energy trading and risk management software finally was published. Titled – Selecting and Implementing Energy Trading, Transaction and Risk Management Software – A Primer – the book was authored and edited by Patrick Reames and myself. It’s already selling very well for such an obscure topic I am pleased to say.

As that project wound down, a new one started. Namely, preparing for UtiliPoint’s European Executive Summit in Prague at the end of April (details at www.utilipoint.com). We have a really good line up of speakers, an excellent location and hopefully – a good conference that will attract many people across the industry.

The UK can be a really cold, cold place and living in a home without central heating isn't much fun. Since the advent of North Sea gas, natural gas central heating systems have proved very popular as natural gas is clean and relatively cheap.

But if you don't have clean natural gas central heating already here is a company that you should visit - Northern Gas Heating. They specialize in heating installation with a mission to " deliver better service and better prices than any other central heating company."

The company also offers other services such as boiler service and products such as
combi boilers. But they also offer a range of incentives too such as a free shower when you have a central heating system installed by them and a pay nothing for a year with zero interest financing option.

Here are some recommended books.....

I discovered a couple of very useful hedge fund blogs recently that are well worth visiting and invited the man behind the blogs to be a contributor to this site. Richard Wilson will soon guest blog on this site and the Energy hedge Fund Center.

Richard's site provide a wealth of intelligence and information on hedge funds generally. His blog 'Hedge Fund' is full of useful articles and also discusses important issues such as hedge fund due diligence. He has written so many articles about hedge funds and the industry that he is able to group sets of articles comprehensively under titles such as Hedge Fund Marketing.

We are excited that Richard will blog on our sites too on the topic of hedge funds and welcome him as a contributor.

Do check out his blog.

Drive a Dodge? If so you might want to visit San Diego Dodge who specialize in selling and servicing the American Dream machine. They sell both new and used vehicles and of course offer financing to do either and if you contact them via the Internet they promise to respond within 24 hours.

This is a company that uses its website too. You can schedule a service or appointment etc. actually right on their website for convenience. That American Dream Machine is just around the corner at San Diego Dodge.

San Diego Dodge state that "we want a non-threatening sales environment, convenient shopping when your schedule allows and as always friendly and efficient service." That's a good aim and promise so stop by and say hello from us.

San Diego Dodge - premier dodge dealerships in san diego.

Crude oil has again reached record prices so how far can it go? Well, the answer to that question is best addressed in looking at the fundamentals initially. The fundamentals have not changed. Oil is still in supply/demand tightness. OPEC remains unconvinced of the need for more supply to the market and say the market is well supplied. In fact, it is not and the slightest disruption or threat of disruption has an impact on price formation as a result. Indeed, wherever you look, it is difficult not to be bullish. All major areas of supply have political issues associated with them from Nigeria to Latin America to the Middle East.

On the other side of the equation is demand. Plainly the US is in recession and the economic issues are spilling over into other countries like the UK for example. As prices rise for energy and fuels, demand will experience some contraction. But right now this is more than compensated for by the demand growth in China and India - so it doesn't have much impact in reality.

I had no clue what a mechanics lien was when the term was first mentioned to me but it turns out to be a lien you use if you provided construction services and your client fails to pay. A mechanic lien is a way to get your customer to pay for your services.

I found this out browsing an attorney's site that specializes in doing this for his clients. Funnily enough, he also offers education and training on how to do it from his website. It also has a very useful FAQ section that explains the entire process in some detail. ProLien is owned and operated by one of America’s most experienced Mechanic’s Lien (Construction) attorneys. A 30-year veteran, he has represented construction professionals throughout California and he knows how crucial accurate preliminary notices are to securing your lien rights and ultimately being able to collect on unpaid accounts.

In the energy business, construction projects are everywhere. As a service provider in construction projects his represents a website resource to visit to understand your rights and what you can do if your client fails to pay for the services provided.

Over the last 2-3 years, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in the natural resources and energy sector have exploded in popularity with investors. ETF’s have actually been available to investors in the US since 1993 and in Europe from 1999.

An ETF is simply a pool fund invested with a stated investment objective, for example, a tracker fund for the energy sector or geographical area. Shares owned in this fund by investors are in turn traded on an exchange.
Just two years ago there were only a small number of ETF’s in natural resources, utilities and energy. These Exchange Traded Funds were quite popular but only allowed investors to invest in an equity-oriented fund, i.e. one that tracked an equity index. Now that has changed. Today, there are numerous ETFs available to investors and they appear to fall into three categories;

• Those that track an equity index;
• Those that track a commodity index; and,
• Those that ostensibly track the commodity itself.

Gaining Insights into Buying a New ETRM System - By Patrick Reames and Gary M. Vasey, Ph.D.
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4/21/2008

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