Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: A pensar male si fa peccato...

Dalla prima pagina della reuters...
Per tutti quelli che ancora pensano che le guerre si fanno per gli ideali.
Altro che il conflitto di interessi del Berlusca...che schifo.
War Could Be Big Business for Halliburton
Sun March 23, 2003 12:04 PM ET
By Carolyn KooNEW YORK (Reuters) - When it comes to making money from a war
in Iraq, few can match the firepower of the company once headed by Vice
President Dick Cheney.
Houston-based Halliburton Co. HAL.N can build roads and bridges and camps
for American forces. It can transport personnel and provide other logistics.
It can fight any fires Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein might set. And after the
war, assuming a U.S. victory, it can help restore Iraq's infrastructure and
oil production.
While questions remain over how much the work will boost the company's stock
price, Halliburton's KBR engineering and construction division "is basically
the 'corps of engineers' to the U.S. military," said Jim Wicklund, an
analyst at Banc of America Securities. "It is expected that the occupying
army's infrastructure could in large part be supplied by KBR."
At the same time, the company's oilfield services business, which is second
only to Schlumberger Ltd. SLB.N , is likely to supply most of the heavy
equipment to fight fires that Iraqi forces could set to oil wells and oil
fields, as they did in Kuwait during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
And should the U.S. emerge victorious, Halliburton -- which develops oil
fields and drills for oil all over the world -- has the connections and
businesses to play a major role in rebuilding Iraq and ramping the nation's
oil production capacity back up to pre-1991 Persian Gulf War levels.
"They have the businesses. They have the government relationship already
well-established, and, as we all know, Cheney was the CEO, so it makes
logical sense," said Denis Walsh, an equity analyst who covers the energy
sector for State Street Research and Management.
NO COMMENT ON CONTRACTS
A Halliburton spokeswoman declined to speculate on "what may or may not
happen with regards to Iraq."
She referred all queries to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the
U.S. Agency for International Development, which both said that contracts
for fighting fires and rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure have yet to be
awarded. Neither agency would disclose whether Halliburton had submitted any
bids.
Other companies that could bid for firefighting contracts include Boots &
Coots International Well Control Inc. WEL.A , Canada's Safety Boss Inc., RPC
Inc.'s RES.N Cudd Pressure Control and Superior Energy Services Inc.'s SPN.N
Wild Well Control Inc.
Reports earlier this month said that Halliburton won a contract to oversee
firefighting in Iraq's oilfields but that has not been confirmed by either
the company or the DOD.
"It is our information that a contract framework has already been signed,"
said Wicklund, who rates Halliburton a "buy" and does not own any of its
shares.
This wouldn't be the first time Halliburton has played an important role in
a U.S. war. Years before Cheney's stint at the helm, a predecessor company
built the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station and several warships during World
War II. It also helped build the Phan Rang Air Base in Vietnam in 1965.
More recently, after the Persian Gulf War, Halliburton helped put out oil
well fires and repaired damaged buildings in Kuwait. It also provided food,
laundry, transportation and other services to U.S. peacekeeping forces in
Bosnia, Croatia and Hungary during the Balkans conflict in the 1990s.
Estimates of how much Halliburton and other companies could reap from the
infrastructure and restoration work vary, but analyst Michael Urban of
Deutsche Bank said it could be as much as a total of $3 billion.
DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB
How much Halliburton would get is difficult to gauge, though any contracts
it wins would certainly generate revenue, cash flow and earnings.
The potential contracts come at a time when Halliburton is contending with
its liability for asbestos-related personal injury lawsuits, though the
company made progress last December with a $4 billion settlement deal.
"The stock price would reflect that they have had investor concern over the
ultimate (asbestos) liability," said Pierre Conner, an analyst with Hibernia
Southcoast Capital who rates Halliburton a "buy" and does not own any of its
shares.
The contracts also may not do much for the company's stock price, since the
firefighting business is not a recurring one and the profit margins of the
construction business are not typically high.
"While both would be positives to Halliburton, they aren't in our opinion
overriding reasons to buy the stock," Wicklund said.
"I would think if you got any jump in the stock, it would be short-lived and
somewhat muted by history. It's like winning a $3 lottery ticket. It beats
not winning, but you can't quit your day job."
Halliburton shares were up 54 cents or about 2.6 percent to $20.36 in
afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The stock is
up 11.7 percent this year through Tuesday's close, outperforming
Schlumberger, which is down 6.2 percent, as well as the Philadelphia Stock
Exchange Oil Service Index .OSX , which is down less than 1 percent, both in
same period.
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Altro che il conflitto di interessi del Berlusca...che schifo.
*ROTFL*
-Stefano