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from Breakingviews:

Iran offers Egypt limited lesson in subsidy reform

By Una Galani and Christopher Swann

The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions expressed are their own.

Iran offers Egypt a limited lesson in reform. The International Monetary Fund says the Arab state should look to the Islamic Republic as a model for how to cut subsidies. Iran ventured where few of its regional rivals dared in 2010 when it raised fuel prices. But the vast differences in wealth between these two countries make the comparison unhelpful.

Iran and Egypt share a common need to reform. An overhaul of subsidies had been debated in Iran for years before Tehran took action to address its $60 billion bill - under the pressure of necessity, after the United States tightened sanctions. Egypt, similarly, has long considered trimming energy subsidies, which now gobble up 20 percent of the budget. The matter is becoming more urgent after the revolution left the country with a double-digit fiscal deficit, increasing debt and shrinking foreign reserves.

Egypt may learn a thing or two from Iran’s extensive public relations campaign prior to the raising of prices. Iranian media went to great lengths to emphasise the social inequity of subsidies. To minimise social unrest, Cairo must ensure the country’s poor understand that they are not the main beneficiaries of the current, absurd system - if only because they live without air conditioning and drive old cars, if any.

from Breakingviews:

Egypt-Israel energy ties look broken

By Una Galani

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

Egypt and Israel’s energy ties have come unstuck. The Arab nation has terminated its long-term contract to supply gas to its neighbour in a payment dispute. In post-revolutionary Egypt, it was only a matter of time before the opaque gas deal fell apart.

from Tales from the Trail:

Washington Extra – Going nuclear?

 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission commissioner Kristine Svinicki (L) is seen here with Chairman Gregory Jaczko (C) and fellow commissioner George Apostolakis (R) listening to testimony at a meeting at the NRC's headquarters in Rockville, Maryland in this March 21, 2011 file photo. REUTERS/Larry Downing

Obama to renominate Republican to nuclear panel - President Obama will renominate Republican Kristine Svinicki to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, defying opposition from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a White House official told Reuters. Republicans want Svinicki, whose term as a commissioner expires in June, to stay on the panel and believe the process is being held up because she, along with three other commission members, accused the current NRC chairman, a Democrat, of bullying women. For more of this story by Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton, read here.

from Breakingviews:

Repsol nearly pricing in the worst

By Fiona Maharg-Bravo

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

How bad could it get for Repsol in Argentina? The Spanish oil and gas company has just had the bulk of its 57 percent stake in YPF expropriated by Buenos Aires. It’s far from clear whether Repsol will be properly compensated. Which way it goes could make big difference to its market value.

from Tales from the Trail:

Washington Extra – Pump It Up

If you had to pick a name for a deli sandwich in honor of Washington, D.C., there's one clear choice: "The Ruckus." In the city's super-charged atmosphere, politicians, lobbyists and hired aides can barely let anything go by without a fight. 

Today it was rising gasoline prices that have Republicans and Democrats at each other's throats. Both parties realize they really cannot do very much about retail prices, but they're scrambling in hopes that voters don't blame them for a pocketbook issue in an election year.

from Breakingviews:

Int’l Power does well to get better buyout from GDF

By Quentin Webb

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

International Power’s independent directors have done a decent job in securing a better buyout from GDF Suez. It’s not that easy to extract a big premium when a bidder is already a 70 percent shareholder. But the terms of the original tie-up helped, as did GDF’s evident keenness to take full control of the emerging-markets focused power generator.

from Breakingviews:

Repsol has to fight Argentina’s oily expropriation

By Fiona Maharg-Bravo and Kevin Allison
The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions expressed are their own.

Argentina’s leftist government is taking control of YPF, the oil and gas company 57 percent owned by Repsol of Spain. Worse, the state is nationalizing only Repsol’s shares. Stakes owned by Argentina’s Petersen Group, and other minorities, will escape the expropriation.

It’s not yet clear what price Argentina will pay for the shares, but given that a state tribunal will decide, it’s safe to assume Repsol will get a raw deal. Nor is this small beer for the Spanish company. YPF has accounted on average for 63 percent of Repsol’s oil and gas production since 2007 and has contributed nearly 30 percent of its group operating income, according to Société Générale estimates. What’s more, Repsol’s exposure to YPF is actually larger than it looks. Argentina’s Petersen group still owes Repsol $1.9 billion after it struck a deal to buy shares from the Spaniards. Petersen has relied on dividends from YPF to service the loan. Now Argentina may redirect these dividends into capital investment at YPF.

from Tales from the Trail:

Washington Extra – Tea Party poopers

A man holds a sign during a March 24 Tea Party Patriots rally in Washington calling for the repeal of the 2010 healthare law. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

All that Tea Party support in 2010 for the 87 House Republican freshmen seems to have come with a price -- and now it's time to collect.

from Breakingviews:

Euro zone powerless to avoid big oil divide

By Kevin Allison and Christopher Swann

The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions expressed are their own.

Higher oil prices are yet another force pushing the euro area’s economies apart. They hit gross domestic product three times harder in Greece than in Germany, according to data from Moody’s Analytics. Ireland and Italy are big losers, too. With Iran worries driving prices higher and sovereign debt fears flaring up again, governments may be even more tempted to tap strategic petroleum reserves. But that won’t guarantee lower prices.

from Breakingviews:

Int’l Power non-execs have some leverage over GDF

By Quentin Webb

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

The stock market has already done half the job for International Power’s independent directors. Two months of rumours of a full buyout from 70-percent owner GDF Suez have added something of a premium to the power generator’s shares. But now there’s official confirmation of a likely 6-billion-pound bid, IPR non-executives still have some power to push for a little more.