The Fund seeks to profit from corporate events such as takeovers and bankruptcies and uses leverage to 【amplify】 returns.

Passage 1In a turnaround that would have been unthinkable a few years ago, the US is predicted to become the world’s top oil and gas producer by 2020, passing Russia and Saudi Arabia.That is the message of a report produced by PFC Energy, a consultancy, in November. The reason is the rapid growth of production from shale rock sources because of advances in technology.The forecast, on a barrel of oil equivalent basis, is a marked change for a country where overall oil, gas, and gas liquids production peaked in the early 1970s.The growth in extraction from shale has made the US the world’s largest producer of natural gas. It is now poised to enter the global liquefied natural gas export market.“North America is the second-largest source of additional LNG capacity in this decade after Australia,” Nikos Tsafos, senior manager in upstream and gas at PFC. “That is truly astonishing. ”Just 10 years ago the US was trying to build terminals to import LNG. Today, those who had expected to import are moving to refit facilities so they can now export.In late October, the BG Group signed the first long-term agreement to buy LNG from the Gulf coast, taking the US a step closer to becoming an exporter.Roger Ihne, principal in the energy and resources practice at Deloitte, the consultancy, estimates that if the three terminals that have been approved for export proceed with their plans, the amount of gas sent abroad would be just under 10 percent of current US consumption.And the impact on prices would be minimal, adds Tom Choi, Deloitte’s national practice leader for gas in the consultancy’s MarketPoint forecasting group. He estimates that even with that amount of fuel exported, US natural gas prices would only rise less than 2 percent because the resource is so abundant.“Even if the US substantially increased the use of natural gas, there would still be substantial gas left to meet its domestic needs for decades,” Mr Ihne says.Nonetheless, US manufacturers, who have gained substantially from the drop in US natural gas prices associated with the shale production boom, are worried. The Industrial Energy Consumers of America, a non-partisan association of leading manufacturing companies with $700bn in annual sales, is urging changes to the natural gas export permit process.16.It has always been believed that the US will become the world’s top oil and gas producer.

Passage 1In a turnaround that would have been unthinkable a few years ago, the US is predicted to become the world’s top oil and gas producer by 2020, passing Russia and Saudi Arabia.That is the message of a report produced by PFC Energy, a consultancy, in November. The reason is the rapid growth of production from shale rock sources because of advances in technology.The forecast, on a barrel of oil equivalent basis, is a marked change for a country where overall oil, gas, and gas liquids production peaked in the early 1970s.The growth in extraction from shale has made the US the world’s largest producer of natural gas. It is now poised to enter the global liquefied natural gas export market.“North America is the second-largest source of additional LNG capacity in this decade after Australia,” Nikos Tsafos, senior manager in upstream and gas at PFC. “That is truly astonishing. ”Just 10 years ago the US was trying to build terminals to import LNG. Today, those who had expected to import are moving to refit facilities so they can now export.In late October, the BG Group signed the first long-term agreement to buy LNG from the Gulf coast, taking the US a step closer to becoming an exporter.Roger Ihne, principal in the energy and resources practice at Deloitte, the consultancy, estimates that if the three terminals that have been approved for export proceed with their plans, the amount of gas sent abroad would be just under 10 percent of current US consumption.And the impact on prices would be minimal, adds Tom Choi, Deloitte’s national practice leader for gas in the consultancy’s MarketPoint forecasting group. He estimates that even with that amount of fuel exported, US natural gas prices would only rise less than 2 percent because the resource is so abundant.“Even if the US substantially increased the use of natural gas, there would still be substantial gas left to meet its domestic needs for decades,” Mr Ihne says.Nonetheless, US manufacturers, who have gained substantially from the drop in US natural gas prices associated with the shale production boom, are worried. The Industrial Energy Consumers of America, a non-partisan association of leading manufacturing companies with $700bn in annual sales, is urging changes to the natural gas export permit process.17.In the past ten years, Australia has been the largest source of additional liquefied natural gas capacity.

Passage 1In a turnaround that would have been unthinkable a few years ago, the US is predicted to become the world’s top oil and gas producer by 2020, passing Russia and Saudi Arabia.That is the message of a report produced by PFC Energy, a consultancy, in November. The reason is the rapid growth of production from shale rock sources because of advances in technology.The forecast, on a barrel of oil equivalent basis, is a marked change for a country where overall oil, gas, and gas liquids production peaked in the early 1970s.The growth in extraction from shale has made the US the world’s largest producer of natural gas. It is now poised to enter the global liquefied natural gas export market.“North America is the second-largest source of additional LNG capacity in this decade after Australia,” Nikos Tsafos, senior manager in upstream and gas at PFC. “That is truly astonishing. ”Just 10 years ago the US was trying to build terminals to import LNG. Today, those who had expected to import are moving to refit facilities so they can now export.In late October, the BG Group signed the first long-term agreement to buy LNG from the Gulf coast, taking the US a step closer to becoming an exporter.Roger Ihne, principal in the energy and resources practice at Deloitte, the consultancy, estimates that if the three terminals that have been approved for export proceed with their plans, the amount of gas sent abroad would be just under 10 percent of current US consumption.And the impact on prices would be minimal, adds Tom Choi, Deloitte’s national practice leader for gas in the consultancy’s MarketPoint forecasting group. He estimates that even with that amount of fuel exported, US natural gas prices would only rise less than 2 percent because the resource is so abundant.“Even if the US substantially increased the use of natural gas, there would still be substantial gas left to meet its domestic needs for decades,” Mr Ihne says.Nonetheless, US manufacturers, who have gained substantially from the drop in US natural gas prices associated with the shale production boom, are worried. The Industrial Energy Consumers of America, a non-partisan association of leading manufacturing companies with $700bn in annual sales, is urging changes to the natural gas export permit process.18.The long-term agreement to buy liquefied natural gas from the Gulf coast the BG Group signed has brought the US closer to the status of a gas exporter.

Passage 1In a turnaround that would have been unthinkable a few years ago, the US is predicted to become the world’s top oil and gas producer by 2020, passing Russia and Saudi Arabia.That is the message of a report produced by PFC Energy, a consultancy, in November. The reason is the rapid growth of production from shale rock sources because of advances in technology.The forecast, on a barrel of oil equivalent basis, is a marked change for a country where overall oil, gas, and gas liquids production peaked in the early 1970s.The growth in extraction from shale has made the US the world’s largest producer of natural gas. It is now poised to enter the global liquefied natural gas export market.“North America is the second-largest source of additional LNG capacity in this decade after Australia,” Nikos Tsafos, senior manager in upstream and gas at PFC. “That is truly astonishing. ”Just 10 years ago the US was trying to build terminals to import LNG. Today, those who had expected to import are moving to refit facilities so they can now export.In late October, the BG Group signed the first long-term agreement to buy LNG from the Gulf coast, taking the US a step closer to becoming an exporter.Roger Ihne, principal in the energy and resources practice at Deloitte, the consultancy, estimates that if the three terminals that have been approved for export proceed with their plans, the amount of gas sent abroad would be just under 10 percent of current US consumption.And the impact on prices would be minimal, adds Tom Choi, Deloitte’s national practice leader for gas in the consultancy’s MarketPoint forecasting group. He estimates that even with that amount of fuel exported, US natural gas prices would only rise less than 2 percent because the resource is so abundant.“Even if the US substantially increased the use of natural gas, there would still be substantial gas left to meet its domestic needs for decades,” Mr Ihne says.Nonetheless, US manufacturers, who have gained substantially from the drop in US natural gas prices associated with the shale production boom, are worried. The Industrial Energy Consumers of America, a non-partisan association of leading manufacturing companies with $700bn in annual sales, is urging changes to the natural gas export permit process.19.With fuel export increasing, US natural gas prices will rise substantially.

Passage 1In a turnaround that would have been unthinkable a few years ago, the US is predicted to become the world’s top oil and gas producer by 2020, passing Russia and Saudi Arabia.That is the message of a report produced by PFC Energy, a consultancy, in November. The reason is the rapid growth of production from shale rock sources because of advances in technology.The forecast, on a barrel of oil equivalent basis, is a marked change for a country where overall oil, gas, and gas liquids production peaked in the early 1970s.The growth in extraction from shale has made the US the world’s largest producer of natural gas. It is now poised to enter the global liquefied natural gas export market.“North America is the second-largest source of additional LNG capacity in this decade after Australia,” Nikos Tsafos, senior manager in upstream and gas at PFC. “That is truly astonishing. ”Just 10 years ago the US was trying to build terminals to import LNG. Today, those who had expected to import are moving to refit facilities so they can now export.In late October, the BG Group signed the first long-term agreement to buy LNG from the Gulf coast, taking the US a step closer to becoming an exporter.Roger Ihne, principal in the energy and resources practice at Deloitte, the consultancy, estimates that if the three terminals that have been approved for export proceed with their plans, the amount of gas sent abroad would be just under 10 percent of current US consumption.And the impact on prices would be minimal, adds Tom Choi, Deloitte’s national practice leader for gas in the consultancy’s MarketPoint forecasting group. He estimates that even with that amount of fuel exported, US natural gas prices would only rise less than 2 percent because the resource is so abundant.“Even if the US substantially increased the use of natural gas, there would still be substantial gas left to meet its domestic needs for decades,” Mr Ihne says.Nonetheless, US manufacturers, who have gained substantially from the drop in US natural gas prices associated with the shale production boom, are worried. The Industrial Energy Consumers of America, a non-partisan association of leading manufacturing companies with $700bn in annual sales, is urging changes to the natural gas export permit process.20.From the last paragraph, we can infer that the idea of natural gas export is not popular with US manufacturers.

Passage 2When Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) began expanding outside North America in the 1990s, its toughest rival was the French retail chain Carrefour. After opening the world’s first big-box superstore in 1963, Carrefour spent three decades spreading its combination grocery-and-general-merchandise stores across Europe, South America, and Asia. Today, the retailer is in trouble around the globe. On Oct. 13, Carrefour issued its fifth profit warning in less than a year as it reported slumping third-quarter sales in key Western European and Asian markets. Chief Executive Officer Lars Olofsson, recruited from Nestlé in 2009, is the company’s third CEO in seven years, and four top executives have been replaced in the past 12 months.Carrefour shares have plunged nearly two-thirds since 2007, when LVMH Moёt Hennessy Louis Vuitton CEO Bernard Arnault along with U.S. real estate investment group Colony Capital spent $5.5 billion on a 9.8 percent stake. That investment is now worth less than $2 billion. They “got the timing wrong” on Carrefour, says Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) analyst Justin Scarborough. “The markets they’re in have come under huge amounts of pressure since 2008 and lots of those pressures aren’t going to go away. ” Arnault and Colony declined interview requests.That means Carrefour has fallen far behind $467 billion Wal-Mart. Though they have about the same number of retail locations (9,667 for Wal-Mart, vs. Carrefour’s 9,631), Wal-Mart’s international sales now top $109 billion, almost surpassing Carrefour’s total $114 billion in revenues. While Wal-Mart has generated roughly 7.5 percent operating margins in recent years, Carrefour managed only 5.5 percent. In profits, the divide is particularly acute: Walmart last year logged net income of $7,804 per employee while Carrefour earned just $1,260.21.Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) is now in trouble around the globe.

Passage 2When Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) began expanding outside North America in the 1990s, its toughest rival was the French retail chain Carrefour. After opening the world’s first big-box superstore in 1963, Carrefour spent three decades spreading its combination grocery-and-general-merchandise stores across Europe, South America, and Asia. Today, the retailer is in trouble around the globe. On Oct. 13, Carrefour issued its fifth profit warning in less than a year as it reported slumping third-quarter sales in key Western European and Asian markets. Chief Executive Officer Lars Olofsson, recruited from Nestlé in 2009, is the company’s third CEO in seven years, and four top executives have been replaced in the past 12 months.Carrefour shares have plunged nearly two-thirds since 2007, when LVMH Moёt Hennessy Louis Vuitton CEO Bernard Arnault along with U.S. real estate investment group Colony Capital spent $5.5 billion on a 9.8 percent stake. That investment is now worth less than $2 billion. They “got the timing wrong” on Carrefour, says Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) analyst Justin Scarborough. “The markets they’re in have come under huge amounts of pressure since 2008 and lots of those pressures aren’t going to go away. ” Arnault and Colony declined interview requests.That means Carrefour has fallen far behind $467 billion Wal-Mart. Though they have about the same number of retail locations (9,667 for Wal-Mart, vs. Carrefour’s 9,631), Wal-Mart’s international sales now top $109 billion, almost surpassing Carrefour’s total $114 billion in revenues. While Wal-Mart has generated roughly 7.5 percent operating margins in recent years, Carrefour managed only 5.5 percent. In profits, the divide is particularly acute: Walmart last year logged net income of $7,804 per employee while Carrefour earned just $1,260.22.In the past year, Carrefour has undergone some personnel changes.

Passage 2When Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) began expanding outside North America in the 1990s, its toughest rival was the French retail chain Carrefour. After opening the world’s first big-box superstore in 1963, Carrefour spent three decades spreading its combination grocery-and-general-merchandise stores across Europe, South America, and Asia. Today, the retailer is in trouble around the globe. On Oct. 13, Carrefour issued its fifth profit warning in less than a year as it reported slumping third-quarter sales in key Western European and Asian markets. Chief Executive Officer Lars Olofsson, recruited from Nestlé in 2009, is the company’s third CEO in seven years, and four top executives have been replaced in the past 12 months.Carrefour shares have plunged nearly two-thirds since 2007, when LVMH Moёt Hennessy Louis Vuitton CEO Bernard Arnault along with U.S. real estate investment group Colony Capital spent $5.5 billion on a 9.8 percent stake. That investment is now worth less than $2 billion. They “got the timing wrong” on Carrefour, says Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) analyst Justin Scarborough. “The markets they’re in have come under huge amounts of pressure since 2008 and lots of those pressures aren’t going to go away. ” Arnault and Colony declined interview requests.That means Carrefour has fallen far behind $467 billion Wal-Mart. Though they have about the same number of retail locations (9,667 for Wal-Mart, vs. Carrefour’s 9,631), Wal-Mart’s international sales now top $109 billion, almost surpassing Carrefour’s total $114 billion in revenues. While Wal-Mart has generated roughly 7.5 percent operating margins in recent years, Carrefour managed only 5.5 percent. In profits, the divide is particularly acute: Walmart last year logged net income of $7,804 per employee while Carrefour earned just $1,260.23.LVMH and Colony Capital have lost quite a lot of money on their investment in Carrefour.

Passage 2When Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) began expanding outside North America in the 1990s, its toughest rival was the French retail chain Carrefour. After opening the world’s first big-box superstore in 1963, Carrefour spent three decades spreading its combination grocery-and-general-merchandise stores across Europe, South America, and Asia. Today, the retailer is in trouble around the globe. On Oct. 13, Carrefour issued its fifth profit warning in less than a year as it reported slumping third-quarter sales in key Western European and Asian markets. Chief Executive Officer Lars Olofsson, recruited from Nestlé in 2009, is the company’s third CEO in seven years, and four top executives have been replaced in the past 12 months.Carrefour shares have plunged nearly two-thirds since 2007, when LVMH Moёt Hennessy Louis Vuitton CEO Bernard Arnault along with U.S. real estate investment group Colony Capital spent $5.5 billion on a 9.8 percent stake. That investment is now worth less than $2 billion. They “got the timing wrong” on Carrefour, says Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) analyst Justin Scarborough. “The markets they’re in have come under huge amounts of pressure since 2008 and lots of those pressures aren’t going to go away. ” Arnault and Colony declined interview requests.That means Carrefour has fallen far behind $467 billion Wal-Mart. Though they have about the same number of retail locations (9,667 for Wal-Mart, vs. Carrefour’s 9,631), Wal-Mart’s international sales now top $109 billion, almost surpassing Carrefour’s total $114 billion in revenues. While Wal-Mart has generated roughly 7.5 percent operating margins in recent years, Carrefour managed only 5.5 percent. In profits, the divide is particularly acute: Walmart last year logged net income of $7,804 per employee while Carrefour earned just $1,260.24.Carrefour has fallen behind Wal-Mart because it has few retail locations around the world.