CNOOC bid dead

Chinese Company Ends Unocal Bid, Citing Political Hurdles
People familiar with Cnooc’s decision to pull out of the bidding say the Chinese company was reluctant to increase its own initial bid because Washington seemed unlikely to approve the deal and had even adopted legislation that would slow the approval process. Unocal’s board of directors had also done little to favor Cnooc, which is based in Beijing and is also known as the China National Offshore Oil Corporation.
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“The way the U.S. government has treated Cnooc and politicized the deal will largely frustrate Chinese companies,” said Han Xiaoping, the chief information officer at Falcon Power Limited, an energy consulting firm based in Beijing. “The companies not only in oil but all other industries will no want to play the game by the U.S. rules.”

I had speculated that CNOONC would raise their bid. It didn't happen. Too much heat. It is certainly the case that oil is a strategic asset for any country, but the difficulty lies in the fact that the free tradin' United States will import Chinese goods, but won't allow China to convert these earnings into other valuable assets.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop.