China may boast the world’s largest potential reserves of shale gas but is likely to lose to Australia in the race to be second behind the US in bringing significant production on line.

Wall Street soared higher today after a better-than-expected reading on the gross domestic product and a drop in jobless claims gave investors some reassurance that the economy is holding up.

Near-record oil prices today in the wake of an Alaskan oilfield shutdown prompted investors to sell stocks on inflation fears, one day before the Federal Reserve’s next decision on interest rates.