After a volatile fortnight, the BBC Global 30 index is back almost exactly where it was two weeks ago, give or take three or four points. Thursday this week, the index closed at 5031.16.
But during the last fortnight, the index has been all the way up to 5,100, powered by Exxon and BP as oil prices headed towards $58 a barrel.
The drug giant Pfizer has also performed well, holding on to gains it made a week ago (up 4.9% on the fortnight) after it admitted profits would fall some 25% this year, but that it was cutting costs by $4bn.
That was about $1bn more than anyone on Wall Street had expected. Much of the savings will come from what it calls "redesigning" the sales force.
Political row
CNOOC, China's biggest oil group performed well on the back of the rising oil price, but then suffered, not only as the price fell back, but also as it found itself in the middle of the political row between Japan and China.
 Exxon and BP were lifted by rising oil prices |
This week Japan allowed its own oil companies to start drilling for oil in disputed seas between Shanghai and Okinawa.
CNOOC was told on 1 April it was drilling inside Japanese waters - the Chunxio field there is expected to produce a billion cubic metres of natural gas. However CNOOC shares still managed a 0.4% gain over the two weeks.
Separately CNOOC on Tuesday said it had invested $122m in a Canadian oil sands company to boost its oil reserves, after it lost out to ChevronTexaco in the bid for Unocal.
Uncertainty about rules
Another oil company BP was handed a bill for back-taxes of $1.75bn by the Russian government for its TNK-BP joint venture.
Putin has promised claims for "back-taxes" can now only go back three years, but the markets have been rattled by the lack of ground rules.
BP is reported on Friday to be having talks with Putin himself on how it can expect to be treated.
BP shares are down 1.6% on the week.
High speed trains
Siemens of Germany was on Wednesday blocked from buying a 74% stake in the Siloviye Mashiny, the country's biggest maker of power turbines.
 Traders ditched BP shares after Russia presented a back taxes bill |
The reason, according to the Russian Parliament, was "state security". The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service said it would hurt competition.
However it did sign a 1.5bn euros deal to sell 60 high speed trains to the Russian railways.
Siemens shares are up 1.16% on the week.
Weak chemicals
BASF, the German chemicals giant signed a deal with Russian energy giant Gazprom to explore the Yuzhno Russkoye gas field in Siberia.
But chemical firms have taken a battering in the last few days as investors have worried that a slow down in the US will hurt global cyclical stocks.
DuPont is the worst performer on the index, down 7.2% and BASF is down 3.2%.
Exact timing
Microsoft was, for once, among the Global 30's best performers (up 3.2% on the week), largely thanks to news its new Xbox video game console will be revealed to the public on MTV in May.
Microsoft is thought to be releasing details early enough to be ahead of the competition, Sony and Nintendo, which are unlikely to release new consoles this year, and not so early as to destroy sales of its old Xbox, and leave itself with piles of inventory.
The best performer on the Index was Hutchison Whampoa (up 5.7%) as investors appear to be gaining confidence that it's huge investment in 3G mobile phone technology may take off.
It declared on Wednesday it might expand into Poland, and it saw a huge surge in traffic during the Pope's funeral as mourners used their "3" camera phones to capture the event, email friends and even receive crowd control instructions from the authorities.
Rival bid
Finally the Italian power group ENEL has revealed it is in exclusive talks to sell its loss making Wind telecoms unit to the Weather Investments group led by Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris.
ENEL's shares are up 0.9%.
This is a setback for Citigroup and JP Morgan, which put together a 7bn euros loan to Blackstone Group for a rival bid, the largest ever buyout loan since Kohlberg Kravis Roberts borrowed $13 to buy RJR Nabisco.
Citigroup's shares fell back to end up 1.5% on the fortnight.
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