Sometimes you can get an indication of market trend by looking at the prices of futures contracts in the forward months. Oil futures contracts trade out as far a 2017. Oil futures contracts for the year 2017 are trading a just a shade under $100 per barrel, while spot crude was trading at $77.65 per barrel (spot prices are cash prices.)

The International Energy Agency has said that last year's spike of oil prices to $147 per barrel was a contributing factor in tipping the world into recession. It damaged trade balances, reduced household income and dampened growth, putting pressure on inflation and interest rates.

Continue reading Long dated oil contracts surge to almost $100 per barrel

Long dated oil contracts surge to almost $100 per barrel originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Why are stocks surging to new 2009 highs?

Why are stocks surging to new 2009 highs? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

US Senator Bernie Sanders, independent from Vermont, is known for his straightforward and unbiased positions.

His new legislative proposal is to break up big banks that are deemed "too big to fail." To quote Mr. Sanders: "if an institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist. We should break them up so they are no longer in a position to bring down our entire economy."

Continue reading Senator Sanders proposes legislation to break up large banks

Senator Sanders proposes legislation to break up large banks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Now we have round two. The US has imposed import duties of up to 99% on $2.6 billion dollars of Chinese pipe imports.

The ruling is temporary, however, US Customs will start collecting cash or bond deposits on imports. A final ruling will be made in March. Meanwhile, President Obama plans his first visit to China within a few weeks.

Continue reading US/China trade war heats up with duties slapped on steel pipe imports

US/China trade war heats up with duties slapped on steel pipe imports originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) has initiated a new Deed to Lease program in which homeowners facing foreclosure will be able to stay in their homes as renters.

During the first half of the year, Fannie Mae has acquired 57,000 homes through foreclosure. These are owners who do not qualify for mortgage restructuring. They must demonstrate that they could not pay their mortgage but can pay rent. The rents paid are lower than their previous mortgage payment.

Continue reading Fannie Mae will rent to owners in foreclosure

Fannie Mae will rent to owners in foreclosure originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After haggling since September the US Senate finally passed an extension for unemployed persons and extended the credit for first time home buyers.

The situation for unemployed persons is dire. Here are just a few facts about their current situation:

• We have 15 million unemployed vying for just three million available jobs.
• 200,000 persons lost their benefits since September
• 7000 persons a day are losing their benefits.
• More than 1/3 of the unemployed have been out or work for at least six months.

Continue reading US Senate extends jobless benefits and first time home buyer credit

US Senate extends jobless benefits and first time home buyer credit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Slowly, developing countries are shifting their reserves away from the dollar into the euro and yen. Neil Mellor, strategist at Bank of New York Mellon Corp (NYSE: BK), which has some $20 trillion dollars in assets under custody said: "I don't think there will be an imminent move, but it is quite clear there's a plan to shift reserves to a more balanced portfolio."

Barclays Capital Research reported that central banks placed 63% of new cash in non US currencies between April and July.

Continue reading Central Banks lead a shift away from the dollar

Central Banks lead a shift away from the dollar originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

They are the masters of the game. Who are they? They are the traders at Goldman Sachs.

Why is Goldman Sachs Co. (NYSE: GS) the best? Take a look at the record. Goldman traders had one loss in the third quarter. They had a string of 36 $100 million days out of 65 trading days. These figures were down slightly when Goldman had 46 $100 million trades in the second quarter.

Continue reading Goldman traders are the best on the Street

Goldman traders are the best on the Street originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

American businesses are setting up shop in Mexico instead of China. China, which was the number one location for manufacture of goods bound for the U.S., has fallen into third place. Mexico is now number one, followed by India.

Several factors have converged to make Mexico an attractive place for manufacture. Daniel Silva of the Mission Economic Development Authority said: "Compared to China, Mexico offers better access to North American markets with a shorter, faster and cheaper transportation route to move products and supplies by truck, rather than over thousands of miles by ship, rail and truck combined."

Continue reading Mexico beats China in American assembly for export factories

Mexico beats China in American assembly for export factories originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wednesday, the Fed announced that interest rates would remain at zero to 0.25% for at least the next six months.

The Fed statement read as follows: "weak conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period." The only change in the Fed's policy was a tweak in the amount of corporate debt that the Fed intends to buy.

Continue reading Will the Fed's loose money policy be successful?

Will the Fed's loose money policy be successful? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The National Bankruptcy Research Center reported that there were 135,914 bankruptcies in October, up 9%. One third of the bankruptcies were filed under Chapter 13. Chapter 13 requires that the court set up a five year repayment plan for debts owed.

In addition business bankruptcies were up 7% for the same period.The forecast is for 1.4 million bankruptcies in 2009, the highest since 2005. In that year Congress revamped the bankruptcy laws to make it more difficult to wipe out all of a person's debts. There was a rush of filings in the months just before the new law was enacted.

Continue reading Personal bankruptcies skyrocket 9% in October

Personal bankruptcies skyrocket 9% in October originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With the advent of computers, the world has changed. People use computers to shop online, get their news, express their opinions and search the world for information about almost anything we can imagine.

Now churches are using the computer to provide church services with all of the components of a regular church service, expect for person to person interaction. These sites are interactive and even provide music as well as live pod casts.

Continue reading Would you 'worship' at an online church?

Would you 'worship' at an online church? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What is COBRA? COBRA is a federal program that allows you to continue your health insurance after you leave a company. If you choose this option, you must pay your share and the company's share of your health insurance. For singles it averages about $400.00 and for families it averages $1050.00

Continue reading COBRA subsidy for unemployed set to expire

COBRA subsidy for unemployed set to expire originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sorry to say that the jobs report for October is bleak. According to ADP National Employment, 203,000 jobs were lost.

Since the recession started, U.S. job losses have risen from 7.6 million to 15 million.

Here are the numbers by sectors:

Continue reading U.S. loses 203,000 jobs in October

U.S. loses 203,000 jobs in October originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here's a shocker: India's central bank just bought 200 tons of gold.

India paid $6.7 billion to the International Monetary Fund for the gold, securing the equivalent of 8% of the world's annual production. India's move is a clear signal that Asia is moving away from the U.S. dollar.

India's finance minister said the reason for the purchase was that the economies of Europe and the US had "collapsed."

Continue reading Why is gold trading at record levels? Look to India for the answer

Why is gold trading at record levels? Look to India for the answer originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

According to Emmanuel Jayet of Agricultural Commodities Research at Societe Generale in Paris, wheat prices are expected to drop 13% by the end of December. The last big drop was during 2002 when prices fell by 19%.

Stockpiles of wheat will jump 12% by next May. Investors predict a further decline due to an overabundance. On October 30, there were 6.265 put options at $4.50 per bushel, more than any other grain contract ( a put option is an option to sell.)

Continue reading Is it time to sell wheat?

Is it time to sell wheat? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Over the past decade we seen at least $1 trillion dollars spent by private equity firms. These firms have taken over companies for a pittance and then pillaged them by slashing employees and cutting costs. They then used the money to pay down debt rather than rebuilding the company.

Now all of the debt thrown on the acquired companies is coming due and it could cause another economic disaster, even bring down the economy.

Continue reading Will private equity take down the economy?

Will private equity take down the economy? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bloomberg News took a recent poll of its subscribers. Here are some highlights of the survey:

• Only 31% of investors saw investment opportunities in the stock market, down from 35% in the July survey.
• Worldwide, investors see the U.S. as the weakest link in the world economy. Twenty five percent of respondents see an unemployment rate of 11% in the U.S. next year.
• Respondents see China and India as the most promising markets and commodities are the asset of choice.
• Real Estate and bonds are out of favor, with 40% saying that bonds will have the worst returns over the next year.

Continue reading Are stocks about to get routed?

Are stocks about to get routed? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Against the backdrop of heightened public criticism, The U.S. Federal Reserve is trying to encourage banks to take the first step in controlling excessive pay and bonuses. Regulators have established broad guidelines for pay incentives and bonuses. However, they are quite loose and do not nail down any specifics. Regulators are trying to coax compliance before the end of the year.

Britain has taken the lead and mandated that a percentage of bankers' bonuses should be deferred for a number of years.

Why is there such a public outcry to curb excessive bankers' pay and bonuses?

Continue reading Fed telling banks to voluntarily adopt pay guidelines is not a good idea

Fed telling banks to voluntarily adopt pay guidelines is not a good idea originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We've had wet weather in the Midwest during the harvest season, resulting in higher grain prices.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a report on wholesale crop prices paid to farmers. Let's look at some prices:

• Corn rose 29 cents per bushel to $3.54
• Wheat jumped 8 cents per bushel to $4.56
• Soybeans dropped 1 cent per bushel to $9.74
• Wholesale milk prices jumped 7.1% in October to $1.19 per gallon. Milk prices, however are down 22% from last year.

Continue reading Wet harvest causes grain prices to rise 7.7%. Should we buy our Wheaties now?

Wet harvest causes grain prices to rise 7.7%. Should we buy our Wheaties now? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.