FeedPosted Mar 13th 2011 12:30PM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Forecasts, NIKE, Inc'B' (NKE), Economic Data, Federal Reserve
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets again this week to review economic conditions and set monetary policy. On whether the Fed should end quantitative easing or extend it, Atlanta Fed chairman Dennis Lockhart recently said that the Fed should remain flexible given the rising energy prices, which could be a sign of coming inflation. Either at this meeting or the next, the Fed could signal that interest rates will rise as a hedge against inflation.
Inflation will also be the focus when the Department of Labor releases the Producer Price Index (PPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) this week. Back in January the core PPI (which excludes energy and food costs) had its biggest jump in two years, and the core CPI had its largest uptick in more than year, the second month in a row in which consumer prices jumped.
Continue reading Week in Preview: Inflation, the FOMC and Nike Earnings
Posted Mar 5th 2011 3:10PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Good news, Economic Data, Federal Reserve, Recession
This past week's data point of significance for investors has to be the February nonfarm payroll report by the U.S. Department of Labor, which indicated that the U.S. economy created 192,000 jobs last month -- roughly in-line with the consensus estimate.
The good news was complemented by the fact that January's job gain was revised up to 63,000 from 36,000 and December's to 152,000 from 121,000. January's low job tally was probably skewed lower by the winter blizzards and storms that hit the Northeast and Midwest; hence, it's safe to say that the economy is creating jobs. What it needs now is sustained demand to drive GDP growth, which will lead to stronger job growth.
Continue reading Ray of Light: U.S. Private Sector Hiring Increases
Posted Mar 3rd 2011 9:20AM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Commodities, Oil, Federal Reserve, Currency
The U.S. dollar is coming under increasing pressure on several fronts. First and foremost is oil. Oil closed at $102 per barrel Wednesday for the first time in over two years. Oil has been driven upwards by the turmoil in the Middle East. The Libyan situation is getting worse with both sides vowing to fight on. There is unrest throughout the Arab region. The great fear for the West is that oil flows may be disrupted. The U.S. dollar usually moves inversely to oil. Today the March futures closed at 76.689, down .394
Continue reading U.S. Dollar Is Getting Hammered
Posted Mar 2nd 2011 12:20PM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Middle East, Market Matters, Commodities, Federal Reserve
Gold has been lingering around the $1,335 per ounce for the past several weeks. This prompted many hedge funds to sell their holdings.
Then came the turmoil in the Mideast. First Tunisia and Egypt, now Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and others. That was the catalyst that gold needed. It shot to a new record high of $1,432.10 in the spot market. April gold futures settled at $1,431.20 per ounce, as reported in Reuters.
Continue reading Gold Soars to a Record High on Mideast Turmoil
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