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

Gold Soars to a Record High on Mideast Turmoil originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Bernanke Finally Admits to Inflation Gain from Commodity Prices

Bernanke Finally Admits to Inflation Gain from Commodity Prices originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This week we turn the calendar page, and that change brings with it a raft of economic data. Scheduled for release on Monday are pending home sales and personal income numbers for January, as well as the Chicago PMI and car and truck sales data for February.

On Tuesday, look for the ISM Manufacturing Index for February and construction spending numbers for January. That's followed on Wednesday by the week's first employment data: the Challenger Job-Cuts announcement and the ADP employment report for February. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver his semiannual monetary policy testimony before Congress on both days.

Continue reading Week in Preview: Unemployment Rate, Retail Earnings, Bernanke Testimony

Week in Preview: Unemployment Rate, Retail Earnings, Bernanke Testimony originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 27 Feb 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading U.S. Stock Futures Signal Lower Start on Wall Street

U.S. Stock Futures Signal Lower Start on Wall Street originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The past week's data-point-of-consequence for investors was delivered by none other than the head of the world's most powerful central bank. U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke underscored the nation's need to raise the debt ceiling.

Speaking at a National Press Club luncheon in Washington Thursday, Bernanke said delays in raising the debt ceiling limit, currently $14.3 trillion, could have "catastrophic" consequences, Reuters reported.

Continue reading Bernanke: Failure to Raise Debt Ceiling Could Be 'Catastrophic'

Bernanke: Failure to Raise Debt Ceiling Could Be 'Catastrophic' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 Feb 2011 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Is Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stoking inflation? Of course he is. Anyone with common sense knows that if you give $600 billion cash to the banks with no qualifications -- as he did with the second round of quantitative easing -- they will use it to speculate in the markets. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) just bought $1 billion of copper.

Bernanke's fatal mistake was that he placed no restrictions on what the banks would do with his $600 billion. If you opened the banks' books, you can bet that they've invested in commodities, currencies and foreign equities and bonds.

Continue reading Bernanke Denies Causing Inflation

Bernanke Denies Causing Inflation originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Friday's fourth-quarter GDP numbers offered more evidence that the economy is picking up steam, but one of the biggest obstacles to the recovery remains the stubbornly high unemployment rate. We'll find out whether there's been any movement on that front when employment data for January comes out this week. The Challenger Job-Cut report and ADP employment data are due Wednesday, and the government's unemployment rate on Friday. Another mild increase in jobs is expected, in line with the three-month average, but not enough to significantly reduce the unemployment rate.

Also look for the ISM manufacturing and nonmanufacturing indexes this week, as well as the Chicago PMI and the New York NAPM index. And Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will speak to the National Press Club on Thursday.

Continue reading Week in Preview: January Employment Data, UPS Earnings and More

Week in Preview: January Employment Data, UPS Earnings and More originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 30 Jan 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) issued its statement indicating again that interest rates will remain low for an extended period of time and that quantitative easing will continue with the purchase of "$600 billion of longer-term Treasury securities by the end of the second quarter of 2011."

There were no dissents against the FOMC statement.

The FOMC left its options open for the future and gave no specific guidance as to what actions it will take when QE2 ends.

Continue reading The Fed Decision: It's All about Unemployment!

The Fed Decision: It's All about Unemployment! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Although the U.S. economy has added jobs in recent months, the unemployment rate remains uncomfortably high at 9.8%. The rate for December is due out on Friday and is expected to drop to 9.7%. However, no one seems to expect significant improvement until well into the new year.

Other economic data on this week's schedule include:

• Monday: ISM Manufacturing Index, construction spending and auto sales data

Continue reading Week in Preview: Unemployment Rate, Retail and Auto Sales

Week in Preview: Unemployment Rate, Retail and Auto Sales originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 02 Jan 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Home Prices Are About to Bottom" was the headline for the Barron's cover story the week of July 14, 2008. The story explained that the housing market should level off in many areas of the country by the end of the year.

I have made some equally unfortunate prognostications in my tenure at BloggingStocks, so my purpose is not to poke fun at Barron's but to point out that here we are, over two years later, and it is still debatable whether the housing market has bottomed out.

Continue reading Chasing Value: "Home Prices Are About to Bottom"

Chasing Value: "Home Prices Are About to Bottom" originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Fed's Beige Book Shows Moderate Growth, Market Doesn't React

Fed's Beige Book Shows Moderate Growth, Market Doesn't React originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave his reasons for more quantitative easing, dubbed QE2, in a speech at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and reported in the Wall Street Journal.

The linchpin of his thesis is that inflation is too low, currently running at 1.1%. This is lower than the 2% level that the Fed had previously set.

Bernanke gave a rather gloomy assessment of the economy, saying that business spending has slowed, consumer finances are improving unevenly, housing remains depressed and job growth isn't enough to bring down unemployment.

Continue reading Bernanke: Inflation Too Low and Economic Growth Too Slow

Bernanke: Inflation Too Low and Economic Growth Too Slow originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There is growing debate over whether another round of quantitative easing (QE2) will ease unemployment.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser set out guidelines for more stimulus. He said: "I think that before we engage in further quantitative easing, we need to be very clear about what it is we are trying to do, how we're going to go about doing it, how we're going to measure whether we're effective at it or not, and how we're going to communicate that."

Continue reading Philly Fed President: How Will QE2 Ease Unemployment?

Philly Fed President: How Will QE2 Ease Unemployment? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While the market deals with the recent news that August housing starts hit a four-month high, most investors and analysts will remain focused on this afternoon's announcement from the Federal Reserve Bank.

The central bank will announce at 2:15 PM if it has decided to take any steps toward kick-starting economic growth. The main vehicle for such a kick in the market's pants is quantitative easing, which is purchasing government bonds in order to add more money to the system.

Continue reading Investors Remain Focused on Fed Announcement

Investors Remain Focused on Fed Announcement originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, has long advocated fiscal conservatism. In a recent interview for CNBC, he told the U.S. to stop printing money, bite the bullet and go on an austerity program. His ideas are sound but are falling on deaf ears at the Federal Reserve. Rogers said that he would rather have Europe manage our fiscal policy.

We must remember that Fed chairman Ben Bernanke has already pledged and spent $12.8 trillion dollars to bail a handful of bankers. Now he says he will spend more if needed. He is already pumping money into the economy by buying treasuries with the proceeds of expiring securities.

Continue reading Rogers: U.S. Should Adopt Austerity Measures

Rogers: U.S. Should Adopt Austerity Measures originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Friday morning, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated that the central bank is ready to take further action if necessary. In prepared remarks, Bernanke told the assembled conference at Jackson, Wy., that the Fed would consider another large-scale purchase of securities should the economy "deteriorate significantly and signs of deflation were to flare."

Bernanke didn't give a specific plan of action, but his intimations suggest we could see another Fed purchase of securities, either government debt or mortgage securities. The Fed would do this to drive down rates on mortgages in hopes of prompting more Americans to spend money.

Continue reading Will The Fed Take Action? Bernanke Says Yes

Will The Fed Take Action? Bernanke Says Yes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Labor Department reported that producer prices rose 0.2% in July. Excluding food and energy, core producer prices rose 0.3%. Core prices are up 1.5% the the past year.

Last Friday the Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose in July.

The Labor Department's numbers for core prices are real joke. We spend most of our income on basics: food and energy. If you think there is no inflation, look at these numbers:

Continue reading U.S. Producer Prices Rise in July: Who Says There's No Inflation?

U.S. Producer Prices Rise in July: Who Says There's No Inflation? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) issued its statement indicating again that interest rates will remain low for an extended period of time and that proceeds from agency debt and agency mortgage-backed and Treasury securities will be re-invested into Treasury securities. Thomas Hoenig dissented against the FOMC statement and wants a tighter monetary policy.

The FOMC mentioned the economic improvement continuing albeit at a reduced pace but indicated that it was a mixed picture with high unemployment and depressed housing. It also mentioned that "bank lending has continued to contract."

Continue reading The Fed Decision: Quantitative Easing Continues!

The Fed Decision: Quantitative Easing Continues! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) meets again on Tuesday. Though the August meeting of the FOMC is generally uneventful, this time there is speculation about whether the FOMC will resort again to some quantitative easing -- a way of pumping additional money into the financial system.

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke has already hinted at such a move, given that economic growth has clearly slowed. Last week's disappointing employment numbers are the latest confirmation of that. The question is whether the Fed's decision to take action will happen at this week's meeting, perhaps aggravating deflation fears, or it may wait until the September meeting, at which point it risks impacting the upcoming mid-term elections.

Continue reading The Week in Preview: FOMC Meeting, Consumer Sentiment, Retail Earnings

The Week in Preview: FOMC Meeting, Consumer Sentiment, Retail Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 08 Aug 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Oil Falls On Bearish Inventory Report and Bernanke Testimony

Oil Falls On Bearish Inventory Report and Bernanke Testimony originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.