Continue reading Oil Closes at Two-and-a-Half Year High

Oil Closes at Two-and-a-Half Year High originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

U.S. Dollar Is Getting Hammered originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Serious Money: Chavez & Gaddafi, Real Blues Brothers

Serious Money: Chavez & Gaddafi, Real Blues Brothers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Amid the political and social uprisings in the Middle East, and union protests in the U.S., a recent speech by a pivotal U.S. policy maker received little attention, but it's one that investors should review.

In a speech before the recent G-20 meeting, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged emerging market nations to address the flood of money streaming into their markets.

Continue reading Bernanke: Emerging Markets Need to Address Capital Flows

Bernanke: Emerging Markets Need to Address Capital Flows originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The beleaguered U.S. dollar, which has weakened about 50% versus the euro and about 11% versus the British pound since 2002, is down but hardly out.

The dollar has rallied in the past two months versus the euro (up 8%) and pound (up about 4%), on renewed concern about sovereign debt in Europe. This time, the concern is about Portugal's debt, and the impact continued credit market woes would have on both euro-zone and United Kingdom GDP growth.

On Tuesday, Portugal's Prime Minister Jose Socrates said his country will not need a bail-out, and its budget deficit will be lower than forecast, Bloomberg News reported. He said rumors that the country needs aid are helping "speculators" while hurting Portugal and driving down the euro.

Continue reading Europe Debt Concerns Continue to Weigh on Euro, Support Dollar

Europe Debt Concerns Continue to Weigh on Euro, Support Dollar originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading U.S. Stock Futures Up as Investors Await Economic Data

U.S. Stock Futures Up as Investors Await Economic Data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

U.S. stocks closed lower on Monday, with the Dow index falling 0.2%.

No major U.S. economic data are due to be released today.

Continue reading U.S. Stock Futures Higher as Obama Agrees to Extend Tax Cuts

U.S. Stock Futures Higher as Obama Agrees to Extend Tax Cuts originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading U.S. Futures Trading Lower Ahead of Economic Data

U.S. Futures Trading Lower Ahead of Economic Data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The recent sell-off in risk assets can be largely attributed to the strength in the U.S. dollar. While on a longer term basis the general decline in the greenback may make fundamental sense, on a near term basis, the currency looks to be oversold and could continue to rally for weeks or months. This is particularly true when considering the precarious nature of the European sovereign debt situation.

It was not that long ago that many observers and investors were calling for the euro to hit parity with the greenback. The recent Irish problems suggest that this kind of talk may get started once again and a substantial decline in the euro seems like a possibility. This is a bullish indication for the dollar.

Continue reading Risk/Reward in the Dollar Attractive (UUP)

Risk/Reward in the Dollar Attractive (UUP) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The eurozone sovereign debt crisis has bubbled to the surface again. This time Ireland is in the cross hairs. Ireland may need aid, primarily to bail out its banks. Ireland says it has enough cash to carry it through next summer, but the key concern is keeping Irish banks afloat during this crisis. So far, Ireland hasn't requested financial aid from the European Union.

This uncertainty has set off a selling spree in the euro. About two weeks ago the euro was trading at $1.42. Since the Irish crisis began the euro dropped to $1.35.

Continue reading Traders and Investors Selling the Euro

Traders and Investors Selling the Euro originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Futures Lower on Cisco, China Inflation

Futures Lower on Cisco, China Inflation originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Reuters quoted Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as saying: "We're not in the business of trying to create inflation. Our purpose is to provide additional stimulus to help the economy recover and to avoid potentially additional disinflation, which I think we'll all agree could also be worrisome."

Bernanke claims that inflation is below the Fed's 2% target. That's hogwash! Sure if you use the "core" CPI, which leaves out food and energy, that may be the case. Not to worry.

Continue reading Bernanke Says He Does Not Want to Create Inflation

Bernanke Says He Does Not Want to Create Inflation originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 07 Nov 2010 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The gold market exploded Thursday with the December contract up $45.50 to $1,383.10 per ounce, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

As usual, there are lots of reasons for the spectacular rise. The two main ones are currency worries and inflation.

Let's take the currency issue first. The December U.S. dollar contract is hovering just above the 75 level. That level held and the dollar then rose to 89.11. Now it has come back down to the 75 level. A breach of 75 would signal a further move down.

Continue reading Gold Powers to a Record $1,383 per Ounce

Gold Powers to a Record $1,383 per Ounce originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading U.S. Dollar Continues to Fall

U.S. Dollar Continues to Fall originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Crude Oil Tops $83 a Barrel

Crude Oil Tops $83 a Barrel originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Dollar Sharply Lower, Causing a Rush into Commodities and Equities

Dollar Sharply Lower, Causing a Rush into Commodities and Equities originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Gold Roars to a New Record

Gold Roars to a New Record originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 Oct 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The U.S. dollar has been under siege since June when the U.S. dollar futures index reached a high of 89.11. In today's trading the index traded at 77.34. According to Federal Reserve minutes released Tuesday, it looks like the Fed is behind this -- engineering a weaker dollar to boost commodities and the stock market and give U.S. exporters an edge in world trade, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The very fact that the Fed plans additional purchases of U.S. Treasuries to stimulate the economy is almost a sure bet to further devaluation of the dollar. The Fed prefers inflation because it is deathly afraid of deflation. The Fed sees inflation as the better of the two evils.

Continue reading Is the U.S. Trying to Devalue the Dollar?

Is the U.S. Trying to Devalue the Dollar? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A weekend meeting of global finance ministers was sponsored by the International Monetary Fund to deal with the growing currency imbalances in world economies. The two big players -- the U.S. and China -- instead of reaching a consensus, ended farther apart with each side digging in and pushing back against the other.

Zhou Xiaochuan, China's central bank governor told the Financial Times: "The continuation of relatively low interest rates and unconventional monetary policies by major reserve currency issuers have created stark challenges for emerging market countries in the conduct of monetary policy."

Continue reading Currency Tensions Rise as Nothing Happens at IMF Meeting

Currency Tensions Rise as Nothing Happens at IMF Meeting originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

William Dudley, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said today that further Fed easing is needed if the economy does not improve. That was the trigger for gold and oil, which moved higher. Gold set a new record with the spot price at $1,317.10 in London. The December futures contract is trading at $1,317.10, up $8.20, Reuters reported.

The remark about the possibility of the Fed easing also triggered a sharp drop in the U.S. dollar. December futures are trading at 78.51, down 0.428. In a knee-jerk reaction, November oil spiked to $81.24 per barrel, up $1.27.

Continue reading Gold Sets Another Record High

Gold Sets Another Record High originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.