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Oil Futures Up on Obama's State of the Union Address

Last night was President Obama's first State of the Union address. Already, the oil market is benefiting from the speech, as it gave a sense of optimism for the economy, according to some analysts. That is, if you can call a 23-cent jump in futures a benefit.

The speech stressed job creation and the belief that the worst of the economic crisis is over, which has trickled over to investors (and who said trickle-down economics don't work?). Combine last night's Presidential address with the Federal Reserve's decision to leave monetary policy unchanged and you have the makings of a temporary bump for the market.

Continue reading Oil Futures Up on Obama's State of the Union Address

Serious Money: Dubai Vaporizes $48 Trillion

Best wishes to all and, next to world peace among people, we should hope for the same among world markets.

I have let some time pass before commenting on a recent example of how fragile a world we live in. This past year through a time of greater economic danger, fear and volatility than most of us has experienced in a life time, many people cannot fathom how close we came to the edge of Hades.


Continue reading Serious Money: Dubai Vaporizes $48 Trillion

Oil Rises on Anticipation of Cold Weather

oil pricesOil prices are moving higher today, as investors look to weather forecasts that predict colder than normal weather coming over the next week.

According to a report from Weather Derivatives, heating fuel consumption will most likely rise by about 6.7% over the next seven days as cold weather continues to sweep across the nation.

Continue reading Oil Rises on Anticipation of Cold Weather

Jobless Claims Further Sour Street's Mood

What started as a rough morning have become even rougher after the weekly release of jobless claims. Initial jobless claims unexpectedly increased by 7,000 in the past week to total 480,000, reversing the recent trend. While the dollar remained higher, both crude oil and treasuries reacted negatively to the news.

The consensus called for a drop to 465,000 initial claims in the past week. The number of claims in the prior week was revised down to 473,000 from the originally reported 474,000. The four-week average for jobless claims dropped, marking a 15th straight week.

Continue reading Jobless Claims Further Sour Street's Mood

Retail sales rise more than expected last month

november retail salesThe retail industry got some good news today as the Commerce Department announced that retail sales rose more than expected last month.

Before today's report, analysts had predicted that we would see a 0.7% jump in retail sales last month, but the actual figures showed a much higher 1.3% increase during the month. This comes on the heels of a 1.1% increase in October.

Continue reading Retail sales rise more than expected last month

Manufacturing, economic growth in China

Export orders were on the rise in October in China, suggesting a strengthening recovery and an opportunity to cut back on stimulus spending. The manufacturing measure grew at its fastest rate in the past year and a half, according to the HSBC (NYSE: HBC) purchasing managers' index. It increased to a seasonally adjusted 55.4 from 55 in September.

If you're looking for a reason behind the gain, it's all in the flow of capital. In addition to the government's economic stimulus package, $1.27 trillion in new loans were written to help deliver the country from the global financial crisis.

Continue reading Manufacturing, economic growth in China

Third-quarter GDP shows growth -- is the recession over?

It appears that the U.S. economy may finally be dragging itself out of the economic doldrums. At least, that is what the third-quarter Gross Domestic Product indicates. The GDP showed that the U.S. economy grew at a 3.5% annual pace in the third quarter, snapping a four-quarter contraction streak.

The growth is attributed to the massive government stimulus, which led to higher consumer spending. In addition, a reduction in inventories and robust government spending helped spur growth in the third quarter. But even excluding the influence of auto sales, production and inventories, the economy grew 1.9 percent last quarter.

Continue reading Third-quarter GDP shows growth -- is the recession over?

Consumer sentiment drops: savings and debt repayment are culprits

The recession is only over if you ask the right people. While some sectors are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, consumers remain concerned. It may be tempting to listen to the experts over the average Joe, but the former don't control 70% of the U.S. economy. So, as long as people are worried abou unemployment (which continues to rise), the levels of debt they carry and whether they're at risk of foreclosure, the recession will live on in the hearts of those who write checks and swipe credit cards.

Continue reading Consumer sentiment drops: savings and debt repayment are culprits

It was a record quarter ... for foreclosures

It has been a great quarter for the economy, hasn't it? I mean, the economic recovery is in full swing . . . right? The Dow has eclipsed 10,000 for the first time in a year and there is absolutely no hint of the doldrums from which the economy has emerged. Not so fast, my friend.

According to RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed homes, 937,840 homes were foreclosed on during the past quarter -- a record number. That is a lot of foreclosures -- 5% more than in the second quarter and 23% more than a year ago. In fact, this means that one in every 136 homes were in foreclosure. Rick Sharga from RealtyTrac told CNNMoney: "They [the past quarter] were the worst three months of all time."

Continue reading It was a record quarter ... for foreclosures

Are you ready for a 'slow and painful' recovery?

On Monday, the National Association of Business Economics (NABE) announced that it believes the recession is over, but many of the economists it surveyed don't believe there will be a "meaningful improvement in jobs, credit or housing for months to come."

NABE asked a group of 43 top economists if they believe the U.S. economy has pulled out of the recession. Of those responding, 81% believe the recovery has started recovering, and 9% (four of those responding) thinking we are still in a recession. Four others were unsure.

Continue reading Are you ready for a 'slow and painful' recovery?

Recovery now more dependent on consumers than ever

Consumer spending may be down, but its share of U.S. economic activity has increased. So, we're now more dependent than before on the average Joe's open wallet to guide us out of the recession. A year ago, consumer spending accounted for 70% of the U.S. economy. Since then, it has edged up to 71%. The long-term average is approximately 65%.

The increase in consumer spending's share of the economy indicates that other sectors fell harder. Business and construction spending on new equipment have constricted at a record rate since 2008. This isn't unusual, though, as consumer spending tends to take a larger piece of the economic pie during downturns.

Continue reading Recovery now more dependent on consumers than ever

Alcoa posts surprising third quarter profit

alcoa third quarter earningsAlcoa (NYSE: AA) surprised the market this afternoon by posting its first quarterly profit of the year.

The company credited recent cost cutting measures as the main reason for its profit of $77 million during the quarter (75.8% lower than the same period last year), or 4 cents per share excluding certain items. This was a nice surprise to Wall Street, which had expected to see the company show a loss for the quarter of 9 cents per share.

Continue reading Alcoa posts surprising third quarter profit

International Monetary Fund sees sluggish recovery

On Thursday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the global economy will grow next year, but cautioned the recovery will be sluggish. The IMF added that the recovery could even "stall out" if policymakers assume the slump is over. The IMF's recent outlook, however, is better than July's outlook, as the IMF predicts better growth in 2010 thanks to "strong public policies ... that have supported demand and all but eliminated fears of a global depression."

As for the recovery, the IMF believes that it will be subdued and "well below" the growth seen before the economic crisis. The group added that there is a "significant risk" of a reversal, noting that central banks in advanced economies need to wait until the recovery is on firm footing.

Continue reading International Monetary Fund sees sluggish recovery

Job cuts slow in August, more not-so-bad news

The Automatic Data Processing (ADP) employment report was released before the opening bell Wednesday morning, showing that the private sector lost 298,000 jobs during August. Expectations called for a loss of 255,000 jobs, but the loss was better than the revised 360,000 jobs lost during July.

A spokesperson for ADP noted a "gradual improvement in labor markets" because "monthly losses are diminishing." That said, the group did note that job losses are likely to continue for "several more months."

In addition to this news, Challenger Gray & Christmas reported that layoffs planned by major U.S. corporations fell 21% from July to August. The 76,456 layoffs in August were the second-lowest amount cut in 2009.

Continue reading Job cuts slow in August, more not-so-bad news

June housing construction makes unexpected jump

new home constructionWe get a second piece of positive news out of the housing industry in as many days today as the Commerce Department announced this morning that new home construction jumped 3.6% in June.

No one is going to put forth the argument that the housing market is all of a sudden in good shape again, but we are starting to see signs that things could be at least leveling off, which is the first step that needs to be made.

Continue reading June housing construction makes unexpected jump

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Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-89.2312,801.23
NASDAQ-23.352,903.88
S&P 500-9.311,342.64

Last updated: February 12, 2012: 10:24 AM

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