General Commodities News

Equities Asian markets closed moderately lower, on light volume. The Kospi fell .7% weighed down by memory chip makers, as Hynix slumped 4.4%. The Shanghai Composite ticked down .1%, and the Hang Send slipped .3%, while the ASX 200 closed flat. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday, contributing to the light volume. Selling pressure picked up in Europe, as concerns over Greece remained in focus. The CAC40 sank 2%, while the FTSE and DAX both dropped 1.6%. Italian banks tumbled, and European banking sector fell 3.1%. France's CAC40 Drops to New Low for the Year US markets fared slightly better, but still closed down. The Dow fell 95 points to 12385, the S&P dropped 11 points to 1305.50, and the Nasdaq slid .9%. Apple was a bright spot amongst stocks, gaining 2.4% after JPMorgan significantly raised it earnings estimate. Netflix skidded 2.8% after being downgraded by Pacific Crest Securities, and LinkedIn tumbled nearly 7% after JPMorgan downgraded the stock to neutral. The ongoing phone hacking...

Equities Asian markets closed mostly higher. The Nikkei rose .4% to 9974, and the Kospi climbed .7%, even as the Bank of Korea lowered its growth outlook, and raised inflation expectations. China’s Shanghai Composite rose .4% to a 6 week high, but the Hang Seng slid .3%, leaving it down 3.8% for the week. In Europe, the major markets slid ahead of the release of stress test results for the region’s banks. The CAC40 dropped .7%, and markets in Spain and Italy fell more than 1%. The DAX managed a slight gain, rising fractionally to 7220. The Nasdaq led US markets higher, rallying 1% to 2790, buoyed by Google which soared 13% on strong earnings. The Dow advanced 43 points to 12480, and the S&P 500 rose .6% to 1316. Citigroup shares slid 1.6%, despite strong profits. 8 European banks failed stress tests, raising investor concern over financial shares. Mining giant, BHP Billiton, announced it is buying Petrohawk Energy for $12.1 billion, sending Petrohawk’s shares...

Now that Gold has broken out to its all-time nominal high, we have a Showdown with Great Opportunities enabled by, but at the same time threatened by, Great Challenges. Consider: “On June 30, QE2 ended with a whimper. The Fed’s second round of “quantitative easing” involved $600 billion created with a computer keystroke for the purchase of long-term government bonds. But the government never actually got the money, which went straight into the reserve accounts of banks, where it still sits today. Worse, it went into the reserve accounts of FOREIGN banks, on which the Federal Reserve is now paying 0.25% interest. Before QE2 there was QE1, in which the Fed bought $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities from the banks. This money too remains in bank reserve accounts collecting interest and dust. The Fed reports that the accumulated excess reserves of depository institutions now total nearly $1.6 trillion. Interestingly, $1.6 trillion is also the size of the federal deficit… If the intent of “quantitative...

Rising energy prices are making a serious dent on household budgets, adding to the pain of high inflation and higher utilities bills. The clear gainers in this scenario are energy companies and stocks of major players like Chevron and BP have been continuously trending upward. Investing in these securities would seem to be the most logical thing to do, but for the fact that the sector often witnesses high levels of volatility. One reason for this is that a large portion of the world’s oil reserves are located in relatively unstable nations. By holding widely diversified portfolios, mutual funds can greatly reduce the risks associated with investing in this sector. Below we will share with you 5 top rated energy mutual funds. Each has earned a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) as we expect these mutual funds to outperform their peers in the future. To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all energy funds, then click here. Fidelity Select...

The decline in commodity prices has begun to make headlines after the IEA’s release of strategic reserves shocked the crude oil market while dragging spot crude oil prices lower by 4.6% on Thursday. Could additional weakness in commodity prices be on the way following the declines during the months of April and May? After the recent downturn in US data growth factors face major headwinds. Therefore the economic data releases from the G7 nations this coming week may carry further significance. Greece will also be a headline for next week as the next austerity vote is scheduled for Tuesday. Last week George Papandreou survived a no confidence vote by only 5 voices as the vote was split down party lines. Given the potentially negative effects the austerity measures may have on Greek society as a whole, the next vote may prove to be more challenging as Papandreou will face harsh criticism from both the political opposition his own PASOK party and...

Equities In Asia, the region’s markets closed little changed despite a report that factory growth in China is slowing. The Nikkei rose .3% to 9720, and the Hang Seng slipped .2%, while the Kospi, ASX 200 and Shanghai Composite closed within .1% of their previous close. A very different scene unfolded in the West. European markets fell, as the FTSE, DAX and CAC40 all slumped more than 1% in afternoon selling following the release of weak US economic data, which showed disappointing manufacturing growth, coupled with weak job growth. US markets were battered by the weak data, as investors dumped stocks. The Dow tumbled 280 points to 12290, and the Nasdaq and S&P both sank 2.3%. Financial stocks fell more than 4%. Dow Tumbles 280 Points Car makers slid, led by GM which dropped 5% after reporting a decline in sales for May. Tech shares were also hit hard. Research in Motion slumped 6%, and Juniper shares fell nearly 10%. Treasuries and Commodities Bonds rallied, with 10-year notes...

Equities Asian markets closed mixed, with minimal reaction to Thursday’s weak US data. The Nikkei eased slightly, losing 14 points to 9707, and the Australian ASX 200 slid .5%, while the Kospi rallied .8%, and the Shanghai Composite closed flat. European indexes fell, following another downgrade of Greece’s credit rating. The DAX tumbled 1.2% and the CAC40 fell .9%. THE FTSE escaped mostly unharmed, easing .1%. The German Central Bank warned of a potential economic slowdown in Germany. In the US, the Dow fell 93 points and the Nasdaq dropped .7%. The VIX jumped more than 12% to 17.43 as European concerns weighed on investors minds. Gap shares tumbled 17.5% after cutting its outlook for the year, citing high cotton prices. Salesforce shares gained 8% after blowing past sales expectations, even as profits fell. Treasuries and Commodities Bonds posted narrow gains, as the 10-year note rose 7/32 to yield 3.15% and the 30-year note inched up 3/32 to yield 4.3%. Commodities gained despite the falling stock market. In...

Equities Asian markets ended mostly higher, while the Hang Seng slid .3%. Australia’s ASX 200 rose .7%, led higher by miners, and the Nikkei and Shanghai Composite both gained .1%. European markets feel steeply, with the DAX leading the declines, down 1.8%. The FTSE fell 1.1% and the CAC40 dropped 1.2%. Disappointing economic sentiment data for Germany and the Eurozone contributed to the declines. Dow Largely Recovers from Early Weakness US markets opened the day with considerable losses, but clawed back throughout the session to end mixed. The Dow closed down 69 points at 12480, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 both ended flat. Hewlett-Packard, a Dow component, cut its profit forecast, sending shares tumbling 7.3%. Wal-mart reported good profits but a decline in same-store sales. The shares closed down .9% at 55.54. TJX, operator of TJMaxx and Marshall’s stores, fell 4.1% on weak earnings. Dell reported earnings after the bell, handily beating estimates. The shares rose 6.2% in after-hours trading. Treasuries and Commodities Bond prices rose as investors...

Equities China’s Shanghai Composite climbed 1%, as investors shrugged off the 8th increase in reserve requirements since October and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose .9%. Elsewhere in Asia the Nikkei fell .7% and the Kospi slipped .1%. European markets closed down, even as France and Germany posted strong GDP results which exceeded analyst estimates. The FTSE lost .3%, while the DAX dropped .6%, as ECB chairman, Trichet, urged Greece not to restructure its debt. US stocks fell, with the Dow down 100 points to 12596 and the Nasdaq down 1.2%. Tech shares led the declines, with significant losses in several big-name companies. Rambus tumbled 18% after an Appeals Court concluded the company destroyed documents Nasdaq Falls 1.2% regarding a patent infringement lawsuit. Nvidia dropped 11% on growth concerns while Yahoo fell 3.6%. Treasuries and Commodities US Bonds rose on growing concerns over the European debt crisis. 10- year notes gained 14/32 to yield 3.17%, and 30-year notes rose 25/32 to yield 4.31%. Commodities closed mostly higher, encouraged by...

Welcome aboard the commodity bull, Jeremy Grantham!  In his latest quarterly outlook letter, the acclaimed money manager (and excellent newsletter writer to boot) laid out a very convincing case for commodities.  You can read Grantham’s Q1 2011 letter here (for Part I) and here (for Part II). I found these points of his to be especially interesting: The prices of all important commodities except oil declined for 100 years until 2002, by an average of 70%. From 2002 until now, this entire decline was erased by a bigger price surge than occurred during World War II. Statistically, most commodities are now so far away from their former downward trend that it makes it very probable that the old trend has changed – that there is in fact a Paradigm Shift – perhaps the most important economic event since the Industrial Revolution. (Source: www.GMO.com) The crux of Grantham’s “This time is different” argument for commodities is that Planet Earth post-1800 was a unique place, as the...