General Commodities News

Markets Markets closed lower after a volatile week marked by volatile prices of commodities and currencies, as investors wrestled with the of a worsening European debt crisis and a global economic slowdown. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 42.99 points this week, or 0.34 percent, to close at 12,595.75. On Friday, the blue-chip index sank 100.17 points, or 0.8 percent. The S&P 500 fell 2.43 points this week, or 0.2 percent, to close at 1,337.77. On Friday the S&P fell 10.88 points, or 0.8 percent. The Nasdaq rose 0.9 points or 0.03 percent this week, to close at 2,828.47. On Friday, the tech-heavy index fell 34.57 points, or 1.2 percent. DJIA Forex The Australian dollar ended the week lower by 1.2% against the greenback as a commodities rout accompanied by a broad based risk sell off weighed on higher-yielding, growth backed assets. The aussie was further hit by a disappointing employment report that showed the continent lost 22K jobs in April, missing calls for a...

Stocks After three positive sessions, US stocks succumbed to selling pressure and finished the day much lower. The S&P 500 led the declines as the index was down over 1.1% (15 points) to 1342, while the Nasdaq dropped 26 points to 2845. Specifically, the energy sector was the biggest loser as another selloff in Oil prices affected individual stocks. Elsewhere, European shares also fell, with the FTSE and DAX both shedding earlier gains to end in the red. European stocks were hit with news that the EU may need to inject further bailout funds to Greece and Portugal to limit the rise in their country’s sovereign debt. Looking ahead, stocks, especially technology names could be under pressure on Thursday, as Cisco delivered a worse than expected earnings forecast after the close of trading on Wednesday. The news sent shares of Cisco down around 2.0% in afterhours trading. Commodities After a few days of rebounding, selling pressure returned to Commodities on Wednesday. Affecting prices...

Equities Most Asian markets closed lower, with the Kospi sinking 1.3% and the ASX 200 down .8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index eased .4%, while the Shanghai Composite rose .7%. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. In Europe, the major indexes closed mixed as the FTSE rose .2%, while the DAX dropped .4% and the CAC40 closed down .3%. Deutsche Bank fell 2.1% after the US government filed a billion dollar lawsuit against the bank, accusing the bank of fraud. In the US, the Dow closed flat, while the Nasdaq dropped .8%. The S&P 500 fell .3%, and the VIX spiked above 17 before closing up 4.4% at 16.70. Alcoa shares rallied 2.6% on rumors that Rio Tinto had plans to buy the company. Beazer Homes fell 5% after reporting a large loss than expected, and Pfizer dropped 2.8% after revenues came in below estimates. Sears tumbled 9.9% after forecasting a loss for the quarter. Treasuries and Commodities Bonds rose with 10-year notes up 7/32 to...

Equities Asian markets closed mostly lower as the Kospi fell .7%, the ASX 200 dropped 1% and the Hang Seng slipped .4%. China’s Shanghai Composite rallied .9%. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. In Europe, the DAX rose .5% while the CAC40 inched up less than .1%. UK markets were closed due to the royal wedding, contributing to very light volumes across the continent. US markets posted modest gains fueled by upbeat earnings. The Dow rose 47 points to close at 12810, and the S&P rose .2%. The VIX ended the week at 14.77, indicative of a very low level of market fear. Caterpillar rose 2.5% after beating earnings and raising its yearly outlook. Microsoft shares tumbled 3% as a drop in Windows sales raised concerns about the health of the PC sector, even though the company beat earnings and sales forecasts. Blackberry maker, Research in Motion, plunged 14% after lowering its outlook for earnings and revenues. Treasuries and Commodities Bonds rose moderately, with 10-year notes...

Equities Most Asian markets ended moderately lower on Monday. The Nikkei slid .5% to 9720, thanks to a downgrade of Japanese automakers by Citigroup. Nissan, Toyota and Honda all fell more than 2%. The Hang Seng lost .4%, and the Kospi eased .2%. Australia’s ASX 200 was a notable exception, rallying .6% as shares in mining giant BHP Billiton jumped 3.8%. Chinese trade data showed a trade deficit thanks to commodity imports, fueling investor demand for miners. European markets also ended lower. The Dax fell .2%, and the CAC40 slumped .6%. Hochtief, a construction service company tumbled 9.5% after cutting its outlook. The FTSE closed down fractionally, as gains in miners largely offset other losses. US markets ended mixed, as the market shed early gains. The Dow closed flat after rising 64 points earlier, while the Nasdaq and S&P both dropped .3%. Oil companies fell steeply as the price of US crude dropped 3%. Denbury Resources fell 5% and Anadarko Petroleum slumped 4.3%. Level3 announced...

Equities The Nikkei fell 1.1% to 9615, as investors once again returned to concerns following the deadly earthquake and tsunami. Elsewhere in Asia, the Kospi rallied .7% to 2130, a new record close, and the ASX 200 rose .3%. Chinese and Hong Kong markets were closed for a holiday. In Europe, the Dax and CAC40 both ended flat, while the FTSE slipped .2%. Energy companies rallied as Brent Crude crossed the $122 mark. Moody’s downgraded Portugal’s debt rating one notch, further weighing on the country’s ability to raise money in the bond markets. US markets ended flat, while the VIX fell below 17. Texas Instruments made a $6.5 billion cash offer for National Semiconductor. National Semiconductor rocketed 71% on the news, and the semiconductor sector as a whole rallied. In other merger news, Merck announced plans to purchase Inspire Pharmaceuticals, an ophthalmology company. Treasuries and Commodities Bonds fell, as the FOMC minutes revealed growing concern about low interest rates amongst Federal Reserve board members. 10-year notes...

Did you see 60 Minutes? This craziness is part of the "Fraudclosure" scandal that has been well documented by Barry Ritholtz over at The Big Picture so I’m not going to spend too much time on it other than to look at the overall trend. 37,000 people went to an event in Los Angeles for people who are in foreclosure and wanted to know their rights, 12,000 people came to a similar event in Miami, law firms are beginning to take cases on contingency in exchange for liens on the homes, which can become very valuable if the law firm successfully shoos the bank away from the Mortgage. LA and Miami are big cities so let’s say that, nationwide, only 200,000 of the 4M homeowners facing foreclosure are able to challenge their loans and let’s say only 50% are successful. That’s still 100,000 mortgages that may be written off and, at $200,000 per average mortgage, that’s $20Bn worth of bank write-offs to...

Equities Asian markets mostly rose on Monday, buoyed by optimism following Friday’s strong US jobs report. Leading the region, the Hang Seng rallied 1.5%, while the Nikkei rose just .1%, unable to hold on to sizable early gains. The Kospi slipped .25% after hitting a new record high earlier in the day. In Europe, stocks rallied early on merger news, but surrendered those gains late in the day. The FTSE ended up 7 points to 6117, while the CAC40 fell .3%. Chemical companies rallied 1.2% on news that Solvay made an offer to takeover Rhodia, sending Rhosia shares up 48%. US markets traded in very narrow ranges. The Dow rose 23 points to 12400, its highest close in years, while the Nasdaq and S&P closed flat. Omnivision Technologies slumped 7.4% on rumors that Apple may use Sony components in its camera phones, in place of those previously supplied by Omnivision. Semiconductors stocks as a whole fell, with AMD down 3%, and Nvidia down 3.6%. Treasuries...

Equities Most Asian markets rose on Friday, although the Nikkei slipped .5% to 9708, surrendering earlier gains. In Korea, the Kospi rallied .7% to its highest ever close of 2121, and the Hang Seng jumped 1.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite bounced 1.3% thanks to upbeat PMI data. In Europe markets rallied strongly, as the FTSE climbed 1.7%, and the Dax soared 2%. A strong payroll report from the US encouraged investors, as did a statement from Ireland’s finance minister that bond holders would not suffer losses from the country’s financial woes. US markets rose more modestly, with the Dow gaining 57 points to 12376, and the Nasdaq rising .3%. Non-farm payrolls showed a gain of 216K jobs, far better than the 191K analysts had expected, while unemployment dipped to 8.8%. GM shares jumped 4.5% after announcing that auto sales rose 11.4% in March. Offce Depot shares sank 9% on news it would restate earnings for the year, and Logitech tumbled 19% after cutting...

Markets Stocks gained at the start of the quarter after jobs news that gave investors more confidence the U.S. recovery is underway. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped almost 100 points towards a new high for the year after the blue-chip index posted the best first quarter percentage gain since 1999. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also jumoed and the CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, fell below 17. DJIA (March 27- April 1) Forex If we were to do an objective technical and fundamental analysis of the Euro, it would be a bit hard to argue for or even to predict a bullish outlook from the data and headlines we have seen over the past few weeks. The economic docket is lacking for influence altogether. Far more influential are the daily hitsto  the region’s financial health. From downgrades, to fiscal miscues, halted progress towards fixing underlying issues with the monetary union have crowded out the headlines. Still, the Still,...