Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Gold: Consider Your Time Horizon
May 4th, 2008WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. Gold has declined sharply since the bearish engulfing candle proved valid back in March (NOTE: Gold has now broken down and out of the fan pattern in that post.) In my opinion, $850 represents a make or break level, near term, […]
Fed Joins with European Banks to Battle Credit Crisis
May 2nd, 2008Meanwhile inflation sensitive investors get 0%. Via: AP: The Federal Reserve announced Friday that it will expand a series of efforts to deal with the global credit crisis, in coordination with European central banks. The Fed said it was boosting the amount of emergency reserves it supplies to U.S. banks to $150 billion in May, […]
China ‘May Lease Foreign Fields’
May 2nd, 2008Via: BBC: China could lease overseas farming land to beat rising food prices, according to reports from Beijing. Soaring grain prices have encouraged the ministry of agriculture to consider the scheme, according to the Beijing Morning newspaper. Chinese enterprises would lease or even buy farmland in Latin America, Australia and the former Soviet Union. The […]
Inflation Index Bonds Now Paying 0%
May 2nd, 2008Via: Big Picture: Have you noticed what the interest rate TIPs now pay? How about Zero? Thanks to a flight to safety, the fixed rate on the newest issue of Series I inflation-indexed savings bonds has for the first time fallen to zero. Heres’ the Treasury Department press release: I Bond Earnings Rate 4.84%, Fixed […]
One Month Layoffs Rise 68%
May 1st, 2008Via: Reuters: U.S. companies’ planned layoffs jumped 68 percent in April from the prior month to the highest since September 2006, pointing to further deterioration in the labor market, a report showed on Thursday. Planned job cuts in U.S. companies totaled 90,015 last month, up from 53,579 in March and up 27 percent from a […]
Gulf States May End Dollar Pegs, Kuwait Minister Says
May 1st, 2008Via: Bloomberg: Gulf states are considering dropping their pegs to the dollar after the U.S. currency’s decline stoked inflation across the region, Kuwaiti Finance Minister Mustafa al- Shimali said. “Yes, there are some” Gulf Cooperation Council states considering dropping their pegs to the dollar, which has fallen 13 percent against the euro in the last […]
Iran Drops U.S. Dollar, U.S. Draws Up New Plans to Attack Iran
May 1st, 2008Via: CBS: A second American aircraft carrier steamed into the Persian Gulf on Tuesday as the Pentagon ordered military commanders to develop new options for attacking Iran. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports that the planning is being driven by what one officer called the “increasingly hostile role” Iran is playing in Iraq […]
Gold: Intraday Downside Breach of Strategic Support at $850
May 1st, 2008WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. $850 is a very significant support. If it doesn’t hold $850… This is why we diversify. Diversify. Diversify. Diversify. How many times have I written it… A lot. The dollar is experiencing an explosive rally at the moment. However, there’s nothing […]
Germany: EU Bails Out WestLB
April 30th, 2008Via: Reuters: Germany’s WestLB Bank won European Commission approval on Wednesday for rescue aid from North Rhine-Westphalia state to protect against volatility in its 23 billion euro ($35.8 billion) structured investment portfolio. WestLB has been plagued with problems because its investments exposed it to the U.S. sub-prime crisis. The local government has said it will […]
Iran Pricing Oil in Euros and Yen
April 30th, 2008Via: AP/IHT: Iran, OPEC’s second-largest producer, has stopped conducting oil transactions in U.S. dollars, a top Oil Ministry official said Wednesday, a concerted attempt to reduce reliance on Washington at a time of tension over Tehran’s nuclear program and suspected involvement in Iraq. Iran has dramatically reduced dependence on the dollar over the past year […]
