Natural Gas Inventory Declines-

February 4th, 2010

The inventory of natural gas declined this week less than expected by analysts.  Future inventory reports may continue to show weaker draws due to an increase in rig counts, LNG shipments, and a warmer end to winter weather.

To read an Associated Press article in the New York Times, Please click here:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/02/04/business/AP-APFN-US-Natural-Gas-Storage.html

 

 

James Sutliff

REITs May Boost Dividends -

January 15th, 2010

BusinessWeek reports that a dozen real estate investment trusts are likely to increase their next dividend.  Overall, the industry raised $33 billion dollars last year and may be making a comeback in the minds of investors.  Dividends are a major draw for investors in this segment.

To read a related BusinessWeek article, please click here:

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01-15/u-s-reits-poised-to-boost-dividends-after-raising-33-billion.html

Natural Gas Inventories Decline -

January 14th, 2010

Natural Gas inventories came in lower than analysts had expected.  The drop had little effect on prices which remained down for the trading day.  Warmer than normal temperatures are predicted for the week ahead as are slight production increases.  These factors played a role in price declines which may continue for the months ahead. 

To read a Washington Post article, please click here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/14/AR2010011402000.html

California Credit Rating Cut -

January 13th, 2010

Standard & Poor’s cut the credit rating for the state of California.  The new rating is A- on $64 billion of general obligation bonds.  California has had a fiscal crisis for an extended time which is starting to have an effect on their bonds.

To read a related article in Bloomberg, please click here:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aeEiJ2Fz4dfk&pos=5

 

Jim Sutliff

Rig Counts Remain Steady -

December 5th, 2009

Rig counts stayed relatively the same this week.  Oil rigs increased by 4 and natural gas was unchanged.  This brings the total rig count up to 1,134 in the U.S.

To read a Wall Street Journal article, please click here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091204-710263.html

 

Jim Sutliff

Weekly Energy Inventory Preview -

December 2nd, 2009

Futures Mag provides a preview of the weekly energy inventory report.  The analysis by Dominick Chirichella of the natural gas market seems to be on point.

To read the article, please click here:

 

Weekly Energy Inventory Preview

 

Jim Sutliff

EFT Liquidity Review -

March 23rd, 2008

The U.S. economy remains weak but funds are still flowing in to Exchange Traded Funds.  Stock buybacks are more frequent with companies taking advantage of lower stock prices. 

To view a related article, please click here:

http://www.forbes.com/personalfinance/etfs/2008/02/11/exxon-verizon-yahoo-pf-etf-in_tt_0211trimtabs_inl.html

Jim Sutliff

S & P May Downgrade -

March 22nd, 2008

Standard and Poor’s may downgrade several banks in the near future.  Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers are two banks that are frequently mentioned as possible downgrades.  The ratings agency downgraded Merril Lynch in October and will may downgrade Morgan Stanley within the next month. 

To view a related article, please click here:

http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/21/news/companies/sp_downgrade.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008032112

Jim Sutliff

Future Regulations?

March 21st, 2008

The current climate has led to a call for more regulation of the Banking sector.  The recent programs by the Fed that can be viewed as bailouts are increasing public awareness.

To view a related article, please click here:

http://www.forbes.com/home/wallstreet/2008/03/20/banking-bernanke-frank-biz-wall-cx_lm_0320fed.html

Jim Sutliff

Inventory Down -

March 19th, 2008

The inventory report from the Energy Information Administration showed a greater than expected decline in distillates as well as gasoline.  Supplies of gasoline fell 3.5 million barrels and distillates dropped 2.9 million.  Crude oil inventories rose 200,000 barrels but this was a much smaller than the 2.3 million barrel increase that was expected.  Last week, inventories of crude oil were way up with a weekly increase of over 6 million barrels.  These numbers should be viewed on more of a bi-weekly basis rather than week to week.  Any delay in the shipping of oil even if it is due to weather conditions can alter the flow of inventory numbers. 

To view a related article, please click here:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/crude-oil-prices-slide-ahead/story.aspx?guid=%7BD5398437-0A90-4733-AF05-30A468A9401E%7D

Jim Sutliff