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3. March 2012 by Jim Sutliff.
The U.S. Treasury may start to offer negative yield auctions. The safety and security of U.S. Treasuries have already led to them being traded at negative yields on secondary markets. According to Reuters, the one month Treasury bill traded on a secondary market at a negative yield in December. The Treasury Departments systems would have to be modified to handle the trading of Treasuries at a premium.
To read a related Fox Business article, please click here:
http://www.foxbusiness.com/investing/2012/02/01/treasury-may-let-investors-pay-to-hold-us-debt/
Jim Sutliff
Posted in Trading, Treasury, Interest Rates, General, Bonds, Economic News, Banking | No Comments »
28. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.
Gold hit a three month high rising $13.50 and settled at $1,788.40 an ounce. Silver also rallied to settle at $37.14 an ounce which was an increase of 4.6%. In addition, copper and platinum increased with copper rising .8% to $3.91 a pound and platinum gaining 2.1%.
To read a related Wall Street article, please click here:
James Sutliff
Posted in Trading, Euro, Metals, Investments, Economic News, General, Currency | No Comments »
27. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.
Germany voted to support a second Greek bailout of approximately $174 billion. The Finland parliament is expected to vote on the Greek bailout this week. Also, European leaders will discuss the Euro zone bailout fund at their next meeting in Brussels on March 1st and 2nd.
To read a related Bloomberg article, please click here:
Jim Sutliff
Posted in Regulatory, Interest Rates, Trading, Euro, Investments, General, Bonds, Currency, Economic News, Banking | No Comments »
25. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.
Crude oil almost hit $110 in Friday trading and settled at $109.77 a barrel. This is the highest level that oil has traded at in the last 9 months. The conflict with Iran is the driving force behind higher trading prices. Iran is the second largest oil producing nation in OPEC with an output of 3.5 million barrels a day.
To read a related Wall Street Journal article, please click here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203918304577243120332014742.html?KEYWORDS=crude+oil
James Sutliff
Posted in Trading, OPEC, Options & Futures, Oil, General, Investments, Economic News | No Comments »
21. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.
Gold prices rose to over $1,755 an ounce after European Union finance ministers agreed to another Greek bailout. The second Greek bailout provided by the Euro zone is approximately $172 billion. In Tuesday trading, gold hit the highest mark since February 3rd. Silver also traded higher and rose to $34.13 an ounce.
To read a related Reuters article, please click here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/21/us-markets-precious-idUSTRE80T1QZ20120221
James Sutliff
Posted in Metals, Options & Futures, Trading, Investments, General, Bonds, Economic News, Banking | No Comments »
19. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.
Crude oil traded at a 9 month high as tensions increased with Iran cutting supplies to companies from the U.K. and France. In addition, traders weighed the economic gains of a second Greek bailout. Crude Oil rose to $105 a barrel which is the highest mark since May 5th.
To read a related Bloomberg article, please click here:
Jim Sutliff
Posted in Options & Futures, Trading, Oil, Investments, General, Economic News | No Comments »
13. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.
Natural gas continued to slide with March futures falling almost 2% to $2.431. Mild winter weather forecasts lowered expectations of heating demand for the next week. In addition, natural gas supplies have remained well above average levels.
To read a related Wall Street Journal article, please click here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204795304577220950935275494.html
James Sutliff
Posted in Options & Futures, Trading, Natural Gas, Investments, General, Economic News | No Comments »
11. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.
According to the Energy Information Administration, natural gas supplies fell 78 billion cubic feet last week. The decline was less than the 84 to 88 billion cubic feet decrease that analysts had expected. Current inventory levels are almost 33% higher than the five year moving average.
To read a related CBS Moneywatch article, please click here:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57373935/us-natural-gas-supplies-fell-last-week/
Jim Sutliff
Posted in Options & Futures, Trading, Natural Gas, Investments, General, Economic News | No Comments »
9. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.
Greek leaders agreed to terms for a second bailout of approximately $172 billion dollars. The Greek parliament stills need to ratify the agreement as well as major reductions in spending. European Union finance ministers would than have to provide final approval for the deal.
To read a related Reuters article, please click here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/09/us-greece-idUSTRE8120HI20120209
James Sutliff
Posted in Investments, Euro, General, Economic News, Currency, Bonds | No Comments »
2. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.
Crude oil inventories continue to rise and hit a three month high last week. The Energy Department indicated that crude oil supplies increased to 338.9 million barrels. That mark is 4.18 million barrels higher than the previous week. Gasoline also had weak demand with consumption falling 7.97 million barrels a day. Gasoline inventories increased by 3 million barrels last week.
To read a related Bloomberg article, please click here:
Jim Sutliff
Posted in Options & Futures, Trading, Oil, Investments, Gasoline, General, Economic News | No Comments »
27. January 2012 by Jim Sutliff.
Fitch lowered the credit ratings for the sovereign debt of five Euro region nations. The five nations included Italy, Spain, Belgium, Cyprus, and Slovenia. The credit rating for Italy was cut to A- and the rating for Spain fell to A. Italy has the third largest European Union economy.
To read a related Bloomberg article, please click here:
James Sutliff
Posted in Investments, Trading, General, Economic News, Bonds, Banking | No Comments »
14. January 2012 by Jim Sutliff.
Standard & Poor’s downgraded the sovereign debt of nine European nations on Friday. France and Austria lost their AAA ratings and were lowered to AA+. In addition, the sovereign debt was downgraded for Spain, Italy, and Portugal. Four European nations that still have a AAA rating are Germany. Finland, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Borrowing costs could rise for the nations that had their sovereign debt downgraded. U.S. Treasuries rose in trading on Friday and forced yields down to 1.87%.
To read a related Wall Street Journal article, please click here:
Jim Sutliff
Posted in Investments, Treasury, General, Economic News, Bonds, Banking | No Comments »
12. January 2012 by Jim Sutliff.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, crude oil supplies rose by 5 million barrels last week. In addition, gasoline inventories rose 3.6 million barrels and distillates increased by 4 million barrels. All of the inventory increases were well above analyst expectations. A significant drop in demand levels was a factor in the supply figures. Crude oil was trading near the $100 dollar mark on Wednesday.
To read a related Reuters article, please click here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/11/us-markets-oil-idUSTRE7AD06820120111
Jim Sutliff
Posted in Options & Futures, Political News, Trading, Earnings, Oil, Investments, Gasoline, General, Infrastructure, Economic News | No Comments »
10. January 2012 by Jim Sutliff.
Crude oil rose to $103.41 during afternoon trading and settled at $102. 24 a barrel. An improved outlook for US economic growth also sent the stock market to a five month high. In addition, tensions in Iran and Nigeria raised supply concerns for the near term.
To read a related Reuters article, please click here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/10/us-markets-oil-idUSTRE7AD06820120110
Jim Sutliff
Posted in Stocks, Trading, Earnings, Oil, Investments, Gasoline, General, Economic News | No Comments »
8. January 2012 by Jim Sutliff.
Natural gas rose slightly at the end of the week and closed at $3.062. Forecasts of colder weather countered inventory reports which had sent natural gas prices lower. Colder weather is expected in the Northeast for January 16th through the 20th. Warmer than normal winter weather has put pressure of natural gas and oil prices this season.
To read a related Bloomberg article, please click here:
James Sutliff
Posted in Oil, Options & Futures, Trading, Natural Gas, Metals, General, Investments, Economic News | No Comments »