Free Republic

WASHINGTON - As if the U.S. presidential contest wasn't enough like a horse race, Web users all over the world can now bet on the outcome through online futures exchanges that treat politics like corn, cocoa or other commodities. At Web sites like the Iowa Electronics Markets (http://www.biz.uiowa.edu/iem/) and Dublin-based Intrade (http://www.intrade.com), members can buy contracts predicting that President George W. Bush will win reelection on Nov. 2 -- or sell them off if they think Sen. John Kerry will unseat him. Savvy traders can make money along the way as prices fluctuate with the candidates' fortunes. The Iowa markets...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices hit fresh records again on Monday, pushing London Brent crude above $50 for the first time and extending a relentless rise that has added around 65 percent to the cost of crude this year. Brent (LCOc1) on London's International Petroleum Exchange, the benchmark for European imports of Middle Eastern, Russian and African crude hit $50.22 a barrel, up 51 cents on the day and $20 higher than at the start of the year. U.S. light crude (CLc1) hit a new high of $53.63 a barrel, up 30 cents. China has led rapid growth in world...

<p>WASHINGTON: Spring is here, the swallows swooping about in the sky and heading back to San Juan, Capistrano just have to be delighted that they fly on wing-power, not gasoline.</p> <p>It's spring 2004, gas at the pumps costs a national average of nearly $2 a gallon, with some brands in some locations brushing the $3 mark. As we put gas into the insatiable tank, the gurgling sounds are a sign that gas and most of the world's crucial commodities are disappearing down a massive plughole called China.</p>

Shortage Expected to Cause Prices to Skyrocket Worth their weight in gold? At least one local restaurant has already changed its pricing because of high beef prices, and grocery store prices are anticipated to jump soon. “An astronomical increase,” is the way Ted Mackorell of Makoto Seafood and Steak House described the jump in beef prices this week. “It has been inching up on us for the last month,” Mackorell said, “but both of our purveyors came in this morning and said, ‘Brace yourself.’” Over the past month and a half, Mackorell explained, his beef prices have increased by about...

International Perspective, by Marshall Auerback Commodities: An Inversely Correlated Asset Or A Symptom Of The Credit Bubble? October 28, 2003 "China Saps Commodity Supplies. From steak to iron ore to cotton to diamonds, China's rising urban incomes, exports are reshaping the world's commodity markets. The country's emergence as a major importer of raw materials is driving global prices higher and catching some suppliers flat-footed."- WSJ, Oct. 24, 2003Commodities have become the latest investment darlings.  Copper, long seen as a harbinger of future economic prospects, is trading at 30-month highs. Nickel is at a 3-year high. Soy futures are close...

Take a look at commodities. What do you see? Metal prices have skyrocketed to a 30 percent rate from a 5 percent decline-rate over a year ago. Raw industrials have moved from 0 percent to 21 percent. For supply-siders, those are some very sexy numbers. They represent the real recovery that is finally taking place in the hard goods world of industrial production and inventories. In both economic and political terms these commodity gains spell jobs, jobs, jobs. Here's what's going to happen. The next several quarters will produce 5, 6, or 7 percent economic growth. Big profits, perhaps as...

TradingMarkets.com Achieving a 4000% Return In 10 Years: An Interview With Wall Street Legend Monday August 11, 10:40 am ET By Larry Connors This week, I'm going to take a little different approach. As you know, my column predominately focuses on short-term trading and the many aspects of it. But, this week, I'm going to broaden the information a bit and focus on the longer-term side to the markets. And who better to do this with than a gentleman who achieved a 4000% compounded return in 10 years (versus a 50% rise in the S&P's) and who retired from the...

XXXX >>>> Audio Link to Mark Faber Interview with Jim Puplava <<<< XXXX Each time retail sales in the US increase and beat the Street’s estimates by a small amount, Wall Street cheers and pushes the market higher. However, I seriously question the use of retail sales in the US as a measure of economic strength, for two principal reasons. In my opinion, retail sales that are not accompanied by a rise in industrial production are highly questionable as an indicator for the domestic economy. They are a far better indicator for the strength of the Chinese economy, because rising...