Free Republic

There has been a good deal of speculation about the state of the US economy lately. Which way are interest rates headed, now that Bernake has replaced Greenspan at the Fed? Will the housing bubble burst or just leak slowly? What will be the influence of the tensions in Iran? While all of these questions are challenging, and may present the opportunity for a quick strike, they are still among the easiest of all economic questions. Why? Because they are short term questions. If we just wait six months or a year, the answers will have already happened. Instead of...

COMMISSION ADVISORY Beware Of Promises Of Easy Profits From Buying Precious Metals And Other Commodities Consumers should be alert to companies that sell investments in precious metals and other commodities based on sales pitches claiming that customers can make a lot of money, with little risk, by purchasing metal through a financing agreement. Sometimes these companies offer opportunities to speculate on the price movement of precious metals, or other commodities such as heating oil, without actually taking delivery of the commodity. The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is the federal agency that regulates the trading of commodity futures...

November Manufacturing ISM Report On Business® PMI at 58.1% New Orders, Production Expanding Employment Growing, Deliveries Slowing Prices Increasing (Tempe, Arizona) — Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in November for the 30th consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 49th consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®. The report was issued today by Norbert J. Ore, C.P.M., chair of the Institute for Supply Management™ Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. "The manufacturing sector expanded in November based on the ISM data. The PMI again showed significant strength in manufacturing activity...

Gold crosses the 500 dollars the ounce in Asia HONG KONG - the rates of gold have crossed Tuesday the 500 dollars the ounce in Asia, for the first time for 18 years, indicated brokers. Gold exchanged with 500,5 dollars the ounce with 05H00 GMT on the markets of the Asia-Pacific, its higher level since 1987. "It is as if a correction were going to occur at one time or another but I do not think that the courses will go down under 475 USD because the tendency is still hawser", explained to the agency XFN-Asia Ashok Sekar, adviser...

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A copper trader for a secretive, high-level Chinese government agency has gone missing. But more than his whereabouts, traders are seeking clues as to how his employer -- and Beijing -- will handle the potential fallout.Liu Qibing, a senior trader working for an entity of China's State Reserves Bureau, hasn't been heard from for a few weeks, since rumors surfaced of a large short position held by his employer in London copper markets.The position, rumored to be between 150,000 and 200,000 tons, was taken as a bet that copper would fall -- just as the industrial metal...

Refco, one of the largest futures trading firms in the world has declared bankruptcy and its chairman is being charged with a number of felonies. The following paragraph from a Washington Post article might jog the memories of some of us older timers. A close examination of her individual trades underscores Blair's pivotal role. It also shows that Robert L. "Red" Bone, who ran the Springdale, Ark., office of Ray E. Friedman and Co. (Refco), allowed Clinton to initiate and maintain many trading positions – besides the first – when she did not have enough money in her account to...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Troubled commodities brokerage Refco Inc. said on Monday it had filed for bankruptcy protection as it struck a deal to sell its core futures brokerage business to a group of private equity investors for $768 million (439 million pounds). New York-based Refco said it and certain subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday as part of the memorandum of understanding with investors. None of Refco's regulated subsidiaries -- its futures brokerage business, which is conducted through Refco LLC, Refco Overseas Ltd. and Refco Singapore Ltd, and its broker-dealer, Refco Securities LLC -- filed for bankruptcy...

NEW YORK (AP) -- One of the world's biggest commodities brokerages Monday said its chief executive took an indefinite leave of absence after the company discovered he had secretly transferred $430 million of the company's assets to a firm he controlled. Refco Inc. also said its financial statements since 2002 "should no longer be relied upon" and that it would delay filing its quarterly earnings release originally slated for next week. The news sent Refco shares plunging $12.96, or 45 percent, to close at $15.60 on the New York Stock Exchange. Refco, which became a publicly traded company in...

The star of Planned Parenthood Golden Gate's "A Superhero for Choice" cartoon, who gleefully blows up nonthreatening pro-lifers, is based on a real-life person: Dian J. Harrison, the president and CEO of that Planned Parenthood chapter. You may already know Harrison—or, as she's known in the cartoon, "Dianysis"—from her response to Monty Patterson, whose 18-year-old daughter, Holly Patterson, died after a Planned Parenthood Golden Gate branch gave her the abortion drug RU-486. According to the Web site San Francisco Faith, "After Holly's death on September 17 [2003], Dian Harrison of Planned Parenthood Golden Gate, the affiliate that runs the Hayward...

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Oil prices extended a losing streak on Monday, falling briefly to an eight-week low under $50, as growing supplies outweighed worries of rising global demand. U.S. light crude futures traded as low as $49.66 a barrel, the lowest since Feb. 22, before recovering to $50.15, down 34 cents from Friday's close. Brent crude was down 39 cents to $51.22 a barrel, after losing 59 cents on Friday. U.S. crude oil prices have fallen around 14 percent from an all-time peak of $58.28 hit two weeks ago, driven by swelling crude stocks and signs of a sharper-than-expected decline...

China's sugar consumption will continue to rise in the next five to ten years and domestic supply cannot meet the increased demand, experts from the National Development and Reform Commission said. Sugar prices will greatly increase as the land where sugarcane grows continues to decrease. Last year, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China, China's main sugar producer, planned to reduce its sugarcane-cultivating area from 766,700 ha in 2003 to 533,300 ha in 2008 due to declining prices and increasing imports. Both Guangxi's sugarcane cultivating area and its output account for more than half of the country's total. About...

CANBERRA Tony Moloney needed no convincing to move his family last year to Mount Isa, an Australian mining town 18 hours by car from the nearest big city. His employer, Xstrata, can afford to pay him twice the average national wage at its Mount Isa copper mine as sales to China surge. . "We moved here because the job opportunities were full-on and the town is booming," says Moloney, a father of two who earns 108,000 Australian dollars, or $83,446, a year as a plumber at Xstrata's Mount Isa mining complex. The Moloneys bought a 200,000 dollar house in...

ALARM - the crude in New York crosses 57 USD for 1st time of its history LONDON - the course of oil crossed Thursday during the electronic exchanges in New York the bar of the 57 dollars the barrel for the first time of its history, climbing to 57,01 dollars the barrel.

NEW YORK — Orange juice futures uncorked a sizzling rally Thursday to end up and near a 2-1/4-year high on all-around buying after a surprisingly huge cut in USDA's projection of the hurricane-hit Florida citrus crop, dealers said. The New York Board of Trade's key May juice contract shot up 7.65 cents or 8.18 percent to settle at 101.20 cents a lb, ranging from 98.50 to 101.85 cents. It was the loftiest close for a benchmark contract since juice futures finished at 102.05 cents on November 27th, 2002. July juice shot up its 5.00-cent limit to 99.80 cents. The rally...

Crude oil prices hovered close to record highs on Wednesday following data showing another large fall in US heating oil inventories. Cold weather has left stockpiles at a relatively low level, creating a potentially tight market should another cold snap arrive in the US north-east. The US Department of Energy said domestic distillate supplies, which include heating oil and diesel, slid by 800,000 barrels, with all of the decline occurring in heating oil. However, this was below market expectations of a 1.3m drawdown. The report also shows commercial crude inventories rose by 3.2m barrels to 302.6m in the week...

What a difference a news leak from the Federal Reserve makes. Ever since this newspaper ran its December 2 page-one article, "Fed View Shifting on Inflation: Rate Rises Likely," the world's leading indicators of future prices have been heading back down. David Malpass of Bear Stearns points out that gold has since dropped to $434 or so from a peak of $456, oil is back down to $41 a barrel and the dollar has been firmer in currency markets. Amazing how that works: The Fed finally signals that it is going to print fewer dollars, and inflation expectations begin to...

WASHINGTON, Nov 23, 2004 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- The harvesting was wrapping up across much of the United States this week although rain across Texas and the South kept the cotton harvest behind schedule. The Agriculture Department's weekly crop report said Tuesday the cotton harvest was 72 percent complete compared to the 5-year average of 80 percent. Heavy rain did not halt field work but caused some degrading of the quality. Nevertheless, New York cotton futures were trading about 44 points lower Tuesday. Live cattle futures were up sharply on concerns about mad cow disease and stress on...

Russia's gold and oil economic efficiency will be exhausted in 2011, Yury Trutnev, the Minister for Natural Resources stated at a recent session of the Russian government. The minister noted that the time when the reserves of certain kinds of mineral wealth would be exhausted in Russia was drawing near. Trutnev specified that the resources of crude, uranium, copper and gold would end in the country already in 2015.

http://www.tradesports.com so how does this all work? i noticed volume for Bush is HUGE while volume for kerry is low, beside the price difference does volume tell us anything? say i have $100 to spend and i REALLY think bush will win what is the best way to make money. would you buy the bush or short sale the kerry? not only do i want Bush to win and would LOVE to take some demosmucks money too!

BEIJING, Oct. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Crude oil futures fell to a three-week low in New York after China's central bank raised its benchmark interest rates for the first time in nine years, a move that may reduce growth in fuel consumption. Bond prices fell around the world, sending yields higher. The US dollar strengthened but then eased as investors feared a slowdown in China would weaken growth across Asia and weaken demand for commodities. US Treasury Secretary John Snow said he was pleased with China's decision to raise interest rates and said it was an appropriate means to cool the...