By Miho Yoshikawa
TOKYO (Reuters) - Gold fell to below $1,050 per ounce on Friday as the dollar edged up, snapping a rally that took prices to all-time highs for three consecutive days.
Spot gold hit a record high of $1,061.20 on Thursday as the dollar's weakness increased bullion's traditional appeal as a hedge against the U.S. currency.
The dollar rose on Friday, with comments from Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that indicated monetary policy might have to be tightened as a recovery takes hold, helping to pull the greenback off 14-month lows against a basket of currencies.
Apart from its strong inverse correlation with the dollar, fears of inflation have also fuelled gold's rise to historic levels this week.
"I think gold's uptrend remains intact," said Shuji Sugata, a manager at Mitsubishi Corp Futures & Securities' research team.
Technical analysts at Barclays Capital have also said their outlook on gold was bullish, with a push towards $1,120 now a possibility.
"There are new participants that are being attracted to the market now as it rises," Sugata said.
He said these new inflows of money could be seen in areas including gold-backed exchange-traded funds and physical buying
By Miho Yoshikawa
TOKYO (Reuters) - Gold fell to below $1,050 per ounce on Friday as the dollar edged up, snapping a rally that took prices to all-time highs for three consecutive days.
Spot gold hit a record high of $1,061.20 on Thursday as the dollar's weakness increased bullion's traditional appeal as a hedge against the U.S. currency.
The dollar rose on Friday, with comments from Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that indicated monetary policy might have to be tightened as a recovery takes hold, helping to pull the greenback off 14-month lows against a basket of currencies.
Apart from its strong inverse correlation with the dollar, fears of inflation have also fuelled gold's rise to historic levels this week.
"I think gold's uptrend remains intact," said Shuji Sugata, a manager at Mitsubishi Corp Futures & Securities' research team.
Technical analysts at Barclays Capital have also said their outlook on gold was bullish, with a push towards $1,120 now a possibility.
"There are new participants that are being attracted to the market now as it rises," Sugata said.
He said these new inflows of money could be seen in areas including gold-backed exchange-traded funds and physical buying
Dec 10, 2009
Gold falls from record, dips below $1,050
Nov 10, 2009
Gold rallies to fresh record, stocks up
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gold climbed to a record on Thursday as the dollar struggled, while U.S. stocks settled higher after Alcoa (AA.N) began the third-quarter earnings season with an unexpected profit.
Major U.S. equity indexes rose nearly 1 percent, led by Alcoa, a day after the Dow component and the largest American aluminum producer posted its first profit after a string of quarterly losses. Alcoa cited improving metal prices and cost savings as the main reasons for its profitable quarter.
Alcoa is the first major company to release earnings in the U.S. third-quarter reporting season.
Its profit surprise also played a factor in world equity markets on Thursday, as investors have been scouring for signs of any fundamental improvement in organic growth. The MSCI world equity index .MIWO00000PUS rose 1.32 percent to 1,137.84, near the year's high of 1,150.42.
For their part, the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 61.29 points, or 0.63 percent, at 9,786.87, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 7.90 points, or 0.75 percent, at 1,065.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 13.60 points, or 0.64 percent, at 2,123.93.
But gold stole the spotlight again.
The yellow metal topped $1,060 per ounce to mark a record high for the third session in a row, versus its late New York Wednesday quote of $1,043.70. It closed the day at $1,055.45.
The move in spot bullion has primarily been driven higher by the weakening dollar, which makes the dollar-denominated metal more attractive to investors.
In some currencies -- the high-flying Australian dollar, for example -- gold has actually fallen in price this year.
"Investors are turning toward gold as a hedge in dollar weakness," said Adrian Koh, an analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
The dollar was down against a basket of major trading-partner currencies, with the U.S. dollar index down 0.69 percent at 75.966, a 14-month low and below a previous session close of 76.494.
The currency has been hit by a combination of expectations that U.S. interest rates will stay low for some time and a belief that the global economy is on the mend, easing the motivation behind last year's flight to dollar safety.
The euro was up 0.63 percent at $1.4778 from a previous session close of $1.4685, while against the Japanese yen, the dollar was down 0.15 percent at 88.45 from a previous session close of 88.580.
The Australian dollar jumped 1.7 percent to US$0.9063, still benefiting from this week's rate hike. It has now gained nearly 28 percent against the U.S. dollar this year.
Nov 8, 2009
United Commercial Bank is shut down, sold to East West BancorpThis creates by far the largest U.S. bank focused on the Chinese American market and the largest bank based in Southern California. United Commercial was the 120th bank to fail in the U.S. this year.This creates by far the largest U.S. bank focused on the Chinese American market and the largest bank based in Southern California. United Commercial was the 120th bank to fail in the U.S. this year.
This creates by far the largest U.S. bank focused on the Chinese American market and the largest bank based in Southern California. United Commercial was the 120th bank to fail in the U.S. this year.
Toppled by loan losses and misstated financial reports, San Francisco's United Commercial Bank was shut down by regulators Friday night and immediately sold to Pasadena's East West Bancorp, creating by far the largest U.S. bank focused on the Chinese American market.
US jobless rate rises to over 10%
Since the recession began in December 2007, the number of unemployed has risen by 8.2 million, while the jobless rate has risen from 4.9%.
President Barack Obama described the rise in unemployment as "sobering".
"I will not rest until all Americans who want work can find work," he added.
He also said he would be signing legislation to extend unemployment benefit, cut taxes for businesses and extend tax credits for home buyers.
Nov 1, 2009
UPDATE: US Stocks Close Sharply Lower; DJIA Ends Month Flat
By Donna Kardos Yesalavich
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--U.S. stocks tumbled Friday, with Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Alcoa leading the Dow Jones Industrial Average's components lower as investors again grew concerned about the economy after the short-lived excitement over Thursday's good report on gross domestic product.
The Dow Friday posted its biggest one-day point drop since April 20, and ended October just 0.45 point above where it began. Other major measures, including the Standard & Poor's 500 and the Nasdaq Composite, ended the month in the red, marking their first monthly declines since February.
The Dow closed down 249.85 points, or 2.51%, at 9712.73, marking its 10th triple-digit movement this month. Five of them were down and five up, reflecting how volatile the market has gotten as investors try to get a handle on whether the 48% surge in the Dow since March can be justified by economic fundamentals. For the week, the Dow fell 259.45 points, or 2.6%, marking its second consecutive week in the red.
Banks broken up: Q&A
Three new banks are to appear on Britain's high streets as part of a major break-up of the sector to be announced by the Government this week, The Sunday Telegraph has learned.
Why is the government doing it?
Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling have little choice. Under European law, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Lloyds Banking Group and Northern Rock have to pay a price for the billions of pounds of state aid they have received. However, there are likely to be smiles rather than frowns in Downing Street because gradually returning these troubled institutions to full private ownership is firmly on the to do list. The government’s stakes in RBS and Lloyds are also threatening to become an even bigger political headache should these banks shower their best performing staff with bonuses in the New Year. Expect to see the emergence of Williams and Glyn, the revival of TSB and the resuscitation of Northern Rock hailed by the Prime Minister as a return to an era of more sensible and conservative banking.
Who will own these new banks?
Pilots 'face same distractions as drivers'
"I have my own ideas about this, but I'm going to work with the folks at the FAA and our department to deal with this issue," LaHood said. "We're going to take a very close look at that entire issue."
The Obama administration and lawmakers have already expressed interest in targeting distracted driving, including the use of mobile devices while behind the wheel. LaHood held a summit meeting in September that brought together researchers, regulators and other experts on distracted driving.
WASHINGTON - The two airline pilots who overshot their destination by 150 miles have prompted the Obama administration to broaden its look at distracted driving to include distracted flying, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today.
Oct 30, 2009
Flat incomes, weak consumer spending raise concern
WASHINGTON — Flat incomes suggest more weakness ahead in consumer spending, reinforcing concerns about a ho-hum holiday shopping season and a sluggish economic recovery.
"This recovery is going to be very weak. Consumers are in no position or mood to spend. Their wages are down and they can't get credit," said Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at California State University's Smith School of Business.
Concerns about the economy sparked by disappointing government data on spending and incomes sent stocks down Friday, erasing the previous day's big gains. The Dow Jones industrial average lost about 250 points, and broader indexes also fell.
The Commerce Department reported that personal incomes were stagnant in September while the all-important wage and salary category dropped 0.2 percent, as unemployment rose.
Consumer spending — which accounts for 70 percent of total economic activity — dropped 0.5 percent, the first decline in five months and the biggest since December.
UPDATE: US Stocks Close Sharply Lower; DJIA Ends Month Flat
By Donna Kardos Yesalavich
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--U.S. stocks tumbled Friday, with Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Alcoa leading the Dow Jones Industrial Average's components lower as investors again grew concerned about the economy after the short-lived excitement over Thursday's good report on gross domestic product.
The Dow Friday posted its biggest one-day point drop since April 20, and ended October just 0.45 point above where it began. Other major measures, including the Standard & Poor's 500 and the Nasdaq Composite, ended the month in the red, marking their first monthly declines since February.
Celebrating Stock Market Bears Take a Major Hit
Yesterday we get some strong volume and blow through the 50-day exponential moving average on the Nasdaq. We fall only a bit below on the S&P 500 (4 points) and hold above it on the Dow. We didn't have all 3 major indexes trading below the 50-day exponential moving averages and that's what you want to see if you believe the market is ready for deeper selling than has already occurred. In addition, you don't want to clear by as little as we did on the S&P 500 as that's not a true breakdown. 4/10th's of 1% is not sufficient to say it's all clear for the bears.
Stock Markets and Other Risky Assets Tumble on Recovery Fears
I concluded a post on stock markets over the weekend saying: “After equities’ seven-month climb, stock markets certainly look vulnerable for a decline. Two downside reversal days - on Wednesday and Friday - would seem to indicate that stocks could commence a pullback to work off the overbought condition, allowing fundamentals to reassert themselves.”
Source: StockCharts.com
Cockpit distractions go beyond laptops
The laptops that triggered two Northwest Airlines pilots to fly 91 minutes without talking to the ground may be relatively new technology, but distractions in the cockpit have led to accidents and incidents since the dawn of aviation.
As lawmakers and federal regulators called this week for banning laptops and certain other electronic devices in airline cockpits, experts who study why pilots make mistakes said the problem may be much more fundamental: People don't multitask very well.
Distractions ranging from a disgruntled passenger to a burned-out light bulb have been behind scores of crashes, according to federal accident reports and researchers.
U.S. economy stabilized but risks remain: Geithner
The government estimated that gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 3.5 percent from July through September. Still, Geithner said the government must be ready to reinforce growth if needed to avoid risks of a credit crunch.
In a one-hour question-and-answer session at the Economic Club of Chicago, Geithner said the United States can't borrow-and-spend its way to health and pledged every effort to encourage an investment-led recovery.
Oct 29, 2009
Boeing picks South Carolina for Dreamliner plant
The move "will expand our production capability to meet the market demand for the airplane," Jim Albaugh, president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a statement late Wednesday.
"This decision allows us to continue building on the synergies we have established in South Carolina with Boeing Charleston and Global Aeronautica," he said, the latter being a company 50-percent owned by Boeing.
Boeing's South Carolina plant already assembles and installs parts of the 787 fuselage sections. Almost all Boeing planes are manufactured at its Everett plant outside Seattle, in the northwest state of Washington.
Delivery of the first 787 Dreamliner -- to Japanese launch customer ANA -- is now set for late 2010, more than two years behind schedule.
Oct 28, 2009
WORLD FOREX: Euro Breaches Key Level, Could Sink Below $1.46
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The dollar hit a more than two-week high against the euro in afternoon trading Wednesday, as investors reassessed their riskier holdings and shifted out of stocks, commodities and high-yielding currencies.
The euro has since bounced off its lows after having sunk to $1.4712, but is still down on the day. Recently, the euro was at $1.4728, down from $1.4802 late Tuesday, according to EBS via CQG.
The dollar was at Y90.70, from Y91.82, while the euro was at Y133.54, from Y135.88. The U.K. pound was at $1.6430, from $1.6389. The dollar was at CHF1.0262, from CHF1.0219.
The Dollar Index, a trade-weighted basket of six currencies, was at 76.344, from 76.288 late Tuesday.
Breaching a key technical level of $1.4720 signals the euro could sink further, perhaps below $1.46, said Tom Fitzpatrick, chief technical analyst at Citigroup in New York.
Euro dips under 1.48 dollars
Investors were also waiting for fresh US data due out later in the day, including durable goods orders and new home sales.
In London morning deals, the European single currency slipped to 1.4798 dollars, from 1.4810 dollars late on Tuesday.
Against the Japanese currency, the dollar sank to 91.06 yen from 91.77 yen late on Tuesday in New York.
A disappointing US consumer sentiment report on Tuesday sparked concerns that the world's largest economy may not be recovering as quickly as hoped, reducing demand for higher-risk but also higher-yielding currencies like the euro.
U.S. welcomes yuan rise so far, wants more
However, a Chinese trade official said that despite pressure for the yuan to appreciate, the currency would probably not see a major adjustment until the country's exports improve noticeably.
"We think more progress needs to be made in that area," Locke told a news conference in Guangzhou, the capital of southern Guangdong province, which accounts for nearly a third of China's exports.
China has in effect re-pegged the yuan to the dollar since mid-2008 to help its exporters, who were hit hard by a slump in orders as the global financial crisis intensified.
DreamWorks' quarterly results beat low expectations
The Glendale studio also announced that it would not be producing a sequel to its latest movie, "Monsters vs. Aliens," which received a tepid response in keyoverseas markets.
DreamWorks reported net income of $19.6 million, or 23 cents a share, on revenue of $135.4 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30. That compared with net income of $37.4 million, or 41 cents a share, on revenue of $151.5 million during the same quarter in 2008, when the studio benefited from its hit film "Kung Fu Panda."
Analysts were expecting earnings of 16 cents a share on revenue of $129.3 million, according to the average estimate compiled by Thomson Reuters.
Oct 25, 2009
Biden to visit GM plant amid reports of reopening
The visit to the Boxwood plant comes amid media reports that start-up firm Fisker Automotive Inc is in talks to buy the plant to build plug-in electric hybrid cars.
The Wall Street Journal and the Detroit Free Press both reported on Friday that the talks for the purchase were at advanced stages and that an announcement was likely on Tuesday.
The White House statement announcing Biden's visit said he planned a major announcement about the assembly plant's future but gave no other details. Delaware is Biden's home state.
Brown: I will take us out of recession
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Gordon and Sarah Brown at the Labour Party Conference, Brighton 2009
Recession busting: Gordon Brown insists he can lead the UK out of recession this year
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The Prime Minister said he would continue to act on excessive bonuses in the financial sector following the news that the UK economy was stuck in its longest ever recession.
He said: 'My pledge to you is to make reform of the financial sector a reality and to see Britain's economy return to growth by the turn of the year.'
