Gold News

Market volatility has slowed to a near halt ahead of the EU summit meeting event risk on Thursday.  The lack of activity is being reinforced by the fact that there have no major economic headlines and very little in the way of macro data to give direction.  Treasury markets have been one exception, as Spanish and Italian bond yields have seen steady rises higher. During the Asian session, the Reserve Bank of Australia released the minutes from the July 5th monetary policy meeting, which surprised markets by removing their previously hawkish bias, instead discussing growth concerns and credit contagion possibilities.  The EUR/USD ranges between 1.4080-1.4140 with the USD/JPY at 78.95-79.20.  Gold has also received a lot of attention posting a record high above $1605 per ounce.  The S & P 500 dropped 0.8% European stock markets fell 2% on decreases in risk sentiment.  Today, macro data will come in the form of US housing figures. The RBA policy minutes were much less...

Equities Asian markets closed moderately lower, on light volume. The Kospi fell .7% weighed down by memory chip makers, as Hynix slumped 4.4%. The Shanghai Composite ticked down .1%, and the Hang Send slipped .3%, while the ASX 200 closed flat. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday, contributing to the light volume. Selling pressure picked up in Europe, as concerns over Greece remained in focus. The CAC40 sank 2%, while the FTSE and DAX both dropped 1.6%. Italian banks tumbled, and European banking sector fell 3.1%. France's CAC40 Drops to New Low for the Year US markets fared slightly better, but still closed down. The Dow fell 95 points to 12385, the S&P dropped 11 points to 1305.50, and the Nasdaq slid .9%. Apple was a bright spot amongst stocks, gaining 2.4% after JPMorgan significantly raised it earnings estimate. Netflix skidded 2.8% after being downgraded by Pacific Crest Securities, and LinkedIn tumbled nearly 7% after JPMorgan downgraded the stock to neutral. The ongoing phone hacking...

Stocks   Global equities were lower on Monday as traders are worried about the financial conditions of European banks. Stress tests last week revealed that many banks may need to raise additional capital due to falling sovereign debt bond prices. Debt worries were also headlining losses in the US, traders continue to worry about the lack of political agreement for raising the US’s debt ceiling. As such, financial stocks were the big losers today. Bank of America was lower by 2.8% while Deutsche Bank fell over 3.2%. Overall, the S&P 500 was 0.8% lower while the Dow lost 0.76%, while in Europe the CAC 40 was slightly more than 2.0% lower with the FTSE and DAX both losing 1.55%. Looking ahead, tech stocks will be in the spotlight tomorrow as bellwethers IBM and CSCO both released earnings after the close. Commodities With the exception of precious metals commodities were lower across the board. Agricultural and Soft commodities were especially hit hard as cotton fell 2.5%,...

Market anxiety over debt issues in Europe and prolonged budget negotiations in the United States sent gold above $1,600 an ounce Monday, as investors sought the safe haven status of the commodity. Spot gold rose as high as $1,600.40 an ounce today, with global equity markets largely taking a step back. Data released Friday from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed that gold futures and options received a large increase in bullish bets, likely helping to boost the metal. Market commentators have expressed disappointment that European and U.S. debt discussions haven't made more progress. Equity markets haven't been punished yet, but critics point out that an economic disruption could easily send an already weak recovery into a tailspin. The United States faces an August 2 deadline to raise its $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, or face default.

A developing sovereign debt crisis in Italy and widening bond yields in Europe spooked investors on Monday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 151 points to 12,506. The widely watched blue-chip traded in a range between 12,470 and 12,656. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY) plunged 1.81% to $131.97. Volume was heavier than normal with around 187.7 million SPY shares trading hands compared to a 3-month daily average of 175.7 million. The PowerShares QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ: QQQ), which tracks the performance of the Nasdaq 100, shed 1.81% to close at $57.96. The QQQ is up 6.43% in 2011. Gold surged on the day as nervous investors rushed into the asset class. COMEX gold futures rose 0.81% to $1,554.10. The SPDR Gold Trust ETF (NYSE: GLD) added 0.91% to $151.61. Crude oil fell on concerns over the state of the global recovery. NYMEX crude futures lost 1.05% to $95.19. The United States Oil Fund ETF (NYSE: USO) fell 1.35% to $37.29. Treasuries soared...

I’m thrilled to report that while in Singapore last week, I had the great honor of interviewing Jim Rogers in person.  He was extremely kind in hosting me and entertaining my questions, and I’m excited to be able to share our fun 45-minute chat with you here. As you may know, I’m a longtime reader and fan of Jim Rogers – and one of my constant frustrations with mainstream financial outlets is that, while they frequently interview Rogers, they lob too many idiotic questions his way, like “What should the Fed do?” So I hope that you find our discussion around his current world and financial outlook insightful, especially if you’ve been following his work as closely as I have. All of his books are excellent, as you probably know – three in particular had quite profound effects on my thinking about investing, the world, and life in general.  If you haven’t yet read all of these, I’d highly recommend you pick up...

Equities Asian markets ended Monday mixed following the Easter holiday.  The Nikkei ended down .1%, while the Shanghai Composite tumbled 1.5%.  In Korea, the Kospi rose .8%.  Markets in Hong Kong and Australia were closed for the holidays. In Europe, the major indexes ended mostly higher, as the Dax gained .6% and the CAC40 rose .4%.  Chemical company AkzoNobel gained 4% on strong earnings.  The FTSE lagged behind, shedding .1%. US markets traded in a narrow range and also ended mixed.  The Dow slipped 26 points to 12480, while the Nasdaq gained .2%. Slot-machine maker IGT jumped 9.3% on surprisingly strong earnings and Sohu.com rallied 8.8% after profits rose 34%. Treasuries and Commodities Bonds rose slightly, with 10-year notes up 8/32 to yield 3.36%, and 30-year notes up 4/32 to yield 4.46%.  A Chinese Central Bank official warned that China must be careful of rising US treasury rates. US crude ended down fractionally in choppy trading, closing at 112.22.  Gold rallied 6.60 to close at 1510.40, and...

FOREX The Euro (1.4472) is coming down from yesterday's high of 1.4519, but is finding support around 1.4450. While that support holds, a test of the important resistance at 1.4600 is possible. USDJPY (83.90) has bounced back well from the 200DMA (at 83.49) yesterday and it may be trade from a range of 83.50-84.50 today. The EURJPY Cross (121.38) is consolidating, and is trading between 120.50-122. The cross remains bullish. A strong move above 122 might trigger further rise to 123+. The Cable (1.6256) fell sharply yesterday and is now moving around its support at 1.6250. The immediate outlook remains mixed. USDCHF (0.8974) had dropped below 0.9000 and could test 0.8900-8800 on the downside in the coming days. Aussie (1.0434) failed to sustain the break above 1.0500 yesterday and could fall to 1.0300 if it breaks below 1.0400. The Asian Currencies are trading slightly weaker. The Korean-Won is trading near 1092 and the Sing Dollar is trading near 1.2584. MARKETS The US markets fell yesterday. Dow...

Equities Most Asian markets ended moderately lower on Monday. The Nikkei slid .5% to 9720, thanks to a downgrade of Japanese automakers by Citigroup. Nissan, Toyota and Honda all fell more than 2%. The Hang Seng lost .4%, and the Kospi eased .2%. Australia’s ASX 200 was a notable exception, rallying .6% as shares in mining giant BHP Billiton jumped 3.8%. Chinese trade data showed a trade deficit thanks to commodity imports, fueling investor demand for miners. European markets also ended lower. The Dax fell .2%, and the CAC40 slumped .6%. Hochtief, a construction service company tumbled 9.5% after cutting its outlook. The FTSE closed down fractionally, as gains in miners largely offset other losses. US markets ended mixed, as the market shed early gains. The Dow closed flat after rising 64 points earlier, while the Nasdaq and S&P both dropped .3%. Oil companies fell steeply as the price of US crude dropped 3%. Denbury Resources fell 5% and Anadarko Petroleum slumped 4.3%. Level3 announced...

Stocks & Commodities Gold and corn hit record highs on Monday, silver touched its highest in 31 years, lead hit a three-year peak and U.S. crude traded at its strongest in two and a half years as investors sought protection from inflation and fretted about supply. After rallying to a record high of $1,476.21 an ounce in early trade, spot gold eased back to $1,474.90, up $2.20 on the day, while silver traded 5 cents short of its 31-year peak at $41.93 struck earlier. Brent crude fell by over a dollar after the African Union said Muammar Gaddafi had accepted a roadmap for ending civil war, including an immediate ceasefire. U.S. crude for May delivery rose 23 cents to $113.02 a barrel and earlier touched $113.46, its highest in more than two and a half years. U.S. corn futures jumped 2 percent to a record on thinning stockpiles in top exporter the United States, as traders raised doubts about a government report that kept...