By Jason Simpkins Associate Editor Money Morning Oil prices fell again yesterday (Wednesday) – dropping below $40 for the first time in four years – as weak demand and growing inventories overshadowed a record cut in production by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Light, sweet crude for January delivery fell $3.54 to settle […]
Archives for December 2008
December 2008 - Page 5 of 11 - Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From
Fed's Zero Interest Policy Fuels Treasury Rally
By Don MillerContributing WriterMoney Morning The “flight to quality” continued yesterday (Wednesday) as investors pushed up the price of Treasuries on fears the U.S. Federal Reserve’s drastic rate cut means the economy’s woes are far from over. But while Treasury prices hit record highs, concerns surfaced among analysts about how much farther the rally can […]
Fraud and Greed of Trusted Rating Agencies Helped Spread the Credit Crisis
By, Shah GilaniContributing EditorMoney Morning Underlying the credit crisis gripping the U.S. and world economies is a crisis of confidence. Blame has been laid at the feet of the U.S. Federal Reserve, and an investment bankers’ brew of toxic financial products. Ultimately, however, it was the supposedly trustworthy rating agencies that got everyone to drink […]
Career Regulator Mary Schapiro – a "Strong Investor Advocate" – is Reportedly Obama's Choice for SEC Chief
By William Patalon IIIExecutive EditorMoney Morning/The Money Map Report President-elect Barack Obama is expected to name Mary L. Schapiro – a strong proponent of protections for individual investors – to head the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission when his administration takes office next month, according to news media reports that began circulating last night (Wednesday). […]
Global Investing Roundups
Credit Crisis Claims $1 Trillion; Dollar Falls Hard; Gold and Silver Rally; Honda Slashes Profit Outlook; Motorola Cuts Costs; Valeo Cuts 5,000 Jobs; Woolworths Closing Its 807 Stores in Jan.; E-Trade Growing and Shrinking With Morgan Stanley’s (MS) $2.2 billion loss in the third quarter, the carnage from the credit crisis passed the $1 trillion […]
How to Avoid Madoff Mayhem
By Martin Hutchinson Contributing Editor Money Morning Bernard Madoff, former chairman of the NASDAQ Stock Market Inc. (NDAQ), was turned into the authorities by his sons last Thursday after his firm, Bernard L. Madoff Securities LLC, was declared an insolvent “giant Ponzi scheme,” with estimated losses of $50 billion. Madoff had provided investors with modest, […]
Pledge to Hedge: Three Ways to Lock in Low Gas Prices Right Now
[This is the seventh installment of an ongoing series.] By Keith Fitz-Gerald Investment Director Money Morning/The Money Map Report Many of my neighbors here in Oregon are enjoying the big decline in gasoline prices, particularly those who still own SUVs, pickup trucks or any of the other fire-breathing, piston-clanking monstrosities I’ve seen on the road […]
Global Investing Roundups
Best Buy Profit Falls 77%; Goldman Sachs Posts $2.12 Billion Loss; New Permits and Starts at Record Low; Brazil Retail Rises 10.1%; Berkshire Buys NC Real Estate Brokerage; Crude Slides in Spite of OPEC Technorati Profile Profit at electronics retailer Best Buy Co. (BBY) fell 77% during the company’s fiscal third quarter ended Nov. 29. […]
With New Home Construction Down, Obama Team Plans 'Bailout for the Masses'
By Don Miller Contributing Writer Money Morning New home construction fell in November by the largest amount in a quarter-century, as builders slashed production while facing the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression. However, a new blizzard of government money may be coming to your neighborhood, and it promises to be a true bailout […]
Fed Slashes Interest Rates to a 0.0% to 0.25% Target Range ... But Now What?
By Mike Caggeso Associate Editor Money Morning As expected, U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers slashed a benchmark interest rate yesterday (Tuesday). But they cut it by a bigger-than-expected amount, and did so in an unconventional manner. Instead of establishing a new, specific primary interest rate, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted for a […]