Archives for November 2012

November 2012 - Page 17 of 20 - Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From

What to Expect From Gold Prices If Obama Wins Election 2012

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Now that Nov. 6 is here, it is tempting to look at what might happen to gold prices if the incumbent – U.S. President Barack Obama – wins Election 2012.

Leading into Election Day, traders are the most bullish they have been in 10 weeks. Eighteen of 27 gold analysts contacted by Bloomberg News were expecting higher gold prices in the short-term, while only five of the analysts were bearish.

Holdings in gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) reached a record 2,588.4 metric tons on Nov. 1, which was valued at $140 billion. According to Bloomberg data, holdings in gold ETFs in the past three months have enjoyed their best run since August 2011.

Of course, the rise in bullishness regarding gold is not only due to the presidential election, but also to continued loose monetary policy from the U.S. Federal Reserve. Gold did rise 70% as the Fed bought $2.3 trillion of debt during the first two rounds of quantitative easing.

So should gold investors expect anything to change if President Obama wins re-election?

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There's More than Election 2012 Moving the Stock Market Today

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The stock market today is trading higher as investors await the results of Election 2012. By the end of tonight, barring legal battles that could delay a winner, the uncertainty surrounding the election will be over.

But there's more than the election that's affecting markets today.

As voters head to the polls, it's only fitting that the one economic report released today is on jobs.

  • Job openings continue sluggish trend- How Americans view the job market and what they expect it to be like under each candidate will be one of the deciding factors in this election. The Labor Department reported on Tuesday that job openings in the U.S. hit a five-month low in September, indicating that the recent drop in unemployment is not an accurate portrayal of the labor market. The number of available jobs fell by 100,000 to 3.56 million and it wasn't because more positions were filled – during September fewer people were hired, as well as fired. If you go back to December 2007, the start of the recession, there were about 1.8 people vying for each position and now that number has almost doubled to 3.4 people. "Hiring is the most costly expense for a business," Kurt Rankin, an economist at PNC Financial Services Group Inc. in Pittsburgh, told Bloomberg News. "Until a framework for policy can be determined, which will come with the election and the resolution of the fiscal cliff, businesses are not likely to ramp up hiring."

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Who Will Win Election 2012 and Lead America Over the Next Four Years?

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Americans will be united in heading to the polls today (Tuesday) to decide who will win Election 2012 and be the next president and vice president. After months of experts, news reporters and the candidates inundating us with a barrage of facts and opinions, voters have the last word. Research finds that historically Americans' say […]

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Eagle Bancorp - Momentum

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Eagle Bancorp, Inc. (EGBN) has delivered positive earnings surprises in the last four quarters; most recently beating by nearly 13% in the third quarter. This Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy), commercial bank hit a new 52-week high on October 31 shortly after its quarterly announcement. With a solid year-to-date return of 37.2% and an expected […]

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Doctors "Grow" Woman a New Ear Inside Her Own Forearm

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Medical science is fast approaching the point at which doctors will routinely transplant major organs grown from a patient's own cells.

No doubt, that would be huge. First, it would get around a major hurdle that now limits live-saving transplants. The waiting list for new organs is so long some patients die before they can get their operations.

Second, the body's immune system often rejects the new organ as an "invader." To combat this, patients must take strong drugs that can have some pretty severe side effects.

Doctors have said for decades that "regenerative medicine" would yield custom-made organs. And for just as long it's remained more theory than practice.

Until now…

Just last month, a team from Johns Hopkins said it had rebuilt an ear for a cancer patient using the woman's own tissue.

Not only that, but they actually "grew" the ear inside the woman's forearm.

"When my doctors told me reconstruction was possible, I thought it was too good to be true," said Sherrie Walter, a working mother of two. "It sounded like science fiction."

But it turned out to be science fact…

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Election 2012: Is Today's Presidential Election More About Lost Dreams Or a New Promise?

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In what can only be described as a madcap dash for votes in key battleground states, President Barack Obama and Candidate Mitt Romney worked the crowds late into the night.

As well they should. Almost every Election 2012 poll I've seen has the candidates in a neck-and-neck race headed into today's finish line.

As of press time:

  • CNN's survey has them in a dead heat at 49% to 49%.
  • Pew Research shows Candidate Romney behind President Obama by a 50% to 47% margin.
  • The Politico/George Washington University survey reflects a tie at 48%.
  • And the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal numbers show President Obama pulling ahead with 48% compared to Candidate Romney at 47%.

On the other hand, Intrade, which is the world's leading predictions market, shows a 67.2% probability that Obama will win. What's interesting about that is that Intrade also shows a 22.5% chance that the winner of the Electoral College will actually lose the popular vote.

Given these mismatches, I can only hope we're not left counting chads or something equally ridiculous tonight when the polls finally close. The markets really wouldn't like that.

As it is, all the major averages are on hold. Not literally mind you, but figuratively. Nearly every trader and institutional manager I know is treading lightly at the moment.

Why?

Because they know that by Wednesday morning half of them will be wrong. That means they'll have to adjust both their outlooks and their portfolios.

In the financial scheme of things, though, the election is a sideshow. The far bigger issue when it comes to your money is the fiscal cliff. And I am not alone in my thinking, either.

A recent CNN poll suggests that 60% of market professionals are far more concerned about what's going to happen when spending cuts and tax increases hit January 1 than they are about who's in the White House.

I don't think they're wrong to be worried, either…

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Execs Keep Selling Their Facebook Stock - Time to Worry?

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The market has been buzzing about the fact that three top executives of Facebook have taken their first opportunity to sell some of their stock in the social networking company.

The sales were part of 230 million shares awarded to top executives and employees prior to the IPO that were subject to lockup until last week.

According to Forbes, another 777 million shares awarded to Facebook employees will come off of lockup next week. It is expected that Facebook employees will continue to sell shares for the rest of the year.

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Jack Welch on Natural Gas Companies: It's "Like the Internet in 1990"

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Without unnecessary regulations, natural gas companies could trigger the next great American century, says Jack Welch.

In an interview on CNBC's Squawk Box, Welch explained why he believes an energy-rich and independent America in the 21st century could create a bigger boom in the economy than the Internet did in the late 20th century.

"We have a chance in this country to make this the American century," Welch said. "This gas thing is huge. The gas that we have found is in the first inning – it's like the Internet in 1990. This is the first inning of a great American century."

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Hurtling Over Fiscal Cliff Likely Regardless of Election Outcome

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Representatives of the Group of 20 (G20) industrialized countries meeting in Mexico City over the weekend begged U.S. officials attending the meeting to avoid the impending fiscal cliff in 2013.

Chile's finance minister, Felipe Larrain told Reuters, "If we're not able to resolve the cliff, that could be the tipping point for a much more complicated scenario in the world economy."

The G20 clearly recognizes the risk of the U.S. falling off of the fiscal cliff.

Comparing the relative risks of the U.S. and Europe, Canadian finance minister Jim Flaherty told Bloomberg Businessweek, "In the near-term, clearly the U.S. situation is the higher risk."

Tomorrow's presidential election may complicate the situation regardless of if U.S. President Barack Obama wins a second term or if Mitt Romney is our next president.

Washington insiders have suggested that, unless there is a wider than expected margin of victory for either candidate, legal challenges are likely, which could put the result of the election in doubt.

In fact, each side has hefty legal teams waiting to jump to action if the election is close.

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Hurricane Sandy Costs Could Hit $100 Billion

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Already the estimates for Hurricane Sandy costs of storm damage have more than doubled, from $20 billion to $50 billion due to the magnitude of the storm.

There are others running as high as $100 billion, although most are in the $50 billion range. The costs for the insurance industry will be around $10 billion, according to EQECAT, an economic forecasting firm.

So far it looks like Hurricane Sandy costs will fail to top the most expensive storm in the history of the United States, Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Total expenses as a result were $108 billion. That is the equivalent of $128 billion in today's dollars.

For Hurricane Ike from 2008, the cost was $32 billion. Hurricane Andrew, which hit in 1972, resulted in $44 billion in economic damages.

Parts of Hurricane Sandy's costs are the widespread power outages still plaguing the Northeast. According to the Department of Energy, Hurricane Sandy knocked out more electricity for more homes and businesses than any other storm in the history of the United States.

That highlights two aspects of Hurricane Sandy that have made it so damaging to the American economy: its location and its timing.

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