by Alex McGuire
The reason why oil prices are up today comes from the largest union strike in the last 35 years.
The surge occurred after 3,800 United Steelworkers union members walked off nine refineries on Sunday. USW said it "had no choice" after failing to agree on new contracts.
Here's everything you need to know about oil prices today...
Good Morning!Futures for the stock market today (Monday) forecasted a 31-point increase for the Dow from Friday's close ahead of the last busy week of the earnings season.
What to Watch Today: Investors will react to Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) earnings and figures on consumer spending. Last quarter, consumer spending hit its largest decline since December 2009.
As I wrote this for you folks last week, my part of the country was bracing for Winter Storm Juno, a blizzard that could bring wind gusts of 65 miles per hour while dumping as much as three feet of snow on some of the biggest cities in the Northeast. (We were spared its brunt, but New England could claim no such good fortune.)
With the early warning systems we have today – giving us the ability to prepare – the human toll from Juno was held to a minimum.
But the proliferation of headlines made me think of another winter storm – one that took place 169 years ago…
And as an investor, it's one that clearly teaches a valuable lesson...
2014 was the best of times and the worst of times in financial markets. Stocks rallied, of course, while bond yields and commodity prices plunged. In 2014, the S&P 500 gained 13% while the yield on 10-year Treasuries dropped from 3.03% to 2.17%, and the price of oil collapsed by 50%.
And the all-important U.S. dollar rallied as other major currencies such as the euro and the yen plunged. Investors looking for a consistent message from markets had to look elsewhere.
In January 2015, a similar theme spooled out in a completely different way…
The S&P 500 lost 3% – its worst performance in a year – while Treasuries had their best month in five years, as interest rates plunged to record lows around the world. In fact, yields on government bonds in many places are negative, a profoundly unhealthy phenomenon.
Crude oil dropped for the 7th month in a row, something it did during the 2008/9 financial crisis, even after a manic rally on Friday, January 30. The U.S. dollar continued to rally for the 7th month in a row and had its best month since May 2012.
Here's what January's action means for the rest of 2015...
