Canadian Crude Oil Glut Cuts Price in Half
A barrel of Canadian crude from the oil sands of Alberta now fetches about $63/barrel while a barrel of WTI crude goes for around $100/barrel and a barrel of Brent crude costs almost $117/barrel.…
All Work
Paul Ausick
Gold Prices Continue Upward March (GLD, IAU)
Last July, gold was trading at around $1,500/ounce. This morning the price is around $1,750/ounce. The price rise can be attributed to at least four factors, all of which have pushed up demand. First,…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (SIRI, IBM, AZN, URBN, ZOLT, YUM, MT, BP, KO, EMR, LPX, MNI, CSTR, SPF, NSU, BPAX)
US equity markets opened lower this morning, but after the first hour or so of trading, the three major indexes moved to positive territory where they remained for the rest of the day. There…
S&P Puts Las Vegas Sands on Watch for Possible Upgrade (LVS)
Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s today put the ‘BB’ corporate credit rating of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) on CreditWatch with positive implications. An S&P analyst noted: The CreditWatch listing reflects our belief…
January Gasoline Prices at All-Time Monthly High
The relatively good news about US economic growth is having one not-so-pleasant side effect. The average price of gasoline set a record high for the month of January at $3.37/gallon. That’s $0.275/gallon higher than…
Three-year Treasury Notes Sold Near Record Low
The US Treasury’s auction today sold $32 billion in 3-year notes at a yield of 0.347%, just barely above the record low yield of 0.344% of September 2011. The Treasury is set to sell…
Oil Prices Up, Heating Fuel Prices Down in 2012
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released its February update to the agency’s monthly Short Term Energy Outlook. As with virtually all things related to energy, there’s good news and not-so-bad news. The…
Fourth-quarter Bank Earnings Mixed (JPM, BAC, C, WFC)
Of 319 banks and thrifts reporting fourth-quarter earnings as of February 1st, just 45% posted a sequential earnings increase. For the full-year, however, 71% of the reporting institutions posted a rise in earnings. The…
Building Products Company Stumbles (LPX, WY, PCL, UFPI, DEL)
Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (NYSE: LPX) reported a diluted EPS loss of -$0.34, nearly 40% worse than analysts had been expecting. The annual EPS loss came in at -$1.21, compared with a consensus estimate for an…
Mid-day Movers (MNI, CSTR, CYBI, NGSX, SPF)
At about noon, the DJIA is still up about 35 points at about 12,880, the Nasdaq is up some about 8 points at around 2,910, and the S&P 500 is up about 2.5 points…
Oracle Goes After SAP Again (ORCL, SAP)
Last September a California judge tossed out a verdict that would have given Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) a $1.3 billion payment in a dispute with SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) over a software copyright issue.…
Bank Short Sales Increase (JPM, BAC, WFC, C)
US banks have finally figured out that it costs them less to simply take a loss on an underwater home mortgage rather than try to foreclose. Banks are even paying for the privilege. Major…
Is the U.S. REALLY Closer to Energy Independence?
The U.S. does not really feel any closer to energy independence. There is too much infighting and attacking the companies which can help that energy independence, even if some attacks are justified, for the independence…
Chinese Firm Sues Apple Over iPad Trademark (AAPL)
Chinese display maker Proview Technology (Shenzen) has filed suit in a Chinese court seeking $38 million and an apology from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) for infringement of the iPad trademark in the People’s Republic.…
Morning Wire — US Stock-Index Futures Pointed Down
US index futures are lower again this morning while investors wait for some conclusion to the never-ending soap opera that is the Greek debt swap deal. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke testifies this morning…
Glencore, Xstrata Tie-up Getting Pushback (GLNCY, XSRAY)
The proposed merger between Glencore International Inc. (OTC: GLNCY) and Xstrata plc (OTC: XSRAY) would create a trading and mining giant valued at about $90 billion. But at least two Xstrata shareholders don’t think…
Negotiations Near End on Mortgage Foreclosures Deal (BAC, C, JPM, WFC)
Government officials at both the federal and state levels expect to see an agreement soon on the penalty payments being negotiated with five big mortgage lenders over foreclosure practices. The governments are reportedly seeking…
Global Wind Power Grows by 20% in 2011
Worldwide installation of wind power generation totaled 41,236 megawatts in 2011, leading to a total installed worldwide wind power base of 238,351 megawatts — an increase of more than 20%. China installed more than…
AIG Subprime Bonds Go On Sale (AIG, BCS, CS, GS, MS)
Five big banks have been invited by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to bid on a stack of subprime paper with an unpaid prinicipal balance of $6 billion that was issued by…
US Farmers Plan Huge Crop for 2012
The old saying about ‘making hay while the sun shines’ is unlikely ever to be more true than this year. After planting a near-record number of acres in 2011, US farmers are planning to…