Posted on 02 June 2010 by VRS | Email |Print
From Bloomberg: The biggest slump in commodities since Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed is undermining Wall Street forecasts for accelerating economic growth and higher prices for everything from copper to crude oil.
The Journal of Commerce Industrial Price Commodity Smoothed Price Index that tracks the growth rate of steel, cattle hides, tallow and burlap plunged 57 percent in May, two years after a decline that foreshadowed the worst recession in half a century………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From Economist.com: Another bad opening for the European markets today. One can pick from the menu of bad news, including the ECB’s warning about the further potential losses of European banks, a factor that was worrying investors last week.
Another issue, as mentioned in our latest analysis of markets, is the potential for a slowdown in the Chinese economy; the latest purchasing managers’ index for China’s manufacturing sector came in at a disappointing 53.9………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From FT Alphaville: Given the debate — and doubts — assailing the commodities sector, it could be a very good — or very bad – move by Calstrs (the Californian State Teachers Retirement System), the second-biggest US pension fund, to be launching its first big push into commodities investing.
As the FT reports on Tuesday, Calstrs is set to vote later this week on a “long-term strategic allocation to commodities”, adding bulk goods such as oil, sugar and copper to its $138.5bn portfolio of equities, bonds, real estate and private equity………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From WSJ: It is rarely a good idea to become overly reliant on one customer. Especially when that customer is trying to build a rival supply business of its own.
China accounts for 36% or more of global demand for metals like copper, aluminum and zinc, according to Barclays Capital. Its share of oil consumption is only 11%, but it is the world’s biggest source of demand growth by far………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From Reuters: The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) index of commodity prices rose 2.9 percent in May in special drawing right (SDR) terms, after having jumped a revised 18.6 percent in April.
In Australian dollar terms, the index was estimated to have risen 6.6 percent in May, in part due to the fall in the Australian dollar. The index climbed a revised 16.1 percent in April………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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Posted on 02 June 2010 by VRS | Email |Print
From Bloggingstocks.com: Commodities, excluding gold, are taking a big hit. The Journal of Commerce commodity index plunged 57% in May. A second Journal of Commerce Industrial Price Commodity Smoothed Price Index gives a clearer sign of supply and demand. It fell to 25.97 in May, from 60.56 in April.
Looking back to 2008, commodities plunged dramatically and the index fell 56% to its lowest level since 1949. What followed was the greatest stock market crash since the Great Depression………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From Business-standard.com: The ability to distinguish will be the key to returns in the current year. While 2010 will be a year of stocks and not the market as a whole, the gains in the commodities space will also not be uniform.
Sugar, which generally lasts about six years moving from boom to bust, has been facing tough times for some time now. Even for the next one year, we expect the pain to continue for the sector as cane crop is likely to be good in Brazil, the world’s largest sugar producer………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From Independent: Energy prices in the EU fell last year, in some places by up to nearly 30 percent, according to figures released last week by the European Union.
In the 27 European countries, gas prices plummeted 16 percent between the second half of 2008 and 2009………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From Timesonline.co.uk: Inch by inch, Iraq is crawling out from beneath the rubble of a warzone and building an energy colossus. Increasingly, too, there is help at hand to turn its oil and gas resources into gold.
A clutch of big oil multinationals has entered into service contracts with the country to develop several huge oilfields, including Rumaila, a monster that already delivers 1.1 million barrels per day, almost half of Iraq’s current output………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From Financialpost.com: Even with the drop in European consumption, global petroleum use should climb well above the increase in non-OPEC supplies, according to Scotia Capital economist Patricia Mohr.
While consumption began to turn around in the fourth quarter of 2009 and is expected to advance to 86.2 million barrels per day, she warned that a significant increase in natural gas liquid supplies linked to massive LNG development in the Persian Gulf represents a “wild card” in the forecast………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From Reuters: Carbon market players said on Tuesday they will consider developing self-policing rules after a call to action by the UN’s new climate chief, but warned that more political will is needed by governments to spur investment.
Christiana Figueres, who officially starts her new role in July, on Friday said market participants had “seriously impaired the trust of governments, civil society and non-profits,” through several scandals that rocked the largely unregulated $144 billion market last year………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From Sustainablebusiness.com: China could begin carbon trading as early as 2014, according to a Bloomberg report.The government is considering a system that would require companies to reduce carbon emissions per yuan of profit, instead of setting hard targets.
Chinese companies would trade carbon credits in a market overseen by the government………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From Bloomberg: The International Monetary Fund’s gold reserves declined by 15.1 metric tons (about 486,000 ounces) in April, according to figures from the Washington-based lender. Russia’s holdings expanded by about five tons.
Reserves of gold at the IMF were 2,966.4 tons at the end of April compared with 2,981.5 tons at the end of March, data on the IMF’s website show. Russia increased holdings to about 668.7 tons from 663.7 and has added gold every month since at least February, the data show………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From Hardassetsinvestor.com: Emerging markets have transformed the demand-side equation for dozens of commodities, from oil to lean pork, but nowhere has the change been followed quite so closely as in the gold market. China and India have had a taste for gold jewelry for decades, but evolving income distributions and a tumbling U.S. dollar have turned gold into an attractive financial investment for the first time for millions of new buyers.
And the trend shows no signs of slowing anytime soon, says Jeff Nichols, managing director of American Precious Metals Advisors and senior economic advisor to retail gold dealer Rosland Capital………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From Etfdailynews.com: ETF Securities has filed preliminary paperwork with the SEC for 18 new commodity ETFs. These new funds fall into three categories: Long Collateralized Exchange Traded Commodity Funds, Short Collateralized Exchange Traded Commodity Funds, and Leveraged Collateralized Exchange Traded Commodity Funds.
The Funds offer investors the opportunity to obtain long, short, or leveraged exposure to a Commodity Index………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From Etftrends.com: ETF Securities has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to add 18 commodity exchange traded funds (ETFs) to its current U.S.-based lineup. The funds may give investors the tax treatment they’ve been seeking in commodity funds.
ETF Securities is planning a series of commodity ETFs that may have more favorable tax treatment. It’s no small addition to the provider’s line-up: right now, ETFS has four funds trading. If these funds come to market, it would bring the total available up to 22………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From Financialstandard.com.au: Colonial First State Global Asset Management (CFSGAM) banks on global trends including population growth, demand for biofuels and the emerging ‘middle class’ to make a return for investors.
The CFSGAM Global Soft Commodity Share fund, launched yesterday, invests in companies involved in the production, processing and distribution of soft commodities such as grain, meat, fish and forestry products………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From Reuters: Singapore Commodity Exchange, a unit of Singapore Exchange, and Tokyo Commodity Exchange on Tuesday signed an agreement that will pave the way for the cross-listing of the two exchanges’ contracts.
Sicom and Tocom also plan to offer cross-membership so that members can more easily access each other’s platform………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From WSJ: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s internal watchdog has launched a review of the agency’s market surveillance operations to determine how well the CFTC enforces speculative limits for large traders.
The independent review was disclosed by the CFTC’s Inspector General in the semi-annual report to Congress. The review will look at how effective the agency’s staff has been in working with exchanges to get large traders to reduce the size of their contract holdings as the contracts approach expiration………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From Indiatimes.com: Financial services major Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL) said that Religare Commodities Ltd, the commodity broking arm of Religare Enterprises Ltd, is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Religare Securities Ltd.
This move will help bring together the company’s commodities and equity broking businesses under one roof as it continues to further build on its leadership position in the broking business………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From Reuters: U.S. corn prices on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 1.4 percent on Tuesday, falling within a dime of their 2010 low due to rosy crop conditions coupled with weak outside markets, including crude oil, traders said.
Soybeans and wheat also settled lower, with all three markets finishing near the day’s lows on a flurry of late-day selling………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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From Indiatimes.com: What are Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)? An ETF is a basket of stocks that reflects the composition of an index, like S&P CNX Nifty, BSE Sensex or the banking index. An ETF’s trading value is based on the net asset value of the underlying stocks that it represents.
It is similar to a mutual fund that you can buy and sell in real-time at a price that changes during the trading session. ETFs are essentially index funds that are listed and traded on exchanges like stocks………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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