Gold futures edge higher after sharp decline Gold futures edged higher on Tuesday, after falling sharply in the previous session, as renewed weakness in the dollar underpinned demand for the precious metal. Gold for December delivery gained $1.10 at $808.80 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices for precious metals might be due for a rebound, but the consolidation process isn't over yet, said Peter Fertig, analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort, in a research note. "The sell-off is likely to be sharp but shallow," said Mark O'Byrne, director at Gold & Silver Investments Ltd., in a research note. "Fears that we may experience something akin to the sell-off in May 2006, which saw gold fall from $730 to $560, are likely to be unfounded,"
Gold's hot streak brings back bad '80s memories BULL markets are supposed to make investors feel good. But the latest surge in the price of gold has an aura of dread about it. It is nearing a lofty $US850 ($949) an ounce, a height not seen for 28 years. That has triggered some primal fears on Wall Street. If investors are turning back to one of the most ancient forms of money, one implication is that they are losing faith in modern finance. Indeed, the higher gold goes, Bill Roberts, 55, of Westchester, California, said he could not help but see a deepening message of doom. The dollar is sinking, banks are reeling from mortgage defaults and the stockmarket is tumbling anew, with the Dow Jones index falling 552 points last week.
'Sub-prime black hole is getting scarier' Blackstone's president warned that the sub-prime crisis on Wall Street was getting "deeper, darker and scarier" yesterday as the US private equity firm posted a loss for the third quarter, hit by a fall in real-estate revenues and charges related to its initial public offering. Shares in Blackstone fell 8.3 per cent as it revealed a net loss of $113m (£55m) for the three months to the end of September, under the impact of $803m of non-cash charges related to its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in June. Blackstone's group president and chief operating officer, Hamilton James, told investors that sub-prime woes were getting worse. "The sub-prime black hole is appearing deeper, darker and scarier than they [investment banks] thought." While he estimated that banks were about halfway through offloading the leveraged debt backlog on their books, he added that only 15 per cent of bank losses were related to leveraged loans rather than the sub-prime market.
Where's it all going? Pakistan in chaos, the US continuing to run massive current account deficits, the dollar suddenly rallying, the stock market shaky, US banks reeling in the face of huge subprime losses, the war in Iraq in its sixth year, presidential contenders battling each other, Fed Chief Bernanke pressed against the wall, Notre Dame's football team with one win and nine losses -- where's it all going? Is the US or even the world at the brink? I read about the individual problems and there are a slew of them, but taken all together they are too much for me. I can't grasp the full meaning of what is happening.
Saudi oil minister rejects Opec raise Saudi Arabia on Monday made clear Opec would not announce a production increase at this weekend’s Riyadh summit. In an interview with the Financial Times, Ali Naimi, the Saudi oil minister, said "there will be absolutely no discussion" by heads of states or their oil ministers on short-term supply and demand at the organisation’s summit, which will concentrate on with longer-term strategies of producers. But with prices close to $100 a barrel, Mr Naimi left the door open to action when the oil cartel meets in Abu Dhabi next month, signalling the group was "watching" the market very carefully and Saudi Arabia would "look at all the information available".
Pump price to jump 20 cents next 2-3 weeks: government U.S. consumers could pay record gasoline prices for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday with pump costs expected to climb another 20 cents over the next two to three weeks, the government's top energy forecaster warned on Monday. Guy Caruso, who heads the U.S. Energy Information Administration, said not all of the recent jump in crude oil prices has been reflected in motor fuel costs which now top $3 a gallon in many parts of the country, about 80 cents more than a year ago. "We haven't seen the full pass-through (of high oil prices) yet," Caruso told reporters at a briefing on oil market conditions held at Energy Department headquarters. "I would say what's in the pipe right now (for gasoline) is about another 20 cents."
Iraq, Afghan War Costs Are $1.6 Trillion The economic costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are estimated to total $1.6 trillion—roughly double the amount the White House has requested thus far, according to a new report by Congress' Joint Economic Committee. The report, obtained by The Associated Press and scheduled to be released Tuesday, attempted to put a price tag on the two conflicts, including "hidden" costs such as interest payments on the money borrowed to pay for the wars, lost investment, the expense of long- term health care for injured veterans and the cost of oil market disruptions. The $1.6 trillion figure, for the period from 2002 to 2008, translates into a cost of $20,900 for a family of four, the report said. The Bush administration has requested $804 billion for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined, the report stated.
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