High flying U.S. Silver Eagle Bullion coin sales grounded by U.S. Mint Silver’s growing popularity as an investment vehicle has stymied the U.S. Mint, which stopped taking orders for its American Eagle Silver Bullion coin, and rationed sales for the remainder of this year. The 2008 Silver Eagle dollar coins have become so wildly popular, the U.S Mint stopped taking orders for the bullion coins in March, and late last month began limiting how many coins the exclusive group of 13 authorized buyers globally can purchase. On Thursday, Michael DiRienzo, Executive Director of the Silver Institute, asked Edmund Moy, Director of the United States Mint, to meet with institute members to discuss immediate remedies to the shortage.
The bubble of all US bubbles Two great issues define this moment in America: war in Iraq and economic turbulence dominate debates, fears and campaigns. Optimistic pitches can be heard about the effectiveness of the "surge" in Iraq and policy responses to subprime-driven economic pain. Many and influential voices loudly tout economic and military success. Public perception on both fronts lags pundit wisdom. Polling data suggests that more and more Americans oppose staying in Iraq and believe the US is already in recession. There is an unusual disconnect between general opinion, policy and reality. All we can know for sure is that either the general public or leading voices are very, very wrong.
Inflation wipes out income gains in April Inflation erased all the gains in disposable personal income in April, while U.S. consumer spending was flat after adjusting for higher prices, the Commerce Department estimated Friday. Nominal personal incomes, nominal consumer spending and consumer prices all increased 0.2% in April, the government said. The report suggests the economy weakened further in the second quarter of the year even as the first tax-rebate checks began arriving. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected incomes to be flat. Only a large increase in rental incomes and the extra transfer payments from the economic stimulus package kept nominal personal incomes rising at all in the month.
Dow Chemical Raises Prices, Paving Way for Hershey, Monsanto Dow Chemical Co., the largest U.S. chemical maker, may not be the last to raise prices this year because of soaring raw materials costs. Monsanto Co., Hershey Co., General Mills Inc. and Avery Dennison Corp. may follow suit, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They're among 11 companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index that increased their so-called LIFO reserve, which captures rising inventory costs, by at least 20 percent over the past four quarters. With oil and commodity prices at record highs, companies will be forced to pass on higher costs, analysts said after Dow Chemical announced yesterday it will raise prices by the most in its 111-year history. That will contribute to inflation, and may prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates for the first time in four years.
Huntsman to increase prices on all products U.S. chemical maker Huntsman Corp, which is being bought by Apollo's Hexion unit, said on Thursday it will raise prices up to 25 percent and impose an energy surcharge across a wide range of products. The move, which is driven by a sustained increase in costs for energy, transportation and raw materials, mirrors similar actions taken by other U.S. chemical makers like Dow Chemical and Rohm and Haas. Huntsman said the amount of each price increase and energy surcharge will vary by product, in accordance with costs attributed to each product. The price increase and any surcharges will be effective immediately, or as soon as applicable contracts allow, the Woodlands, Texas-based company said in a statement.
Kohn Signals Wall Street May Get Permanent Access to Fed Loans Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman Donald Kohn raised the possibility of giving Wall Street securities firms permanent access to loans from the central bank, as long as regulators tighten oversight of the companies. Kohn also advocated continuing Fed auctions of funds to commercial banks and loans of Treasuries to Wall Street dealers even after markets stabilize. Such channels would stay open ``either on a standby basis or operating at a very low level,'' he said in a speech in New York yesterday. The remarks go beyond Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, who has indicated the central bank would shut lending to investment banks when the credit crisis passes. Lawmakers and regulators are debating how to approach the supervision of investment banks in the aftermath of the Fed's rescue of Bear Stearns Cos. in March.
Agency sounds an alarm on U.S. banks' shaky outlooks The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation warned Thursday that the nation's ailing banking industry was likely to weaken further. The FDIC said the combined profit of the financial institutions it regulates plunged 46 percent, to $19.3 billion, during the first three months of the year. During that time, banks and savings institutions set aside more money to cover future losses than in any quarter in the last 20 years, the regulator said. Reserves totaled $37.1 billion — four times their level a year earlier. Even so, the percentage of troubled loans covered by such reserves, a measure of the industry's strength known as the coverage ratio, sank to its lowest level since 1993. The number of borrowers who fell behind on loan payments increased sharply during the quarter.
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