Gold seen as safest investment option Gold is seen as a safe bet, with 28 per cent of people claiming to feel most confident investing in gold during the current economic uncertainty. According to research published by specialist insurance broker Aon Private Clients today (29 May), gold was seen as the safest bet, compared to 20 per cent of people feeling confident in property investment. However, of the 2,031 adults surveyed, a third (34 per cent) said they were not confident of investing in anything at all. Women are much more cautious, with 38 per cent not willing to take the risk compared to just 24 per cent of men. The results are dramatically different to those on Aon's 2006 research, which showed that 58 per cent of people favoured property investment to supplement a pension, followed by 50 per cent preferring shares.
Gold: Get some sun, stop worrying Gold down, silver down, oil down (maybe), copper down, sugar down, cotton down, rice down, wheat down, CRB Commodity Index down -- what the devil is going on? Is the world deflating? Or is the world just taking a "time out?" My guess -- a time out. There were too many up-spikes, too much leverage, too much hysteria, too much hype. Give it a rest. Gold -- Worried about gold? Don't be. Like most of the commodities, gold is "cooling it." The correction continues in gold, and we can see it clearly on the weekly gold chart below. At its March high gold got too far away from its 40-week moving average, and now it's letting the 40-week MA catch up to its current price. The weekly histograms are now close to turning up, and the slow stochastics at the bottom of the chart appear to be scraping the bottom.
Real estate losses hurt banks in first quarter, FDIC says Falling asset quality in real estate loan portfolios hit bank earnings in the first quarter of 2008, the FDIC said Thursday. Earnings for the quarter totaled only $19.3 billion compared to $35.6 billion a year ago, the FDIC said in its first-quarter banking profile. Meanwhile, the agency said, the number of banks on its "problem list" rose to 90 from 76. Assets rose by 2.6% even as loan growth slowed.
First-quarter GDP revised up to 0.9%, as expected The U.S. economy grew at a sluggish pace in the first quarter, held back by the biggest slump in housing in 26 years and the first decline in final domestic sales in 17 years, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The nation's real gross domestic product increased at a 0.9% annual rate in the first three months of the year, slightly faster than the 0.6% rate originally estimated a month ago. The revision matched the consensus expectation of economists surveyed by MarketWatch. "The economy was on firmer footing heading into the second quarter than imagined a month ago," wrote Stephen Gallagher, economist for Societe Generale.
Worldwide food and crop prices to remain strong through 2017 Worldwide prices for food crops and agricultural commodities over the next decade will be as much as 80% higher than they have averaged over the last decade, according to an annual report. The study was released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Prices are projected to be 20% higher for beef and pork, 30% higher for raw and white sugar, 40-60% higher for wheat, maize and skim milk powder, more than 60% higher for butter and oilseeds and more than 80% higher for vegetable oils, the study found.
Fed's Fisher sees rate shift even if growth weakens A change in the Federal Reserve's monetary policy will likely occur "sooner rather than later" if inflation expectations worsen, even if the economy languishes, said Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher late Wednesday. Fisher, who voted against the Fed's last three rate cuts, held fast to his reputation as one of the U.S. central bank's most hawkish policymakers, calling inflation "the most insidious enemy of capitalism." "If inflationary developments and, more important, inflation expectations, continue to worsen, I would expect a change of course in monetary policy to occur sooner rather than later, even in the face of an anemic economic scenario," read the text prepared for a speech at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club of California.
Investigate Big Congress, Not Big Oil With gasoline prices exceeding $4 a gallon in some states, politicians are responding as usual: Blame Big Oil First. Several prominent senators have once again summoned industry leaders to Capitol Hill, subjecting them to yet another barrage of rhetorical questions, interruptions, accusations, and sermons. The lawmakers' goal, claims Sen. Patrick Leahy, is to identify "causes of the rising price of oil on which Congress can act." But the foregone conclusion is that "price gouging," "collusion," and "market manipulation" by Big Oil, or speculation by financiers, is responsible.
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