Feb 19, 2010

Daily Markets - Financial News And Opinions

Daily Markets - Financial News And Opinions

Interview With John Stephenson Of First Asset Funds On Crude Oil, Natural Gas And Energy Outlook

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 05:01 PM PST

John Stephenson is a Senior Vice-President and Portfolio Manager at First Asset Funds

Biography: John is a Senior Vice-President and Portfolio Manager at First Asset Investment Management. Previously, John was the Senior Vice President in charge of utilities research at Kim & Company LLC, a Wall Street investment research company. He was a founding partner of De Novo Capital, Inc., an international asset management company. He was the partner in charge of the energy marketing … [visit site to read more]

Is The Singapore ETF Slinging Up To Its Full Potential?

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 04:01 PM PST

Singapore has made plenty of improvements: exports are up and productivity is on the rise. But there are those who feel that despite the turnaround, Singapore is not operating at 100% of its potential.

First, what’s great: Singapore’s exports are up for the third straight month. Shamim Adam for BusinessWeek says that Singapore relies heavily upon exporting to other countries to generate capital, so the improvement is a welcome one.

However, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said … [visit site to read more]

History To Fukayama: The Show Must Go On

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 04:00 PM PST

Poor Francis Fukayama.
In 1992, he looked at what communism had wrought and proclaimed "the end of history." The commies had capitulated. The Berlin Wall had come down. Even the 'red' Chinese had turned a shade of maroon or mauve.
It seemed like history had come to an end…with the indisputable triumph of US-style democracy.
He wasn't the first to think history had come to a halt. Hegel and the early Marxists were convinced that the last chapter was the one in which the proletariat … [visit site to read more]

Discount Rate Increases 25 Points… So What?

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 03:00 PM PST

All for show, not for go. The Federal Reserve has raised the discount rate – the rate it charges banks for short-term loans – by 25 points, to 0.75%.
"It used to be a sin," our friend Chuck Butler commented this morning in The Daily Pfennig, "to have to go to the 'discount window' and borrow from the Fed. But these days, it's like a walk in the park…nobody watches, and nobody cares!"
The Fed's move was expected. The timing was not. Rather than wait till its regular meeting … [visit site to read more]

Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) – Cash Flow On Verge Of Taking “Major Dive”

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 03:00 PM PST

If you're not familiar with Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL), it's a wholesale distributor of swimming pool equipment and related leisure products… and it's headed for rough waters.
Agora Financial's expert on beleaguered corporations Dan Amoss, has just reported back on issues with working capital that are going hit its cash flow statement hard.
According to Amoss:
"Poolcorp (POOL) maintained its string of disappointing earnings reports. It lowered 2010 earnings guidance to a range of … [visit site to read more]

Daily ETF Roundup: XLU Rises, VXX Continues Slide

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 02:33 PM PST

Equity markets stayed flat but finished in the green on Friday after a weak CPI report gave some investors hope that the Fed will keep rates low for the foreseeable future. Overall prices edged up 0.2% for January but excluding food and energy, prices fell 0.1%, the first monthly decline since December 1982. Energy prices continue their modest surge, with oil prices closing near $80 a barrel, an 11% gain over the past two weeks.
The ETFdb 60 Index, a benchmark measuring the performance of asset … [visit site to read more]

Calm In The Face Of Fiscal Insanity

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST

Eric Fry here at The Daily Reckoning is "reporting from the Golden State with the tarnished finances", which was a riddle that I instantly knew was, of course, California. But, for some reason, I never get asked a question when I know the answer. I usually get asked, instead, something like, "For 40% of your final grade, what is the principal export of California and total tonnage exported, expressed in kilograms per fortnight?"
Well, as much as I have enjoyed this jaunt down memory … [visit site to read more]

Video: Crude Stays In The Green

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 01:39 PM PST

Front month crude prices continued to stay in positive territory this session following the Fed’s decision to raise its discount rate. … [visit site to read more]

Here Are Some ETFs You Should Consider Selling NOW

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 01:01 PM PST

In my Money and Markets columns I usually tell you about opportunities I see in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and how you can grab them.

Today I want to do something a little different: List some ETFs I think you should absolutely NOT buy!

In fact, if you own any of the ETFs mentioned below, you should probably consider selling them as soon as possible. As you’ll see, your money could be much better off elsewhere.

Sell Target #1: Long-Term Bond ETFs

I’m a big fan of bond ETFs. … [visit site to read more]

ECU Silver Mining (TSE:ECU) – Latest Numbers Show “No Bad News”

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 01:00 PM PST

Just today, ECU Silver Mining released its latest report on its January 2010 silver and gold fabrication and, according to Agora Financial commodities expert Byron W. King, it provides encouraging news.
Here is King's perspective on the situation:
"ECU has not yet released its financial results for 2009 overall, but as best I can tell there's no bad news.  In fact, as 2009 drew to a close, ECU was digging ore and producing silver. Production in January 2010 was up from previous … [visit site to read more]

M&I Affirms TARP Dividend

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 12:25 PM PST

On Thursday, Marshall & Ilsley Corp. (NYSE:MI), commonly known as M&I, announced a regular quarterly cash dividend of $21.4 million on its senior preferred stock, series B, which was purchased by the U.S. Treasury as a part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The dividend is expected to be paid on May 17, 2010 to the Treasury at the close of business on May 3, 2010.
 
The affirmation on dividend came in immediately after the pronouncement by the management, at the fourth … [visit site to read more]

Consumer Price Index: Inflation Tame

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 09:12 AM PST

In distinct contrast to yesterday's PPI report, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) shows that at the consumer level, inflation remains very tame. In January, the CPI rose 0.2% on a headline basis, and if volatile food and energy costs are stripped out to get core inflation, it actually fell 0.1%.
Headline inflation is not only low, but also extraordinarily stable, having spent five straight months at the 0.2% level, which would annualize out to 2.4%. The actual rise over the last year is 2.6%. On … [visit site to read more]
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