The U.S. Federal Reserve has consistently pointed to high unemployment as a reason to deliver more stimulus, which makes this week a perfect time to announce quantitative easing, or QE3.
The Federal Open Market Com…
QE3: Get Ahead of the Fed
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September 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Natural Gas Companies: The Latest Must-Know News
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September 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Natural gas companies watched their stocks tumble earlier this year with the price of nat gas, but some share prices have successfully reversed course.
Now natural gas prices, which have recently bounced around the $2.80 level after hitting a ten-year low in April, may be ready for another move up.
The fall in prices – from a high of $10.38 per million British thermal units (BTUs) in July 2008 to just $1.83 in April of this year – was primarily the result of a decade-long increase in U.S. gas production, which climbed by 21.6% from 2002 to 2011.
Now inventories are growing much slower and demand is increasing as electric utilities switch to natural gas from the more expensive coal. Other potential catalysts such as the weather, e.g. Hurricanes Debby and Isaac, could also send prices higher.
Natural gas prices rose more than 6% in the past week to $2.85 per million BTUs.
A rise in prices though doesn’t guarantee a rise in all natural gas stocks, as there’s a lot more than a price reversal happening in the industry.
For investors interested in natural gas companies, here’s this week’s wrap-up of what you need to know:
Stock Market Today: This Tech Stock Rallies to All-Time High
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September 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The major headlines in the stock market today include Europe’s latest rescue effort, cautious optimism on U.S. jobs, and these big-name stocks leading the rally:
- ECB unveils unlimited bond buying plan- European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi announced in Frankfurt today (Thursday) that the ECB will embark on a drastic new bond-buying plan. The new program, called “Outright Monetary Transactions,” allows the ECB to buy bonds with maturities between one and three years without announcing any limits in advance, as long as the government in question is under a program approved by the Eurozone. The plan is aimed at stabilizing interest rates in the euro area and will require countries such as Spain and Italy to request aid from the ECB to activate the bond purchases.
- “Under appropriate conditions, we will have a fully effective backstop to avoid destructive scenarios with potentially severe challenges for price stability in the euro area,” Draghi said at a press conference. “Governments must stand ready to activate the EFSF/ESM in the bond market when exceptional financial-market circumstances and risks to financial stability exist — with strict and effective conditionality. The ECB reserves the right to terminate bond purchases if governments don’t fulfill their part of the bargain.” The ECB held its benchmark rate at its record low level of 0.75%. Draghi announced that the ECB won’t claim the status of a senior creditor if the bonds it buys have to be restructured and that the purchases will be “sterilized” meaning there will be no impact on the monetary supply.
Stock Market Today: This Tech Stock Rallies to All-Time High
Read the original article at Money Morning
September 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The major headlines in the stock market today include Europe’s latest rescue effort, cautious optimism on U.S. jobs, and these big-name stocks leading the rally:
- ECB unveils unlimited bond buying plan- European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi announced in Frankfurt today (Thursday) that the ECB will embark on a drastic new bond-buying plan. The new program, called “Outright Monetary Transactions,” allows the ECB to buy bonds with maturities between one and three years without announcing any limits in advance, as long as the government in question is under a program approved by the Eurozone. The plan is aimed at stabilizing interest rates in the euro area and will require countries such as Spain and Italy to request aid from the ECB to activate the bond purchases.
- “Under appropriate conditions, we will have a fully effective backstop to avoid destructive scenarios with potentially severe challenges for price stability in the euro area,” Draghi said at a press conference. “Governments must stand ready to activate the EFSF/ESM in the bond market when exceptional financial-market circumstances and risks to financial stability exist — with strict and effective conditionality. The ECB reserves the right to terminate bond purchases if governments don’t fulfill their part of the bargain.” The ECB held its benchmark rate at its record low level of 0.75%. Draghi announced that the ECB won’t claim the status of a senior creditor if the bonds it buys have to be restructured and that the purchases will be “sterilized” meaning there will be no impact on the monetary supply.
Election 2012: Why the GOP Is Really Talking About the Gold Standard
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September 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment
One of the most surprising proposals from the Republican National Convention was that the GOP platform for Election 2012 includes a commission analyzing a return to the gold standard.
Ever since the United States went off the gold standard in 1971 the U.S. monetary base has grown to its current level of roughly $2.56 trillion. With this increase has come an even more alarming rise in the federal deficit. Currently the U.S. has around $222 trillion in unfunded liabilities.
That’s why many, most notably Rep. Ron Paul, R-TX, have called for a return to the gold standard and a compete audit of the Federal Reserve.
But as opponents are quick to point out, it is impractical, impossible, and highly unlikely that America’s enormous monetary supply would be backed by gold.
Some on the left, such as Paul Krugman of The New York Times, called the return to the gold standard “an almost comically (and cosmically) bad idea.”
So why would the GOP bring it up?
Experts have theorized that the inclusion of a gold standard commission on the GOP party’s platform is just a way to encourage Ron Paul supporters to join the Romney camp.
Within the GOP there are worries that these devoted “Paulites” will not vote for Romney unless more of Paul’s agenda is taken seriously. The move to “audit the Fed” and a return to the gold standard are two ideas Paul supporters care most about.
But there’s more to the gold standard proposal than pleasing Paulites.
