Unemployment rate rises in 30 states
By Investing Contrarian
Published: March 11, 2010
Unemployment rose in 30 states in January, the Labor Department said Wednesday, evidence that jobs remain scarce in most regions of the country. five states reported record-high joblessness in January: California, at 12.5 percent; South Carolina, 12.6 percent; Florida, 11.9 percent; North Carolina, 11.1 percent; and Georgia, 10.4 percent.
Michigan’s unemployment rate is still the nation’s [...]
PIMCO: Avoid Spain like plague
By Investing Contrarian
Published: March 11, 2010
Mohamed A. El-Erian, whose company runs the world’s biggest mutual fund, said deteriorating public finances may affect the global economy more than is currently realized.
“The importance of the shock to public finances in advanced economies is not yet sufficiently appreciated and understood,” El-Erian, co-chief investment officer at Pacific Investment Management Co., wrote in an [...]
Groundbreaking Developments in Gold and Mineral Exploration
By oilguy
Published: March 11, 2010
I’m spending a few days in Toronto at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada annual conference.
This is one of the mining industry’s largest events. Thousands of companies descend on the site to promote their projects. Financiers from across the globe come armed with billions of dollars slated for mineral investment.
10 Year auctions: Well bid
By Investing Contrarian
Published: March 11, 2010
Bid/Cover 3.45
Total Amount $21 B
Yield Awarded 3.735%
The 10 Year auction was among the healthiest auction in the last 6 months with Bid/cover coming in at 3.45 while indirect bidders taking 35% of the amount. If tomorrow 30 year auction turns to be healthy, Gold may have topped for [...]
US millionaires grew: So did the poor!
By Investing Contrarian
Published: March 10, 2010
We updated you earlier today with the news item that US millionaires rose 7.8% in 2009.
The number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more, not including primary residence (NIPR), grew 16% to 7.8 million in 2009, up from 6.7 million the year before, according to “Affluent Market Insights 2010,” [...]
US millionaires grew 7.8% in 2009
By Investing Contrarian
Published: March 10, 2010
U.S. Millionaires Grow 16% to 7.8 Million in 2009
Follows Sharp Decline the Year Before
Households Worth $5 Million or More Increase 17% to 980,000
The number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more, not including primary residence (NIPR), grew 16% to 7.8 million in 2009, up from 6.7 million the year before, [...]
A Bull Market Requires a Healthy Consumer Underneath
By oilguy
Published: March 10, 2010
A year ago this week the stock market hit its nefarious 666 level on the S&P 500. Since that historic day, we have enjoyed a 68% appreciation in equities from their depressionary low. Not only has the bounce caused a chorus of perma-bulls to claim the worst of the recession is behind us, but also to declare that the bull market is here to stay.
There Will be No Economic Recovery as the Era of Cheap Oil Comes to an End
By oilguy
Published: March 9, 2010
When oil crossed $120 a barrel for the first time in May 2008, oil cornucopians knew they were in trouble. Prices had quadrupled in just five years, yet had failed to bring new production online. Regular crude had flatlined around 74 million barrels per day (mbpd). The case for peak oil was looking stronger with [...]
Dollar update: Target 1.20 to EURO by 2011
By Investing Contrarian
Published: March 9, 2010
EUR/USD
BofA had some really tough thoughts for he queen of all crosses, EUR/USD.
Weakness in EUR-USD year to date has run ahead of our once aggressively bearish forecasts. We have adjusted our forecast profile, as a result. The underlying story of receding global liquidity exposing underlying euro frailty and over-valuation remains. In terms of specific forecast [...]
A disaster around the corner? CDS to settle in Gold
By Investing Contrarian
Published: March 9, 2010
There seems to be some kind of new trend developing in large opaque world of credit derivatives. Traders seem to demand CDS payment in Gold rather than in EURO which was the currency of choice till now.
Janet Tavakoli of Tavakoli Structured Finance, Inc. writes:
Remember AIG? When prices moved against AIG on its credit default [...]
