The Financial Times – ETFs continue to pile the pressure on silver Further intrigue has been added to silver’s maverick credentials by some seemingly contradictory data. Whereas the gold price has continued to track trends in exchange-traded fund holdings, the silver price and ETF holdings have diverged sharply since silver hit its recent low, just… Continue reading Silver
The Economist – Europe’s debt crisis: World’s worst menu Greece has no good options left VIENNA’S glories are largely faded but its name is being mentioned with increasing frequency by the euro area’s policymakers. The “Vienna initiative” was a plan, drawn up in 2009, that halted the rot of financial contagion spreading through central and… Continue reading Greece
CNBC – Carl Icahn: Wall Street Back To Its Old Tricks If you’ve seen any of our past interviews with Icahn, you know he’s a straight shooter and not one to mix words. Speaking with CNBC at the annual Ira Sohn investment conference in New York, he again called it like he saw it. “I… Continue reading Are Toxic Assets Making A Comeback?
The Wall Street Journal – Pensions Leap Back to Hedge Funds Public pension plans are lifting hedge-fund investment, seeking to boost long-term returns despite losses suffered in some funds in the financial crisis. Also, pension officials are using the historically strong returns of hedge funds to justify a rosier future outlook for their investment returns.… Continue reading Hedge Funds
Bloomberg.com – Copper Premiums in China Advance to Seven-Month High as Demand Recovers Copper premiums in China, the world’s largest consumer, climbed to a seven-month high this week as end-users boosted purchases following the metal’s decline to the lowest level this year. Premiums paid by Chinese importers over the London cash price are being quoted… Continue reading Nice Words About Copper
The Financial Times – Gillian Tett: Index trackers offer clues to herd behaviour If in doubt, blame speculators. That has been the popular political mantra in recent years whenever commodity and energy prices have soared. And events have now poured more fuel on the fire. On Monday the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that it… Continue reading The Evil Speculators
The New York Times – John Delaney, Founder of Intrade, Dies at 42 John Delaney, an Irish businessman who founded Intrade, an online prediction market that allows customers to bet on world political, entertainment and financial events, died on Saturday after coming within 50 yards of the summit of Mount Everest. He was 42. His… Continue reading John Delaney – RIP
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<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Greek Restructuring Could be ‘Catastrophic’ German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said Greece might need more time to shore up its public finances, but warned that a debt restructuring could be “catastrophic” for the financial system. “At the time being, it appears as if Greece… Continue reading The Battle To Restructure Greece
MarketBeat (WSJ Blog) – How to Manipulate the Oil Market for Just $1 Billion One of the striking things about the CFTC case alleging oil-market manipulation is how little money the CFTC suggests was involved, which would seem to make such a scheme remarkably cheap to run…At the time Arcadia et al were allegedly building… Continue reading How Much Money Does It Take To Manipulate The Oil Market?
The Financial Times – Starbucks decries speculators as coffee prices spike Coming to a coffee shop near you: a heart-stopping increase in prices… But the cause of the spike in coffee prices is the subject of a heated war of words. In the blue corner are the “evil speculators”. In the red corner: Starbucks. Howard… Continue reading Speculation In The Coffee Market
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Food Inflation to Quicken as Nestle, McDonald’s Lift Prices U.S. food-price inflation may top the government’s forecast as higher crop, meat, dairy and energy costs lead companies including Nestle SA, McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) and Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI) to boost prices. Retail-food prices will jump more… Continue reading Despite Higher Retail Prices, Margins Still Being Squeezed