A former Credit Suisse investment banker convicted of insider trading was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday by a judge who said Wall Street professionals were failing to understand that it was a serious crime to cheat in the markets. "It's going on too much and people have to realize that if they do get caught, they're going to pay," U.S. District Judge Robert P. Patterson said as he sentenced Hafiz Muhammad Zubair Naseem for feeding tips to a banker in Pakistan who made $7.8 million in illegal profits.

via businessweek.com

Soaring fuel prices are proving to be a pain for most people in the country, but they may have helped save the jobs of hundreds of workers in North Dakota's oldest town. The Motor Coach Industries plant is the biggest employer in Pembina — about a quarter the residents in the town of 640 work there. Four years ago, it was struggling to stay open. Now, as more people across the U.S. shun gas-guzzling vehicles for public transportation, bus ridership is up. Transit systems from Houston to New York City are mulling expansion to keep pace.

via chron.com

When oil was at $65 a barrel, almost no one believed it would double. There were a few nuts making the case, but they were ignored like Galileo was when he said the Earth moved around the sun. Now, it is hard to find analysts who do not believe oil is going to move over $140 a barrel, and, perhaps above $200. Their reasoning is sound enough. Demand in emerging nations like China and India is still increasing. While crude use in the U.S.

via bloggingstocks.com

Oil prices rose above $135 a barrel for the first time Thursday, with supply worries, global demand and an ever weakening U.S dollar driving crude futures up. The world's top energy watchdog is preparing a sharp downward revision of its oil-supply forecast, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal reported. Light, sweet crude for July delivery rose as high as $135.09 before falling back slightly. By midday in Europe, the contract stood at $134.37 a barrel in electronic trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up $1.20 on Wednesday's close of $133.17.

via chron.com

Pakistan's credit rating was cut for the first time in nine years by Moody's Investors Service, which cited ``growing economic imbalances and renewed political difficulties.'' Stocks fell. The South Asian nation's foreign-currency sovereign rating was lowered to B2 from B1, one level below Turkmenistan and Jamaica. The ranking on locally-issued debt was also reduced to B2, Moody's said in an e-mailed statement today.

via bloomberg.com

First the good news: The worst of the painful housing slump and the credit crunch might come to an end this year. Now the bad: The economy will weaken further and unemployment will rise. That's the latest outlook from forecasters in a survey to be released Monday by the National Association for Business Economics, also known by its acronym NABE. It will take time for any rays of light to poke through the economic clouds, though.

via businessweek.com

Oil rose Friday in Asia following a whipsaw overnight session during which the expiration of options and a mix of news played havoc with prices trading in a range almost $6 wide. During Thursday's session, the front-month crude oil contract dropped as low as $120.75 before bouncing back to finish above $124 a barrel.
"Unless there is a confluence of substantive bearish news, when there is a pullback of something like $5, it's unlikely to stay down because enough participants will see that as a buying opportunity," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.

via businessweek.com

Crude surpassed $126.00 before retreating down by $1.85 to $124.11 late in the day. Many are citing that the interest in owning the dollar is also partly to thank for today's gains. Below are the unofficial closing bell prices for major index levels:
* DJIA 12,879.24 (+133.36; +1.05%)
* S&P 500 1,403.50 (+15.22; +1.10%)
* NASDAQ 2,487.86 (+42.34; +1.73%)
* 10YR-TBond 3.775% (+0.008%)
* 52 WEEK LOWS
* ANALYST CALLS

via bloggingstocks.com

Oil prices surged past $125 per barrel Friday on the eve of the U.S. driving season as a weakening U.S. dollar drove investors to snap up commodities. Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose as high as $125.12 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at midday before falling back to $124.86 by early afternoon in Europe. On Thursday, the contract rose to a record close of $123.69 a barrel. In London, Brent crude contracts also hit record highs before slipping and traded up $1.13 on the day at $123.97 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

via businessweek.com

- The losses were just as dismal as UBS had warned they would be, and the bank's proposed remedies disappointed.
Announcing first-quarter losses of 11.5 billion Swiss francs ($10.9 billion) on Tuesday, UBS said it planned to slash 5,500 jobs, or slightly less than 7.0% of its workforce, after taking $37 billion in investment write-downs. Around half of these would be made in its loss-making securities division and would come on top of the 1,500 job losses announced last year.

via forbes.com

Oil prices retreated further Friday from the early-week record near $120 a barrel as a strengthening U.S. dollar prompted investors to exit the market. As the greenback has recovered this week against the euro and yen, the front-month crude futures contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange has dropped nearly $8 from its high to benchmark oil's lowest level since April 14. The rise of the dollar has stripped away some of oil's appeal to investors who have been betting that the greenback would continue to falter.

via chron.com

Another jump in the dollar and the end of an oil workers' strike in Nigeria sent crude prices falling Thursday as speculators who drove crude futures to nearly $120 pulled out of the market. Retail gas prices, meanwhile, rose to a new record above $3.62 a gallon. The dollar's rise against the euro and other currencies stripped away some of oil's appeal to investors who have been betting for months that the greenback would continue to falter. When the greenback gains ground, commodities such as oil lose their value as a hedge against inflation, prompting selling. Also, a stronger dollar makes oil more expensive to investors overseas.

via businessweek.com

Oil prices steadied Wednesday after tumbling more than $3 a barrel in the previous session on a strengthening U.S. dollar and data showing a dramatic drop in American fuel demand. Trading was cautious in Asia as market participants awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates later Wednesday. Analysts believe a quarter percentage point rate cut is already factored into the oil market. A decision to hold rates steady could further strengthen the dollar, though, causing oil to resume its slide.

via businessweek.com

The Dow was down as much as 150 points today as oil rose, the dollar fell and corporate earnings were mixed at best. As of 1:15, the Dow is at 12,684, down 140. Bad news for the equities markets seems to be popping up just about everywhere you look. Not even good earnings from McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) could cut through the gathering economic gloom, and Mickey D's is down on lower same store sales despite the good earnings news. Oil flirted with a record $120 a barrel, while gold was up $6 to $924. Banks are still looking deeply troubled as the housing market bubble keeps deflating.

via bloggingstocks.com

Oil prices hit an all-time high above $115 a barrel Thursday amid concerns about sagging U.S. gasoline supplies ahead of the peak demand of the Northern Hemisphere summer. The U.S. Energy Department said Wednesday that inventories of gasoline fell 5.5 million barrels last week, a much bigger decline than forecast by analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires. Crude inventories fell 2.3 million barrels last week, the department's Energy Information Administration also reported, while analysts expected a gain.

via businessweek.com

El Salvador's President Elias Antonio Saca says his country and neighboring Guatemala plan to explore for natural gas along their Pacific coasts. Saca says a study this year should determine whether any reserves warrant further development. He made the comments Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Cancun. A find would boost both country's economies. Central America lacks many of the high-priced commodities that have helped other developing nations in recent years.

via businessweek.com

As Joseph Lazzaro wrote earlier today, oil prices were surging once again in today's market, and traders set a new record, pushing prices up as high as $114.08 today. Fueling today's rally were concerns over global supply, as news spread that Russian oil production has fallen this year. This is the first time in a decade that Russia is seeing a decline in its production. Russia is not the only country making headlines. We were also given the news that China had a massive jump in its diesel oil imports last month of a remarkable 49%. So, we are being given both the news that Russia is producing less, while China is demanding more; the perfect recipe for a strong day for oil prices.

via bloggingstocks.com

The cost of gasoline has once again risen to new record highs this weekend, as the cost for a gallon of gasoline jumped another 0.8 cents to a national average of $3.365 a gallon. At current levels, consumers are spending 54 cents a gallon more for their gasoline they were this time last year, marking a 19% one year jump in gasoline prices. And for those of you that are hoping to get some relief from the current prices ... don't hold your breath. According to AAA, you should only be expecting to see prices continue to move higher. One of the main reasons why prices should continue to move to the upside is that we are just now about to enter into the high demand summer driving months.

via bloggingstocks.com

Reading through this years Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) annual report, I noticed that the cash float that the company is carrying in it's insurance enterprises has reached $59 billion. As "my pal Warren" explains, this float is free to invest as long as they break even on premiums and claims. This is one of the many advantages Berkshire has had over other investors for decades, and this allows it to leverage it's returns without the risk that others would have to take to make the same money. Berkshire does not own the float, but it owns the profits, and the larger the insurance business becomes the more float he has to invest.

via bloggingstocks.com

Oil prices rose slightly to near mid-$110 a barrel Friday after slipping from a record at midweek as investors locked in profits from a stronger U.S. dollar. An unexpected decline in U.S. crude and gasoline inventories drove oil prices to a trading record of $112.21 a barrel on Wednesday amid concerns about inadequate supplies. But oil slipped back the next day after data from tanker tracking firm Oil Movements showed that shipments from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries rose last week. Oil Movements' report suggests more supplies might soon come to market. Prices were also weighed down by the U.S.

via chron.com

Gold consolidated around the $930 mark as yesterday's rally ran out of steam ahead of key central bank interest rate decisions on Thursday. Prices jumped by over $30 on Wednesday after oil prices rallied to a new all-time record of $112.21 in New York, sparking inflation concerns which encouraged investors to buy gold as a safe store of wealth. Ongoing weakness in the dollar, which has slipped to around $1.58 against the euro, has also spurred gold higher as investors look for alternatives to the battered U.S. currency. But with the European Central Bank and the Bank of England due to announce interest rate decisions later today, traders are holding fire as they wait to see the impact on currency markets.

via forbes.com