Oil prices remained near record highs above $145 a barrel in Asia after Saudi Arabia's oil minister suggested his country doesn't plan to boost production.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery was up 23 cents at $145.52 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, midafternoon in Singapore. Crude futures rose to $145.85, a record high, in New York on Thursday before settling at a record finish of $145.29 a barrel.

via chron.com

In a way, Africa is a new frontier for mobile services. The continent is seeing growth from the commodities boom. Plus, there is certainly a need to build up the infrastructure. No doubt, Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD) sees the opportunity. In fact, this week the company plunked down $900 million for a 70% stake in Ghana Telecom (the remaining 30% will be held by the government).

via bloggingstocks.com

Soaring fuel costs are taking some of the celebration out of this holiday weekend. Oil prices headed into the busy Fourth of July break by racing past $145 a barrel for the first time Thursday. The story was no different at the gas pump, where the national average soared to within a whisker of $4.10 a gallon.

via businessweek.com

Consumption of vodka has increased dramatically in Turkey, which is consistent with trends in the world's alcoholic drink markets. Although rakı, the anise-flavored traditional Turkish drink, continues to lead the market, domestic rakı sales have experienced some decline. On the other hand, vodka consumption in Turkey increased 20 percent during the first five months of this year, reported the Turkish weekly, Ekonomist, on Sunday.

via turkishdailynews.com.tr

World oil traded higher in Asia near record levels yesterday after OPEC's president talked of uncertainty surrounding future investment in energy facilities. In afternoon trade, New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, was $1.33 higher at $142.30 a barrel from a record close of $140.97 Tuesday at the New York Mercantile Exchange.

via turkishdailynews.com.tr

Gold consolidated near $940 per ounce on Wednesday, following strong gains in the previous session, with record oil prices and volatility in the dollar continuing to support precious metals during the ongoing economic turmoil. At 9:53 a.m., spot gold was trading at $938.60 per ounce against $943.00 per ounce in late New York trade on Tuesday. Gold on Tuesday rose by more than $15, at one point touching $945.83, its highest price since mid-April.

via forbes.com

A last-minute no-interest financing offer and strong sales of some cars helped General Motors Corp. keep its U.S. sales over Toyota Motor Corp. last month, but it was still the worst June for the industry in 17 years and a harbinger of more misery ahead. "We're going to continue to see declines for the rest of the year," predicted Jesse Toprak, chief industry analyst for auto information site Edmunds.com.

via chron.com

Oil rose above $141 a barrel Wednesday, with analysts warning that prices may spike further amid persistent concerns over tight supply and tensions in the Middle East. Oil prices were kept in check by a slightly stronger U.S. dollar, which gained against the Japanese yen and stood its ground against the euro. "The bullish sentiment remains," said Victor Shum, an analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.

via chron.com

In a market dancing in bear market territory and with elevated inflation, it certainly doesn't hurt to own a defensive stock or two. And one that fits the bill, with an inflation hedge as a bonus, is Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX). Barrick Gold is the world's number one gold producer, with a 2007 production capacity of 8.1 million ounces, and 124.6 million ounces in proved/probable reserves.

via bloggingstocks.com

The bulls got to lead the first day of the quarter, although we would note that if today was the norm that trading volatility isn't slowing down regardless of the direction. Oil rose again toward session highs on tensions and the usual myriad of reasons we cite for oil rising (yes, it's that routine).

via bloggingstocks.com

Oil supplies will remain tight despite record prices that have reduced demand, according to the International Energy Agency, and its executive director said Tuesday that the world is in the grip of its third "oil shock."
Downsizing its estimate of how much oil will reach the market, the IEA predicted supply will exceed projected demand only by 2 million barrels a day -- a thin cushion.
The IEA is the energy watchdog for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a grouping of the world's most industrialized countries.

via businessweek.com

A judge has ruled against Wal-Mart in a class-action lawsuit, saying the discount retailer violated state labor laws more than 2 million times, including cutting worker break time and "willfully" allowing employees to work off the clock. Dakota County Judge Robert King Jr. on Monday ordered Wal-Mart to pay $6.5 million in compensatory damages, but Wal-Mart could end up paying more than $2 billion after a jury in October considers civil penalties and punitive damages.

via businessweek.com

What the fundamentals couldn't help with, the charts did.... on selling. If you don't want to blame the charts, you could always point to Goldman Sachs downgrades and a myriad of everything else. The DJIA and S&P 500 Index broke early-year support levels. We even saw oil cross above $140.00 per barrel in electronic trading. Thankfully, there's no speculation driving up oil, because the speculators buying say they aren't driving up prices.

via bloggingstocks.com

Signals of distress are beginning to appear in developing markets, especially those with high current account deficits, such as Turkey, following a Royal Bank of Scotland, or RBS, analyst's warning on market slump last week. After Bob Janjuah's �all markets will slump within the next three months� warning, many giant investment banks, who have doubled their fund for investments in emerging markets within the last two years, have started to downsize their presence in those markets.

via turkishdailynews.com.tr

Gold rose 1.5 percent in Europe on Thursday, supported by a softer dollar after the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to leave interest rates unchanged, and as traders scaled back expectations for further rate rises.
Gold rose to $893.90/894.90 an ounce at 0959 GMT from $879.60/880.60 an ounce late in New York on Wednesday, when it dropped to its lowest level in a week -- $873.50 -- due to weaker oil prices.

via africa.reuters.com

Oil futures fell sharply Wednesday after the Energy Department said the nation's supplies of fuel and oil were larger than expected last week -- evidence that the soaring price for gasoline has sliced into Americans' demand for fuel. The Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates steady had little impact on trading. At the pump, gas prices inched lower but remain entrenched above $4 a gallon.

via businessweek.com

The global economy would collapse if oil hit $200 a barrel, said the top energy analyst at Germany's largest bank. �Two-hundred dollar oil would break the back of the global economy,� Deutsche Bank's Chief Energy Economist Adam Sieminski said in an interview yesterday in Tokyo. �Next step after $200 would be global recession and bad news for everybody.�

via turkishdailynews.com.tr

The Internal Revenue Service, citing the drain of high gas prices on households, said Monday that it was raising the automobile mileage rate that businesses and others could claim. The tax agency said the optional standard rate to calculate deductible operating costs for business vehicles will rise to 58.5 cents a mile, from 50.5 cents, for the final six months of 2008. That rate also applies to businesses and others entitled to depreciation allowances that operate autos for charitable, medical or moving purposes.

via nytimes.com

OPEC said Tuesday it won't match member Saudi Arabia's 200,000 barrel per day production boost, because in the cartel's estimation there's no need to increase output, The Associated Press reported Tuesday. OPEC President Chakib Khelil said there's no need to increase supply, citing factors outside of OPEC's control, including the weak U.S. dollar and U.S. pressure on Iran, for high oil prices. Khelil also blamed the U.S. mortgage crisis and speculators for driving oil prices higher.

via bloggingstocks.com

Corn and soybean prices fell sharply Tuesday as investors cashed in profits from recent rallies and the government said crops were beginning to bounce back after devastating Midwest flooding. Other commodities traded mostly down, with crude oil gyrating and silver, copper and most agriculture futures falling. Excess moisture has slowed corn development in the Midwest, but a return to warm, dry weather in the region has helped crops in some states hard hit by recent flooding, the Department of Agriculture said Tuesday.

via businessweek.com

Piedmont Mining Company, Inc. (OTC BB: PIED) today announced that it has signed an 'Exploration Agreement with Option to Form Joint Venture' with Carlin Gold US Inc. ('Carlin'), the wholly owned subsidiary of Carlin Gold Corporation (TSXV: CGD), on its Willow Creek Gold property in Elko County, Nevada. This property consists of 480 acres of private fee land plus 158 lode claims, for a total of almost 6 square miles along the western range front of the Snake Mountains and about 30 air miles north-northwest of the town of Wells.

via foxbusiness.com