Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: commodities

commodities stories: 51 news summaries

21 - 40 of 51 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 Next >>

Switch to grid view »

MARKETS

 Stocks Mixed; Commodities Fall


Aug 15, 08 3:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - The markets ended mixed today as commodities fell across the board, leaving traders unsure of the larger ramifications for the economy, MarketWatch reports. The Dow gained 43.97 points to close at 11,659.90, the Nasdaq slid 1.15 points to 2,452,52, and the S&P 500... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Dow Jones • Nasdaq • gold • commodities • S&P 500 • oil prices

Harvard's Endowment Shines in Tough  Financial Year

$35B fund sees modest 7%-9% growth

Aug 7, 08 10:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - Harvard’s endowment did better than most in the down market, reports the Wall Street Journal. The $35 billion fund, which ended its fiscal year in June, earned 7% to 9%. “That would be easily the best performer among the foundations and endowments that we track," says a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
investing • higher education • Harvard • commodities • endowment • hedge funds

Corn Prices Leave
Catfish Farmers Gasping

Southern farmers abandon fish biz as feed prices triple

Jul 18, 08 2:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - The soaring price of corn and soybeans is moving up the food chain and drying up the South's catfish farming industry, reports the New York Times. Farmers are draining their ponds as the cost of feeding the fish becomes prohibitive. In the Mississippi Delta, heartland of the relatively new industry,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
farming • corn • fish • Mississippi • farm • commodities • aquaculture • soybeans

 Booming China
 Flexing Its
 M&A Muscle 

Chinese companies snap up $42B in foreign assets so far in 2008

Jul 15, 08 10:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Chinese companies are on a buying binge, snapping up $42 billion worth of foreign assets in the first 6 months of 2008. That's a 500% increase over the previous year, and equal to the combined value of takeovers from 2000 to 2006, reports DealBook in the New York Times.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
China • hostile takeover • mergers and acquisitions • steel • commodities

 Amid Selloff, 
 Gold King 
 Won't Flush 
 His Throne 

Hong Kong merchant melts down palace to capitalize on rising prices ... except for toilet

Jul 7, 08 2:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - With gold prices hovering around $1,000 an ounce, one Hong Kong jeweler is melting down the shining palace he spent a decade building, unloading chandeliers and armored knights—everything but his 24-karat toilet, the Wall Street Journal reports. "I don't care if gold hits $10,000 an ounce,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Hong Kong • bathroom • toilet • gold • commodities • jewelry • Lam Sai-wing

Where's Oil Money Going? Maybe to Your Pension

Petroleum proceeds boost retirement funds

Jul 7, 08 2:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - Wall Street brokers and energy speculators aren’t the only ones lining their pockets thanks to skyrocketing oil prices, the Washington Post reports. Many pension funds have pushed heavily into commodities, bringing big returns in a time of economic strife. “Our commodity investment has really helped,” said the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
pensions • oil price • commodities • pension funds • speculators

Opinion

Speculators Didn't Do It

Traders take blame
for high oil prices,
but global demand
is the real culprit

Jul 5, 08 7:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - Politicians are blaming high oil prices on an old scapegoat: speculators, writes Dean Barnett in the Weekly Standard. But if speculators were hoarding oil, it would be stockpiled, and inventories would soar. Instead, inventories remain constant. This is obvious "to anyone who took an introductory economics class," Barnett... More »

MORE ABOUT:
oil price • New York Mercantile Exchange • commodities • speculation • speculators

 Grain Prices Surge
 With Midwest Floods 

Water inundating heartland expected to drive food, oil prices still higher

Jun 14, 08 9:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - The floods inundating the Midwest are pushing grain prices to new highs, the Wall Street Journal reports. Corn prices jumped 10% to a record high last week as farmland flooded. The domino effects will hit the ethanol industry, hog farmers, and even owners of catfish ponds who rely on corn... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iowa • Midwest • ethanol • corn • flood • flooding • crops • farmland • grain • farm • commodities

As Prices Soar, Congress Aims at Speculators

Out-of-control traders may be driving up oil, food costs, pols say

Jun 13, 08 8:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - Congress is blaming rampant commodity speculation for rocketing gas and food prices, and berating regulators for letting it happen, the New York Times reports. Unless watchdog groups like the Commodities Futures Trading Commision crack down, Carl Levin says, "we don’t have a cop on the beat.." Joe... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Congress • Carl Levin • food prices • oil price • Commodity Futures Trading Commission • New York Mercantile Exchange • commodities • commodities exchange • speculation • Joseph Lieberman • speculators

analysis

 US Economy Isn't
 Bouncing Back 

Fed cuts, stimulus package won't do the trick

Jun 8, 08 5:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - Forget those predictions of a US economic revival in 2008, Daniel Gross writes in Newsweek. The four horsemen of the economy—credit and housing crises, food and energy prices—are getting meaner, while booming commodities and crunching credit are curbing attempts to fight back. "As a result, the consumer-driven... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Wall Street • world economy • US economy • gas prices • credit crisis • food prices • commodities • subprime crisis • weakening economy • economy

MARKETS

 Mixed Day Yields Mixed Results 

Dell performance rallies tech; Commerce Department gives bad news

May 30, 08 3:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Stocks ended mixed after a seesaw session today, with strong performance by tech and energy shares contrasting with bad news on consumer spending and incomes, MarketWatch reports. The Dow closed down 7.90 at 12,638.32. The Nasdaq gained 14.34 to 2,522.66, while the S&P... More »

MORE ABOUT:
technology • inflation • Dell • Dow Jones • Nasdaq • oil price • commodities • computer • S&P 500

Slumping Popcorn Sales
Will Pop Ticket Prices

Film fans who balk at $6 popcorn will be coughing up more at the door

May 20, 08 6:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - Movie tickets have long been partly subsidized by popcorn sales, but that business model is set to pop as the price of corn soars, Advertising Age reports. As moviegoers pass up the pricey snack, cinemas will need to hike ticket charges to cover the difference. One expert on the movie... More »

MORE ABOUT:
corn • cinema • popcorn • commodities • movie theaters

Congress Turns on Speculators in Oil Bubble

Legislators push regulation in effort to slow gushing prices

May 15, 08 7:22 PM CDT
(Newser) - It’s not OPEC pulling oil prices to ever greater-heights—it’s speculators. That’s the theory behind the Consumer-First Energy Act, a bill sponsored by Senate Democrats aimed at clamping down on runaway oil futures trading. As stocks fall, investors are fleeing to commodities, especially oil. But even the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
oil • futures market • oil price • commodities • commodities exchange • speculation

MARKETS

 Markets See Gains From Retail 

But oil trades at $123.69, limiting rally

May 8, 08 3:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - The markets achieved solid gains today as better-than-expected sales from big-box discount retailers encouraged investors worried over oil prices still in record territory, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow gained 52.43 to close at 12,866.78, while the Nasdaq rose 12.75 to 2,451.24. The... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Dow Jones • Nasdaq • retail sales • oil price • commodities • S&P 500 • Wal-Mart

Sculpture Thieves Seek Scrap Metal

Commodity prices driving thefts; more artists steering clear

May 1, 08 4:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - A wave of sculpture thefts has little to do with the pieces’ artistic merit: Police believe they’ve been stolen for their valuable copper content, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the past 18 months, three public artworks displayed in Brea, Calif., have disappeared—and the trend is appearing across... More »

MORE ABOUT:
art • sculpture • commodities • public sculpture • copper • art heist

 Broken Tech Becomes 
 Gold Mine, Literally 

Commodity prices have 'urban miners' panning discarded electronics

Apr 28, 08 2:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - No matter how broken it is, your old cell phone is still valuable to some people. That’s because it, like most electronics, is loaded with copper, iridium, gold, and other commodities that are becoming more expensive by the day. “To some it's just a mountain of garbage, but... More »

MORE ABOUT:
recycling • gold • commodities • consumer electronics • copper

 Fed Cut Raises Inflation Fears 

Borrowers, exporters stand to gain, but critics find move 'self-defeating'

Mar 19, 08 10:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Federal Reserve's latest rate cut might boost the economy with cheaper credit, but economists worry a freed inflation genie could be behind any magic, the Washington Post reports. Commodity prices rose to record levels in expectation that the rate cut would keep demand high, and the price hikes are... More »

MORE ABOUT:
inflation • Ben Bernanke • Federal Reserve • mortgage • exports • commodities • interest rate cut • N. Gregory Mankiw • Lee Hoskins • Kenneth Rogoff

 Gold Hits Record $1K per Ounce 

Slumping US economy, dollar sends investors to shiny commodity

Mar 13, 08 1:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - Gold hit $1,000 per ounce for the first time today, the BBC reports, as investors flock to commodities. The precious metal is already up 20% on the year. “Every bit of bad US economic data boosts gold in two ways,” said Fortis Bank, both because gold is... More »

MORE ABOUT:
inflation • Federal Reserve • interest rate • US dollar • gold • commodities • interest rate cut

MARKETS

 Stocks Rally, Flatten, End Down 

Oil hitting $110-a-barrel mark sure doesn't help; hopes of another rate cut rise

Mar 12, 08 3:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Markets shot up early today, then flattened out and ended down as record oil and gas prices put a damper on things. Per-barrel oil prices hit $110.20 before landing at $109.92, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow ended down 46.57 to 12,110.24, the Nasdaq... More »

MORE ABOUT:
stock market • Federal Reserve • interest rate • crude oil • commodities

Dollar Hit
as Emerging Economies
Fight Inflation

$108 oil pushes
gas prices higher

Mar 11, 08 7:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - A weak US dollar continued to fuel surging commodity prices today, keeping oil near $108 a barrel and moving a gallon of gas to $3.225, with analysts predicting near $4 prices by spring, the Wall Street Journal reports. Stress on the greenback is coming from not only major but... More »

MORE ABOUT:
oil • yuan • euro • gas prices • US dollar • commodities • dong

21 - 40 of 51 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 Next >>


from our news partners