Paulson Said to Tell Clients Gold Fund Will Beat Others - Bloomberg
John Paulson, the hedge fund manager seeking to rebound from record losses in 2011, told investors his Gold Fund will outperform his other strategies over five years, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Investigators Probe a Rush at MF Global to Move Cash
CHICAGO—Investigators probing the collapse of MF Global Holdings Ltd. are scrutinizing two money transfers made during the securities firm's final days in an effort to uncover what happened to $1.6 billion in missing customer funds.
Federal regulators at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the U.S. bankruptcy trustee for MF Global's brokerage unit are examining two separate transfers from customer accounts, including a previously undisclosed $165 million transaction, said people familiar with the matter. They said some of the investigators are poring over emails and records related to these and other money transfers.
MF Global collapsed into bankruptcy on Oct. 31, hurt by repercussions from an outsize bet its chief executive, Jon S. Corzine, made on bonds of troubled European countries.
Among those at the center of money transfers in the days leading up to the collapse was Edith O'Brien, an assistant treasurer at MF Global.
Oil Caps Longest Commodities Rally in 10 Months
Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Commodities rose, capping the longest rally in 10 months, on signs of gains in the U.S. economy. Industrial metals and crude oil led the rally. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index of 24 raw materials rose 1.1 percent to settle at 715.52 at 3:45 p.m. New York time. The gauge climbed for the seventh straight session, the longest rally since April. Earlier, the measure reached 715.77, the highest since May 5.
Corn exports up 13 percent
According to the USDA's latest U.S. Export Sales report, corn exports of 776,300 MT were up 13 percent from last week, but down 8 percent from the 4-week average. The primary destinations were to Japan (287,800 MT), Mexico (245,500 MT), China (64,300 MT), Venezuela (56,100 MT), Guatemala (35,000 MT), and the Dominican Republic (18,500 MT).
Stock indexes gettin' flirty
Stock indexes flirt with new highs, but air remains thin
Market Overview – What We Know:
Market Snapshot for session ending 2-23-12:
Last | Day Change | %Change | |||
| S&P 500 Index | 1363.40 | +5.80 | +.43% | ||
| Dow Jones Industrials | 12984.69 | +46.02 | +.36% | ||
| NASDAQ Composite | 2956.98 | +23.81 | +.81% | ||
| Value Line Arithmetic Index | 3037.21 | +28.83 | +.96% | ||
Minor Cycle (Short-term trend lasting days to a few weeks) Positive / Neutral | Intermediate Cycle (Medium trend lasting weeks to several months) Positive | Major Cycle (Long-term trend lasting several months to years) Positive / Neutral | |||
Market Overview – What We Know:
- Major indexes posted marginal gains Thursday within range of recent highs.
- S&P 500 was last 7.12 points from equaling its May 2, 2011 peak. Dow Jones Industrials and NASDAQ Composite index have already surpassed similar levels. Value Line index not.
- Most Actives Advance Decline Line (MAAD) was positive Thursday by 14 to 6 and remains in consolidation pattern defined by February 8 high that exceeded 2011 peak.
- More importantly MAAD Daily Ratio has moved back into “Oversold” territory and zone of opportunity, even though price-based Ratios remain “Overbought” on both Minor and Intermediate Cycles.
- Trading volume in S&P 500 was little changed from Wednesday.
- Weakness below lower edge of 10-Day Price Channel (1343.90 / S&P 500 --Friday) would suggest beginning of end of Minor Cycle trend in effect since December low (1202.37 / S&P 500).
- Cumulative Volume (CV) in S&P 500 made new short-term high Thursday, but S&P Emini CV did not and remains just below short-term high made Monday.
- Daily CPFL was slightly positive Thursday, but indicator remains below new short-term high made last Friday. Indicator remains substantially below February 25, 2011 plot high.
Salesforce.com: A Tough Tell
Stock Expensive Despite Strong Quarter
Investors are clearly sold on Salesforce.com's fourth-quarter. The enterprise and cloud computing company announced late Thursday a loss of $4.1 million, or three cents a share, compared to a profit of $10.9 million, or eight cents a share a year ago. But excluding one-time items, earnings totaled 43 cents a share as revenue jumped 38% to $631.9 million. The Street was expecting 40 cents per share in earnings on $624 million in revenue.
A cheap play on soaring oil
How to Play Oil Rally With Less Risk
A funny thing has happened in the options market since crude-oil prices started surging higher. Even though crude-oil prices are at nine-month highs, the volatility on the main oil-stock index has collapsed. That presents the opportunity to buy bullish calls on the Select Sector Energy SPDR (ticker: XLE) exchange-traded fund without paying top dollar.
The Yen and currency volatility take a dive
Yen Falls as Currency Volatility Drops to Three-Year Low; Euro Strengthens
The yen weakened beyond 81 against the dollar and fell to its lowest level since November against the euro as three-year low foreign-exchange volatility and signs of global growth prompted demand for higher-yielding currencies.
February 21, 2012 Commitments of Traders Charts
Based on CFTC weekly report.
(Weekly as of October 2000.)
22 Feb 11 - 21 Feb 12
Dollar index can't hold key support
The greenback tumbled in North American trade with the Dow Jones FXCM Dollar Index (Ticker: USDOLLAR) off by 0.64% on the session after moving a full 128% of its average daily true range. Despite losses seen in European markets, US equities pared early losses to close higher on the day with the Dow, the S&P, and NASDAQ advancing 0.36%, 0.43%, and 0.81% respectively. Better than expected prints on weekly jobless claims, the December house price index, and the Kansas City Fed manufacturing index boosted risk sentiment with investors seemingly shrugging off news out of Europe that the region was heading for its second recession in three years. The risk rally proved to be heavy for the dollar with the index posting its largest single day loss since January 27th and the third largest decline this year.
Oil demand at a 15 year low; Why so bullish?
CLJ12:
- STT 1 and STT 2 Trends are bullish.
- New nine-month highs made on Thursday @ 108.74. Upside Target over 200% achieved.
- April Crude moved decisively higher Thursday after initially generating a bearish OVB before reversing course and pushing towards our weekly price objective of 109.69.
- Crude seemed to disregard fundamental reports this morning that showed a build in inventories and demand reaching 15-year lows as the technical bulls continue to push this market higher as it looks poised to go after 2011 highs in short order.
- Projected Daily Range: 2.13
- Projected Weekly Range: 5.08
- Projected Monthly Range: 10.15
Weekly Decline For Corn
Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Corn declined, set for a weekly loss, after the U.S. government maintained its outlook that the country’s farmers will boost acreage to the most since 1944, adding to global supply as Ukraine forecasts higher shipments. Planting will rise to 94 million acres (38 million hectares), Joe Glauber, chief economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said at a conference yesterday. Exports from Ukraine, vying with Argentina to be the second-largest shipper, will jump 20 percent as farmers expand planting, said Andrew Druzyaka, adviser at the State Food & Grain Corp. of Ukraine.
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