PFGBest debacle riles commodity futures industry - Commodities Corner - MarketWatch
A look at the widening scandal involving Peregrine Financial and more than $200 million in missing customer funds.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Italy Bond Rating Cut by Moody’s on Contagion, Funding Risks
Italy’s bond rating was cut and its negative outlook reiterated by Moody’s Investors Service as the euro area’s third-biggest economy faces higher funding costs, slower growth, and contagion risk from Greece and Spain. The ratings company lowered Italy’s government bond rating by two steps to Baa2 from A3 and said further downgrading is possible, according to a statement released in Frankfurt today. That makes Italy’s rating the same as those of Kazakhstan, Bulgaria and Brazil, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
At Peregrine Financial, Signs of Trouble Seemingly Missed for Years
It was a triumphant moment in 2009 when a delegation of Iowa lawmakers visited here to tour the gleaming, new headquarters of the Peregrine Financial Group. “This is impressive,” Charles E. Grassley, the Republican senator from Iowa, said, admiring the futures trading firm’s state-of-the-art facility. “This is a company that’s on the top of things.” Today, the only impressive thing about Peregrine is the depth of its problems. After a suicide attempt by its founder on Monday, regulators discovered about $215 million in customer money was missing. The Commodities Futures Trading Commission filed a lawsuit charging fraud. Criminal authorities are investigating. Peregrine has filed for bankruptcy and shut down.
Gold inches down on Europe worries, Fed stimulus outlook
Gold ticked lower on Friday, remaining on course for a second consecutive week of losses as worries about the euro zone debt crisis and a lack of signs on imminent stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve buoyed the dollar.... Spot gold had inched down 0.1 percent to $1,568.70 an ounce by 0006 GMT, heading for a weekly decline of 0.9 percent... The U.S. gold futures contract for August delivery edged up 0.2 percent to $1,568.50.
U.S. Stock Futures Sink as Central Banks Stand Aside
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower start for Wall Street on Thursday, with investors sentiment stuck in the dumps a day after minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting gave no hint that a fresh round of additional monetary stimulus is imminent. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average recently fell 77 points to 12459. S&P 500 futures dropped nine points to 1327, while Nasdaq 100 futures lost 14 points to 2547.2. U.S. stocks closed lower Wednesday after minutes of the Fed's rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC, meeting showed only ...
Corn up on supply woes, wheat near 17-month top
Chicago corn edged higher on Friday, building on last session's gains of nearly 4 percent, with little relief expected for the crop which has suffered from the worst drought in the U.S. grain belt in 25 years. Soybeans firmed on concerns over global supplies as the U.S. drought curbs yields, while wheat was little changed, trading near Thursday's 17-month top...
Corn, oil divergence spells disaster for US ethanol: Campbell
Soaring corn futures and stagnating oil prices spell disaster for the U.S. ethanol sector this summer. A repeat of the industry's financial troubles from a few years ago cannot be ruled out. US corn futures have soared as evidence has mounted that drought conditions will devastate this year's crop. Front-month corn futures have jumped 15 percent since the end of June. Oil, meanwhile, has found upside resistance at the $100-a-barrel mark. Gasoline prices have probably already hit their year-high, since the peak demand season is already underway.
Dow Industrials Face Potential Shakeup as Kraft Split Looms
The new owners of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) will face their first decision on how the 116-year-old gauge should be composed when Kraft Foods Inc. splits itself in two later this year. Kraft, with a $69.4 billion market value that ranks 20th in the 30-stock gauge, may be dropped because the spinoff of its U.S. grocery business will shrink the world’s second-largest food company, said Keith Wirtz at Fifth Third Asset Management. Hewlett-Packard Co. and Alcoa Inc. (AA) are vulnerable after losing almost half of their value in the past year, according to Richard Moroney, editor of the Dow Theory Forecasts newsletter.
Batista Loses $15 Billion as Brazil Awakes From Dream
When Eike Batista pitched investors on $6 billion in stock offerings over the past six years, he was selling more than his personal empire of interlinking commodity startups. He was selling Brazil. That’s why, when Batista’s oil venture reduced production targets less than six months after pumping its first barrel of crude -- deepening a sell-off that erased $15 billion from his net worth and $21 billion in market value in three months --also in doubt was his vision of Brazil as a new powerhouse on the world stage. Batista, 55, became Brazil’s richest man by riding a wave of optimism about his country’s prospects that culminated in a 7.5 percent surge in gross domestic product in 2010. Under President Dilma Rousseff, economic growth is now stalling for a second year, and is forecast at 2 percent in 2012, the slowest among the BRIC nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Corn rebounds 3 pct as US Midwest drought hurts yields
U.S. corn futures rose 3 percent on Thursday, recouping all of the prior session's losses, as forecasts for moderate rain across the drought-parched Midwest failed to placate worries about shrinking yields. Soybeans also advanced, but lagged gains in corn as expected rains may help the later-developing crop recover production potential and as the already-huge fund net long position in soybeans limited fresh buying interest. Wheat gained more than 2 percent, tracking gains in corn as investors also watched adverse weather in major Black Sea region exporters such as Russia, which pressured global supplies.
Oil Prices Retreat Again as Market Seeks Direction
Following yesterday's rally, oil prices were lower again Thursday on renewed concerns about economic growth. Front-month futures for light, sweet crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange were off $1.11 to $84.70, a decline of about 1.3%. Meanwhile, front-month Brent futures were trading at $99.28, down from $100.23 Wednesday. Analysts detected a choppiness in the day-to-day trading, with an up day followed by a down day. "Oil futures continued the roller coaster ride seen over ...
Peregrine Files For Bankruptcy After $215M Goes Missing, Where Were The Regulators?
Gold down on dollar rise, Fed easing outlook
Gold fell on Thursday as bullion's investment appeal was dented by strength in the dollar and investor frustrations over the U.S. Federal Reserve's lack of commitment to more monetary stimulus. The metal came under pressure as the market digested the minutes from the Fed's June meeting. They showed the Fed was open to buying more Treasury bonds to stimulate the economy, but the recovery might need to weaken further for a consensus to form.
Euro hits 2-year low versus dollar on global growth concerns
The euro slumped broadly on Thursday, reaching a new two-year low against the dollar, as worries about global economic growth and diminished expectations of near-term U.S. Federal Reserve stimulus had investors avoiding risk. The traditional safe-haven Japanese yen strongly outperformed both the euro and U.S. dollar after the Bank of Japan limited itself to tweaking its asset buying program rather than easing monetary policy. That was in contrast to recent policy easing moves by central banks in the euro zone, Britain and China.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)