03.06.2011
Commodities mixed on more signs of slower growth
Commodity prices were mixed Thursday as economic reports delivered more signs of slower growth.
Metals fell across the board while energy and agriculture products were mostly higher following weak reports on factory production, retail sales and applications for unemployment benefits.
Many investors sold metals because of uncertainty about what lies ahead for the economy. "I think you're going to see some more of that until somewhere, somehow, the picture clears up a little bit," said George Gero, vice president of RBC Global Futures.
In a note to clients, MF Global analyst Edward Meir said: "We have a hard time seeing how metal prices could move higher over the course of June given the fact that economic growth is now approaching `stall speed,' particularly here in the U.S."
The Commerce Department said U.S. factory orders fell 1.2 percent in April in part because the March earthquake in Japan disrupted supplies of parts for a number of products. Orders for products expected to last at least three years fell 3.6 percent while non-durable goods orders rose 0.6 percent.
The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week fell to 422,000, but the total was still at a level that indicates weak job growth.
There also is more evidence that Americans are cutting out extra expenses because of high costs for gasoline and food. Many retailers reported just modest revenue increases in May, The International Council of Shopping Centers said.
Thursday's data came on the heels of several recent reports that indicate slower economic growth, including a weaker-than-expected reading on a key manufacturing index Wednesday. On Friday the Labor Department releases its closely-watched monthly report on employment.
In metals contracts for July delivery, silver fell $1.492 to settle at $36.202 an ounce, copper fell 2.2 cents to $4.0845 a pound and platinum dropped $6.10 to $1,817.80 an ounce. August gold dropped $10.50 to settle at $1,532.70 an ounce and September palladium lost $8.70 to settle at $770.40 an ounce.
Oil prices pared earlier losses and settled up slightly after the government reported an unexpected increase in U.S. supplies. Benchmark crude for July delivery rose 11 cents to settle at $100.40 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded as low as $98.46 a barrel earlier in the day.
In other Nymex contracts, heating oil rose 3.52 cents to settle at $3.0439 per gallon, gasoline fell 0.96 cent to $2.9677 per gallon and natural gas rose 16.5 cents to $4.794 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Grains and beans settled higher.
In contracts for July delivery, wheat rose 10.5 cents to settle at $7.6975 a bushel, corn rose 8 cents to settle at $7.665 a bushel and soybeans rose 20.75 cents to $14.07 a bushel.
13:37 | Lien permanent | Commentaires (0) | Envoyer cette note | Tags : retraite, crespiere, houilles, sdhc, annet-sur-marne
UK's Next Model search: Why Internet polls are a (hilariously) bad idea
Weve all : A legitimate organization launches a competition that relies upon the opinions of the Internet at large to decide the winner. Quickly, the online poll is hijacked by a group of rascals, and any semblance of fairness is swiftly flushed straight down the crapper.
Well, UK clothing retailer Next apparently didnt get the memo, because its , which allows anyone bold enough to enter, has officially been commandeered by the jokesters of .
The fiasco started Wednesday afternoon when Reddit user chaosdestro0to a Next Model entrants page, that of one . In place of high cheek bones and round eyes, Roland instead has the jolly rotundness and complete lack of a neck generally reserved for line backers and patrons of all-you-can-eat buffets. In other words, there is nothing remotely supermodel-like about Roland.
What Roland lacks in classic good looks, however, he quickly made up in votes. The 24-year-old rocketed to . And now hes so far ahead of the competition that it seems unlikely that anyone else stands a chance. Of course, we dont know the actual number of votes Roland has so far received. But there are a wide variety of other connected factors that give us a good idea.
For starters, the original post to Reddit, has so far received nearly 13,000 upvotes (and 10,800 downvotes) from Redditors a massive number that kept the post at the top of the page for hours. And Rolands Next Model page has been Tweeted at least 2,845 times, according to the Tweet button, and shared onmore than 17,000 times. Compare that to looker , the next closest entrant, whose page has been Tweeted only 10 times, and shared on Facebook 319 times. Poor girl
The shenanigans dont stop there, however. More aspiring models are constantly entering the site, and it looks like we have some hangers on, hoping to catch a ride on Rolands tail feathers. Like , for instance.
During the time it took to write this article, at least one joke entry had been removed from the running (see in the image at the top of this page), so it remains to be seen whether the suits at Next will allow the very un-model-like Roland to actually win. Either way, hes got our vote.
Godspeed, Roland. Godspeed
13:17 | Lien permanent | Commentaires (0) | Envoyer cette note | Tags : plombier, st, news, dieu, chaville
Wall Street stock index futures point to falls
By 4:14 a.m. EDT, futures for the Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI), S&P 500 futures (.SPc1) and Nasdaq futures (.NDc1) were down 0.2 to 0.3 percent.
A Reuters poll showed analysts expect nonfarm payrolls at 8:30 a.m. EDT to show a rise of 150,000 in May, less than the 180,000 forecast before a report on Wednesday showed a sharp slowdown in private job growth last month. The unemployment rate was seen at 8.9 percent.
Shares on Wall Street finished mixed on Thursday, with investors reluctant to make big bets ahead of the payrolls numbers. The S&P 500 (.SPX) and the Dow (.DJI) closed off 0.1 and 0.3 percent respectively, while the Nasdaq (.IXIC) rose 0.2 percent.
Other data set for release include May's U.S. ISM non-manufacturing index at 10 a.m. EDT, which is likely to provide further evidence on the pace of recovery in the world's largest economy.
In company news, Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) is willing to outsource some production of its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Japanese firms if the country's government decides to buy them as its next mainstay fighter aircraft, an executive at the U.S. company said on Friday.
Molson Coors Brewing Co (TAP.N) and Mexico's Grupo Modelo (GMODELOC.MX) are exploring a joint bid for Australia's Foster's Group Ltd (FGL.AX), a source said, amid talk further suitors may emerge for the maker of VB and Cascade beer.
Four people were killed and one was seriously injured in an explosion at an oil refinery in southwest Wales, the plant's owner Chevron Corp (CVX.N) said on Friday.
On the economic front, ratings agency Moody's warned on Thursday it would consider cutting the United States' coveted top-notch credit rating if the White House and Congress do not make progress by mid-July in talks to raise the U.S. debt limit.
European shares on the FTSEurofirst 300 (.FTEU3) dipped in early trade, on track to fall for the third straight session.
Short-dated Greek government bond yields and the cost of insuring the country's debt against default fell on Friday as euro zone policymakers appeared to be getting closer to an agreement on a new bailout for Athens.
(Reporting by Harpreet Bhal; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)
13:07 | Lien permanent | Commentaires (0) | Envoyer cette note | Tags : mec, etoiles, ville, web, vieillesse