U.S. Economy Decelerating as GDP Growth Slows – MarketWatch Falling Yields Spark Busy July – Bloomberg Soybeans Rally to 12-Week High – Bloomberg Arabica Coffee Rises to 12-Year High – Bloomberg Crude Oil Rallies After Dropping on U.S. Economic Report – Bloomberg Bernanke’s Bottom Line – Wall Street Journal Copper Prices Have Biggest Monthly Gain [...]

GDP Contracts 1% in Q2 – Reuters Why Investors Should Ignore GDP – RealClearMarkets Government Revises GDP Growth for the Last 70 Years – Crossing Wall Street Cash for Clunkers Out of Cash – Wall Street Journal Government Adds $2B for Clunkers Plan – Bloomberg CFTC’s Gensler Determined to Act – Reuters U.S. Housing Turning [...]

Will U.S. Follow Up Japan into a Decade of Stagnation – The Economist Markets Stuck in a Vortex of Volatility – The New Yorker It’s Deflation, Stupid – RealClearMarkets Recessions are Good for the Economy – Telegraph U.S. Treasuries Climb on Concern Credit-Market Turmoil Widening – Bloomberg U.S. Economy: Home Resales Rose More than Forecast [...]

The Greenback and Commodity Prices (PDF) – Globe Asia The Real China Test – Newsweek The Idiocy of Energy Independence – RealClearPolitics Behind the Housing Gloom An Improving Backdrop – The Economist Reliving the Savings & Loan Meltdown – Wall Street Journal No End in Sight to the Economic Crisis – New York Times Did [...]

By Jim Barrett The July 4 holiday weekend has proven to be a turning point for just about all commodity futures this year. Daily charts in corn, coffee, cocoa, sugar, and natural gas all show important multi-year peaks – and I mean peaks. Obviously, the second half of 2008 is unfolding in a dramatically different [...]

So Why Is the Price of Lobster Falling? – Slate Global Recession & Falling Energy Prices – Project Syndicate The Key to Our Wild Market: Asia – MSN Money Inflation is a Clear and Present Danger – Wall Street Journal To Drill or Not To Drill – Los Angeles Times The World Economy: A Problem [...]

Four Big Banks to Kickstart Covered Bond Market – MarketWatch Beijing Restrictions May Cut Gas Demand – Barron’s Fuel Subsidies Overseas Take a Toll on U.S. – NYTimes Economics Does Not Lie – City Journal Is Your Bank Safe – BusinessWeek Is Bailout Madness a Prosperity Killer (Video) – CNBC Pessimists Are Basing Gloom on [...]

August crude oil futures rose to a record $145.85 a barrel today on concerns of a heavy drop in U.S. stockpiles and the possibility of a violent conflict with Iran. Also giving strength to crude oil prices were comments by Saudi Arabia’s oil minister indicating the country would not boost production.