Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Technology Stocks & Market Talk With Don Wolanchuk -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: robert b furman who wrote (15984)	5/24/2004 6:35:09 PM
From: Michael Watkins	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 207138

Saudi's, Kuwait, qatar, U.A.E. all want Bush and his military vs Kerry. Suspect the Saudi's, if not some or all of the others, want the military but NIMBY. Instead, park them (please) neatly in Iraq, and keep them available to the Saudi's as needed. Iraq = Operation Military Parking Lot Just a wild assed guess. Although Wolfowitz as much (surprisingly) admitted this in an open interview.

To: robert b furman who wrote (15984)	5/25/2004 10:51:25 AM
From: Chip McVickar	Respond to of 207138

Business - Reuters Tue, May 25, 2004 The Dollar Weakens Broadly... (on Record-high Oil Prices) 16 minutes ago By Gertrude Chavez NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar weakened broadly on Tuesday as traders focused on the potential impact of rising oil prices on the U.S. economy, shrugging off a slight pick-up in consumer confidence and existing home sales. The U.S consumer confidence index rose to 93.2 for May, from a revised 93.0 in the previous month. The consensus forecast was for a reading of 93.5. U.S. existing home sales rose to 6.64 million in April from 6.48 million in the previous month. Markets were expecting 6.45 million. "It's a mixed bag of data. Existing home sales were strong; consumer confidence, slightly lower than forecast. But both data were not too far from consensus," said Larry Brickman, currency strategist at Banc of America Securities in New York. "I don't see them having any major impact on the dollar. We're still looking for the dollar to trade range-bound, with oil price concerns continuing to be a drag on the U.S. currency," he added. By midmorning in New York, the euro rose to $1.2111 , up about 0.9 percent. The dollar fell against the yen to 112.26 yen . But analysts said Japan's reliance on oil imports and sensitivity to the global growth cycle could cap upside gains in the Japanese currency. Against the Swiss franc, the dollar was down to 1.2679 francs . Sterling, meanwhile, climbed more than 1 percent to $1.8119 . OIL PRICE CONCERNS The dollar was earlier hobbled by concerns that near record-high oil prices could choke U.S. economic expansion, preventing a rebound in the equities market, and reducing demand for the U.S. currency. "Oil prices have risen so dramatically that the view now is that this could choke off U.S growth and prevent any recovery in the stock market," said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at Bank of New York. "Both of these are critical to the stability of the dollar, let alone strength. The dollar cannot strengthen unless we're growing above trend and we have investments in our stock markets," he added. The United States is the world's largest consumer of oil and analysts argue high crude prices may rein in U.S. consumer spending. This could make the Fed reluctant to raise rates from 1 percent, keeping returns on dollar deposits unattractive. While oil prices have risen dramatically, analysts had said that in real terms, or adjusted to take into account inflation, the rise in crude costs could be considered tame. The market is, therefore, struggling to figure out just how big an impact it will have on Fed thinking. (Additional reporting by Natsuko Waki in London) story.news.yahoo.com