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Technology Stocks : Semi Equipment Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Donald Wennerstrom who wrote (23041)	4/29/2005 8:26:44 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 95738

Oil Prices Fluctuate on Speculative Buying Friday April 29, 8:19 am ET By George Jahn, Associated Press Writer Oil Prices Fluctuate, Reflecting Push-Pull of Speculative Buying Against Economic Growth, Supplies VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Crude futures fluctuated Friday, reflecting the push-pull of speculative buying against slower U.S. economic growth and rising oil supplies. Analysts suggested that prices seem to have reached the bottom in a market that would likely turn bullish again in the next few weeks. After turning upward earlier in the day, Light, sweet crude for June delivery was down 13 cents at $51.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange by late morning in Europe. The benchmark commodity rose 16 cents to settle at $51.77 a barrel in overnight trading. Unleaded gas fell by more than 1 1/2 cents to $1.5350 a gallon, while heating oil was trading down by as much, at $1.47765 a gallon. On the International Petroleum Exchange in London, Brent crude was down 37 cents, trading at $52.11. "I think that the market still has the capacity to settle on the down side, but this will only be temporary, as prices will start rising again and we'll see a strong year-end finish," said Orin Middleton, an energy analyst at Barclays Capital in London. A late rally in prices Thursday appeared to be sparked by bargain-hunters profiting from falling prices in the past week. Oil prices have been on a downward trend on bearish news in the past week, the most recent being the U.S. Commerce Department's announcement that the U.S. economy grew at a slower-than-expected rate of 3.1 percent in the first quarter. On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Department said inventories of crude oil in the largest energy-consuming country grew by 5.5 million barrels last week to 324.4 million barrels, or 9 percent above year-ago levels -- the 10th time supplies have risen in 11 weeks. U.S. President George W. Bush has also signaled that he would act to reduce crude prices, first when he called on Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah Monday to expand production, and on Wednesday when he urged using closed military bases as sites for new oil refineries. Daniel Hynes, energy analyst at ANZ Bank in Melbourne, Australia, said that despite the stockpile surplus, he was skeptical that it signified a lasting downward trend in prices. "In the past, the traders have chosen to ignore market fundamentals and chosen to focus on short-term issues," he said. But he acknowledged that prices will probably fall over the next few days. Middleton, of Barclays Capital in London, also suggested that long-term trends were bullish. "The markets tried three times to get through $50 but were incapable of closing below it," he said. "Maybe we're now finding the floor." In its daily energy market report, Vienna's PVM energy consultants said recent intraday dips below $50 "apparently incited speculative money to re-enter the market." While oil futures are down about $4 a barrel since the start of the week, prices remain about 33 percent higher than a year ago. Strong global demand, concerns about limited excess production capacity and fears of unplanned supply disruptions have kept prices high in recent years.

To: Donald Wennerstrom who wrote (23041)	4/29/2005 10:47:34 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95738

A headline from the opening minutes of the market: Stocks Move Higher As Inflation Fears Ease Friday April 29, 10:10 am ET By Michael J. Martinez, AP Business Writer Stocks Climb As Inflation Fears Ease on a Surprising Rise in Personal Income, Spending Add in to this lower oil prices, good MSFT numbers, along with excellent VSEA numbers, and will someone please explain why we are headed down? If there was ever an appropriate context for the word "inexplicable" this is it IMO. And yet, GOOG is NOT selling off!