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To: richardred who wrote (1073)	3/14/2008 11:30:52 AM
From: richardred	Respond to of 3363

Dollar Drops on Trouble at Bear Stearns Friday March 14, 10:38 am ET Another Wall Street Stunner Drops Dollar As Fed and JP Morgan Bail Out Bear Stearns BERLIN (AP) -- Another stunner from Wall Street on Friday sent the dollar to a record low as a major U.S. banker, Bear Stearns Cos., acknowledged it was in dire financial straits. The euro traded for an all-time high $1.5657 surpassing a previous peak of $1.5625 that it hit on Wednesday. A slight retrenchment by the dollar after a report showed that euro-zone inflation reached a hefty 3.3 percent in February was lost on the news from Bear Stearns. The U.S. government and JPMorgan Chase & Co. bailed out Bear Stearns Cos. Friday, a last-ditch effort to save the investment bank after a week of denials that it was in trouble. JPMorgan Chase is providing secured funding to Bear for 28 days, backstopped by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Bear Stearns lost half of its value within 30 minutes of the market open. This week the dollar has repeatedly hit record lows against the euro, dropped below 100 yen for the first time in 12 years, and on Friday, the dollar fell below the Swiss franc for the first time ever. The dollar is currently valued at 0.9996 francs on the Zurich exchange. In 1971, the U.S. dollar was worth four francs. Ashraf Laidi, chief foreign exchange strategist for CMC Markets in New York, pointed to "speculation that the world's major central banks will mount coordinated intervention to stabilize the rout of the dollar." "Considerable talk of possible coordinated intervention ... is making the market somewhat jittery about putting on additional short dollar trades" versus other major currencies, said Greg Anderson, currency strategist at ABN Amro in Chicago. The dollar, which on Thursday fell below 100 Japanese yen for the first time since late 1995, again dipped as low as 99.85 yen Friday, but clawed back some ground and traded at 100.11 before noon. The British pound rose to $2.0344 from the $2.0292 it bought in New York late Thursday. The dollar has been weighed down by worries about the outlook for the U.S. economy, which in turn have fed expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to lower interest rates. Lower interest rates can jump-start a nation's economy, but can also weigh on its currency as traders transfer funds to countries where they can earn higher returns. The European Central Bank has taken a tough anti-inflation stance and has shown no inclination so far to cut rates for the 15-nation euro zone. biz.yahoo.com

To: richardred who wrote (1073)	3/16/2008 10:05:52 PM
From: richardred	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3363

Fed Takes New Steps to Ease Crisis Sunday March 16, 9:54 pm ET By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer Fed Takes Steps to Ease Crisis, Cuts Lending Rate to Financial Institutions to 3.25 Percent WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve, in an extraordinarily rare weekend move, took bold action Sunday evening to provide cash to financially squeezed Wall Street investment houses, a fresh effort to prevent a spreading credit crisis from sinking the U.S. economy. The central bank approved a cut in its lending rate to financial institutions to 3.25 percent from 3.50 percent, effective immediately, and created another lending facility for big investment banks to secure short-term loans. The new lending facility will be available to big Wall Street firms on Monday. "These steps will provide financial institutions with greater assurance of access to funds," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told reporters in a brief conference call Sunday evening. The Fed acted just after JP Morgan Chase & Co. agreed to buy rival Bear Stearns Cos for $236.2 million in a deal that represents a stunning collapse for one of the world's largest and most venerable investment banks. Just on Friday the Fed had raced to provide emergency financing to cash-strapped Bear Stearns through JP Morgan. Days earlier the Fed announced a set of other unconventional steps to thaw out a credit market in danger of freezing shut. The new lending facility -- described as a cousin to the Fed's emergency lending "discount window" for banks -- is geared to give investment houses a source of short-term cash on a regular basis -- if they need it. It will be in place for at least six months and "may be extended as conditions warrant," the Fed said. The interest rate will be 3.25 percent and a range of collateral -- including investment-grade mortgage backed securities -- will be accepted to back the overnight loans. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he was pleased by Sunday's developments. "Last Friday, I said that market participants are addressing challenges and I am pleased with recent developments. I appreciate the additional actions taken this evening by the Federal Reserve to enhance the stability, liquidity and orderliness of our markets," he said. "We appreciate the actions taken by the Federal Reserve this evening," said White House press secretary Dana Perino. "Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke are actively engaged in addressing issues affecting our financial markets. Secretary Paulson has kept the president briefed on recent developments." The "discount" rate cut announced Sunday covers only short-term loans that financial institutions get directly from the Federal Reserve. It doesn't apply to individual borrowers. The Fed's actions are the latest in a recent string of innovative steps to deal with a worsening credit crisis that has unhinged Wall Street. And, the action comes just two days before the central bank's scheduled meeting on Tuesday, where another big cut to a key interest rate that affects millions of people and businesses is expected to be ordered. "It seems as if Bernanke & Co. are pulling out all the stops to avoid a serious financial market meltdown," Richard Yamarone, an economist at Argus Research, said Sunday evening. The Fed said in a statement that the steps are "designed to bolster market liquidity and promote orderly market functioning ... essential for the promotion of economic growth." Even with the Fed's aggressive moves, economic and financial conditions keep deteriorating. An increasing number of economists believe the country already has slipped into its first recession since 2001. Many econonomists think that the economy is shrinking now in the January-to-March quarter. The first government figures on first-quarter economic activity will be released in late April. The Fed on Sunday also approved the financing arrangement through which JPMorgan will acquire Bear Stearns. JP Morgan said the Fed will provide special financing for the deal. The central bank has agreed to fund up to $30 billion of Bear Stearns' less liquid assets, according to JP Morgan. The housing collapse and credit crisis has dealt a one-two punch against finanancial companies and the economy as a whole. Financial institutions have racked up multibillion-dollar losses when mortgage-backed investments soured. Foreclosures have hit record highs as distressed borrowers -- hit by slumping home prices and higher mortgage rates -- couldn't make their monthly payments. It has become a vicious cycle. The Fed this past week said it would pour as much as $200 billion into big Wall Street banks and investment houses and allow them to put up risky home-loan packages as collateral to borrow for much-in-demand Treasury securities. This maneuver was intended to bring sorely needed relief in the market for mortgage securities. The Fed also has offered as much as $200 billion in short-term loans to banks and large financial institutions. AP Business writers Joe Bel Bruno and Madlen Read contributed to the report from New York. biz.yahoo.com

To: richardred who wrote (1073)	3/16/2008 10:19:40 PM
From: richardred	Respond to of 3363

Gold jumps 2 percent to fresh record highs Sunday March 16, 9:31 pm ET TOKYO (Reuters) - Gold prices jumped more than 2 percent on Monday to hit new all-time highs as the dollar tumbled and news of the acquisition of Bear Stearns (NYSE:BSC - News) highlighted the depths of the U.S. financial market's problems. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM - News) acquired Bear on Sunday after having provided emergency funding to the company on Friday via the Federal Reserve. The Fed cut its discount rate on Sunday and launched a new discount window facility for primary dealers. Spot gold rose to a high of $1,021.40 per ounce on Monday, up more than 2 percent from Friday when it hit a record high of $1,007.10. It was at $996.90/997.70 late on Friday in New York. The most active gold contract for April delivery (GCJ8) on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose to $1,023.8 per ounce, after closing at $999.50 in New York, up $5.70. It marked a record high of $1,009 on Friday. The dollar sank to a record low against the euro on Monday as investors said the acquisition of Bear by JPMorgan showed the seriousness of the problems faced by U.S. financial markets. "Flight-to-quality buying is boosting gold as the market is losing faith in the dollar," said Tatsuo Kageyama, analyst at Kanetsu Asset Management in Tokyo. "The market is completely bearish on the dollar. The market is also very pessimistic about the dollar's outlook." Lower interest rates typically weigh on the dollar and add luster to gold, which is often seen as an alternative to holding the U.S. currency. The key February 2009 gold contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (0#JAU:) fell 11 yen, or 0.3 percent, to 3,227 yen per gram at 8:51 p.m. EDT. Platinum inched up to $2,085/2,095 an ounce, compared with $2,070/2,080 in late New York on Friday. Palladium inched down to $507.00/512.0 an ounce compared with $509/514. Silver inched up to $20.97/21.02 an ounce from $20.64/20.69 late in New York. (Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa and Chikafumi Hodo biz.yahoo.com

To: richardred who wrote (1073)	3/25/2008 8:17:07 AM
From: richardred	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3363

Oil Drops Near $100 on Stronger Dollar Tuesday March 25, 4:05 am ET By Gillian Wong, Associated Press Writer Oil Prices Fall to Near $100 a Barrel As Stronger US Dollar Prompts Selling SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices fell to hover above $100 a barrel Tuesday as a stronger U.S. dollar made energy futures less attractive to investors. The greenback's advance Monday made dollar-denominated oil lose some of its recent appeal to investors. Many analysts believe the dollar's recent depreciation was the primary reason oil surged to a record near $112 a barrel last week, since oil and other commodities are seen as a hedge against inflation and a falling dollar. Now that the dollar is rising, the effect is reversing. Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell 57 cents to $100.29 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore. The contract fell 98 cents to settle at $100.86 a barrel on Monday. The recent decline in oil prices has been far from decisive, and there are signs that some investors are willing to look beyond the dollar for future price direction. Some investors have sold contracts on concerns that a slowing U.S. economy would dampen crude oil demand. Last week, oil prices dipped in part on worry that Bear Stearns' near-collapse was a sign of significant economic problems. Some analysts believe oil's recent declines are temporary -- a correction in a bull market -- and that prices will forge higher again when the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates again, as is widely expected. Lower interest rates tend to weaken the dollar. "It's quite possible for the conditions that have pushed oil prices higher to be re-established," said David Moore, a commodity strategist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. "U.S. interest rates are low and they will be cut further. In this situation it's possible we'll see renewed vulnerability of the U.S. dollar at some point." But there is an opposing school of thought that argues prices have risen far higher than can be justified by the oil market's underlying supply and demand fundamentals. These analysts believe prices will fall soon and sharply -- regardless of what happens to the dollar. "One of the things that may count against oil somewhat is the fact that we're now entering into a sort of lower demand part of the year, and they will see some inventory building occurring," Moore added. In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures lost 0.96 cent to $2.9535 a gallon while gasoline prices rose 5.8 cents to $2.6470 a gallon. Natural gas futures rose 1.6 cents to $9.345 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent crude fell 50 cents to $99.36 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. biz.yahoo.com