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http://finance-monitor.com/images/M_images/joomla_rss.pngtext/html2008-05-22T16:28:41+01:00http://finance-monitor.comOil hits $135 a barrel on new supply concerns
http://finance-monitor.com/content/view/29/27/
Oil climbs to record above $135 a barrel on supply worries, weak dollar
Oil prices rose above $135 a barrel for the
first time Thursday, with supply worries, global demand and an ever
weakening U.S dollar driving crude futures up.
The world's top energy
watchdog is preparing a sharp downward revision of its oil-supply
forecast, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
Light, sweet crude for July delivery rose as high as $135.09 before
falling back slightly. By midday in Europe, the contract stood at
$134.37 a barrel in electronic trade on the New York Mercantile
Exchange, up $1.20 on Wednesday's close of $133.17.
That settlement price, up $4.19 on Tuesday's close, marked NYMEX crude's largest one-day price advance since March 26.
Meanwhile,
July Brent crude on the ICE Futures exchange in London also reached a
new record of $135.13 a barrel Thursday. By midday in Europe, it had
retreated to $134.35, a gain of $1.65 on its Wednesday close.
Simply
put, this is a market you cannot afford to be short in, said U.S.
analyst and trader Stephen Schork about Brent futures in his Schork
Report.
With gas and oil prices setting new records nearly every
day, analysts have begun to wonder what might stop prices from rising.
There are technical signals in the futures market, including price
differences between near-term and longer-term contracts, that crude may
soon fall. But with demand for oil growing in the developing world, and
little end in sight to supply problems in producing countries such as
Nigeria, few analysts are willing to call an end to crude's rally.
The
sentiment in the market is very bullish at the moment, said David
Moore, commodity strategist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in
Sydney. The U.S. dollar was weaker last night, and also the U.S. EIA
report showed an unexpected decline in U.S. commercial crude oil
inventories, so there's a combination of factors pushing the oil prices
higher.
Crude prices breezed past $130 early Wednesday, then
accelerated when the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information
Administration said U.S. crude inventories fell by more than 5 million
barrels last week. Analysts had expected a modest increase.
Investment
bank Goldman Sachs last week revised its oil price forecast for the
second half of 2008 from $107 to $141 a barrel. But some analysts saw
the new target becoming a reality much sooner.
Futures are
moving so fast that under the current volatility that goal could
already be reached within the end of the week, said a report by
Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix in Switzerland.
Some analysts say
crude has been boosted in recent days by especially strong demand for
diesel in China, where power plants in some areas are running
desperately short of coal.
The Wall Street Journal reported
Thursday that the Paris-based International Energy Agency is in the
middle of its first attempt to comprehensively assess the condition of
the world's top 400 oil fields.
For years the IEA has predicted
that supplies of crude and other liquid fuels will arc gently upward to
keep pace with rising demand, topping 116 million barrels a day by
2030, up from around 87 million barrels a day currently.
The
agency is now concerned that aging oil fields and diminished investment
mean that companies could struggle to surpass 100 million barrels a day
in production over the next two decades, the paper reported.
That view has been echoed by many analysts.
The
market is really structurally tight ... oil demand is not growing that
fast but supply is constrained, said Victor Shum, an energy analyst
with Purvin Gertz in Singapore.
In the U.S. Energy
Information Administration report, gasoline inventories also fell,
which took the market by surprise. Inventories of distillates, which
include heating oil and diesel fuel, rose less than analysts surveyed
by Platts had expected.
While the dollar gained slightly against
the euro and the Japanese yen from overnight levels, it fell against
the British pound and showed a new downward momentum.
The 15-nation euro bought $1.5765 in morning European trading, down from $1.5780 in late New York trading Wednesday.
The British pound bought $1.9786, up from $1.9689 late Wednesday. The dollar declined to 103.25 Japanese yen from 104.17 yen.
Investors
see hard commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation and a
weak dollar and pour into the crude futures market when the greenback
falls. A weak dollar also makes oil less expensive to buyers dealing in
other currencies.
Many investors believe the dollar's protracted
decline over the past year has been the most significant factor behind
oil's rise from about $66 a barrel a year ago.
In other Nymex
trading, heating oil futures rose 8.46 cents to $3.9930 a gallon (3.8
liters) while gasoline prices added 3.79 cents to $3.4344 a gallon.
Natural gas futures rose 9.5 cents to $11.735 per 1,000 cubic feet.
AP Business Writer Thomas Hogue in Bangkok, Thailand, contributed to this report.
text/html2008-05-21T17:45:15+01:00http://finance-monitor.comGoogle AdSense Now Supports Third-Party Ad Serving Technology
http://finance-monitor.com/content/view/28/27/
Google announced that AdSense (the AdWords content network) now supports the use of
third-party ad serving techniques and technologies. I am not sure if
most publishers understand the significants of this. Many large
companies would not even think about placing an ad on a publisher's
site without being able to track the results of those ads (impressions
and clicks) through a third-party ad serving intermediary. Got that?
What this now brings to AdSense are major agencies and advertisers
with large budgets, who are now more willing to dip their ad budgets in
Google's content network. More advertisers with bigger budgets means
more money for AdSense publishers.
There are a few requirements for these ads to show up on AdSense publishers sites.
(1) You must opt into image ads
(2) Enable advertisers to target your AdSense channels
(3) Opt into placement targeting
If you have all three, then you can now enable advertisers to place these ads on your site.
Will the ads look different? Yes, they shockingly won't contain the
'Ads by Google' text near the ad. Even more of a reason for larger
advertisers to use the Google content network.
Will the ads act differently?
Yes, they will open in a new window as opposed to staying in the same window.
Which third party tracking vendors are certified?
(A) North America: Ad servers include DoubleClick DFA and Mediaplex/ValueClick
(B) North America: Rich media include DoubleClick Rich Media, Eyeblaster, EyeWonder, Interpolls, Pointroll, and Unicast.
(C) North America: Research include Dynamic Logic/Safecount, Factor TG, IAG, and InsightExpress.
text/html2008-05-19T16:14:01+01:00http://finance-monitor.comTurn $451 a Month Into a Million Bucks
http://finance-monitor.com/content/view/27/27/
If you're 30 years old, you need to set aside $448 per month for next
35 years to become a millionaire -- if you earn a reasonable 8%
annualized return in a retirement account. Don’t have $448 to spare --
or even $248? Maybe you do and don't realize it. Let's take a look at
how you can come up with the cash.
Save $219 Per Month on Taxes
Here’s
How: The average refund for the 2008 filing season so far is about
$2,500. If you received an average refund and you are in the 25% federal tax bracket,
you could be entitled to three extra exemptions worth $3,500 each. That
would boost your take-home pay by $219 a month. A couple of reasons you
might be eligible for more exemptions: becoming a new parent or buying
a house.
Save $100 Per Month on Food
Here’s How: Bring
your lunch and snacks to work. Considering that the average meal at
McDonald’s costs $5 and Dunkin’ Donuts charges $2 for a large cup of
coffee, the brown-bag windfall can be substantial.
Save $80 Per Month on Entertainment
Here’s
How: We're talking about one fewer dinner-and-a-movie night every
month. That assumes you and your significant other pay the average $33
per person for a restaurant meal (according to a recent Zagat survey) and that you spend $7 per ticket, the average price at the movies (according to the Motion Picture Association of America).text/html2008-05-19T08:41:32+01:00http://finance-monitor.comMicrosoft mulls fresh Yahoo deal
http://finance-monitor.com/content/view/26/27/
Microsoft has said it is considering a deal with Yahoo which would not involve a full buyout of the company.
Microsoft's previous offer to buy Yahoo for $33 a share - a figure
which valued the company at $47.5bn (£24.36bn) - was turned down.
Last week billionaire investor Carl Icahn
tried to oust Yahoo's board
Last week Yahoo rebuffed billionaire investor Carl Icahn's plan to oust the current board over the failed merger.
Now Microsoft says it is discussing with Yahoo an alternative transaction, but did not provide any detail.
In a statement, Microsoft said it is not proposing to make a
new bid to acquire all of Yahoo at this time, but reserves the right to
reconsider that alternative .
It issued the statement, it said, in light of developments since the company withdrew its bid two weeks ago.
Microsoft stressed that a deal may or may not follow from Sunday's statement.
Analysts say any agreement could save Yahoo from having to fight
a battle with Mr Icahn, who is amassing a stake in the company in an
attempt to force out the current board.
Mr Icahn's manoeuvre on Thursday followed much anger and criticism over
Yahoo's decision, led by co-founder and chief executive Jerry Yang, to
turn down Microsoft's offer earlier this month to buy the company.
Yahoo had wanted Microsoft to increase its bid of $33 a share to $37.
Source: BBC News
text/html2008-05-18T01:20:15+01:00http://finance-monitor.comHow $10 could save your retirement
http://finance-monitor.com/content/view/25/27/
When money is tight, it's tempting to put off any thought of saving.
But don't give in. Even the change in your couch cushions can make a
difference.
The economy is in turmoil. You may have noticed.
Your house is
worth less, your job is less secure, credit is harder to come by, and
filling the gas tank consumes virtually a whole day's pay. Many
Americans are experiencing their worst financial pinch in decades.
Thinking about the future seems almost pointless.
There
is a solution, though. [Keep reading to find out ..]
