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| Sky-high oil prices seen keeping Wall Street under pressure next week |
| 2004-08-21 |
Sky-high oil prices are expected to keep Wall Street under pressure next week as concerns mount that oil prices could pierce 50 dollars a barrel despite a retreat in crude prices.-- The Dow Jones industrial average of 30 top stocks rose 2.9 percent when compared with the previous week to finish at 10,110.14, as it moved back into 10,000 point territory.Despite the end-of-week gains, stocks struggled to notch up gains in the past week in the face of soaring oil prices. New York light sweet crude oil for delivery in September, which had spiked at an all-time high of 49.40 dollars, closed Friday at 47.86 dollars, down 84 cents on the day. Traders are concerned oil prices, which have gained in the past week, could apply a brake to the US economy. Prices eased, however, Friday on hopes there could be a cessation of hostilities between US troops and a Shiite Muslim militia in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf. Google Inc.'s long awaited initial public offering (IPO) concluded Thursday as the Internet search giant debuted spectacularly on Nasdaq in the biggest Internet float since the 1990s technology bubble. Google closed up 7.95 percent at 108.31 dollars Friday, defying some gloomy forecasts that its stock was overpriced. The week kicked off with insurers counting the multi-billion-dollar bill left by Hurricane Charley in Florida and ended with traders fretting once again over run-away oil prices. Insurance experts said the the worst US storm in 12 years will cost insurers up to 10 billion dollars, but that uninsured losses could double the cost. In a survey released Tuesday, a panel of top business economists said terrorism poses the biggest short-term threat to the US economy. Forty percent of respondents to a survey by the National Assocatiation of Business Economists conducted in August said terrorism was the biggest short-term risk for the US economy, up from 19 percent in the previous survey in March. A government report Tuesday showed home building across the United States soared by an unexpectedly steep 8.3 percent in July, recovering from a slump the previous month. Builders began work on a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.978 million homes in the month, the Commerce Department said. American industry lifted output moderately in July, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday. US factories, mines and utilities raised combined production by a slightly-weaker-than-forecast seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent in July, nearly recovering from a 0.5-percent drop in June. The Conference Board said Thursday that its index of leading economic indicators, forecasting activity in the coming months, dipped by a more-than-expected 0.3 point from the prior month, to 116.0 points in July. "There are growing concerns about the high cost of gasoline and milk, as well as worries about where economic growth will come from now that the tax refunds have been spent and short-term interest rates are rising," Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said. And in an end-of-week deal Friday, US shopping mall giant General Growth Properties, Inc. said it was buying rival Rouse Co. for 12.6 billion dollars. General Growth closed down 1.54 dollars, or 4.88 percent, at 30.00 dollars while Rouse finished up 16.04 dollars, or 31.69 percent, at 66.65 dollars. Investors will maintain a sharp eye on the oil markets in the coming week which will also see fresh updates on home sales, consumer sentiment, and a revised forecast for second quarter gross domestic product (GDP). |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |
| #2 These kinds of reports tend to make my eyes glaze over. They're out of my fields of expertise. But I make myself read them and try to follow them, because the Bad Guys aren't really trying to defeat us militarily (except in Iraq). They're trying to make us collapse economically. Binny's said so himself on a few occasions. We tend to forget how heavily dependent on oil we are, but the Arabs demonstrated in 1973 that a kick in the oil market could wreak havoc on our economy. The entire remainder of the decade was spent recovering from the oil embargo. Notice that the hottest spots on Islam's bloody border involve countries with oil. |
| Posted by: Fred 2004-08-21 11:04:27 PM |
| #1 Duh. Want to sell me something, Mark? |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-08-21 8:41:25 PM |