| Go with the grain when shares fall
My second pick is connected to the soft commodities boom. One of its downsides is that the high price of food across the world is bumping up inflation numbers already being hit by rising wage demands and energy costs. You can protect yourself against inflation to a degree by buying gold, but also by getting into the government bond market and in particular index-linked gilts, the return on which is linked to the Retail Prices Index. You used to be able to buy these pretty simply via the Post Office, but money-laundering regulations have now made doing so a tedious, administration-heavy task. Luckily the exchange-traded fund business has once again come to the rescue with the iShares £ Index Linked Gilt ETF (INGX) which tracks the returns from the index-linked market.
London robusta coffee hits 9-year high
London robusta coffee futures hit a nine-and-a-half-year high and cocoa reached a four-year peak on Friday on a wave of enthusiasm among investment funds for all sorts of commodities. Reallocation of investments for the New Year has already seen several basic resource prices, including gold and oil, hit record highs this month and soft commodities such as coffee and cocoa have been tipped as a good bet for the year ahead. "Funds are increasing their holding in both commodities at the moment. It is not an overnight thing, I think it has been building for some time," soft commodities trader Jeff Cooper of Ambrian Commodities said. .
MCX to support Microsoft's rural technology training programme
MUMBAI: Multi Commodity Exchange of India on Thursday announced its support to an ongoing computer literacy programme of Microsoft and Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals in rural Maharashtra.
This marks the launch of MCX's Corporate Social Responsibility initiative aimed at empowering the youth and women of rural areas of the state with technology skills.
Till now over 15,500 people have been trained and more than 24,000 people are using this service across 16 districts by the means of understanding the futures markets prices of the area specific commodities.
MCX's support will help in increasing deployment of laptop and desktop computers and thereby strengthen the ongoing technology training and adoption efforts through the project.
India gold futures fall, may test Rs 11,000
MUMBAI: Gold futures fell on Friday, after having seen a record high earlier this week, as overseas investors sold gold to cover margin calls in stocks and softer crude oil added bearish pressure, analysts said.
"Overall it is in a selling mode again," said an analyst at IL&FS Investsmart Commodities Ltd. "But it may bounce back again after testing its supports."
Another analyst, K N Rahaman, senior analyst at Way 2 Wealth Securities Ltd, said the benchmark February gold on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) could test Rs 11,000 per 10 grams.
"But I am not bearish, slowly it can recover," Rahaman added.
The factors that backed gold's rally -- chances of a rate cut in the US and the growing clout of the commodities asset class -- are likely to continue supporting gold, the analysts said.
Using CCI and Stochastics For Long and Short Term Forex Trading
Sam Seiden brings over 15 years experience of equities and futures trading which began when he was on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He has traded equities, futures, interest rate markets, forex, options, and commodities for his personal interests for years and has educated hundreds of traders and investors through seminars and daily advisory services both domestically and internationally.
Sam has been involved in the markets since 1991 both on and off the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He has served as the Director of Technical Research for two trading firms and regularly contributes articles to industry publications. Sam is known for his trading, technical research, and educational guidance. Software instructions HotComm is the multimedia communication tool we will be using to host our New Live Market and Education Sessions.
Mt. Fuji saves salesman who became lensman
Rocky Tanaka has been taking pictures of Mt. Fuji for 12 years. But the businessman-turned-photographer does not merely take regular pictures of the mountain--his dream is to produce contemporary ukiyo-e-like scenes overflowing with emotion. A recent episode illustrated this difference in approach. When the bottom of the mountain turned a deep pink at sunrise on Jan. 9 at 6:50 a.m., about 20 photographers who had been waiting for that moment launched into picture taking at a spot near Lake Motosu in Yamanashi Prefecture. But for Tanaka, 61, watching from a hill some distance from them, the scene did not even merit taking his camera out of his car. "I'm not taking any pictures today because the look is different from what I want to take," said Tanaka, who calls himself Rocky to project the rugged image of the Rocky Mountains.
Oil markets breach $100 a barrel for first time
Investors in oil futures drove prices above $100 a barrel today at market close, marking the first time crude has ever closed at three figures. Analysts hypothesized investor fears about a possible OPEC production cut next month, concern over Alon USA's Big Spring oil refinery explosion Monday, which injured four and put the plant out of commission for at least two months, and the heightened political tensions between the United States and Venezuela. Aggregate data from MSN Autos placed the average price per gallon at Dallas pumps at $2.92 on Tuesday afternoon. The national average price per gallon is $3.03. .
Clinton and Obama address economic fears
For those voters who consider Obama as a glamorous IPO with the high-flying potential like another Google, they jump onto the bandwagon in fear that they might miss the chance to get rich quick. Who knows what eventually could turn out, just like so many fancy stocks during the dotcom craze days eventually turned into dogs and lemons in the aftermath of the dotcom meltdown. Obama might just become another Crispy Cream, which had so much anticipation and later so mcuh disappointment. .
Grady's troubles may affect medical schools
Fifty years ago, Dr. Nanette Wenger came to Grady Memorial Hospital with a degree from Harvard Medical School and a new husband. Today, she's a professor at Emory, a nationally recognized cardiologist — and still a Grady doctor. On a recent winter day, as she darted between examination rooms, she wore a button proclaiming that "Grady is Vital," the mantra of supporters who rallied to the financially imperiled hospital's defense when the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority was debating its fate. .
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