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Investment Opportunity: Gold Prices Falls To Lowest Level In Two Weeks

March 11th, 2010

Gold has always been considered a safe investment. However looking at the recent drop in the gold prices, It almost appears that the luster of the gold may be dulling just a bit as the price of gold fell closer to the $1,100 per ounce mark. Is this the beginning of a downturn in the price of gold? Is gold still a very safe investment?

Gold is falling despite overall stock market growth

Jobless claims fell by another 6,000 last week, and that seems to have had an effect on the price of gold, pushing it down near the $1,100 per ounce price range. The two dollar drop towards $1,100 is the lowest the price of gold has been for the past two weeks. This drop is unexpected considering that last week, gold grew in price by $20 per ounce. This week, that $20 gain has already been lost as gold has fallen $27 in price. In the past few weeks, there has been a great deal of liquidity in the gold market with over one million ounces being sold during this time frame.

  • Spot gold fell to a low of $1,102.85, which is its lowest level since February 25.
  • U.S. gold futures for April were down 1.3 percent to $14.20 this week, with $1,108.10 an ounce in heavy trading.

Platinum Prices Rises

While gold prices have fallen slightly, platinum prices have actually gone up by more than one percent to reach their strongest price level in the past seven weeks. The reason for this is due to Japanese buying heavily in platinum on the Asian markets. As well, South Africa, the world’s largest platinum exporter, has announced that the country will not experience the same delays in mine production as was seen last year. Last year, there was not enough power to run the mines and the exports of platinum fell drastically. South Africa has also stated that they do not expect any blackouts during the World Cup of Soccer this year, which should keep the platinum mines running and that is good news for the market.

Crude Oil Prices Fall

Just as with gold, crude oil prices for April has fallen by 34 cents down to $81.75 per barrel. The reason for this drop was because of the strengthening of the dollar against the Euro, which made commodities much more attractive to investors. The U.S. dollar traded at $1.3621 against the Euro, which was an improvement over the $1.3657 that it traded at the day before.

Gold prices have fallen slightly but they are still a great investment that should keep going up for some time now. Gold prices are higher than they have ever been before and it is going to take a lot to hurt that market sector. Platinum prices are also going to be better this year thanks to the higher production coming out of South Africa. As for crude oil, it should go up in price as summer gets here, but expect the crude oil prices to stay between $80 and $95 throughout the next few months.

Further Reading:

Is Gold a safe investment?

Should I keep investing in Dollars

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Posted in Economy, Gold Investment, Stock pick, stock trading | No Comments »

One Year Later The Stock Market Recovers March 2010

March 11th, 2010

The stock market hit its lowest point in recent memory one year ago during the first week of March. Now, one year later, how have things improved, or have they improved at all? What is the market like now after some recovery over the past year? Is it ready for nervous investors again? These are the questions that everyone is asking. Some people have started to get back into the market but a big portion of us are still watching from the bay as our dear savings are too dear to us!

Stock Market bottomed in March 2009

It was one year ago during the first week of March that the stock market fell to its lowest levels seen in recent memory. It was specifically on March 9, 2009, that the stock market and the investors using it, suffered through one of the worst days for the stock market. But honestly speaking back then, no one knew if it was the absolute bottom or not. It could very well have gone lower! So the best course of action at that point was to pull your money out and thats what average americans did including me.

Market Recovery in 2010

So, it is one year later, how have things changed? Are things better? Well, the answer to this seems to be yes and no. While the market has improved by 55 percent, making it one of the best and fastest improvements since The Great Depression, there are still some issues that worry investors.

Investors are still suspecting a second dip

Currently, 26 banks have failed and that means this year is on pace to match the 140 bank failures that occurred last year. On the FDIC list of problem banks that may fail, there are 702 banks, including 252 that were on the list at the start of 2009. The main reason for this is because foreclosures have continued to be a problem for many homeowners and that puts added financial strain on many banks.

In regards to the recovery of stocks, there are several that have seen their values increase by leaps and bounds since last year. Genworth Financial and Office Depot have both increased by over 1,000 percent, while Ford has seen its stock price grow by 660 percent. Overall, the sectors that are doing the best over the past year on the stock market are following:

  • Insurance
  • Retail
  • Financial services
  • Lodging
  • Automotive industries

Of course, there are still plenty of stocks that have lost a great deal of value, but today there are more doing better than doing poorly. For example, on the S&P 500, over half of the stocks listed have experienced over 100 percent in growth since this same time last year. This shows that the market is recovering, but that there are still problems. This month could be seen as the balance between the bad years of 2009-09 and the good years of 2010-11. As time goes on, we should begin moving more and more into better market conditions, and away from the bear market of 2008-09.

Overall what is the sentiment

Overall how is the market doing now? Well, it is doing better and a big part of that is the fact that many investors are now feeling more confident in the market, much more than last year. Last year it was believed that a bear market would continue for a long period of time, but things have now changed and it seems as though the market is turning a corner. Many investors are now going into riskier investments and that shows a confidence in the market. At the same time people are much more cautious than ever before. Even if they see a rally, a common sentiment is to pull early on to lock in decent profit rather than aiming for big bucks. On that note, I locked in around 14% profit just yesterday using TEAR & SGMA!! WOOT WOOT

Further Reading

Future of US Economy

Housing Market Future

Tags: ,
Posted in 2009 Recession, Economy, Housing Market | 2 Comments »

The Best Performing Stocks of the Past 12 Months in 2009 – March 2010

March 9th, 2010

Since the stock market suffered a big collapse a year ago, it has come a long way to improve and a big reason for that are the stocks that are doing well and helping to bring up the rest of the market. The stocks listed here are the top performers of the past year, and the ones that have helped give hope to investors who worry about the strength of the American economy.

The stocks that have done the best in the last few months are the companies who have been able to recover and survive the economic collapse that hit in 2008-09. These are the stocks of companies that are doing things right in the new economic reality.

  • Office Depot Inc. has seen its stock go up almost 900% percent from when they hit bottom on March 9, 2009. In October 2007, the stocks of the company were sitting at $20, but by March 2009 the stocks had fallen to as low as 18$. These days, the stock is back up at $7.41, which shows that the company has begun to recover and move its way back up.
  • Fifth Third Bancorp is a regional bank that once traded at $40 before the market collapse but at the beginning of March the stock fell to a horrible $1.39. Since then, the stock has improved by 829.2 percent, rising up to $12.73. A long way from its $40 height, but at least it is moving in the right direction.
  • Genworth Financial Inc. was trading at $30 in the spring of 2004 and it kept trading at that height for quite some time before it fell to 91 cents by the beginning of March. The company took $2 billion in losses and it looked like the end. However, the company has worked hard to improve and the stock of the company has risen by 1,701 percent to $16.39, making it the biggest performer of the last 12 months.
  • When the economic crisis hit, people stopped traveling and when they did that, companies like Wyndham Worldwide suffered. While the company once traded much higher, the stock hit a low point of $3.10 in March of 2009. However, thanks to an improving economy and more travelling, the stock has improved by 695 percent to $24.01.

Throughout the past few months, all we have heard is the companies that are failing and the trouble at the stock market. However, there are some bright spots that many should remember and the companies listed here are the companies that have made the right choices to improve their stocks. Through cutting costs and changing business practices, these companies have seen their stocks go up by immense amounts and the investors who jumped on board the stocks when they were low, are now smiling because of the huge gains. Buying low and selling high has paid off with these stocks.

Further Reading:

Worst Performing Stocks in past 12 months

Companies That will Rise After Recession in 2010

Reality of New Economy

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Posted in 2009 Recession, Stock pick | No Comments »

The Worst Performing Stocks of the Past 12 Months in 2009 – March 2010

March 8th, 2010

The past 12 months have been tough on a lot of companies, and a lot of investors have lost a great deal of money due to the fall of so many stocks. On the top of the list of bad stocks are the ones mentioned here. These are the stocks that have fallen the most since March of 2009, and the ones that show companies not weathering the economic storm well.

Over the past 12 months, these are the stocks that have fallen the most and cost their investors the most.

  • GameStop Corporation was doing quite well in March of 2009, but disappointing game sales and the loss of the chief financial officer of the company have hurt the company. Since last year, the stock of GameStop has fallen 22.9 percent, down to $18.08. A big drop came in February, when on one day the stock of the company fell 7.2 percent alone.
  • MetroPCS Communications was another stock doing well in 2008, but by 2009 the company was beginning to suffer trouble, including losing half their profits in the second quarter. The announcement of that loss caused the stock to fall 29 percent in one day. Currently, the stock has fallen by 54.9 percent from last year, down to only $6.38 currently.
  • Apollo Group Inc. has not fallen as far as other stocks, and it still trades high, but the company has had some difficult financial reports issued, showing that the company is in trouble. The company’s stock currently trades at $62.39, which is 6.6 percent below what it was trading at one year ago.
  • MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. was doing well when the stimulus package was announced, but with the decline in silicon prices, the company has taken a big hit going down 8.9 percent to $12.90. In one day in February, the stock took a big 15 percent hit alone due to poor earnings and losses for the fourth quarter of 2009.
  • Dean Food Corporation has fallen 16.4 percent to $16, which does not bode well for the largest dairy company in the United States. The company fell 14 percent in February alone due to the company not reaching its profit expectations forecast by the company for the month.

There are several stocks that are doing well and have improved greatly in the past 12 months. However, not all stocks are doing well and the companies mentioned here are companies that may continue to see economical trouble. When the lists of the worst performing stocks of 2010 are announced, you may see these companies listed again. That is unless the companies begin to rebound and find ways to increase profits and therefore, increase their stock price. Only time will tell to see if these companies see improvements on their stock prices. For those who invest in these companies, they can only hope the stock starts going up, after going down for a year.

Further Reading:

After Effects of Recession on US Economy

Is the second dip coming?

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Posted in 2009 Recession, Stock pick | 1 Comment »

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