Wednesday, August 27, 2008
How To List A Property At D-Choice Properties
Click Here ==> How To List A Property/Ads At D-Choice Properties Website?
Thursday, August 14, 2008
MAN
One of the more successful international trading companies is 3M. It is one of 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is also a component of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. 3M’s sales for 2007 touched US$24.462 billion while its net income was US$4.096 billion. 3M used to be called Minnesota Mining and Minerals before its name was shortened to 3M.
3M’s success is in its training program. It is said to have the best training module for its salesmen and it is also said there is nothing a 3M salesman can’t sell. For example, the salesmen are taught, to successfully close a sale, you must sell to the MAN. MAN here means: Means, Authority and Need. The person making that decision to buy must have the means (money or budget), authority (power to make that decision to buy) and need (they require the item you are trying to sell). If one of these three ingredients is missing then you will never be able to close the sale.
So, if you are a salesman and you want to successfully close that sale, go look for the MAN. Only the person who has the three ingredients of the MAN will make, or be able to make, that decision whether to buy from you or not.
Raja Petra Kamarudin's 3M="Money Motivates Man (man as in humankind rather than gender description)". Yes, money is the greatest motivator of man. Nevertheless, there are also other motivators; sex and power. However, once you have money, then these others can come easily and naturally.
Ever wondered why wealth, power and sex always seem to come together? In fact, you can exchange one for the other. If you have money you can buy power or if you have power you can make money. And sex can also be used as a ‘commodity’ to ‘sell’ for money and power -- or, if you have money and/or power, you can buy sex easily.
3M’s success is in its training program. It is said to have the best training module for its salesmen and it is also said there is nothing a 3M salesman can’t sell. For example, the salesmen are taught, to successfully close a sale, you must sell to the MAN. MAN here means: Means, Authority and Need. The person making that decision to buy must have the means (money or budget), authority (power to make that decision to buy) and need (they require the item you are trying to sell). If one of these three ingredients is missing then you will never be able to close the sale.
So, if you are a salesman and you want to successfully close that sale, go look for the MAN. Only the person who has the three ingredients of the MAN will make, or be able to make, that decision whether to buy from you or not.
Raja Petra Kamarudin's 3M="Money Motivates Man (man as in humankind rather than gender description)". Yes, money is the greatest motivator of man. Nevertheless, there are also other motivators; sex and power. However, once you have money, then these others can come easily and naturally.
Ever wondered why wealth, power and sex always seem to come together? In fact, you can exchange one for the other. If you have money you can buy power or if you have power you can make money. And sex can also be used as a ‘commodity’ to ‘sell’ for money and power -- or, if you have money and/or power, you can buy sex easily.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Commodities slowdown could last months, longer
Sunday August 10, 2008 MYT 9:15:09 AM
NEW YORK (AP): The commodities boom that just weeks ago looked unstoppable may have finally burned itself out.
Sudden plunges in the price of everything from crude to copper and cotton suggest commodities soared too high, too fast _ and analysts expect even steeper declines in the months ahead as the U.S. economic slowdown spreads overseas and saps demand for energy, construction supplies and consumer goods.
Though commodities could swing higher again if the U.S. economy bounces back or world oil supplies suddenly become scarce, experts consider neither scenario appears likely for several months or longer.
"The downward pace still has a way to go,'' said Edward Meir, senior commodities analyst at MF Global in New York. "People are now coming around to the fact that growth is slowing, both in the U.S. and overseas, so demand for commodities will decline.''
At least some of the falling prices in commodities trading pits are likely to filter back down to consumers. Lower oil prices make it cheaper to ship food around the globe, and ease the burden on consumers when they fill their gas tanks and heat their homes. Falling prices for corn and soybeans should also have some impact on what shoppers pay in the supermarket.
Highlighting the spiral, the Jefferies-Reuters CRB index, a global commodities benchmark, plunged 10 percent in July, its biggest monthly drop since 1980, when the U.S. was in a recession.
"There was a commodities bubble and it has burst,'' said James Cordier, president of Tampa, Florida-based trading firms Liberty Trading Group and OptionSellers.com.
The stark change in sentiment marks a stunning turnaround for the once-sizzling commodities sector, which only months ago seemed on a relentless march higher amid a global scramble for natural resources and a weak dollar that made them cheaper to overseas buyers. No longer.
In a sign of just how much the euphoria has faded, investors who thronged futures markets earlier this year seeking juicy, double-digit returns now can't sell gold, silver and cocoa futures fast enough. Gold, for example, is now selling for $864 an ounce _ down from a record of $1,038.60 an ounce on March 17 _ and lately has been falling $10 or more a day.
"Everybody is scrambling to get out of the ship before the guy next to them,'' said Nathan Golz, a commodities researcher at Wachovia Securities in St. Louis. "It's amazing how fast commodities have become the last place people want to have their money.''
Davide Accomazzo, managing director of trading at Los Angeles-based Cervino Capital Management, said his firm doesn't see good buying opportunities in commodities "for at least the next three to nine months.''
"The conditions just aren't right,'' said Accomazzo, whose firm trades options on metals, natural gas and soft commodities.
The downturn in commodities gained momentum after crude began tumbling last month, dragging down precious metals, grains and other commodities as traders raced to dump positions. Oil has lost about $32, or 21 percent, from its record high of $147.27 a barrel hit last month, as $4-a-gallon ($1.05 a liter) gasoline forced many Americans to abandon fuel-guzzling SUVs and skip vacations.
As the busy U.S. driving season enters its last month, oil market speculators have shifted their investment strategy and are now shorting crude _ or betting prices will fall _ for the first time in 17 months.
"It looks like the bulls have run out of ammo,'' said Stephen Schork, analyst and oil trader in Villanova, Pennsylvania. "With poor demand prospects ahead ... there's not a lot of reason to be buying commodities right now.''
And here's another reason: Many commodities investors who got burned buying into the rally just before it turned likely won't have the stomach to get back in anytime soon, analysts say.
"I don't see them with their scorched fingers coming back into the market. That money is gone for a while,'' said Cordier, who said a "herd mentality'' pushed a wave of first-time commodities investors into the market, including some large fund managers who had never experience a boom in futures prices.
So what could bring commodities back up? Analysts say the biggest factor is the ailing U.S. economy. If growth picks up, unemployment falls and consumers start spending again, demand for energy, building materials and other goods will increase, straining world supplies again.
"But we're not expecting that to happen for at least a few quarters,'' said Cordier.
China could also be a catalyst. The country has restricted driving and closed factories to reduce pollution during this month's Beijing Olympics, and some people expect a bump in demand for gasoline, coal and other material once the Games finish.
Others say the same thing that sparked the boom will likely spur its revival: Burgeoning population growth and rising income levels in developing countries that will eventually add to pressure on world supplies of food, fuel and other goods.
Jon Nadler, a precious metals analyst with Kitco Bullion Dealers Montreal, said commodities could be seeing a pause now, "but the question is how intense is it and how long will it last?''
"People haven't stopped multiplying, so at some point you'd expected prices to go up again,'' he said.
(C) 1995-2008 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)
NEW YORK (AP): The commodities boom that just weeks ago looked unstoppable may have finally burned itself out.
Sudden plunges in the price of everything from crude to copper and cotton suggest commodities soared too high, too fast _ and analysts expect even steeper declines in the months ahead as the U.S. economic slowdown spreads overseas and saps demand for energy, construction supplies and consumer goods.
Though commodities could swing higher again if the U.S. economy bounces back or world oil supplies suddenly become scarce, experts consider neither scenario appears likely for several months or longer.
"The downward pace still has a way to go,'' said Edward Meir, senior commodities analyst at MF Global in New York. "People are now coming around to the fact that growth is slowing, both in the U.S. and overseas, so demand for commodities will decline.''
At least some of the falling prices in commodities trading pits are likely to filter back down to consumers. Lower oil prices make it cheaper to ship food around the globe, and ease the burden on consumers when they fill their gas tanks and heat their homes. Falling prices for corn and soybeans should also have some impact on what shoppers pay in the supermarket.
Highlighting the spiral, the Jefferies-Reuters CRB index, a global commodities benchmark, plunged 10 percent in July, its biggest monthly drop since 1980, when the U.S. was in a recession.
"There was a commodities bubble and it has burst,'' said James Cordier, president of Tampa, Florida-based trading firms Liberty Trading Group and OptionSellers.com.
The stark change in sentiment marks a stunning turnaround for the once-sizzling commodities sector, which only months ago seemed on a relentless march higher amid a global scramble for natural resources and a weak dollar that made them cheaper to overseas buyers. No longer.
In a sign of just how much the euphoria has faded, investors who thronged futures markets earlier this year seeking juicy, double-digit returns now can't sell gold, silver and cocoa futures fast enough. Gold, for example, is now selling for $864 an ounce _ down from a record of $1,038.60 an ounce on March 17 _ and lately has been falling $10 or more a day.
"Everybody is scrambling to get out of the ship before the guy next to them,'' said Nathan Golz, a commodities researcher at Wachovia Securities in St. Louis. "It's amazing how fast commodities have become the last place people want to have their money.''
Davide Accomazzo, managing director of trading at Los Angeles-based Cervino Capital Management, said his firm doesn't see good buying opportunities in commodities "for at least the next three to nine months.''
"The conditions just aren't right,'' said Accomazzo, whose firm trades options on metals, natural gas and soft commodities.
The downturn in commodities gained momentum after crude began tumbling last month, dragging down precious metals, grains and other commodities as traders raced to dump positions. Oil has lost about $32, or 21 percent, from its record high of $147.27 a barrel hit last month, as $4-a-gallon ($1.05 a liter) gasoline forced many Americans to abandon fuel-guzzling SUVs and skip vacations.
As the busy U.S. driving season enters its last month, oil market speculators have shifted their investment strategy and are now shorting crude _ or betting prices will fall _ for the first time in 17 months.
"It looks like the bulls have run out of ammo,'' said Stephen Schork, analyst and oil trader in Villanova, Pennsylvania. "With poor demand prospects ahead ... there's not a lot of reason to be buying commodities right now.''
And here's another reason: Many commodities investors who got burned buying into the rally just before it turned likely won't have the stomach to get back in anytime soon, analysts say.
"I don't see them with their scorched fingers coming back into the market. That money is gone for a while,'' said Cordier, who said a "herd mentality'' pushed a wave of first-time commodities investors into the market, including some large fund managers who had never experience a boom in futures prices.
So what could bring commodities back up? Analysts say the biggest factor is the ailing U.S. economy. If growth picks up, unemployment falls and consumers start spending again, demand for energy, building materials and other goods will increase, straining world supplies again.
"But we're not expecting that to happen for at least a few quarters,'' said Cordier.
China could also be a catalyst. The country has restricted driving and closed factories to reduce pollution during this month's Beijing Olympics, and some people expect a bump in demand for gasoline, coal and other material once the Games finish.
Others say the same thing that sparked the boom will likely spur its revival: Burgeoning population growth and rising income levels in developing countries that will eventually add to pressure on world supplies of food, fuel and other goods.
Jon Nadler, a precious metals analyst with Kitco Bullion Dealers Montreal, said commodities could be seeing a pause now, "but the question is how intense is it and how long will it last?''
"People haven't stopped multiplying, so at some point you'd expected prices to go up again,'' he said.
(C) 1995-2008 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Oil Drops To US$118 Today
This eventful day has been fulfilled! Note my previous post (http://life-exchange.blogspot.com/2008/07/is-oil-coming-down.html ) that oil will dropped to this level.
Oil falls as low as $118 on demand concerns
By MADLEN READ, AP Business WriterTue Aug 5, 4:24 PM ET
Oil traders sent crude prices tumbling as low as $118 a barrel Tuesday on the growing belief that a U.S. economic slowdown and high energy costs are curbing consumer demand for gasoline and other petroleum products.
Crude oil finished the day just above $119 a barrel — its lowest settlement price since early May.
Crude's decline is giving Americans more relief at the pump. A gallon of regular gasoline on average fell another penny overnight to $3.871, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. Gas prices have fallen four straight weeks for the first time since December; prices are off 5.9 percent from their July high as U.S. motorists cut back on their driving to save money.
A day after plunging as much as $5 a barrel in a dramatic sell-off, crude continued its downward trend. Gasoline and heating oil prices also fell, while natural gas ended unchanged after Monday's steep drop.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell $2.24 to settle at $119.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest close since May 2. During trading, the contract dipped to $118 — nearly $30 below the trading high of $147.27 reached July 11.
"The market psychology has finally shifted," said Stephen Schork, an analyst and trader in Villanova, Pa., adding that "$4-a-gallon gasoline has clearly killed demand."
Some analysts say oil has the potential to jump back up.
There are many factors that could keep oil from descending further, said Mike Fitzpatrick, vice president of energy and risk management at MF Global LLC. Those include political tensions in Nigeria and the Middle East, the potential for a big hurricane along the Gulf Coast, and global demand that is still growing — just not at the same pace that it had been.
"Even if it seems as though China's economic demand run has slowed some, those changes at the margins still make them a huge consumer of crude products," Fitzpatrick said.
Still, the Federal Reserve, which issued an economic assessment statement along with its decision to keep interest rates stable, said that along with tight credit and the housing contraction, "elevated energy prices are likely to weigh on economic growth over the next few quarters."
The dollar's six-week highs against the euro also contributed to oil's decline Tuesday. The euro fell to $1.5464 from the $1.5587 it bought late in New York trading Monday, making oil and other commodities less attractive to investors seeking a hedge against inflation and dollar weakness.
Natural gas futures finished unchanged at $8.726 per 1,000 cubic feet, after swinging into positive and negative territory during trading. On Monday, natural gas plunged 66.3 cents, or 7 percent, to $8.726 per 1,000 cubic feet, its lowest level in nearly six months. Prices have closed lower in eight of the last 11 sessions and dropped 36 percent from the contract's all-time trading high of $13.752, reached July 2.
The pullback is double the size of crude's recent slide. That has fed speculation on Wall Street that a large hedge fund or something like it may be near collapse and has dumped a vast amount of natural gas contracts to free up cash. Last month, SemGroup LP, based in Tulsa, Okla., folded after losing $2.4 billion in bad bets on oil futures. SemGroup's collapse came amid a massive sell off in the oil market.
"Anytime you get that kind of violent price action in a short amount of time, it reeks of someone big being in trouble," Schork said.
Investors on Tuesday ignored continued tension over Iran's nuclear program. Representatives of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany agreed Monday to seek new sanctions against Iran after the country failed to meet a weekend deadline to respond to an offer intended to defuse the dispute, State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 6.81 cents to settle at $3.2820 a gallon, while gasoline prices dropped 4.38 cents to settle at $2.9564 a gallon.
In London, September Brent crude fell $2.98 to settle at $117.70 a barrel.
___
Associated Press writers Stevenson Jacobs in New York, Pablo Gorondi in Budapest, Hungary and Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.
Oil falls as low as $118 on demand concerns
By MADLEN READ, AP Business WriterTue Aug 5, 4:24 PM ET
Oil traders sent crude prices tumbling as low as $118 a barrel Tuesday on the growing belief that a U.S. economic slowdown and high energy costs are curbing consumer demand for gasoline and other petroleum products.
Crude oil finished the day just above $119 a barrel — its lowest settlement price since early May.
Crude's decline is giving Americans more relief at the pump. A gallon of regular gasoline on average fell another penny overnight to $3.871, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. Gas prices have fallen four straight weeks for the first time since December; prices are off 5.9 percent from their July high as U.S. motorists cut back on their driving to save money.
A day after plunging as much as $5 a barrel in a dramatic sell-off, crude continued its downward trend. Gasoline and heating oil prices also fell, while natural gas ended unchanged after Monday's steep drop.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell $2.24 to settle at $119.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest close since May 2. During trading, the contract dipped to $118 — nearly $30 below the trading high of $147.27 reached July 11.
"The market psychology has finally shifted," said Stephen Schork, an analyst and trader in Villanova, Pa., adding that "$4-a-gallon gasoline has clearly killed demand."
Some analysts say oil has the potential to jump back up.
There are many factors that could keep oil from descending further, said Mike Fitzpatrick, vice president of energy and risk management at MF Global LLC. Those include political tensions in Nigeria and the Middle East, the potential for a big hurricane along the Gulf Coast, and global demand that is still growing — just not at the same pace that it had been.
"Even if it seems as though China's economic demand run has slowed some, those changes at the margins still make them a huge consumer of crude products," Fitzpatrick said.
Still, the Federal Reserve, which issued an economic assessment statement along with its decision to keep interest rates stable, said that along with tight credit and the housing contraction, "elevated energy prices are likely to weigh on economic growth over the next few quarters."
The dollar's six-week highs against the euro also contributed to oil's decline Tuesday. The euro fell to $1.5464 from the $1.5587 it bought late in New York trading Monday, making oil and other commodities less attractive to investors seeking a hedge against inflation and dollar weakness.
Natural gas futures finished unchanged at $8.726 per 1,000 cubic feet, after swinging into positive and negative territory during trading. On Monday, natural gas plunged 66.3 cents, or 7 percent, to $8.726 per 1,000 cubic feet, its lowest level in nearly six months. Prices have closed lower in eight of the last 11 sessions and dropped 36 percent from the contract's all-time trading high of $13.752, reached July 2.
The pullback is double the size of crude's recent slide. That has fed speculation on Wall Street that a large hedge fund or something like it may be near collapse and has dumped a vast amount of natural gas contracts to free up cash. Last month, SemGroup LP, based in Tulsa, Okla., folded after losing $2.4 billion in bad bets on oil futures. SemGroup's collapse came amid a massive sell off in the oil market.
"Anytime you get that kind of violent price action in a short amount of time, it reeks of someone big being in trouble," Schork said.
Investors on Tuesday ignored continued tension over Iran's nuclear program. Representatives of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany agreed Monday to seek new sanctions against Iran after the country failed to meet a weekend deadline to respond to an offer intended to defuse the dispute, State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 6.81 cents to settle at $3.2820 a gallon, while gasoline prices dropped 4.38 cents to settle at $2.9564 a gallon.
In London, September Brent crude fell $2.98 to settle at $117.70 a barrel.
___
Associated Press writers Stevenson Jacobs in New York, Pablo Gorondi in Budapest, Hungary and Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
CRB Commodity Index Caps Biggest One-Day Decline Since March
Tuesday, 05 August 2008 12:32
(Bloomberg) -- Plunging prices for cocoa, natural gas and sugar sent the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 commodities to its biggest one-day decline since March.
The CRB index fell 3.4 percent to 401.98, which marks the largest slide since March 19. The gauge dropped to the lowest level since May 2 today, as did the UBS-Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Index.The CRB slid 10 percent in July, the most in any month since March 1980, when the U.S. economy was in a recession. A worsening global growth outlook and prospects for increased supply sent raw materials such as crude oil, soybeans and gasoline tumbling from records in the past month.``Speculation had been driving these markets and they were due for a correction as so many prices had gotten overdone,'' said Peter Sorrentino, who helps manage $16.7 billion at Huntington Asset Advisors in Cincinnati. ``There are moderating growth expectations that are going to hurt industrial commodities. Going forward, you have to be very selective.
Cocoa was today's biggest loser, dropping as much as 9.5 percent to a six-month low of $2,712 a metric ton on ICE Futures U.S., the former New York Board of Trade. Natural gas fell as much as 8.3 percent to $8.616 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and sugar was down as much as 6.5 percent to 13.21 cents a pound on ICE Futures.Economy SlowsThe U.S. economy shrank at the end of the 2007 and grew less than forecast in this year's second quarter, signaling that the country is in worse shape than investors had anticipated, the Commerce Department said last week. Manufacturing in China, the world's fastest-growing major economy, contracted in July for the first time since a survey began in 2005.Slowing global growth will mean ``there won't be a tide to lift prices,'' Sorrentino said. ``Before, you could look at commodities and buy across the board. Now, you have to be much more nimble.''The CRB posted its best first half in 35 years, gaining 29 percent in the first six months of 2008 as investors stocked up on raw materials as an alternative to stocks and bonds and as a hedge against the weakening dollar.
Commodities are at the beginning of a long-term bear market,'' after rallying the past seven years, Michael Aronstein, chief investment strategist at Oscar Gruss & Son Inc. in New York, said last week.Aronstein correctly said in June that prices for raw materials would start to decline. The CRB index has lost 13 percent since June 30.Oil, Copper, GoldCrude oil lost as much as 4.5 percent to $119.50 a barrel on the Nymex, the first drop below $120 since May, amid speculation that Tropical Storm Eduoard won't cause disruption to most offshore oil facilities as it approaches the coast of Texas.
"Crude is leading everything down,'' said Hector Galvan, a senior market strategist for RJO Futures in Chicago. People have that fear of not wanting to be the last one on the boat -- it's `abandon ship' for the short-term.
Copper tumbled as much as 4.3 percent to $3.426 a pound on the Comex division of the Nymex, the lowest price since Feb. 8. Inventories monitored by the London Metal Exchange reached the highest level since February. Aluminum, nickel and other industrial metals also fell. Platinum capped the biggest two-day decline in 22 years.Falling prices may hurt profit for producers including BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest diversified mining company, and Anglo Platinum Ltd., the world's largest producer of the metal. The Bloomberg World Mining Index of 139 companies tumbled 13 percent in July. The gauge lost as much as 4 percent today.Grain SlumpCorn and soybeans both fell more than 5 percent, dropping as much as the daily limit allowed on the Chicago Board of Trade, as favorable weather may boost the crops.The grains may continue to fall as demand from China, India and other emerging economies slows, said Daryll Ray, the director of the Agricultural Policy Analysis Center at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
There has been much more optimism about China and India and the export market than facts support,'' Ray said. Prices may fall through 2009, he said.Gold, wheat, coffee and orange juice also declined. Hogs were the only commodity monitored by the CRB to gain today.
(Bloomberg) -- Plunging prices for cocoa, natural gas and sugar sent the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 commodities to its biggest one-day decline since March.
The CRB index fell 3.4 percent to 401.98, which marks the largest slide since March 19. The gauge dropped to the lowest level since May 2 today, as did the UBS-Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Index.The CRB slid 10 percent in July, the most in any month since March 1980, when the U.S. economy was in a recession. A worsening global growth outlook and prospects for increased supply sent raw materials such as crude oil, soybeans and gasoline tumbling from records in the past month.``Speculation had been driving these markets and they were due for a correction as so many prices had gotten overdone,'' said Peter Sorrentino, who helps manage $16.7 billion at Huntington Asset Advisors in Cincinnati. ``There are moderating growth expectations that are going to hurt industrial commodities. Going forward, you have to be very selective.
Cocoa was today's biggest loser, dropping as much as 9.5 percent to a six-month low of $2,712 a metric ton on ICE Futures U.S., the former New York Board of Trade. Natural gas fell as much as 8.3 percent to $8.616 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and sugar was down as much as 6.5 percent to 13.21 cents a pound on ICE Futures.Economy SlowsThe U.S. economy shrank at the end of the 2007 and grew less than forecast in this year's second quarter, signaling that the country is in worse shape than investors had anticipated, the Commerce Department said last week. Manufacturing in China, the world's fastest-growing major economy, contracted in July for the first time since a survey began in 2005.Slowing global growth will mean ``there won't be a tide to lift prices,'' Sorrentino said. ``Before, you could look at commodities and buy across the board. Now, you have to be much more nimble.''The CRB posted its best first half in 35 years, gaining 29 percent in the first six months of 2008 as investors stocked up on raw materials as an alternative to stocks and bonds and as a hedge against the weakening dollar.
Commodities are at the beginning of a long-term bear market,'' after rallying the past seven years, Michael Aronstein, chief investment strategist at Oscar Gruss & Son Inc. in New York, said last week.Aronstein correctly said in June that prices for raw materials would start to decline. The CRB index has lost 13 percent since June 30.Oil, Copper, GoldCrude oil lost as much as 4.5 percent to $119.50 a barrel on the Nymex, the first drop below $120 since May, amid speculation that Tropical Storm Eduoard won't cause disruption to most offshore oil facilities as it approaches the coast of Texas.
"Crude is leading everything down,'' said Hector Galvan, a senior market strategist for RJO Futures in Chicago. People have that fear of not wanting to be the last one on the boat -- it's `abandon ship' for the short-term.
Copper tumbled as much as 4.3 percent to $3.426 a pound on the Comex division of the Nymex, the lowest price since Feb. 8. Inventories monitored by the London Metal Exchange reached the highest level since February. Aluminum, nickel and other industrial metals also fell. Platinum capped the biggest two-day decline in 22 years.Falling prices may hurt profit for producers including BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest diversified mining company, and Anglo Platinum Ltd., the world's largest producer of the metal. The Bloomberg World Mining Index of 139 companies tumbled 13 percent in July. The gauge lost as much as 4 percent today.Grain SlumpCorn and soybeans both fell more than 5 percent, dropping as much as the daily limit allowed on the Chicago Board of Trade, as favorable weather may boost the crops.The grains may continue to fall as demand from China, India and other emerging economies slows, said Daryll Ray, the director of the Agricultural Policy Analysis Center at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
There has been much more optimism about China and India and the export market than facts support,'' Ray said. Prices may fall through 2009, he said.Gold, wheat, coffee and orange juice also declined. Hogs were the only commodity monitored by the CRB to gain today.
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