analysts-expect

Weaker Dollar Sends Oil Prices Up

by AP on May 9, 2011

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SINGAPORE — Oil prices rose to near $100 a barrel Monday in Asia, bouncing back from last week’s plunge, as a weaker U.S. dollar made commodities less expensive for investors with other currencies. Benchmark crude for June delivery was up $2.36 to $99.54 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $2.62 to settle at $97.18 on Friday. In London, Brent crude for June delivery was up $2.52 to $111.65 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. Oil prices fell 15 percent last week as the dollar strengthened and traders worried that slowing U.S. economic growth didn’t justify a 35 percent increase from February to near $115 on May 2. The euro rose to $1.4434 on Monday from $1.4312 on Friday while the dollar was little changed at 80.65 yen. Some analysts are taking heart from a larger-than-expected increase in U.S. jobs last month. Non-farm payrolls rose by 244,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate rose to 9.0 percent from 8.8 percent in March. “The fundamental backdrop in the market remains entirely unaltered, with global oil demand still showing continued strength,” Barclays Capital said in a report. “The general (oil price) trend from here should be higher, rather than lower.” Other analysts expect oil to drop as higher U.S. gasoline prices – up 37 percent from a year ago – undermine crude demand. U.S. gross domestic product growth slowed to 1.8 percent in the first quarter. “We expect oil to fall further as the global economy slows, the dollar continues to rebound, and the risk premium due to unrest in the Middle East eventually fades,” Capital Economics said in a report. In other Nymex trading in June contracts, heating oil rose 6.0 cents to $2.91 a gallon and gasoline added 7.0 cents to $3.16 a gallon. Natural gas futures were up 3.7 cents at $4.27 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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Weaker Dollar Sends Oil Prices Up

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Starbucks CEO On Surging Coffee Prices: Blame Speculators

by on March 18, 2011

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(Reuters) – Starbucks Coffee Co (SBUX.O) Chief Executive Howard Schultz on Friday once again laid the blame for surging coffee prices at the feet of speculators, saying his chain had no problem getting beans. Arabica coffee futures have rallied over the past nine months to a 34-year high this month at $2.9665 per lb, basis second position. The market initially climbed on fund buying but was sustained by tight supplies of washed beans. Many analysts expect it will soon climb to $3 per lb. “Every supplier that I talk to, every producer, first thing I ask is, ‘Is there any problem with supply and demand?’” Schultz said. They tell him no, he said. Global stocks are at the lowest level since the International Coffee Organization began keeping records in 1965. The ICO has said stocks could fall lower. “I think it’s artificial. I think financial speculation has really stepped into the market,” Schultz said at the National Coffee Association meeting on Friday. Coffee consumers will not “respond positively” to higher coffee prices, Schultz added. “I think it’s a very hard dialogue with the consumer, face to face, as we have to as a retailer, when in fact there probably isn’t a substantive answer,” Schultz said. Starbucks is the biggest coffee shop chain in the world. Many roasters have been forced to pass along their increasing costs to consumers. Most recently, Kraft Foods (KFT.N) raised its list prices for most of its Maxwell House and Yuban roast coffees by 22 percent, its fourth and biggest increase in the past year. Rival J.M. Smucker Co (SJM.N) hiked its price for Folgers by 10 percent last month. (Editing by Walter Bagley) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

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Starbucks CEO On Surging Coffee Prices: Blame Speculators

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Yahoo To Lay Off ANOTHER 100 To 150 Employees

January 25, 2011

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — Yahoo Inc. is laying off 100 to 150 workers in the latest sign of the pressures facing the Internet company as it begins the fifth year of a financial funk. The job cuts made Tuesday represent about 1 percent of Yahoo’s work force of roughly 13,500 employees. It marks the second round of payroll trimming in two months. Yahoo jettisoned 600 workers just before Christmas. Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., provided few details about the latest layoffs except they affected office around the world. The company said it still planned to hire people in key areas that it didn’t identify in a statement. The reasons for Yahoo’s cutbacks may become clearer when the company releases its fourth-quarter quarter earnings after the stock market closes Tuesday. Most analysts expect the results to show meager revenue growth at a time other Internet companies such as Google Inc. and Facebook are thriving. Google, which reigns as the Internet’s biggest moneymaker, is doing so well that it intends to hire more than 6,200 employees this year, increasing its work force by at least 25 percent. It will be the biggest hiring spree in Google’s 12-year history. Yahoo’s malaise has intensified the pressure on CEO Carol Bartz to lower expenses in an effort to boost earnings and lift the company’s stock price, which dipped slightly last year while most of the market climbed. Yahoo shares fell 20 cents to $15.89 in afternoon trading. Bartz’s cost-cutting strategy has provided the desired lift to Yahoo’s bottom line even as revenue growth has consistently disappointed investors. Analysts expect Yahoo’s fourth-quarter earnings to more than double.

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CMBS Delinquencies Swell to 5.5% in October, says BarCap …

November 4, 2009

The 30-plus day delinquency rate jumped 41bps to 5.5% in October as current loans deteriorated and transferred to special servicers. For the past three months, delinquencies have grown an average of 34bps, and BarCap analysts expect the pace to increase through … This annual event, hosted by Safeguard Properties, is one of a few events focused solely on property preservation and field services . The program generally covers both best practices and process improvements. …

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Regional Banks Could Suffer From Commercial Real Estate Bust

July 27, 2009

NEW YORK (Fortune) — Regional banks can no longer ignore the elephant in the room — their exposure to the commercial real estate bust. Though housing markets remain weak, analysts expect credit problems over the next year to center on commercial real estate — mortgages on office and apartment buildings and shopping malls, as well as construction, development and industrial loans

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Banking industry’s next headache

July 26, 2009

Regional banks can no longer ignore the elephant in the room — their exposure to the commercial real estate bust. Though housing markets remain weak, analysts expect credit problems over the next year to center on commercial real estate — mortgages on

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