Gold, silver prices rise as investors hunker down

Gold, silver prices rise as investors hunker down



NEW YORK: The only commodities shining on Friday were precious metals as investors fled riskier assets in search of safety.

The price of gold broke above $1,000 Friday for the first time in nearly a year as the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 100 points. Gold has surged 48 percent over the past four months.

The April gold contract rose as high as $1,007.70 an ounce Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange before settling up $25.70 at $1,002.20. It finished up 6 percent for the week.

March silver rose 5.55 cents to finish at $14.49 an ounce - also up 6 percent compared to last week's levels.

But May copper fell 5.5 cents to close at $1.433 a pound, and finished down 6 percent for the week. Copper is considered an industrial metal.

Energy prices fell, too, as anxieties about the economy escalated.

Investors are nervous that if the recession is prolonged, individuals and businesses around the world will keep reining in their energy use.

Crude oil for March delivery expired Friday after falling 54 cents to settle at $38.94 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

It still ended up 4 percent for the week, however.

April crude fell 15 cents on Friday to settle at $40.03 a barrel.

Gasoline futures fell 2.4 cents to settle at $1.0746 a gallon.

Heating oil dropped less than a penny to finish at $1.1967 a gallon. Natural gas for March delivery slid 7.6 cents to close at $4.01 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Grain prices also declined.

On the Chicago Board of Trade, wheat for March delivery slipped 0.25 cent to $5.1925 a bushel, March corn shed 3 cents to $3.5025 a bushel, and March soybeans sank 22 cents to $8.625 a bushel.

Meanwhile in New York: "Even the experts don't quite know what's going on."

Speaking to a number of those experts Friday, Paul Volcker, a top economic adviser to President Barack Obama, cited not only the lack of understanding of the global financial meltdown but the "shocking" speed with which it had spread across the world.

"One year ago, we would have said things were tough in the United States, but the rest of the world was holding up," Volcker told a conference featuring Nobel laureates, economists and investors at Columbia University in New York.

"The rest of the world has not held up."

In fact, the 81-year-old former chairman of the Federal Reserve said, "I don't remember any time, maybe even the Great Depression, when things went down quite so fast."

He noted that industrial production is falling in countries across the globe faster than in the U.S., one result of the decline caused by the breakdown of unbridled financial markets that operated on a global scale.

"It's broken down in the face of almost all expectation and prediction," he noted.

Volcker didn't offer specifics on how long he thinks the recession will last or what will help start a recovery.

But he predicted there will be some lasting lessons from the experience.

"I don't believe it will be forgotten ... and we will revert to the kind of financial system we had before the crisis," he said.

While he assured his audience of his confidence that capitalism will survive, Volcker said stronger regulations are needed to protect the world economy from such future shocks.

And he said he is concerned about the amount of power central banks, treasuries and regulatory agencies have acquired while trying to contain the meltdown.

"It is evident in the United States, and not just in the United States, the central bank is taking on a role that is way beyond what a central bank should be taking," he said.

Volcker stressed the importance of international cooperation in creating a new regulatory framework, particularly for major banks that operate across national boundaries - the reverse of what's happened in recent years.

"The more international agreement we have on where we want to get to, the better off we'll be," Volcker said.

And while major banks should be more tightly controlled and less able to make the sort of risky bets that led to their current debacle, Volcker said there should also be more oversight of some kind for hedge funds, equity funds and the remaining investment banks.

He scoffed at the notion that those entities must be free to innovate - stating that financial "innovations" like asset backed securities and credit default swaps have brought few benefits.

The most important "innovation" in banking for most people in the last 20 or 30 years, he maintained, is the automatic teller machine.


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NEW YORK: The only commodities shining on Friday were precious metals as investors fled riskier assets in search of safety.

The price of gold broke above $1,000 Friday for the first time in nearly a year as the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 100 points. Gold has surged 48 percent over the past four months.

The April gold contract rose as high as $1,007.70 an ounce Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange before settling up $25.70 at $1,002.20. It finished up 6 percent for the week.

March silver rose 5.55 cents to finish at $14.49 an ounce - also up 6 percent compared to last week's levels.

But May copper fell 5.5 cents to close at $1.433 a pound, and finished down 6 percent for the week. Copper is considered an industrial metal.

Energy prices fell, too, as anxieties about the economy escalated.

Investors are nervous that if the recession is prolonged, individuals and businesses around the world will keep reining in their energy use.

Crude oil for March delivery expired Friday after falling 54 cents to settle at $38.94 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

It still ended up 4 percent for the week, however.

April crude fell 15 cents on Friday to settle at $40.03 a barrel.

Gasoline futures fell 2.4 cents to settle at $1.0746 a gallon.

Heating oil dropped less than a penny to finish at $1.1967 a gallon. Natural gas for March delivery slid 7.6 cents to close at $4.01 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Grain prices also declined.

On the Chicago Board of Trade, wheat for March delivery slipped 0.25 cent to $5.1925 a bushel, March corn shed 3 cents to $3.5025 a bushel, and March soybeans sank 22 cents to $8.625 a bushel.

Meanwhile in New York: "Even the experts don't quite know what's going on."

Speaking to a number of those experts Friday, Paul Volcker, a top economic adviser to President Barack Obama, cited not only the lack of understanding of the global financial meltdown but the "shocking" speed with which it had spread across the world.

"One year ago, we would have said things were tough in the United States, but the rest of the world was holding up," Volcker told a conference featuring Nobel laureates, economists and investors at Columbia University in New York.

"The rest of the world has not held up."

In fact, the 81-year-old former chairman of the Federal Reserve said, "I don't remember any time, maybe even the Great Depression, when things went down quite so fast."

He noted that industrial production is falling in countries across the globe faster than in the U.S., one result of the decline caused by the breakdown of unbridled financial markets that operated on a global scale.

"It's broken down in the face of almost all expectation and prediction," he noted.

Volcker didn't offer specifics on how long he thinks the recession will last or what will help start a recovery.

But he predicted there will be some lasting lessons from the experience.

"I don't believe it will be forgotten ... and we will revert to the kind of financial system we had before the crisis," he said.

While he assured his audience of his confidence that capitalism will survive, Volcker said stronger regulations are needed to protect the world economy from such future shocks.

And he said he is concerned about the amount of power central banks, treasuries and regulatory agencies have acquired while trying to contain the meltdown.

"It is evident in the United States, and not just in the United States, the central bank is taking on a role that is way beyond what a central bank should be taking," he said.

Volcker stressed the importance of international cooperation in creating a new regulatory framework, particularly for major banks that operate across national boundaries - the reverse of what's happened in recent years.

"The more international agreement we have on where we want to get to, the better off we'll be," Volcker said.

And while major banks should be more tightly controlled and less able to make the sort of risky bets that led to their current debacle, Volcker said there should also be more oversight of some kind for hedge funds, equity funds and the remaining investment banks.

He scoffed at the notion that those entities must be free to innovate - stating that financial "innovations" like asset backed securities and credit default swaps have brought few benefits.

The most important "innovation" in banking for most people in the last 20 or 30 years, he maintained, is the automatic teller machine.


Latest NYSE, NASDAQ and other business news, from AP-Wire



For latest Bursa Malaysia indices, charts and other information click here

New York Stock Exchange:
http://www.nyse.com
Nasdaq Stock Market:
http://www.nasdaq.com


For Tokyo Stock Exchange click here

Ads by Google
Forex- Gold Market Price
Enjoy the Drastic Changes in Gold Price. Low Spread for Gold Trading!

www.Easy-Forex.com


Financial Market
Free Trial to Emerging Markets Analysis & Forecasts Online

www.businessmonitor.com/Financial


M-State Gold Supplement
Liquid Alchemy Monatomic Gold-Au w/ Indium for energy & super-wellness.

www.cancerchoices.com




NEW YORK: The only commodities shining on Friday were precious metals as investors fled riskier assets in search of safety.

The price of gold broke above $1,000 Friday for the first time in nearly a year as the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 100 points. Gold has surged 48 percent over the past four months.

The April gold contract rose as high as $1,007.70 an ounce Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange before settling up $25.70 at $1,002.20. It finished up 6 percent for the week.

March silver rose 5.55 cents to finish at $14.49 an ounce - also up 6 percent compared to last week's levels.

But May copper fell 5.5 cents to close at $1.433 a pound, and finished down 6 percent for the week. Copper is considered an industrial metal.

Energy prices fell, too, as anxieties about the economy escalated.

Investors are nervous that if the recession is prolonged, individuals and businesses around the world will keep reining in their energy use.

Crude oil for March delivery expired Friday after falling 54 cents to settle at $38.94 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

It still ended up 4 percent for the week, however.

April crude fell 15 cents on Friday to settle at $40.03 a barrel.

Gasoline futures fell 2.4 cents to settle at $1.0746 a gallon.

Heating oil dropped less than a penny to finish at $1.1967 a gallon. Natural gas for March delivery slid 7.6 cents to close at $4.01 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Grain prices also declined.

On the Chicago Board of Trade, wheat for March delivery slipped 0.25 cent to $5.1925 a bushel, March corn shed 3 cents to $3.5025 a bushel, and March soybeans sank 22 cents to $8.625 a bushel.

Meanwhile in New York: "Even the experts don't quite know what's going on."

Speaking to a number of those experts Friday, Paul Volcker, a top economic adviser to President Barack Obama, cited not only the lack of understanding of the global financial meltdown but the "shocking" speed with which it had spread across the world.

"One year ago, we would have said things were tough in the United States, but the rest of the world was holding up," Volcker told a conference featuring Nobel laureates, economists and investors at Columbia University in New York.

"The rest of the world has not held up."

In fact, the 81-year-old former chairman of the Federal Reserve said, "I don't remember any time, maybe even the Great Depression, when things went down quite so fast."

He noted that industrial production is falling in countries across the globe faster than in the U.S., one result of the decline caused by the breakdown of unbridled financial markets that operated on a global scale.

"It's broken down in the face of almost all expectation and prediction," he noted.

Volcker didn't offer specifics on how long he thinks the recession will last or what will help start a recovery.

But he predicted there will be some lasting lessons from the experience.

"I don't believe it will be forgotten ... and we will revert to the kind of financial system we had before the crisis," he said.

While he assured his audience of his confidence that capitalism will survive, Volcker said stronger regulations are needed to protect the world economy from such future shocks.

And he said he is concerned about the amount of power central banks, treasuries and regulatory agencies have acquired while trying to contain the meltdown.

"It is evident in the United States, and not just in the United States, the central bank is taking on a role that is way beyond what a central bank should be taking," he said.

Volcker stressed the importance of international cooperation in creating a new regulatory framework, particularly for major banks that operate across national boundaries - the reverse of what's happened in recent years.

"The more international agreement we have on where we want to get to, the better off we'll be," Volcker said.

And while major banks should be more tightly controlled and less able to make the sort of risky bets that led to their current debacle, Volcker said there should also be more oversight of some kind for hedge funds, equity funds and the remaining investment banks.

He scoffed at the notion that those entities must be free to innovate - stating that financial "innovations" like asset backed securities and credit default swaps have brought few benefits.

The most important "innovation" in banking for most people in the last 20 or 30 years, he maintained, is the automatic teller machine.