Things to know before you open a forex trading account in SigmaForex

What is Forex online trading?

Forex is short for foreign exchange and is the name given to the "direct access" trading of foreign currencies. With an average daily volume of $1.4 trillion dollars, forex is roughly 30 times larger than all of the futures markets combined, and is therefore one of the most liquid markets in the world. Because forex is electronically traded like NASDAQ stocks, trading occurs 24 hours a day around the world.

How does Forex online trading work?

In forex online trading, currencies are always priced and traded in pairs. You simultaneously buy one currency and sell another or vice versa. The most valuable currency is listed first. For instance, you believe that the US Dollar will strengthen vs. the Euro Currency so you would sell the Euro Currency and buy the US Dollar or Sell EUR/USD. If you believed that the Euro will strengthen vs. the US Dollar then you would Buy EUR/USD. The British Pound (GBP) and the Australian Dollar (AUD) and the Euro Currency (EUR) are more valuable than the US Dollar (USD) and therefore are listed first. The Japanese Yen (JPY), the Swiss Franc (CHF) and the Canadian Dollar (CAD) are less valuable and therefore listed second.

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Solar shakeout less likely to hit wafers and silicons

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Solar energy companies which operate further away from end-customers -- such as wafer and silicon producers -- are likely to fare better during a looming shakeout in the sector than their cell and module-making peers.
In recent years, solar companies have enjoyed significant growth rates and a keen appetite from investors. But the crisis in financial markets has taken its toll on the industry and a falling oil price has curbed demand for renewables, prompting analysts and industry experts to predict a wide-ranging consolidation is around the corner.

This is less likely to hit high-quality producers of wafer and silicon -- both needed to make solar cells -- than cell and module makers suffering from low prices and oversupply, analysts say.
"Producers of wafer and silicon will come out as the likely winners from the shakeout as they are under less pricing pressure than the cell and module producers," said Bjoern Glueck, portfolio manager at Lupus alpha which has 1.3 billion euros (1.1 billion pounds) under management in European micro-, small- and mid-cap stocks.

Analysts at HSBC forecast average selling prices for solar systems will drop by about a fifth in 2009 given oversupply and a tighter credit environment, but prices for cells and modules have so far fallen much faster than those for silicon and wafer. Several industry bellwethers, such as cell producers Q-Cells and Sharp as well as module maker Solon have had to revise outlooks.
"While we forecast margin erosion through the whole solar value chain, we believe investors should focus on the beginning of the value chain given longer-term contracts, more stable cash flows and the tighter supply/demand balance," HSBC analysts wrote.

They say that in the long term this will favour silicon producers with low-cost operations such as Germany's Wacker Chemie and Hemlock Semiconductor, a joint venture of Dow Corning, Shin-Etsu Handotai and Mitsubishi Materials.



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Solar: What Happens When Polysilicon Prices Collapse?

Yesterday afternoon, MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) disclosed in an SEC filing after the closed that it had struck a revised silicon wafer supply agreement with Suntech Power (STP) which cuts the price Suntech is paying per wafer, but increasing volume to maintain the revenue targets under the deal for both 2009 and for the remainder of the 10-year deal, which was struck in 2006.

The revised agreement is a symptom of a key underlying dynamic in the solar industry: collapsing prices for raw polysilicon in the face of dramatically increasing supply. In a comprehensive report on the subject this morning, Collins Stewart solar analyst Dan Ries notes that spot market poly prices have fallen from a peak of about $450/kg in mid-2008 to the $130-$150/kg range more recently. That’s a pretty dramatic move - but the decline is far from over.
Ries contends that spot prices by mid-2009 will plunge to the $40-$60/kg level, due to a severe oversupply. As the solar industry has blossomed over the last few years, margins exploded for the poly manufacturers like MEMC, drawing in a host of new players. Capacity expansion has boomed, and now appears to be well in excess of demand. Ries estimates that in 2009, polysilicon production will reach 80,300 metric tons, 49% more than his demand forecast of 53,905 tons. That’s a surplus of 26,395 tons. He sees the surplus in 2010 rising to 48, 785 tons, as demand grows 22% while supply increases 43%.
The way Ries see it, oversupply will continue until some production capacity is taken off line. For that to happen, he says, prices will need to drop below $60/kg, roughly the marginal cost for the highest-cost producers.
Unfortunately, he notes, demand elasticity in the short-run will be low. Since silicon is a very small percentage of the production costs for chip makers, it won’t make much of a dent at all there. In the solar business, there could be enormous price elasticity in the long run - but he sees a lag of about 9 months. Meanwhile, he says, solar company revenues will “suffer” as ASP erosion offsets modestly higher volume. “Until a new equilibrium is reached, which could take a year, the detrimental effects of deflation will outweigh the benefits of lower priced polysilicon for module suppliers,” he writes.

The silver lining here is that in the long run, much lower prices for polysilicon are the most direct way to bring down solar electricity production costs low enough to compete with conventional utility scale power generation. With poly in the $40-$60/kg range, he says, module prices would drop to the $1.70-$2/watt range, and utility scale projects could produce power for 11 cents/watt. At that rate, he says, solar would be “reasonably competitive” with combined cycle natural gas facilities and wind turbines. “A significant market would open and drive a wave of growth for the industry,” he says. “In the long-term, a collapse in polysilicon would be extremely positive for the industry,” but only after a “difficult adjustment period with falling prices and negative growth.”
This could be an especially scary situation for MEMC, which is basically a pure play on prices for poly and silicon wafers. He has a Hold rating on the stock.
Ries has a Sell rating on Suntech, Hold ratings on Canadian Solar (CSIQ), JA Solar (JASO) and Solarfun (SOLF), and a Buy rating on First Solar (FSLR) and Yingli Green Energy (YGE). He also notes that a huge drop in pricing could be a boon for solar installers, including Europe’s Phoenix Solar (PS4.DE.)

He also notes that while he likes Yingli as a prime beneficiary of lower poly prices, he also notes that the company is in the process of building its own poly facility, “which given the polysilicon environment may not provide the company with an economic return during its first year of operation.” On First Solar, he points out that lower poly prices has negative competitive implications, reducing the company’s cost advantage against its silicon-based competitors.


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Server Costs Continue Falling

If you were hoping that server prices would continue declining during the current economic turmoil, here's the answer to your prayers: the latest market research shows that prices continued downward during the first quarter of 2008. However, the price slide did boost server unit sales.
If you believe that server purchases cannot be deferred the moment someone whispers "belt tightening," you'll be pleased to know that two million others agreed with you in the first quarter; that's how many servers were sold during the first three months of the year.
Dueling market research firms Gartner and IDC both reported strong sales growth in the first quarter. Gartner reported that unit shipments were up 7.6 percent compared with Q1 2007to 1Q07, while IDC reported a figure of 7.8 percent.

Even better, they reported that the rate of increase in revenue growth for vendors was about half the rate of the rise in unit sales, indicating that prices fell steadily.
IDC reported that the sector with the highest growth was Linux servers, which experienced a revenue growth rate of 8.4 percent, making them 13.7 percent of the market by revenue. However, Linux remains far behind Windows server systems in total sales -- nearly 40 percent of the market.
At the other extreme, the Unix share of server market revenue actually fell nearly a point, according to IDC. Unix still represents 30.6 percent of the market, though. For example, HP reported strong sales of Unix systems in China and India as those countries built out their infrastructures.

In terms of form factors, blade servers experienced an astounding revenue growth rate of 53.7 percent, amounting to 8.2 percent of the server market, according to IDC.
It will be interesting to see what the figure will be for the second quarter, with rising gas prices sucking up disposable cash, especially for smaller businesses.


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Falling Costs A Boon For Many Britons

Beyond store closures, shortened factory hours and longer lines of job-seekers in Britain is a reality that doesn't make front pages: a significant number of people are doing well out of efforts to stimulate the economy.
Falling prices and negligible interest rates are supporting consumption and borrowing, and discouraging saving: it's the opposite of what experts say the economy needs in the long term, but their confidence may lift the short-term mood.
Lower mortgage repayments for those homeowners whose loans track falling interest rates, and a falling cost of living as retailers compete on price are among factors prompting more than one in five people to say they felt positive in a survey last month by market research firm Mintel.
"It cannot be ignored that 21 per cent are 'comfortable and confident' and do not feel that their finances have really been badly affected by the worsening economy," said Toby Clark, head of Mintel's Financial Research.

"For most, the economic downturn has been fairly manageable. Some will even be feeling better off, with more money to spend as inflation falls and interest rates reach a new low."
Self-employed driving instructor Bill Lord is one example. A 60-year old who works in Bromley, southeast of London, he says he has seen his standard of living rise.
His mortgage repayments have tracked interest rates down, other bills have fallen and, with auto retailers struggling to attract customers, he has been able to negotiate good terms with car dealers for the vehicles he needs for his business.
"Every recession is different ... but it looks very healthy from our point of view," he told Reuters by phone from his busy office.
The Bank of England has cut interest rates to a record low of 1 per cent, leading to a significant drop in mortgage repayments for some home owners.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has cut Value Added Tax, a sales tax, by 2.5 per cent. Although criticised -- notably by French President Nicolas Sarkozy who scoffed at the cut as achieving "absolutely nothing" -- it has cut prices in shops.
With the British economy forecast to contract by as much as 3.3 per cent this year and unemployment to reach almost 3 million in 2010, according to the Confederation of British Industry, those who are still spending are not a meaningless minority.
"There will be a significant number of households in the UK who will benefit from the current economic conditions," Philip Shaw, chief UK economist at Investec, told Reuters.
"There are big losers -- namely people who have lost their jobs and also those people who are dependent on some sort of variable rate savings income -- but there are also big winners."

"Best Move I Made"
Driving instructor Lord said work was booming as those seeking jobs saw a driving licence as an easy qualification to help find employment: "I came into this industry 20 years ago because there was a recession on and I lost my job. It's done well for me, it's the best move I ever made."
He is expecting his income to increase by 20 per cent over the year, while the main school he works with is looking to take on 15 more instructors in addition to the 90 it already employs.
One concern expressed by retailers and commentators is that negative reports in the media would damage consumer confidence and hold back spending, aggravating the recession.
Lord said he did not plan any belt tightening.
"I'm certainly not going to start cancelling holidays. Money is for spending -- it's not for sticking in the bank."
Manufacturing and financial services have suffered from the credit crunch, but many, such as those with secure public sector jobs, still feel less likely to be hit.

"Workwise and personally I have not been affected," civil engineer John Smythe, 53, told Reuters while working on a major improvement project for construction company Balfour Beatty at London's Blackfriars railway station.
"I've been through recessions before in civil engineering. There is always a 'Plan B' by the government which will provide funding for our long-term projects."
Far from being encouraged to pay back debt, Shaw said Britons with large mortgages would particularly benefit as the standard variable interest rate for repayments has dropped to about 4.25 per cent from 7 per cent last year.
That could make someone with a mortgage of 100,000 pounds ($142,200) 167 pounds a month better off.
"Providing you have a job, you have a variable interest rate mortgage and you are an energy consumer, then your purchasing power will increase perceptively compared with 2008," he said.


[SigmaForex Withdrawal Methods]

To withdraw funds from your account Please make sure that you have sufficient funds in place to cover the the necessary margin required for your open positions, after your requested withdrawal.

No requests for transfers to persons other than the account holder will be processed.
SigmaForex may require further identification or documentation in order to complete your request.
Please Note that transfer fees and bank charges may apply, and depend on the form of transfer.
Please note that we try to process the withdrawal request quickly. However, it may take up to 5 business days, depending on the method of transfer.

Your withdrawal from sigma account will be in an efficiently, secure and fast, you can withdraw money from your SigmaForex account at any time.

Withdrawal steps:

1. Login to your web account
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3. Fill the withdrawal form and write down the withdrawn amount

Obama to Name Seattle Police Chief as US Drug Czar

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Kerlikowske would head the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

U.S. President Barack Obama will nominate Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske to be U.S. drug czar and remove the job's Cabinet designation, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Kerlikowske would head the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which was elevated to Cabinet level under former President George W. Bush.
The nomination of Kerlikowske would end a long search for a candidate to oversee U.S. efforts to fight illegal drugs. Kerlikowske was long speculated to be the front-runner, but revelations about his stepson's arrest on drug-related charged complicated the nomination process, the Post reported.

In formally nominating Kerlikowske, Obama -- who admitted using cocaine as a teenager in his memoir "Dreams from My Father" -- would offer a vote of confidence for a nominee who could face uncomfortable questions during the confirmation process, the newspaper said.

[SigmaForex Funding Methods]

Safety of funds plays an important role in any type of business; we make our best efforts to ensure protection of customers’ money.

Minimum deposit required for funding new accounts:
Our accounting department is ready to help you fund your new account or add funds to an existing account. For Standard Dealing Desk Accounts the minimum deposit is $ 500, and for the No Dealing Desk Accounts the minimum deposit is $ 2000.
Deposit instructions:
You must open a web account and associate it with your live account to insure security of transactions in your account

How to do so?
1. Open web account
2. Login and associate your Live Trading Account with your Web Account
3. Login to your Web Account and click 'Make a Deposit"

Deposit methods
1- Bank wire transfer
A wire transfer is a transfer of money from one bank account to another. The actual transfer is done by the bank, and neither the sender nor the recipient of the money sees or touches the actual funds.
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Fees
None
SigmaForex will not be held responsible for charges or fees assessed by going through an intermediary bank.
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Immediate availability

Restrictions
The account holder name of the funds must always match the name listed as the customer on the trading account.
2- E-gold payments
Open www.e-gold.com- Create new e-gold account - Issue transfer request from your e-gold account to SigmaForex e-gold account.
Deposit Time
Immediate deposit SigmaForex does not guarantee deposit times in the event of a margin call
Fees
None
SigmaForex will not be held responsible for charges or fees assessed by going through an intermediary bank.

Withdrawal Eligibility
Immediate availability
Restrictions
The account holder name of the funds must always match the name listed as the customer on the trading account.

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Fitch Downgrades Visteon's IDR to 'C'; Removes Rating Watch Negative

CHICAGO--Fitch Ratings has downgraded the Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of Visteon Corporation (Visteon) to 'C' from 'CC', indicating that a default is imminent or inevitable. The ratings have been removed from Rating Watch Negative, where they were placed on Dec. 11, 2008. A full list of the rating actions is provided below. The continuing decline in global automotive production is expected to result in continued negative cash flows at Visteon for at least the next year, further draining the company's limited excess liquidity. Visteon has virtually no access to external sources of new capital, and existing sources are constricting. Visteon has a maturity of $207 million in senior unsecured notes in 2010, and Fitch expects some form of default to occur (either a coercive debt exchange or a Chapter 11 filing).

Visteon experienced a 43% reduction in fourth quarter revenues due to the accelerating decline in global automotive production and currency effects. Global sales and production trends point to little improvement through 2009. Fitch projects that Visteon will likely be unable to generate free cash flow sufficient to cover required capital expenditures and interest over the near term.

Visteon had cash of $1.2 billion at Dec. 31, 2008, but liquidity is likely to become strained in 2009 due to continued operating losses, restructuring costs, cash needed on hand to run the business, cash held in overseas or joint-venture operations, and intra-period/seasonal cash swings. Liquidity has become more strained as availability under the company's ABL and receivable securitization facilities has declined due to a decline in the value or amount of eligible collateral.

Fitch expects that similar to Delphi, Visteon could experience a substantial dismantling of its domestic operations with little or no recoveries projected for unsecured debt holders. Original equipment manufacturers are likely to quickly re-source, re-direct or repossess equipment and contracts necessary to ensure a continued supply of parts in the event that a financial restructuring is not smoothly accomplished. Given the condition of the industry, the lack of external capital, and the lack of viability of a large portion of Visteon's domestic business, there is a higher than average likelihood of a more disruptive bankruptcy process. Although Ford may be forced to commit financing to ensure continued production at key Visteon operations - through the repurchase of various assets, assisted sales, etc. - Fitch expects any support to be targeted and insufficient to finance a broader restructuring. Although the federal government task force appears to be looking at various forms of financial assistance to the auto supply base, Fitch does not expect any direct form of financial assistance to Visteon that would substantially defer Visteon's expected financial restructuring.

Fitch expects that the ABL holders will achieve full recovery (RR1) based on collateral coverage. Availability under the facility has been reduced in line with declining collateral values (receivables, inventories and certain domestic PP&E) thereby providing protection to outstanding loans. Secured term loan holders are expected to recover only 30%-50% of face values as the lack of financial covenants provided little protection for lenders during the recent past as Visteon and the industry experienced deep financial stress, a steep decline in operating performance, and a drop in asset values. A large portion of recovery values is expected to arise from overseas joint-venture holdings, although these values have also declined in line with the global automotive production downturn. Recovery values are also expected to be impacted by other non-debt, on and off-balance sheet claimants such as the PBGC and the UAW.

Fitch rates Visteon as follows:

Visteon

--ABL facility assigned 'B-/RR1';
--Senior secured term loan downgraded to 'C/RR4' from 'CC/RR4';
--Senior unsecured notes affirmed at 'C/RR6'.

Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site.

[SigmaForex Partnership Services]

Overall View:

Sigma helps a various groups of partners around the world to enlarge their business and expand the full
potential of the Forex market.
Sigma’s services include:

Introducing Brokers: Join our IB network and receive compensation for directing new clients to Sigma.
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Inflation a risk in Fed's monetary boost: Fed study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve is risking inflation after doubling the size of the U.S. monetary base and will face tough choices if prices start to rise before a recovery begins, according to a study by a regional Fed bank.

The U.S. central bank has massively boosted the monetary base, which includes currency in circulation and bank deposits held at the Fed, in an effort to support markets during the most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression.
"Inflation does not appear to be a risk in the current environment: the economy is in recession. Inflation is falling and is not expected to return before the recession ends," according to an essay in the March/April edition of Review magazine, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
"If inflation resumes but the economy does not recover, policy-makers will face a difficult choice. Monitoring the size and composition of the monetary base will help us understand what actions are needed," the study said.

Emergency measures to flood credit markets with cash to stop them freezing in panic over bank losses doubled the size of the Fed's balance sheet and boosted the monetary base to around $1.7 trillion.
Fed officials agree they need an exit strategy to soak this money back up once the recession ends. They don't think it is an inflation risk right now because banks are still too scared to lend the extra money out in a way that would boost the broader money supply and lead to higher prices.
In the meantime, they must save the economy from an even more severe downturn, and argue that programs used to boost credit markets can be allowed to expire as the recession ends.
Critics warn it will be politically very hard to pull the plug on some of these support measures if financial markets remain under strain, possibly forcing the Fed to water down its commitment to keep prices low and stable while supporting the economy.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett on Monday praised the efforts of the Fed to stimulate the economy but cautioned the measures could lead to an inflationary cycle worse than the one that followed the 1970s oil shock.

"We are certainly doing things that could lead to a lot of inflation," he said. "In economics there is no free lunch.
The St. Louis Fed study airs these concerns, without explicitly siding with those who fear the Fed has painted itself into a position that will be hard to escape with its anti-inflation credentials intact.
"Whether this large increase in the monetary base is a harbinger of rapid inflation in the future depends on how the Federal Reserve and the U.S. government act when financial markets return to more normal behavior," the study said.


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Warren Buffett says US economy fell off a cliff

Buffett says economy fell off a cliff in the past 6 months as Americans changed their habits

OMAHA, Nebraska (AP) -- Billionaire Warren Buffett remains confident that America's best days are ahead, but he says the nation likely will face higher unemployment and eventually inflation because of the current economic crisis.
Buffett said the U.S. leaders need to emphasize a consistent message, and they should support President Barack Obama's efforts to repair the economy because fear is dominating Americans' behavior.
Buffett said the economy has basically followed the worst-case scenario he envisioned six months ago.
"It's fallen off a cliff," Buffett said Monday during a live appearance on cable network CNBC. "Not only has the economy slowed down a lot, but people have really changed their habits like I haven't seen."

Buffett said the changes are reflected in the results of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s subsidiaries. He said Berkshire's jewelry companies have suffered, but more people have been willing to switch to Geico to save money on car insurance.
In the wide-ranging interview he predicted that unemployment will climb a lot higher before the recession is done, but he also reiterated his optimistic long-term view: "Everything will be all right. We do have the greatest economic machine that man has ever created."
Fear and confusion have been driving consumer and investor behavior in recent months, Buffett said.
The nation's leaders need to clear up the confusion before anyone will become more confident, and he said all 535 members of Congress should stop the partisan bickering about solutions. He said politicians should also stop trying to use the current economic crisis to force through other policy changes.
"We ought to defer most of the things that get people riled up," Buffett said.
Buffett said he believes patriotic Republicans and Democrats will realize the nation is engaged in an economic war.
"What is required is a commander in chief that's looked at like a commander in chief in a time of war," Buffett said.
Whatever the government does to help the economy will likely benefit some people who made poor financial decisions, but Buffett said Americans should realize that everyone is in the same boat.

"The people that behaved well are no doubt going to find themselves taking care of the people who didn't behave well," Buffett said.
The current efforts to help revive the economy are likely to produce inflation that could be worse than what the country suffered in the late 1970s, Buffett said.
But even though the nation will have to pay for current policies with future inflation, Buffett said, the U.S. government still needs to act.
"We're in a big war, and we're going to use money to fight it," he said.
Maintaining faith in the nation's banking system will be important to restoring the economy's health, Buffett added. He said Obama needs to make it very clear that consumers won't lose money in banks even if more fail.
"If you don't trust where you have your money, the world stops," Buffett said.
Most banks are in good shape, Buffett said, and even some of the troubled banks will be able to remedy their problems over time by reducing dividends and collecting the difference between interest payments they receive on loans and the interest they pay on deposits.

"The banking system largely will cure itself," Buffett said.

A little over a week ago, Buffett released his annual letter to shareholders describing the worst of his 44 years at the helm of Berkshire. The Omaha, Nebraska-based company reported sharply lower profit because of its largely unrealized $7.5 billion investment and derivative losses.
Overall, Berkshire's 2008 profit of $4.99 billion, or $3,224 per Class A share, was down 62 percent from $13.21 billion, or $8,548 per share, in 2007.
Berkshire's fourth-quarter numbers were even worse. Buffett's company reported net income of $117 million, or $76 per share, down 96 percent from $2.95 billion, or $1,904 per share, a year earlier.
Buffett said he doesn't regret writing a commentary in the fall encouraging people to buy U.S. stocks, but he joked that in hindsight he wishes he'd waited a few months to publish the piece. Since that commentary appeared on Oct. 17, the Dow Jones industrial average has fallen from 8,852.22 to close at 6,626.94 on Friday.
Buffett stands by his overall advice that owning stocks over time will profit people greater than so-called safe investments.
"Overall, equities are going to do far better than U.S. government bonds at these prices," he said.
Buffett said he doesn't regret investing $8 billion of Berkshire's money in investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and conglomerate General Electric Co. last fall. Both companies gave Berkshire preferred shares paying 10 percent interest that Buffett said he doesn't think he could get now.

Buffett also said on CNBC:
-- That General Motors Corp. needs a new business plan to survive because its costs are too high, but it's difficult to predict how a solution will be reached. "You are in a terrible, terrible time period for the car makers every place."
-- Berkshire has made several large investments over the past year and reduced its cash on hand to $24.3 billion at the end of 2008. Buffett said that means Berkshire will likely write fewer insurance policies on catastrophic events in 2009 because he wants to make sure the company always has at least $10 billion on hand.

"My job is to be absolutely sure Berkshire doesn't need help from anyone in the worst of times," Buffett said.
-- Any deal negotiated last summer made the sellers very happy and the buyers unhappy today. That's part of why Buffett said Dow Chemical Co.'s $15 billion bid to buy rival chemical maker Rohm & Haas Co. has not been consummated. "The world has changed like nobody ever believed it would," he said.
But Buffett said the $3 billion Berkshire committed to the Dow deal remains solid if the two chemical companies can agree on how to close the deal.
Berkshire owns a diverse mix of more than 60 companies, including insurance, furniture, carpet, jewelry, restaurants and utility businesses. And it has major investments in such companies as Wells Fargo & Co. and Coca-Cola Co.


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Oil above $47 a barrel on potential OPEC cut

Oil prices rose above $47 a barrel Monday on talk of an OPEC production cut, but they fell off the day's high after comments from Saudi Arabia put a damper on the speculation.
U.S. crude for April delivery ended the day up $1.55 to $47.07 a barrel in New York, its highest settle since Jan. 6, when prices finished at $48.58. Crude hit a high of $48.83 during Monday's session.
At an energy conference in Qatar, Abdullah al-Badri, secretary general for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, told reporters that the slowing global economy could cause demand to fall by one million barrels a day more than the group had predicted a month ago.
Investors initially interpreted al-Badri's comments as a sign that the group might announce another production cut when it meets Sunday in Vienna.
But Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer and one of OPEC's most influential members, said it was against another production cut, according to state-owned media.
Saudi Arabia will be pushing for increased compliance with existing production cuts, rather than a new one, according to the al-Hayat newspaper, citing a confidential source.
OPEC, an international trade group that produces about 40% of the world's oil, has already taken millions of barrels of oil per day off the market since last September. So far, it has made 81% of its pledged 4.2 million barrel-per-day reduction, according to a Reuters survey.

Hopes of another OPEC cut are "overblown," according to Win Thin, senior analyst with financial firm Brown Brothers Harriman & Co, who expressed concern that the group wouldn't be able to keep up with the decline in consumption.
Should OPEC announce another cut, it will probably be somewhere near 500,000 barrels a day, according to Tom Orr, head of research for trading firm Weeden & Co. Orr believes a production cut is likely.
"I don't think they could go for much more than that," he said.
Crude prices have plummeted from a record high of $147.27 a barrel last summer and have not settled above $50 a barrel since November.

Economy: The labor market declined sharply in February, according to a report Monday from the business research group The Conference Board.

It was the latest indication of weakness in the economy of the United States, the world's largest oil consumer, echoing Friday's government report that showed the unemployment rate at 8.1% last month, the highest monthly rate in a quarter century.
Meanwhile, the World Bank said Sunday that the global economy could shrink this year for the first time since World War II, and that by mid-year, industrial production will have declined by up to 15% since 2008.
"If anything, since January, the global economic news has gotten worse, not better," said Thin.
Gasoline: The price of gasoline at the pump retreated 0.2 cent Monday to a nationwide average of $1.945 a gallon for regular unleaded, according to a daily survey from motorist group AAA. Prices were up from $1.916 a month prior, but down from the $3.215 average recorded a year ago.
Prices have held in a $1.90 to $2 range over the past few weeks, after a drop from the high of $4.114 a gallon last summer.

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