Everest Re Group’s (RE) third-quarter earnings of $3.43 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.47. Last year, the company had reported earnings of 20 cents per share. Strong property reinsurance rates coupled with the low catastrophe activity had resulted in favorable earnings.   The net income was $228.6 million, compared to a loss of $233.1 million in the prior year period.   Gross written premiums increased 13% to $1.1 billion for the quarter compared to $999.2 million for the same period in 2008. This growth was driven by a strong U.S. reinsurance property market, particularly for catastrophe exposed regions, the continued expansion of business in various international reinsurance markets and new program development on the insurance book.   Net investment income was $165.4 million, flat compared to the third quarter of 2008. Despite a higher invested asset base, the net investment income remained flat because of ...

The World of Commodities: The Future Of The Gold, Silver, Corn & Sugar Markets

by Lee Lowell, Advisory Panelist

When you have a mix of bullish fundamental factors backed up by the usual bout of speculation, you’ve got a juicy recipe for higher prices.

The world of commodities is a prime example of this. And nowhere is this trend more evident at the moment than in the sugar market.

Sugar prices are currently hitting highs not seen since early 1981, driven largely by a projected fall in crop levels in the world’s two biggest sugar-producing nations – Brazil and India.

While this fundamental data is critical, it’s nothing without also looking at the chart, which tends to factor in all the price drivers. As you can see, the current state of the sugar market reflected in the October futures contract. Check out that

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Dollar weakens to two-month low versus euro… Oil climbs nearly 7 percent; OPEC supply cut expected

Gold rose more than 2 percent in Europe on Monday as the dollar slipped to a fresh two-month low versus the euro, boosting interest in the precious metal as a currency hedge.

Gold was held below $830 an ounce for much of the day by technical resistance, but stops were triggered as the rising euro pushed prices higher, leading to a spike to a two-month high of $842.15 an ounce.

Spot gold was quoted at $840.05/842.05 an ounce at 1533 GMT, against $819.90 an ounce in New York late on Friday.

Traders are awaiting an announcement on interest rates from the U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday, which will have a significant impact on the foreign exchange market, and consequently on gold.

“On the currency side, the high

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Monday:Economic Leading Indicators (-0.3%)Earnings Eaton (ETN), Halliburton (HAL), Mattel (MAT), American Express (AXP), Everest (RE), Hexcel (HXL), Logitech (LOGI), Netflix (NFLX), SanDisk (SNDK), Texas Instruments (TXN)Tuesday:Economic NAEarnings 3M (MMM), Caterpillar (CAT), Biogen (BIIB), BlackRock (BLK), Coach (COH), Fifth Third (FITB), M&T Bank (MTB), OptionsXpress (OXPS), US Banc (USB), Stanley (SWK), Broadcom (BRCM), CH Robinson (CHRW), Cree (CREE), Cerner (CERN), E*Trade (ETFC), Qlogic (QLGC), Sigma Aldrich (SIAL), VMware (VMW), XL Cap (XL), Yahoo (YHOO), Tupperware (TUP)Wednesday:Economic Weekly CrudeEarnings Air Prod (APD), Alleghany (ATI), AT&T (T), Boeing (BA), Conoco (COP), EMC (EMC), CNX (CNX), Genzyme (GENZ), McDonalds (MCD), Merck (MRK), WellPoint (WLP), Allstate (ALL), Amazon (AMZN), Amgen (AMGN), Baidu (BIDU), Chipotle (CMG), Citrix (CTXS), Core Labs (CLB), Lam R (LRCX), Nutrisystem (NTRI), Pulte (PHM), Terex (TEX), Ryland (RYL), Seagate (STX)Thursday:Economic Weekly ClaimsEarnings Altria (MO), Bunge ...