U.S. stocks stayed above the threshold reached yesterday as a late-session buying helped offset weakness in banking and technology shares.  Financials dragged on stocks through the early afternoon even as Goldman Sachs and Citigroup reported better-than-expected profit reports.   However, the final fifteen minutes witnessed much of the activity as higher oil prices sent energy stocks higher and, in turn, helped the broader market.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed above the 10,000 level for the second-successive day, edging up 47 points, or 0.5%.  The S&P 500 index edged up 4 points, or 0.4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite ended the day virtually flat.  The gains in the Dow average were led by Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) whose shares jumped 2.9%.  The Windows 7 is slated for release on October 22.

Among energy stocks, Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) shares climbed 1.6% and 1.5%, respectively, as crude prices jumped to their highest

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With two sets of U.S. weekly oil statistics due out Tuesday and Wednesday expected to confirm fears of high inventories due to low demand, the price of oil dipped to the bottom of its 12-week range. A Reuter’s poll showing a 500,000 barrel inventory increase in the week to September 25 compounded middle distillate forecasts showing a 1.1 million barrel rise.

CEO of Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil company, Khalid Al-Falih indicated Monday that demand from emerging markets and an uptick in China would not offset the loss in demand for oil for some time. Al-Falih also suggested that global consumption would not flag irrevocably and that higher oil prices were needed to fund concurrent development projects.

With the FTSEurofirst 300 broadly falling, U.S. and Brent crude futures were below $65 and $64 respectively by midmorning, Sept. 29. A rebound to $66.59 and $65.71 respectively followed at noon, due

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European and Asian stocks extended last week’s rally on Monday and crude oil marched higher after U.S. economic news and stronger-than-expected data from the euro zone spurred expectations for economic recovery.

But an early rally in U.S. stocks faded about midday in New York after Treasuries rose as investors swooped in to take advantage of sharp losses on Friday.

Oil rose to a 10-month high near $75 a barrel and other commodities also surged as optimism that major economies were pulling out of recession drove hopes of rebounding demand. .

Global stocks as measured by MSCI’s all-country world index <.MIWD00000PUS> rose 1.2 percent and was on track for a fifth straight session of gains.

The yen fell while the U.S. dollar slid against commodity currencies, such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars, as investors became more comfortable with riskier trades given the upbeat assessment of the world economy.

“Economic data is in favor of a

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The oil price is stubborn, like a two-year-old who refuses to eat his mashed peas. Despite all evidence that the market is well supplied, oil is over $70 a barrel again as I write. Taking the view out to the horizon, though, I think it will go higher and will drag the price of most commodities higher in its wake.

Part of the reason for the rise is weakness in the dollar. People often say that oil is denominated in dollars. But maybe it is the other way around; dollars are denominated in oil. A dollar is worth how much oil it can buy. Part of oil’s rise is simply marking down the value of the dollar. Weak dollar means higher oil prices.

People will blame the higher oil price on speculators, but something interesting is happening in the markets for minor metals like molybdenum. Prices are rising, too. The silvery metal,

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Anders Aslund thinks Russia's economy isn't up to the ranks of its famed acronym partners.  He's not the first to say it.  Although Aslund has been saying this for a long time, most observers agree that some tough times are ahead - and I don't happen to think that bodes well for the small civil society movement.  From the Moscow Times:

The state-dominated banking system remains a morass. The five dominant state banks are in poor shape. The government pours more and more money into them, but it helps little as the banks lose it in short order on politically motivated, nonperforming loans. The state banks pose a threat of nationalizing big Russian companies, while they provide little credit. In effect, the Kremlin maintains a detrimental liquidity squeeze.

Senior officials interfere arbitrarily in big enterprises, asking them to hire more workers, to reduce prices and to expand

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Gold traded sideways through Hong Kong and most of London then surged up to an intraday high of $953 at around 9 a.m. in New York only to completely erase the gains less than an hour later. From 10 a.m. through the Comex close gold showed a steep downward trend but reversed course and made up most of the day’s losses on the Globex, finishing at $949.00/oz., down $0.10. Overnight, gold has moved lower. Platinum fell off a cliff late in Hong Kong but clawed back early in New York only to get smacked down again beginning around 10 a.m. in New York and continuing through the Globex, closing at $1170/oz., down $11. Overnight, platinum is trending lower.

Silver hit its intraday high of $13.70 about midway through Hong Kong then developed a volatile but generally downward sloping trend and fell to its intraday low of $13.45 around 1

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Clayton Williams Energy, Inc. is an independent exploration and production company focused on developing and producing oil and natural gas. The company operates primarily in Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico, and has extensive experience utilizing 3-D seismic and horizontal drilling.

President and CEO Clayton W. Williams leads the company with more than a half a century of experience in the energy industry. Mr. Williams has also been involved in a broad spectrum of other business enterprises, including gas pipeline operations, ranching, real estate development and management, banking and telecommunications.

In recent news, the company announced that it plans to increase capital spending for the rest of the year in response to lower drilling and completion costs and higher oil prices. Clayton Williams Energy now plans to invest approximately $107.7 million in exploration and development activities instead of the previous estimate totaling approximately $78.5 million.

Clayton W. Williams, Jr., President commented, “Over the

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'The project is rich in geopolitical significance, not least because Russia is quick to use its huge energy reserves as a political tool': the Times reports on Nabucco.  United States special energy envoy Richard Morningstar has said that Russia is 'certainly free to participate' in supplying gas to the pipeline and that it must be accepted as a partner.  The project has had a boost as Turkey has abandoned its demand to buy 15% of gas from it and Turkmenistan has announced that it is ready to sell gas to it.  Viktor Vekselberg's Integrated Energy Systems may face state criticism for delaying deadlines without official sanction.  Kazakhstan has finished construction of its part of the pan-Central Asian pipeline that will help China tackle its increasing energy requirements.  Reuters reports on troubles ahead for Gazprom's Shtokman gas project due ...

When oil prices moved to over $30 a barrel in the mid 1980s, it was considered a significant event. It also signaled the birth of small ethanol companies in the Midwest. Many of them managed to hang around long enough to get a second wind when Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the ensuing Gulf War pushed oil prices past $40.

But the renewed interest in ethanol proved to be short-lived, as oil retreated below $20 a barrel just four months later. As a result, many of those smaller ethanol companies couldn’t survive as profitable alternative energy investments.

Flash forward to today, where we’ve seen crude oil prices double in just the past four months. Worldwide oil demand has soared, particularly from fast-growing countries like China and India, and although the global downturn has seen the pace of demand slow, when the global economy gets back on track, it should prove even more bullish

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Alternative Energy Investments: Three Scenarios For Clean Energy

by Jim Stanton, Contributing Editor, Sector Watch

When oil prices moved to over $30 a barrel in the mid 1980s, it was considered a significant event.

It also signaled the birth of small ethanol companies in the Midwest. Many of them managed to hang around long enough to get a second wind when Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the ensuing Gulf War pushed oil prices past $40.

But the renewed interest in ethanol proved to be short-lived, as oil retreated below $20 a barrel just four months later. As a result, many of those smaller ethanol companies couldn’t survive as profitable alternative energy investments.

Flash forward to today, where we’ve seen crude oil prices double in just the past four months. Worldwide oil demand has soared, particularly from fast-growing countries like China and India, and although the global downturn has seen the pace of

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