This post is a guest contribution by Dian Chu*, market analyst, trader and author of the Economic Forecasts and Opinions blog.

The dollar’s value against major currencies has fallen in recent months as the US fiscal outlook worsened and amid expectations that interest rates will remain close to zero for some time to fight the economic downturn.

This week, the euro broke above the psychologically important level of $1.50 driving gold prices to record levels, prompting many global central banks intervening on currency markets to slow the dollar’s fall (Fig 1).

How did we get here?

Since the financial crisis last fall, currency markets have taken their cues mostly from stock markets. When stocks plunged in March of this year, investors rushed to the safety of US government bonds, pushing the

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The report below comes courtesy of the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA).

“Market analyst Paul Mylchreest, who wrote the 2006 report for Credit Agricole’s Cheuvreux brokerage house concluding that the gold market was being manipulated surreptitiously by central banks and, the following year, a similar report for Redburn Partners, has revisited the gold market in a study for his own analysis service, the Thunder Road Report.

“Mylchreest examines the gold traded in the world’s biggest gold market, London, and concludes that either a tiny amount of real metal is supporting a spectacular volume of paper trades, “an accident waiting to happen”, or else that the world’s gold supply is spectacularly larger than officially acknowledged and the London gold market has been used in recent years to launder questionably obtained gold, perhaps the fabled “Yamashita’s gold” plundered from Asia by the Japanese military during

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 22, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the latest Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks featured in this week’s analysis include Barrick Gold (ABX), Eldorado (EGO), Goldcorp (GG), Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), Pan American Silver (PAAS), Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX), S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) and Gold SPDR (GLD).

Zacks Industry Rank Analysis is written by Charles Rotblut, CFA, Senior Market Analyst for Zacks.com.

This week: Gold Miners’ Margin Problem

As gold sets new highs, it would only be natural to assume that profit forecasts for gold mining companies would be soaring too. Surprisingly, profit forecasts are not jumping.

Though some brokerage analysts have raised their full-year projections in recent weeks, the Zacks Consensus Estimate is not moving higher for most gold miners. Rather, it is essentially unchanged for Barrick Gold (ABX), Eldorado (EGO), Goldcorp (GG)

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This post is a guest contribution by Dian Chu*, market analyst, trader and author of the Economic Forecasts and Opinions blog.

Last Friday, US crude oil futures finished above $78, the highest level in a year, surging more than 9% during the past week making it the largest weekly gain since the height of the summer driving season, even though the US continues to sit on ample supply of petroleum.

Given the continued sluggishness of the economy, high unemployment rate and large amounts of excess oil production capacity around the world, analysts said a sudden upward spike was still unlikely, while others are predicting an immanent correction down below $70.

However, if you take a closer look, it is evident that the current crude oil market is almost entirely detached from fundamentals. Furthermore, there are several factors supporting oil rising to new levels, as fundamentals are

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 15, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the latest Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks featured in this week’s analysis include Limited Brands (LTD), Kohl's (KSS), Target (TGT), Ross Stores (ROST) and TJX Companies (TJX).

Zacks Industry Rank Analysis is written by Charles Rotblut, CFA, Senior Market Analyst for Zacks.com.

This week: Retailers’ Registers Are Ringing

Consumers are showing a willingness to spend, even as they watch their budgets.

On Wednesday, the Commerce Department said that retailers saw sales rose 0.5% last month, excluding motor vehicles and parts. Furniture & home furnishing stores, health & personal care stores, general merchandise stores and gasoline stations all saw increases of 0.8% or better.

(The hangover from the Cash for Clunkers program resulted in an 11.8% drop in sales at auto dealers. This skewed the overall change in retail sales down to -1.5%.)

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 30, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the latest Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks featured in this week’s analysis include Agrium (AGU), CF Industries (CF), Intrepid Potash (IPI), Mosaic (MOS), Potash of Saskatchewan (POT) and Market Vectors Agribusiness (MOO).

Zacks Industry Rank Analysis is written by Charles Rotblut, CFA, Senior Market Analyst for Zacks.com.

This week: Fertilizer's Farming Problem

Hostile takeover attempts have kept fertilizer companies in the news. The acquisition talk has helped to overshadow a negative trend that should have investors concerned - ongoing cuts to full-year profit forecasts.

During the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimates have been revised downwards on several fertilizer companies, including Agrium (AGU), Intrepid Potash (IPI), Mosaic (MOS) and Potash of Saskatchewan (POT).

The most recent cuts were related to a warning from POT. The company predicted

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This post is a guest contribution by Dian Chu*, market analyst, trader and author of the Economic Forecasts and Opinions blog.

The S&P has skyrocketed 58% since its bottom in early March, while the Dow is up 50% and the Nasdaq has surged 68% during that time. Meanwhile, bond prices led a rally as rates on the benchmark 10-year note have declined some 40 basis points since early August. This is good news for business: higher bond prices make it easier to refinance debt and stay in business.

Meanwhile, across the country, Main Street investors are weighing whether they should jump back into the market. However, the price correlation between equities and bonds of late has some argue that typically, if equities are trending higher, then bonds would head lower, and yield would be higher, due to concerns of higher inflation. This essentially describes “the

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 17, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the latest Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks featured in this week’s analysis include D.R. Horton (DHI), KB Home (KBH), Pulte Homes (PHM), Allstate (ALL), Hartford Financial Services (HIG), Travelers (TRV), Loews (L), Humana (HUM), Stericycle (SRCL), C.R. Baird (BCR), Celgene (CELG), Gilead Sciences (GILD), Anadarko Petroleum (APC), EOG Resources (EOG), AK Steel (AKS), Nucor (NUE), U.S. Steel (X), Fifth Third (FITB), Regions Financial (RF), Suntrust Banks (STI) and Zions Bancorp (ZION).

Zacks Industry Rank Analysis is written by Charles Rotblut, CFA, Senior Market Analyst for Zacks.com.

This week: Third-Quarter Earnings Forecast

Though the economy has stabilized, third-quarter results for the majority of companies will still be below year prior levels.

Per share profits for the S&P

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 2, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the latest Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks featured in this week’s analysis include Intel (INTC), Texas Instruments (TXN), Analog Devices (ADI), Marvel Technology (MRVL), Omnivision (OVTI), Semtech (SMTC) and International Rectifier (IRF).

Zacks Industry Rank Analysis is written by Charles Rotblut, CFA, Senior Market Analyst for Zacks.com.

This week: More Good News For Chipmakers

During the past 7 days, investors received 3 signs that the outlook for the semiconductor industry is improving.

First, last Wednesday, Gartner Inc. raised its forecast for worldwide semiconductor sales. The consulting firm now expects a 17.1% decline, a huge improvement from its previous forecast for a 22.4% drop. Gartner credited lower prices on LCD TVs and computers as well as China's stimulus package for helping the industry.

Second, Intel (INTC) raised its third-quarter guidance.

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 27, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the latest Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks featured in this week’s analysis include Aeropostale (ARO), Ross Stores (ROSS), Dollar Tree, Inc. (DLTR), Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) and Kohl's (KSS).

Zacks Industry Rank Analysis is written by Charles Rotblut, CFA, Senior Market Analyst for Zacks.com.

This week: Some Retailers Seeing Sales Growth

Second-quarter profits for the retailers have been coming in better than expected, mirroring a trend I've seen with other industries. Nearly 75% of the retailers have topped expectations.*

Though the numbers are better than forecast, they need to be taken in context with the economic backdrop. Most retailers failed to achieve growth, either in terms of same-store sales or profits. The third-quarter could remain challenging, given the consumer confidence numbers. The Conference Board's index of consumer confidence stands at just 54.1. Though

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