Business news with words department+investors+prices. 25 news.

WALL Street skidded yesterday after the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and after the Commerce Department's durable goods orders exacerbated concerns about the US economy. The major indexes each lost well over 1 percent and the Dow Jones industrial average fell 192 points. Bhutto's assassination raised the possibility of increasing political unrest abroad, always an unsettling prospect for investors who have already been contending with domestic economic concerns for months. Oil prices rose following the news, and that unwelcome inflationary trend only added to Wall Street's uneasiness. Meanwhile, the government said orders for durable goods, big-ticket items from commercial jetliners to home appliances, rose by just 0.1 percent last month. Economists had been looking for a rise of 2.2 percent. Still, November saw the first rise in durable goods orders in the last four months. The Labor Department said the number of workers seeking unemployment

CRUDE oil futures jumped yesterday on supply concerns, stoked by a new round of Turkish airstrikes in northern Iraq and a growing belief that US oil inventories fell last week. Turkey's military said its warplanes bombed eight suspected Kurdish rebel positions in northern Iraq on Wednesday. It was the third Turkish strike inside Iraq in less than two weeks. Iraq produced 2.32 million barrels of oil a day in November, according to the International Energy Agency, or about 2.7 percent of the world's oil supply. As much as 400,000 barrels a day is exported north across Iraq's border with Turkey, and the air assaults raise the risk of retaliatory strikes against oil infrastructure, analysts said. "People are nervous about a possible disruption of supply on some important pipelines" in the area, Mike Fitzpatrick, an analyst at MF Global in New York, told Dow Jones Newswires. The new attacks came as oil investors awaited inventory data from the Energy Department's

OIL prices drifted higher in light holiday trading yesterday after predictions of a drop in crude inventories raised new supply concerns. With little other news to motivate buying or selling, investors focused on forecasts by analysts including Addison Armstrong, director of exchange traded markets at TFS Energy Futures LLC, who predicted crude inventories fell by 1.5 million barrels last week. Tim Evans, an analyst at Citigroup Inc, predicted that crude stocks fell by 2 million to 3 million barrels. The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reports oil inventories on Thursday this week, a day late due to Christmas. Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose 82 cents to settle at US$94.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after falling as low as US$92.50 earlier. Prices rose more than US$2 on Friday after the government reported consumer spending jumped more than expected in November, raising hopes that the economy will weather the crisis roiling

OIL prices jumped in light trading yesterday after the government reported that consumer spending surged last month, raising hopes that the US economy will weather the crisis roiling credit markets and that demand for oil and gasoline will strengthen. The Commerce Department said consumer spending jumped 1.1 percent in November, the biggest one-month gain since 2004 and well above analyst expectations for an 0.7 percent increase. Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose US$2.25 to settle at US$93.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices were also supported by stocks, which rose yesterday, and a slightly weaker dollar. Energy investors often view stock market moves as reflective of overall economic sentiment. Also, oil futures offer a hedge against a weak dollar, and oil futures bought and sold in dollars are more attractive to foreign investors when the greenback is falling. Many observers blame oil's rise last month to near US$100 on speculators

CRUDE oil futures rose yesterday after the government said stocks of crude and heating oil fell sharply last week while gasoline inventories jumped. In its weekly inventory snapshot, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reported crude stocks dropped by 7.6 million barrels last week, much more than the 1.5 million barrel decline analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires, on average, had expected. Much of the decline was due to a sharp drop in imports, almost a million barrels a day, because fog closed the Houston Ship Channel last week, said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Illinois. "That's basically what drew crude supplies lower," Ritterbusch said. Traders expect crude supplies will rebound in next week's report, which will reflect deliveries that were delayed by the fog, Ritterbusch said. Meanwhile, investors were focusing on other aspects of the report, which were mixed. For instance, heating oil

CONSUMER confidence is falling, the odds of a recession have risen, analysts predict the worst holiday shopping since 2002 - and retail-industry executives are buying their companies' shares like never before. Limited Brands Inc Chief Executive Officer Leslie Wexner and eight other executives bought a record amount of stock last month after prices fell to a four-year low. Dillard's Inc director Warren Stephens made the biggest insider purchase ever as shares of the Arkansas-based department store chain headed for the steepest decline since at least 1980. Cambiar Investors LLC, Royce & Associates LLC and Becker Capital Management Inc say insider buying foreshadows a rebound. The last four times executives added to their holdings, the Standard & Poor's Supercomposite Retailing Index rose an average 9.9 percent in the next three months, topping a 6.2-percent average rise in the S&P 500 Index. Retail company officials increased their investments by US$346.4 million since the start

THE difference in yield between Japanese and US 10-year bonds climbed last week to the widest in a month on signs inflation is a bigger threat in the United States than in Japan. The extra yield investors demand to hold Treasuries instead of Japanese notes climbed as high as 2.696 percentage points on Friday, after a Labor Department report showed the biggest increase in US producer prices in 34 years. Japan's bond yields rose less than US debt after confidence among the Asian nations' largest manufacturers slumped more than forecast, cementing speculation the Bank of Japan will delay raising interest rates. "JGBs are a better buy than Treasuries at the moment," Xinyi Lu, chief strategist at the international treasury division at Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd in Tokyo, told Bloomberg News. "Nobody believes very firmly that there will be inflation here again." The yield on the 1.5-percent bond due December 2017 fell two basis points last week to 1.545 percent at

STOCKS sold off yesterday after a jump in consumer inflation raised concerns about how much freedom the Federal Reserve has to continue cutting interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average gave up more than 178 points. The Labor Department said the consumer price index rose 0.8 percent in November amid a spike in gasoline prices. The report also found large increases in the cost of clothing, airline tickets and prescription drugs. The report raises questions about the Fed's options for priming the economy. The Fed this week lowered interest rates and announced a plan to align with other key central banks and offer loans to pressed lenders around the world. But while it wants to stimulate the U.S. economy and make lending easier among banks wary of faltering debt, the Fed also has to keep a watchful eye on inflation. Robert Dye, senior economist at PNC Financial Services Group, said the economic readings this week painted a mixed picture for investors, spurring some of the

OIL futures rose sharply yesterday after the government reported unexpected declines in stocks of crude and heating oil last week and the Federal Reserve announced a plan to help banks weather the credit crisis. Crude supplies fell 700,000 barrels during the week ended December 7, according to a weekly inventory report from the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration. Analysts had expected a 100,000 barrel increase. And supplies of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, fell 800,000 barrels; analysts had expected inventories to rise by 300,000 barrels. "Traders are concerned about that drop in distillate supplies," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp., in Chicago. Earlier, the Fed said it was working with other central banks to try to counter the credit crisis. That alleviated some of investors' disappointment that the Fed on Tuesday cut interest rates by just a quarter percentage point. Many investors had hoped for a

OIL futures fell yesterday to their lowest level in six weeks after a mixed government inventory report failed to offset a belief that supplies are growing faster than demand. Investors shrugged off OPEC's decision to keep production levels steady, a possible sign prices have peaked for the year, analysts said. In its weekly inventory report, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said crude supplies plunged by 8 million barrels last week, much more than the expected 700,000 barrel decline. That caused oil prices to jump briefly above US$90 a barrel. But other aspects of the report weighed on prices as the day wore on. Crude supplies grew at the closely-watching Nymex delivery terminal in Cushing, Oklahoma. Inventories of heating oil rose when analysts had expected a decline, and gasoline supplies rose more than expected. "Overall, this is a mixed report," said Tim Evans, an analyst at Citigroup Inc, in a research note. Earlier yesterday,

WALL Street twisted its way through another difficult session yesterday, discouraged about the economy's prospects but still managing a higher finish after some concerns about the beleaguered financial sector lifted late in the session. Word shortly before the close that Citigroup Inc.'s board plans to meet in an emergency session over the weekend helped that stock and other financials pare sharp losses. yesterday's session ended a week made turbulent not only by bad news from the financial sector but also by spiking commodity prices and comments from the Federal Reserve that it might be less generous with interest rate cuts in the coming months. A highly anticipated Labor Department report showing employers added 166,000 jobs in October _ the most in five months and nearly double what analysts had been expecting _ didn't give stocks much of a lift a day after a sharp pullback as investors' unease about the financial sector seemed to blanket trading. Wall Street was clearly

CRUDE oil prices shot higher and then retreated yesterday, reaching a new record of US$96 a barrel before concerns about the US economy and France's decision to release oil from its strategic petroleum reserve motivated investors to cash in some of their recent gains. The Commerce Department's report that consumer spending rose by 0.3 percent in September, less than the 0.4 percent increase analysts expected, raised the prospect of a slowing economy that could depress demand for oil. And downbeat news about manufacturing came from the Institute for Supply Management, which said industrial activity grew in October at the weakest pace since March. Still, oil prices have surged 20 percent in one month, and when any market rises that far that fast, investors tend to sell to lock in some of their gains. The Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates a quarter-percentage point on Wednesday got a mixed reception in the oil market but probably contributed to some of Thursday's

NEW YORK Wall Street plunged in early trading today as surging oil prices and slower growth in consumer spending erased optimism about the Federal Reserve's positive take on the economy just a day earlier. The Dow Jones industrials skidded more than 200 points. Inflation fears revived as crude oil vaulted to a record $96 a barrel. Meanwhile, a report from the Commerce Department indicated consumers scaled back their spending in September as worries mounted about a worsening housing market and further credit market turmoil. That combination led investors to retreat from Wednesday's rally,

WALL Street closed slightly lower in erratic trading yesterday as investors, uneasy about the credit markets and record-high oil prices, took little solace from reports on new home sales and durable goods orders. The Commerce Department said sales of new homes rose 4.8 percent in September from August's levels. The market initially popped on the data, as economists had predicted a decline. But it eventually pulled back because the sales increase was due to a big downward revision in August's decline, and that homebuilders had offered discounts in September to move inventory. "The sad part is, even with the discounts, we still have inventory overhang. And that's a problem," said Michael Strauss, chief economist at Commonfund. He noted that home prices are still falling, as are sales of existing homes, which make up the majority of the housing market. Another report showed that orders of big-ticket items, one gauge of business spending, fell 1.7 percent in September,

NEW YORK - Wall Street closed slightly lower in erratic trading Thursday as investors uneasy about the credit markets and record-high oil prices took little solace from reports on new home sales and durable goods orders. The Commerce Department said sales of new homes rose 4.8 percent in September from August's levels. The market initially popped on the data, as economists had predicted a decline. But it eventually pulled back because the sales increase was caused by a big downward revision in August's decline, and because home builders had offered discounts in September to move inventory. "

PETROLEUM futures rose sharply yesterday and oil prices passed US$83 a barrel after the US government reported an unexpected decline in crude oil inventories. Prices were also supported by an International Energy Agency report that concluded oil inventories held by the world's largest industrialized countries have fallen below a five-year average, and by concerns that clashes between Turkish forces and Kurdish rebels could affect Iraqi oil supplies. "No news was bearish today," said James Cordier, president of Liberty Trading Group in Florida. "Really, that's all investors need right now to push energy prices higher." The weekly inventory report from the US Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said crude supplies fell by 1.7 million barrels in the week ended October 5. Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires on average expected oil inventories to rise by 1 million barrels. While the report also concluded that refinery activity and

OIL futures rose sharply yesterday after the government predicted that a colder winter ahead will help lift worldwide demand for crude during the fourth quarter. In a monthly report, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration estimated that global demand for oil will be 1.8 million barrels a day higher in the fourth quarter than it was during the same period last year. The report follows a prediction Thursday from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that temperatures in the US will be 1.3 percent colder than last year, although they'll be 2.8 percent warmer than average. "Initially, traders are relying on the Energy Information Administration (report)," said Tim Evans, an analyst with Citigroup Inc. in New York. However, Evans also said of Tuesday's trading, "I think there may (also) be a technical element to this." Oil prices declined more than US$2 a barrel on Monday, and have been volatile in recent days. Analysts say investors are engaged in a battle over whether oil supplies are adequate to meet fourth quarter demand. Some investors feel prices have peaked for the year and are due to begin a seasonal decline, while others feel prices could rise again and set new records. When prices held above US$78 on Monday, that may have emboldened some of the more bullish investors to try to push prices to new highs, Evans said. Light, sweet crude for November delivery rose US$1.24 to settle at US$80.26 a barrel Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gasoline futures rose 2 cents to settle at US$2.0202 a gallon. November heating oil rose 2.57 cents to settle at US$2.1853 a gallon, while natural gas for November rose 1.7 cents to US$6.863 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, November Brent crude rose 91 cents to settle at US$77.49 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. At the pump, meanwhile, gas prices slipped 0.2 cent overnight to a national average of US$2.765 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Retail prices have slid in recent weeks as consumer demand for gasoline has fallen. In addition to reacting to Tuesday's EIA predictions about future demand, traders are anticipating Thursday's EIA report on petroleum inventories. Crude oil inventories are expected to have gained 1 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 5, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey of analysts, while refinery use is expected to have fallen by 0.1 percentage point to

THE biggest quarterly rally for US government securities in five years is getting an extraordinary boost from the burgeoning reinvestment of petrodollars by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. OPEC members increased their holdings of Treasuries 12 percent this year through July to US$123.8 billion, Treasury Department data show. The prospect that OPEC's share of US debt is growing is based on the 31 percent rise in oil since December, which will raise OPEC revenue four percent to US$630 billion this year and nine percent to US$688 billion in 2008, according to estimates by the US Department of Energy. Petroleum exporters are adding to holdings of US debt three times faster than other foreign investors, the Treasury data show. Yields on 10-year notes are 21 basis points lower because of the additional petrodollar reinvestment, New York-based consulting company McKinsey & Co said last week. "Oil revenues are up; they're still in dollars, and they have to be put to work," said David Ader, head of US government bond strategy in Greenwich, Connecticut, at RBS Greenwich Capital, one of the 21 primary dealers that underwrite US government debt. "It bodes well for US debt." Demand from oil exporters may help drive yields lower even as signs that the US economy is weathering the worst housing market in 16 years reduce investor expectations for lower interest rates. The chances that the Federal Reserve will lower its target rate for overnight loans between banks this month fell to 48 percent from 74 percent a week ago, based on prices at the Chicago Board of Trade. The yield on the benchmark 4 3/4 percent note due in August 2017 rose four basis points last week to 4.64 percent, according to New York-based bond broker Cantor Fitzgerald LP. The price, which moves inversely to the yield, fell 10/32, or US$3.13 per US$1,000 face amount, to 100 7/8. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. The note was little changed at 4.63 percent yesterday. OPEC's windfall suggests there will be demand for US debt from international investors even as the dollar falls to a record low versus the euro, Michael Pond, a debt strategist at Barclays Capital Inc, told Bloomberg News. Among foreign holders only Japan, China and the United Kingdom own more Treasuries than the 12 members of OPEC, which supplies more than 40 percent of the world's crude. Oil exporters eclipsed Asian nations last year as the biggest source of global capital for t

ENERGY futures fell yesterday as traders expecting a weakening of demand in the coming months cashed in profits from the previous session's rally. While an encouraging employment report suggested the economy is weathering the problems affecting the subprime mortgage industry, many energy traders and analysts question whether demand for oil and petroleum products will be strong enough in the fourth quarter to support US$80 a barrel oil. Others argue that demand for oil will increase as home heating season progresses. While crude inventories have risen for two straight weeks, supplies of gasoline and distillates including heating oil fell last week. Investors betting demand will tighten in the fourth quarter drove oil prices US$1.50 higher on Thursday. Yesterday, light, sweet crude for November delivery fell 22 cents to settle at US$81.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures ended the week down 44 cents a barrel, or 0.5 percent. Trading yesterday was volatile, with prices alternately rallying and falling. "There's profit-taking going on after yesterday's rally," said Addison Armstrong, an analyst with TFS Energy Futures LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. The quick resolution of many of Thursday's West Coast refinery outages also pressured prices yesterday. November gasoline fell 0.29 cent to settle at US$2.0493 a gallon on the Nymex, ending the week down 1.9 cents, or 0.9 percent. Heating oil futures fell 0.78 cent to settle at US$2.2235 a gallon. Both contracts surged more than 5 cents on Thursday. Natural gas for November delivery fell 33.9 cents to settle at US$7.073 per 1,000 cubic feet. Forecasters see little chance that a series of storms strung from the Gulf of Mexico to the central Atlantic will develop into tropical storms that could threaten critical gas and oil infrastructure. In London, November Brent crude fell 7 cents to settle at US$78.90 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. Oil prices have been volatile in recent days as investors have battled over whether demand will grow or weaken in the fourth quarter. "It's a stalemate right now," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago. "People really don't know what the next move will be." Energy Department data suggests demand for gasoline is falling, and many analysts think that's a function of this year's record gas prices. But others argue that falling refinery activity and heating oil inventories sugg

OIL prices rose for the first time in four sessions yesterday as investors questioned whether supplies of crude, gasoline and heating oil are adequate to meet demand. With heating season about to begin, investors are betting demand for crude oil will jump as refineries start producing more heating oil. And refineries that are focused on heating oil will be turning out less gasoline. The Energy Department on Wednesday reported that crude inventories rose by 1.2 million barrels last week, while supplies of distillates including heating oil fell by 1.2 million barrels. Gasoline supplies fell by 100,000 barrels. Traders view that increase in crude supplies as inadequate, said James Cordier, president of Liberty Trading Group in Tampa, Florida. "That's nothing," Cordier said. "We expect to see figures of 3 (million) and 5 (million) barrels." Light, sweet crude for November delivery rose US$1.50 to settle at US$81.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after falling more than US$1 earlier. Crude's uncertain direction early in the day reflected a battle between investors betting that demand will tighten, and those who feel oil has peaked and begun a seasonal decline. "This market is going to break seasonally or the global economy is going to find (oil prices are) a bargain," Cordier said. Oil prices also drew support from heating oil and gasoline futures. Nymex heating oil rose 5.26 cents to settle at US$2.2313 a gallon, while November gasoline rose 5.63 cents to settle at US$2.0522 a gallon. Prices of both were supported by the inventory declines and several minor refinery outages on the West Coast. November natural gas rose 13.5 cents to settle at US$7.412 per 1,000 cubic feet. The Energy Department reported that natural gas inventories rose by 57 billion cubic feet last week, less than the 65 billion-cubic-foot increase analysts forecast. Some analysts said a smattering of weather systems strung from the Gulf of Mexico to the central Atlantic were supporting natural gas prices, though none of the storms are expected to develop quickly into subtropical or tropical storms and threaten critical gas and oil infrastructure in the Gulf. In London, November Brent crude rose US$1.78 to settle at US$78.97 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. Some analysts think this year's record gas prices are affecting demand, which fell last week. But prices will remain high if supplies continue falling. In the