XCSFDHG46767FHJHJF
DG365FD46564GFH654FU898 CIBC was the latest investment bank to raise its gold price forecasts, and now sees the yellow metal reaching $2,200 per ounce by 2013. In a report published this morning, CIBC World Markets analyst Barry Cooper lifted his average gold estimates to $1,625 from $1,550 in 2011, and to $2,000 from $1,700 in 2012.
XCSFDHG46767FHJHJF
tdp2664 InvestorPlace The markets have rallied since Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke outside the Federal Reserve’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, last week. He did not offer a new quantitative easing program, as expected, but he did pin the tail on the donkey, by which I meant he said the onus is on Obama and Congress to act swiftly to aid the recovery. He’s right, and he also was right to state that there needs to be a delicate balance between enough fiscal stimulus and prudent spending. Good luck with that. A lot of attention is going to be placed in the next month on a jobs speech from the president next week, and after that, people will be focused on the Super Committee in Congress that is charged with deficit reduction. My expectation is that the Super Committee will be a political disaster. I really hope I am proven wrong, but the members are far apart in ideology and focus and watching them work will be a very scary civics lesson. You will just not want to let your children watch that mess. Some members on the committee are dedicated spenders who think that redistribution of taxpayer money is a form of social justice. Others are highly partisan in the opposite direction. Members will try to protect their personal turfs, and the grand bargain will be elusive. It could be a horror show. That puts even more pressure than usual on the president to get his side of the politics right, or the equity and credit markets are going to be hopping mad come autumn. The main positive idea that’s been floated is a housing initiative that would allow people to refinance their homes at current interest rates, around 4%, even if they lack much equity. I love this idea, but officials have been trying to work out the details for months without success. I am told that around 750,000 permanent mortgage modifications have been done, which sounds like a lot, but it’s really just a start. Bankers estimate there are 5.5 million mortgages currently in foreclosure or tied up in bankruptcy. CoreLogic has said that nearly 11 million homes are currently valued below their current mortgage. That’s about 20% of U.S. homeowners, analysts say. How do these people refinance responsibly? This gets to the heart of the problem with housing. Home affordability is at its best levels in decades after prices have fallen by a third in many regions, and mortgages are dirt cheap. The problem is not prices or rates, but that there are not enough people with good jobs to buy homes.
XCSFDHG46767FHJHJF
tdp2664 InvestorPlace Crossing the road didn’t go precisely as he expected it to. The trucks were moving faster than he thought, there were too many alligators, and he never saw that car coming. Frogger, known for his work in the Frogger classic arcade game, wasn’t crippled in that accident back in 1981, at least not physically. He’s been held back for years by self-doubt, never as big a hit as Pac-Man or those pesky Super Mario Bros. He tried to get a role in Activision Blizzard ‘s ( NASDAQ : ATVI ) Call of Duty , but he got passed over for characters with opposable thumbs. A few years back, Frogger figured he’d change direction, give up the video game ghost and go get his MBA. Now, on his 30th birthday, things are turning around. Frogger’s back on the scene, connecting with the kids via a new game sold in Apple ‘s ( NASDAQ : AAPL ) App Store. Everything’s going to be different now. Heartwarming return aside, the release of a new edition of Konami Corp. ‘s (NYSE: KNM ) Frogger series on the App Store to celebrate the game’s 30th anniversary demonstrates just how much the game industry has changed in recent years. Even five years ago, this sort of brand would see its anniversary used to leverage a fleet of retail products, $40 retail games for Sony ‘s (NYSE: SNE ) PlayStation 2 or Microsoft ‘s ( NASDAQ : MSFT ) original Xbox system. Now it would be impossible for Konami to make money on a disc-based retail game of Frogger ; it’s too insubstantial as a game and too unfamiliar to young players to capture the crowd still buying games for Nintendo ‘s (PINK: NTDOY ) machines. The $1.99 Frogger Decades in the App Store is perfect, though. It was undoubtedly cheap to make and it’s the sort of flotsam that iPhone owners will happily download and amuse themselves with when they have a few idle minutes. It ultimately will be interesting to see how well this game performs alongside perpetual hits like Rovio’s Angry Birds . Leveraging classic brands is the oldest marketing strategy in the book — just look at the number of television and movie remakes from the past year alone. Video games have especially exploited audience nostalgia. Nintendo’s New Super Mario Bros. Wii , a game released in 2009 but modeled after a game made in 1985, has sold more than 22 million copies. While classic brands have sold decently on mobile devices, they haven’t seen nearly the success of newer titles like the aforementioned Angry Birds or others like Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS ) subsidiary PopCap’s Bejeweled . A perfect example is Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog 4 . Released at the end of 2010, the company developed the game — the first numerical sequel to the classic series since 1994 — for Apple’s iPhone first and other platforms like the Nintendo Wii second. It failed to break into the App Store’s top 10. The bottom line is that new intellectual property tends to sing on mobile platforms. That’s good news for businesses heavily invested in the industry, as well as investors following companies like Zynga and Rovio who stand to go public in the next year. It’s also great news for creativity. Any sign that original work is more profitable than rehashes and nostalgia cash-ins is a good sign indeed. As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter at
XCSFDHG46767FHJHJF
tdp2664 InvestorPlace It was yet another volatile five-day period for stocks, as the buying that took place early this week succumbed to some heavy selling by week's end. The big data point was received Friday, as the August employment report saw no new net jobs created in the month, and an unemployment rate that remains at a dismal 9.1%. The news prompted a big selloff in stocks, a slide in oil prices and a surge in gold prices. The macroeconomic news is no doubt at the forefront of every investor's mind these days, and many now are wondering if the Federal Reserve will make a move to help stimulate the economy with another round of quantitative easing. We'll find out what the Fed has to say Sept. 20-21 when the Federal Open Market Committee meets. In the meantime, however, investors shouldn't lose sight of the fact that there still are plenty of stalwart companies earning profits and increasing dividends. Here are seven companies boosting payouts this week: Airgas Inc. Industrial, medical and specialty gases market Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG ) inflated its quarterly dividend by 10% to 32 cents from 29 cents. The new dividend will be paid Sept. 30 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 15. The new dividend yield, based on the closing price of $64.05, is 2%. The increased dividend comes just eight months after Airgas boosted its quarterly payout by 16%. Altria Group Tobacco giant Altria Group (NYSE: MO ) lit up its quarterly dividend on Aug. 26, as the company announced a 7.9% boost in its quarterly payout to 41 cents per share. The new dividend is payable on Oct. 11 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 15. Based on the closing price of $26.30 on Aug. 26, the new dividend yield is 6.24%. Brinker International Chain restaurant operator Brinker International (NYSE: EAT ), parent company of suburban eating destinations Chili's Grill & Bar and Maggiano's Little Italy, cooked up a 14% increase in its quarterly dividend to 64 cents per share from 56 cents. The new payout will be served on Sept. 29 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 9. The new dividend yield, based on the Aug. 29 closing stock price of $23.02, is 11.12%. The company continued to repurchase its shares last quarter, gobbling up 2.5 million shares for a total of $62.9 million in fiscal Q4.
XCSFDHG46767FHJHJF
gol2664 Negocioenlinea Randgold Resources leads gains on 100, in London mining sector Finance Markets – 1 hour ago European equities markets were lower Friday after the US Labor Department reported that there was no job growth in the United States in August, leaving the unemployment rate at 9.1 percent, and …
XCSFDHG46767FHJHJF
dow2664 Gold and silver prices were soaring to new highs during the trading session today. Economic news that posted earlier this day was weaker than anticipated and this drove investing behavior. The national unemployment rate remained at 9.1 percent and the jobs created in July equaled half of what was expected. A stock sell off initiated just after opening bell today, stock indices plummeted after the jobs data posted and precious metals like gold and silver notched higher. Gold price per ounce rates bumped up above the 1880 per troy ounce rate as a result. As the end of day close approached for today, the primary stock indices continued to trend in negative territory. The risk of the double dip was tangible. As close neared, the Dow Jones was lower by 2.29 percent at 11,229.97. Gold and silver contracts continued to go green today. Contract gold for December delivery was higher by 2.24 percent at 1870 per troy ounce. Spot gold and spot silver were green at this point in the trading session as well. Spot gold price per gram was higher by 1.72 at 60.43. Spot silver price per ounce was green by 58.45 at 1392.13 per troy ounce at this point in the afternoon. Camillo Zucari
