From Daily Futures:
U.S. Economy
The U.S. Commerce Department said that personal incomes were unchanged in July while consumer spending was up .2%. The December 2010 eurodollars were up .03 at 98.005.The University of Michigan’s index of consumer sentiment fell from 66.0 to 65.7 in August, the lowest in four months, but better than expected.
Grains and Cotton
The USDA said that China bought 110,000 tons of U.S. soybeans for 2009-2010. November soybeans closed up 15 cents at $10.11, supported by tight supplies of old-crop soybeans.Livestock
After the close, the USDA estimated this week’s beef production at 514.2 million pounds, down 2.7% from a year ago. Pork production was estimated at 440.1 million pounds, up .9% from a year ago. October cattle finished down .87 at 86.70.Sugar
October sugar jumped up 1.03 cents to a new contract high of 23.52 with ongoing concerns about tight supplies this year.Orange juice
Tropical Storm Danny is expected to hug the east coast of the U.S. this weekend, but Florida remains safely out of its path. November orange juice ended down .25 at 94.50.Metals
December gold closed up $11.50 at $958.80 with ongoing concerns about the future of the U.S. dollar.December copper closed up 7.90 cents at $2.9505, helped by continued improvement in the world economy and a soft U.S. dollar.
Energies
October crude oil ended up .25 at 72.74 with support from Europe’s positive economic news.Currencies
Japan’s Statistics Bureau said that the unemployment rate increased from 5.4% to a new record high of 5.7% in July. Also, consumer prices were down 2.2% in July from a year ago, the biggest annual decline on record. The September Japanese yen was down .0016 at 1.0684.The U.K.’s Office for National Statistics said that real GDP was down .7% in the second quarter and down 5.5% from a year ago, slightly better than reported last month. Also, the U.K.’s Land Registry reported that house prices in England and Wales were up 1.7% in July, the biggest increase in five years. The September British pound ended down .0016 at $1.6269.
The European Commission said that an index of consumer confidence increased from 76 to 80.6 in August, better than expected and the highest since October of 2008.
Mr. Roche is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Discipline Funds.Discipline Funds is a low fee financial advisory firm with a focus on helping people be more disciplined with their finances.
He is also the author of Pragmatic Capitalism: What Every Investor Needs to Understand About Money and Finance, Understanding the Modern Monetary System and Understanding Modern Portfolio Construction.
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