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Friday, June 06, 2008
Oil's Historic Day Sends Dow Spiraling Downward
FOXBusiness
Crude oil easily broke the record for the largest one-time gain and the all-time record close when it settled at $138.54 on Friday. That marks a gain of 8.4%, or $10.74.
The previous all-time record close of $133.17 was set on May 21 while the largest one-time gain was set on Thursday when oil surged $5.49.
Crude’s surge was so sharp that trading was temporarily halted Friday afternoon for all oil-related commodities after they hit their daily limit for trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Heating oil finished up 29 cents to $3.97 a gallon, which marks an 8% gain on the day, while gasoline settled up 6.35% or 21 cents to $3.546 a gallon.
Crude oil peaked at $139.01 a barrel on Friday afternoon, an increase of $11.22 after opening the day at $127.79.
The price jump came as traders buzzed about an analyst predicting oil would hit $150 by next month, a drop in the U.S dollar and a threat of a potential air strike in Iran.
Ole Slorer, a Morgan Stanley analyst, forecasted crude could hit $150 by July 4, due to increasing demand in Asia. This combined with a weakening dollar may have encouraged overseas traders to seek a hedge against the falling dollar.
A day after the European Central Bank made comments that hurt the greenback, the dollar fell further on Friday as a result of weak labor data. The U.S. Department of Labor released a report showing the unemployment rate increased from 5.0% to 5.5% last month, the biggest monthly increase since 1986.
Phil Flynn, FOX Business contributor and energy analyst at Alaron Trading cited the data, the dollar, and geopolitical concerns.
“You put it all together it was a prefect storm to drive these prices,” Flynn said. “Traders down here never saw anything like it and they may never see anything like that again.”
Nigeria's Oil Minister Odein Ajumogobia told Reuters that OPEC is ready to jump in and help to slow rapidly rising oil prices, but it does not see any reason to immediately increase supply. Ajumogobia insists the weak dollar and fear of a supply gap were the driver in today’s spike, according to Reuters.
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Some mutual funds want you to pay for the privilege of them (or your investment adviser) taking your money to invest. It's called a load, and it works like a cover charge to get into a nightclub. Luckily, there are such things as no-load funds. As the name implies, shares of these funds are sold without a fee paid to a broker or investment advisor.
The entire amount you invest in no-load funds goes to work for your returns. On the other hand, with load funds, right off the bat you're charged commission (not to mention other fees incurred over the life of the investment). Let's say, for example, you invest $25,000 into a load fund that charges a 5% commission. This costs you $1,250 off the top, bringing your actual investment down to only $23,750.
The often-cited horse race analogy argues against investing in load funds. Here's the logic behind it: Would you place a bet on a horse that had to start a race 200 yards behind the others? Well, maybe you would if you got a tip from a sketchy, trench coat-clad man in a dark alley. However, under most circumstances, it's not smart to put your money on that handicapped horse.
But some argue that at times that man in the trench coat (aka your broker) knows more about the horses than you do, and has a better shot at picking a winner. Also, sometimes these fees are unavoidable because some funds are available only through investment advisers.
Cost-benefit analysis can help determine when a load fund is worth it (in other words, when it will score you a load) and when it is better to "do it yourself" and avoid the fees. Load-fund fees range depending on share class and can cover a variety of costs, such as paper work and fund management.
