Monday, March 10, 2008

Goldman says can't rule out Fed emergency rate cut

(Reuters) - An emergency interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve is possible ahead of its March 18th policy meeting, according to a Goldman Sachs research note on Monday.

Goldman said its view on Fed policy changed on Friday.

The government reported on Friday that a second straight month of job losses and the Fed announced new steps to inject liquidity into the financial system as credit availability remains tight.
 

Oil Rises to Record $107 as Returns Outpace Financial Markets

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a record $107 a barrel in New York as investors purchased futures because the returns have outpaced those of financial markets.

Oil in New York has surged 77 percent over the past year as the S&P 500 and Dow averages dropped. Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators increased net-long positions, or bets on higher oil prices, in the week ended March 4, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission report showed.

``We're witnessing an ongoing flow of fund buying, which isn't particularly motivated by the particulars of the petroleum market,'' said Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in New York. ``Prices have rallied to such an extent where sellers have backed off. Any time prices go lower the buyers come right back into the market.''

Crude oil for April delivery rose $1.36, or 1.3 percent, to $106.51 a barrel at 10:55 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures surged to $107 a barrel today, the highest since trading began in 1983.