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PPI Develops A Sinking Feeling

Wholesale prices throughout the supply chain have fallen off the inflationary wagon, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Producer Price Index for finished goods slipped 0.4% last month, following a 0.9% decline in August. Prices received by producers of intermediate goods fell 1.2% after decreasing 1% a month earlier. Crude goods prices also declined 7.9% in September, on the heels of an 11.9% dip in August.

Producer Price Index

Readers of this column shouldn't be surprised by these numbers. It's not that we didn't see this coming. After all, we've ...

Is it time to actually buy something now? Yesterday, the market seemed to vote resoundingly "Yes!" It's not every day you see a 900-plus point upsurge in the Dow. Come to think of it, you've NEVER seen that kind of move before. Of course, yesterday's action didn't take back all that was lost the preceding week. Even if it did, the ills that brought down the market haven't yet been cured.

Which is why some would prescribe a dose of caffeinated commodities for a portfolio pick-me-up now. Coffee, in particular, seems to have formed a base in the past week. That, understandably, might have gone unnoticed.

Coffee closed higher on Monday, mainly due to short covering. Technical factors were turning bullish, ...

Gold/Silver Ratio Tops 80-To-1

With all the gasping and panting recently, it might have been easy to miss the milestone reached in the metals market. The gold/silver ratio has made new highs. The early London fix on Friday had the ratio at 78-to-1; by midday Monday, the ratio had climbed to 81-to-1.

Gold/Silver Ratio (London Fixes Through Oct. 10)

Silver bulls have been perplexed by gold's outperformance amid all the financial tumult recently. And now that ratio's crossed above 80-to-1, there are renewed calls for a surge in silver demand. This time, however, the demand is seen coming from holders ...

Soybeans And Oil: At Odds

Cunard Lines used to entice jet-setters aboard its passenger ships with the tagline "Getting there is half the fun." That line might work for travelers, but it certainly won't for oil refiners. Oil Patch alchemists are now looking with envy at the margins earned by agriculture sector processors. There's been a serious lack of fun at refineries recently.

Oil refiners and soybean processors are middlemen in the supply chains that put fuel in your tank and food on your table.

At the beginning of the year, the gross profit that could be earned from cracking crude oil into products like gasoline and heating oil could be measured in double digits (10% specifically). ...