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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – Home prices in November continued their fall from the bubble-high prices of 2006, dropping by 1.3 percent compared to October, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city report.

Sales prices fell for the second consecutive month in 19 of the 20 cities the index covers.

Analysts had not expected such a steep decline because mortgage interest rates remain low and the nation’s gross domestic product grew during the fourth quarter of the year.

Prices are down 3.7 percent from a year ago, and off 32.8 percent since their bubble-high peak in the summer of 2006.

“The trend is down and there are few, if any, signs in the numbers that a turning point is close at hand,” says David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Indices.

Despite the low mortgage rates and growth in the GDP, other conditions are contributing to tumbling home prices.

When house prices rose to bubble highs, 89 percent or more of all working-age Americans had a job. Now, only 64 percent of Americans of working age are employed, including about 8 million who are working part-time because they can’t find a full-time job, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Moreover, half of all Americans earn $33,000 or less per year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

That means there are fewer qualified buyers in the market. In part, that is because the average price of homes in many areas still exceeds three times the annual income of most Americans. Those conditions further reduce the number of buyers, which continues to exert downward pressure on home prices.

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Wall Street opened lower Friday after a report showed that the U.S. economy expanded less than forecast..

Just after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower by 33 points, the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index was flat and the NASDAQ was up by about 6 points.

Weighing on stocks was a report that showed the U.S. economy expanded at 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter, less than the 3 percent that had been projected.

In Europe the Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.7 percent as investors await word on developments on the region’s sovereign debt crisis. European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said authorities are “very close” to reaching an agreement on private-sector involvement in a Greek debt swap.

Despite those words of optimism, the dismal growth of GDP in the U.S. was keeping investors cautious. The health and growth of the U.S. economy is a very important and leading indicator of economic growth worldwide. As analysts like to say, “when the U.S. sneezes, the world catches a cold.”

In corporate news, Ford fell after reporting numbers that missed estimates. Starbucks shares slipped despite reporting better than expected numbers, and Juniper Networks plunged after the second biggest maker of computer networking equipment forecast sales and profits that missed estimates.

In commodities, oil was unchanged at $$99.60 a barrel, gold rose $4.70 to $1,725 a troy ounce and silver was up a few pennies at $33.63.

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Stocks fell Friday morning on reports that several euro-region countries may face credit downgrades by Standard & Poor’s and of JP Morgan’s less than impressive earnings.

Just after 10 a.m. on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 107 points, the Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 10 points and the NASDAQ dropped 17 points.

Weighing on stocks in the U.S. was an earnings report from bellwether JP Morgan that showed earnings inline with expectations, but revenues that fell short.

Also dragging stocks lower was a release that revealed the U.S. trade deficit widened more than forecast in November as Americans exports declined and companies stepped up imports of crude oil and automobiles.

Downgrades in the credit ratings of a number of European governments as early as Friday could come from Standard & Poor’s. The rumors sent overseas stocks down.

European markets across the board were lower in afternoon trading and Asian stocks ended mixed.

In commodities, oil dropped 72 cents to $98.25 a barrel and gold lost $6 to $1,640.40 a troy ounce.

U.S. stock markets will be closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Day.

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Crude oil prices tanked Wednesday after OPEC decided to increase output.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to boost its official production quotas to 30 million barrels a day, inline with where the groups’ actual output has been running.

After the announcement, the price of benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped to $95.65 a barrel, down about 4.5 percent, in early afternoon trading.

Despite the drop, analysts said that petroleum prices are poised to remain high in the coming months as Europe stocks its depleted inventories, world demand heads higher and the threat continues of a conflict with Iran.

The 12-member OPEC cartel said the new quota would cover output by all its members, including Libya and Iraq.

The biggest uncertainty facing the group is the growing tension between Iran and Western powers concerned that Iran might be manufacturing a nuclear weapon. Europe has moved to tighten sections against the country, as has the United States

Iran exports 2.5 million barrels a day of crude oil. Cutting off supply would have a dramatic impact on world oil prices.

OPEC supplies about one-third of the world’s crude oil.

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – U.S. stocks fell on the open Tuesday on fears that a “no” vote by the citizens of Greece could lead to a messy default in Athens and cause a ripple effect among eurozone sovereign countries.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Monday called for a national referendum on whether to accept the terms of the bailout.

Just after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 260 points, the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index fell 32 points and the NASDAQ tumbled 68 points.

Dragging markets lower were banks, financials and commodities. Bank of America and Citigroup both dropped more than 6 percent. Freeport McMoran and Halliburton were both lower by more than 5 percent.

Global stocks tumbled Tuesday on worries of a default in Greece despite last week’s summit of European leaders in which an agreement was reached to help curb the EU debt crisis.

Oil dropped $3.53 to $89.72 a barrel and gold fell $38.20 to $1,686 a troy ounce.

U.S. stocks fell sharply on Monday, but the S&P 500 managed to turn in an 11 percent increase in October, its best monthly gain since 1991.

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off more than 130 points in morning trading on Monday after comments out of Germany clouded the prospects of a quick resolution in the mounting eurozone sovereign debt crisis.

The S&P 500 Index was off 13 points and the NASDAQ was down more than 27. Also dragging U.S. stocks lower was a report showing New York-area manufacturing waned more than forecast.

The MSCI All Country Index was off 0.7 percent following last week’s stellar 5.4 percent rally. Oil gave back 0.7 percent as the slowing economy once again began a concern for future oil demand.

The drop in stocks worldwide followed comments from German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief spokesperson that European Union leaders would not provide a quick ending for the ballooning debt crisis in the eurozone that global policy makers have been hoping for when parties meet at a summit on Oct, 23.

Wells Fargo was down 5.6 percent after the United States’ largest home lender reported a drop in third quarter earnings and narrower margins. Citigroup climbed 2.6 percent after reporting profits rose 74 percent at the bank, surprising and beating analysts’ estimates.

Gold, considered a safe haven in times of uncertainty and global discontent, was brighter by $3 an ounce, trading at $1,686.

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Investors ended last week cheering five full days of gains. This week started with boos and jeers as worries from Greece mounted and sent U.S. stocks tumbling Monday morning. The decline followed the move late Friday from European leaders who postponed a decision about Greece’ next bailout installment until October.

European markets also fell broadly on Monday after a two-day meeting between European finance minister ended on Saturday without any real progress.

Major U.S. stock indexes plunged more than 2 percent in early Monday trading. Banks and energy companies led the decline.

Before 11 a.m. Monday, the Dow fell more than 230 points, the NASDAQ was off 50 and the S&P 500 Index was down more than 25 points. Oil tumbled $2.66 and was last quoted at more than $20 at $1,790.

Meanwhile, President Obama was to unveil his plan on Monday to cut $3 trillion from the national debt over the next decade, mainly by taxing high-income business and individuals more in a plan called the “Buffet Rule,” named for billionaire Warren Buffet who has frequently publicly argued that the rich are not taxed enough.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – Oil prices on Friday continued falling after light, sweet crude oil futures for September delivery had settled at $86.63 per barrel in Thursday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Thursday’s price was down 5.8 percent from Wednesday, pushed down by a combination of weak economic growth in the United States and concerns over energy demand in Europe where eurozone debt worries throw a shadow over the economy.

However, Brent oil futures were up by 0.5 percent to $107.82 per barrel in U.S. trading on Friday morning.

Consumer spending has dropped in the U.S. causing consumer demand for gasoline to drop by 3.6 percent in July compared to the same month a year earlier.

The prospect of a double-dip recession in the U.S. could cause major shifts in world oil prices. The U.S. is the world’s largest gasoline consumer, using from 8.5 million to 9 million barrels per day.

In the past, falling demand in developed nations, particularly in the U.S. has caused Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries oil ministers to worry. And OPEC nations could act by cutting production to shore up prices.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – Sales of existing homes in May fell by 3.8 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million, according to a report by the National Association of Realtors.

That put existing home sales at its slowest rate in the last six months, since November.

Moreover, sales were down by more than 15 percent when compared to May 2010.

With a 9.3-month supply of housing units on the market, prices continue to drop and the continued high unemployment rate is being blamed for the shortage of buyers.

However, NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, also blamed temporary factors.

“Spiking gasoline prices along with widespread severe weather hurt house shopping in April, leading to soft figures for actual closings in May,” he said. “Current housing market activity indicates a very slow pace of broader economic activity, but recent reversals in oil prices are likely to mitigate the impact going forward. The pace of sales activity in the second half of the year is expected to be stronger than the first half, and will be much stronger than the second half of last year.”

He also blamed financing problems for the slow-down in existing housing sales.

“Even with recent economic softness, this is a disappointing performance with home sales being held back by overly restrictive loan underwriting standards,” Yun said. “There’s been a pendulum swing from very loose standards which led to the housing boom to unnecessarily restrictive practices as an overreaction to the housing correction – this overreaction is clearly holding back the recovery.”

Although housing prices continue to drop in some areas, especially those with high numbers of foreclosures in the pipeline, in areas with good employment conditions housing prices are stable or increasing. Areas with those conditions included Alaska, North Dakota, Washington, D.C. and some areas in Texas.

Overall, the national median price for all existing housing types was $166,500 in May, down 4.6 percent from May 2010, while distressed homes were typically selling at discounts of around 20 percent. Existing housing sales for distressed properties represented about 31 percent of sales in May, a decrease of 37 percent in April, NAR said.

The data for existing home sales counts single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops.

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This digital document is an article from APS Review Downstream Trends, published by Pam Stein/Input Solutions on November 8, 2004. The length of the article is 691 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Saudi Aramco Raises Propane Price & Cuts Premia On Naphtha As Ethylene Margins Fall.
Publication: APS Review Downstream Trends (Newsletter)
Date: November 8, 2004
Publisher: Pam Stein/Input Solutions
Volume: 63 Issue: 19

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Saudi Aramco Raises Propane Price & Cuts Premia On Naphtha As Ethylene Margins Fall.: An article from: APS Review Downstream Trends