Profitshop

$2 gasoline is back in the U.S. An Oncue Express station in Oklahoma City was selling the motor fuel for $1.99 a gallon today, becoming the first one to drop below $2 in the U.S. since July 30, 2010, Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy Organization Inc., said by e-mail from Chicago. “We knew when we saw crude oil prices drop last week that we’d break the $2 threshold pretty soon, but we didn’t know if it would happen in South Carolina, Texas, Missouri or Oklahoma,” said DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy. “Today’s national average, $2.74, now makes the current price we pay a whopping 51 cents per gallon less than what we paid a year ago.” Gasoline is sliding after OPEC decided last week not to cut production amid a global glut of oil that has already dragged international oil prices down by 37 percent in the past five months. Pump prices have fallen by almost a dollar since reaching this year’s high on April 26. Fifteen percent of the nation’s gas stat

Gold futures dropped a second day as the dollar strengthened before U.S. jobs data that may add to the case for policy makers to raise interest rates. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index reached a five-year high before a report that economists predict will show U.S. job growth quickened. The greenback has rallied on expectations an improving U.S. economy will spur the Federal Reserve to raise borrowing costs, while other central banks weigh more stimulus. The dollar and gold fell yesterday as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said policy makers will wait to assess whether additional stimulus is needed, though ruled out buying bullion. Gold is still up 2 percent in New York this week, the most since October, and set for the biggest advance since June in London after surging on Dec. 1 as oil prices rebounded. “All eyes today will be on the release of the monthly employment report in the U.S.,” Abhishek Chinchalkar, an analyst at Mumbai-based AnandRathi Commodities Ltd., said in

The pound rose for the fourth time in five days versus the euro amid evidence the economy is withstanding the stagnation that may lead to more European Central Bank stimulus for its neighbors. Sterling was set for the first weekly advance versus the dollar since mid-October. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne upgraded the U.K.’s growth forecast for next year during his Dec. 3 Autumn Statement, a day before the ECB downgraded its forecasts for growth and inflation through 2016. U.K. government bonds fell, extending their first drop in five weeks. “Look at any of the data, employment is better, the PMIs are better,” in the U.K., said Paul Bednarczyk, a currency strategist at 4Cast Ltd. in London. “Euro-sterling could easily over the next year or two hit below 70 pence,” he said. The pound gained 0.2 percent to 78.80 pence per euro at 11:05 a.m. London time after touching 78.33 pence on Dec. 3, the strongest level since Nov. 12. It has jumped 1 percent this week. Sterling was l

Brent crude fell to the lowest level in four years on concern global supply is outpacing demand. West Texas Intermediate held at a two-year low. Both grades have collapsed into a bear market as shale supplies boost U.S. output to the most in almost 30 years and global demand growth weakens. The largest OPEC producers are responding by cutting prices, sparking speculation that they will compete for market share rather than reduce supply. “The supply boom is ongoing,” said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts. “Nobody sees any reason to buy so people just keep selling off. The Saudis will have to cut production to stabilize the price.” Brent for November settlement declined $1.26, or 1.5 percent, to close at $83.78 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, the lowest close since Nov. 23, 2010. Volume was 52 percent above the 100-day average for the time of day. Prices have decreased 27 percent from the June

Japanese corporate bankruptcies linked to the yen’s slide rose to a record, highlighting strains on small and medium-sized companies as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe campaigns for re-election on his economic strategy. Forty-two of the companies that failed in November cited the weaker currency as a contributor, bringing the total number of bankruptcies associated with the yen this year to 301, almost triple that of the same period in 2013, according to a survey by Teikoku Databank Ltd. It said surging costs of imported food, metals and construction materials squeezed small companies. The yen broke through 120 per dollar yesterday for the first time since 2007, as Abe’s handpicked central bank chief pumps a record amount of funds into the economy to stoke inflation. While some small firms struggle to pass on higher costs of imported materials to customers, large exporters are reporting higher profits and the total number of corporate failures is in decline. “Business conditions for smal

The World Economic Forum has a message for wealthy families thinking about impact investing: don’t just buy on the buzz, do your homework. Seeking investments with the dual purpose of making a profit and improving society has become trendy among wealthy people and money managers, who rarely have the expertise or tools to put it into practice, according to a report released today by the forum as it gathers heirs to some of the world’s fortunes for a discussion on the sidelines of Art Basel in Miami. “We’re making sure that there’s a little bit of a moderating voice, hopefully getting ahead of the potential hype or bubble,” said Abigail Noble, head of impact investing initiatives at the WEF, the international organization that holds an annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. “I am very passionate about impact investing, but I recognize it might not be for everybody. We want to make sure that decision-makers within family offices begin by asking the right questions of the sector and of t

Global oil’s fall below $70 provides a reprieve without being a cure-all for some of Southeast Asia’s biggest economies, where leaders face reform hurdles that could raise political risk into 2015. The slump in crude to five-year lows has given the leaders of Malaysia and Indonesia room to dismantle decades’ old energy subsidies that have restrained growth. Still, Indonesian President Joko Widodo faces street protests against higher fuel prices as unions plan a national strike to demand higher wages, while Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak’s efforts to broaden the tax base and cut spending have dented his approval rating. Both leaders will have further challenges in the coming year. Two months in office, Widodo, known as Jokowi, first rose to prominence from outside the major party machinery and must navigate a parliament dominated by his opposition, while Najib will implement an unpopular goods and services tax in April. The cases of Indonesia and Malaysia illustrate how an era