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Both gold and oil prices have soared this year, but the performance of stocks, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in these sectors has in many cases been disappointing. Oil prices are still up close to 50 per cent this year, but a popular energy play called the iShares S&P/TSX Energy Index Fund was up just 1. The dollar has helped to drive a wedge between oil stocks and oil prices, but there are other factors as well. He also noted that investors have been reluctant to factor the current high level of oil prices into their assumptions about how much energy stocks will earn in the year ahead. read more

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A spike in oil prices early Thursday and much weaker-than-expected earnings from Sears Holdings could dash enthusiasm on Wall Street after a two-day, 546-point buying spree, but spur optimism on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Please let us know if this reader’s comment breaks the editor’s rules and is obscene, abusive, threatening, unlawful, harassing, defamatory, profane or racially offensive by selecting the appropriate option to describe the problem. In a fully moderated conversation, every comment is reviewed by a Globe and Mail editor before it appears on the site. Once you submit a complaint about a comment, a message will be sent immediately to the editors of the site who will determine whether the remark belongs on the site. read more

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CHICAGO (AP) — Futures for wheat, corn and soybeans declined Tuesday on the Chicago Board of Trade. Wheat for December delivery dipped 3 cents to $8. Beef futures fell while pork futures were mixed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. read more

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NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here . read more

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The Rogers International Commodity Index — Total Return Elements (RJI), which started trading last month, tracks an index that includes not only standard fare like gold and heating oil but also more exotic commodities like greasy wool, rice and azuki beans. With 36 commodities, the Rogers International Commodity Index is far more diversified than some popular commodities indexes tracked by mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, and it’s likely to offer investors a smoother ride, says Matthew Hougan, editor of IndexUniverse. In contrast, the PowerShares DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund (DBC) tracks an index that includes just six commodities. And though the index tracked by the iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG) includes two dozen commodities, energy commodities like natural gas and crude oil account for more than 70% of the benchmark. Like a number of other newly-launched commodity products, the Rogers Elements are debt securities known as exchange-traded notes or ETNs — not index mutual funds or ETFs. While funds and ETFs hold a basket of stocks or other securities, exchange-traded notes are essentially just a promise that the issuer will give investors the return of a particular index, after subtracting fees. read more

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Reuters is the world’s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters. Reuters journalists are subject to the Reuters Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here . read more

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At 1239 GMT, the front-month January Brent contract on London ’s ICE futures exchange was up $0. Department of Energy data, but markets continued to eye the psychologically important $100-a-barrel Thursday after Nymex crude futures set a new record intraday high of $99. However, with prices remaining sufficiently close to $100 a barrel, the prospect of another run at three-figure crude when the U. Despite prices lingering near Wednesday’s closing levels in London trade Thursday morning, lower liquidity associated with the U. Ongoing weakness in the dollar offered holders of crude oil futures another incentive to hang on to their positions Thursday. The greenback fell to its third, record-low against the euro in as many days Thursday, consolidating the attraction of dollar-priced crude futures to investors holding other currencies. read more

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Select Region Albany Anchorage Atlanta Augusta Austin Baltimore Billings Birmingham Bismarck Boise Boston Charleston Charlotte Cheyenne Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Columbia Columbus Concord Dallas Dayton Denver Des Moines Detroit Hampton Roads Hartford Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Jackson Jacksonville Kansas City Las Vegas Little Rock Los Angeles Louisville Memphis Milwaukee Minneapolis Montpelier Nashville New Orleans New York Newark Oklahoma City Omaha Orange County Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Portland Potomac Providence Richmond Sacramento Salt Lake City San Antonio San Francisco San Jose Seattle Sioux Falls South Florida St. CLEVELAND — Recording Arts & Technology (RAT) classes at Cuyahoga . Cliffs also owns 80 percent of Portman Limited, a large iron ore mining company in Australia, serving the Asian iron ore markets with direct-shipping fines and lump ore. In addition, the Company has a 30 percent interest in the Amap? Project, a Brazilian iron ore project, and a 45 percent economic interest in the Sonoma Project, an Australian coking and thermal coal project. read more

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