Oil has traded as low as $68.57 today, its lowest since August 2007. Gold is down $40 to below $800 an ounce. And all other commodity prices are getting pummeled.
Now, I certainly foresaw some major declines in commodity prices as a major recession took hold, the speed of everything unfolding has surprised me [...]

Inflation was unchanged from the previous month in September, bringing the annual rate of inflation down to 4.9%. While the inflation rate is still elevated, the drop in oil and commodity prices combined with lower consumer spending is likely to bring this rate down even further in 2009.The continued decrease in inflation highlights how [...]

If the huge sell-off on Wall Street, the gaping up of LIBOR, the halt of credit liquidity everywhere, the nationalisation of financial institutions and the enormous TED spread are not enough to convince you that we are headed for a deflationary world, then the sell off in commodity currencies should!
Just two months ago, mining giant [...]

In July, I made my ten predictions for the markets and global economy for the rest of the year. Some of my predictions were pretty pedestrians, and some were fairly bold. Let’s take a look and see how I’m doing.
Here’s what I originally said:

Oil prices will dip below $100 before year-end. Let’s [...]

The inflation rate fell to 5.4% in August in the US, paving the way for a cut in interest rates later today by the Federal Reserve.With oil prices droping by one-third over the past few months, it was a question as to whether the data would be captured in this report or the next. [...]

Since June, bond yields have fallen to the point where the U.S. government is getting paid to borrow money right across the entire yield curve. The 10-year is 3.8%, while inflation in the U.S. is 5.6% . What gives? This is either a flight to quality or a harbinger of hard economic times.
Caroline [...]

The minutes of the Bank of England’s most recent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting demonstrate that Britain’s monetary policy makers are all over the shop. Most committee members voted to keep rates at 5%, but there was also a vote to raise rates as well as one to lower rates. This three-way split [...]

I’m getting a lot of mail about the Rosenberg post and my mea culpa on inflation. To be blunt, a lot of you think I’m out to lunch and Rosenberg is too — after all inflation is over 5% and that’s just the bogus CPI measure our governments release.
But, alas, there is method to [...]

This is a transcript from the Nightly Business Report interview with David Rosenberg last night. He has consistently been one of the best economic commentators on Wall Street during and after the bubble. His comments regarding consumption, a second stimulus package, inflation and the Fed should be noted.
I take his comments on the [...]

With 2008 now half over, it’s obvious that the global economy has lurched to the downside. While many have remained unrealistically optimistic about the workout of the present credit crisis, downside risks have been the determining factors in keeping things soft.
Where are we headed?
I’d like to answer that question with my top ten predictions [...]