CommStock Israel Investor
Insights Newsletter
Monday, March 2, 2009
We are pleased to advise that effective February
1st, 2009, our Fund is being hosted with Altshuler Shaham, ( http://www.invest-as.com/ ) one
of Israel’s leading brokerage firms.
The name of our Fund has now been changed to
Altshuler Shaham (6F) Commstock Commodity Fund No. 5107966.
We believe that with our new association with
Altshuler Shaham we will be able to provide our customers with
the required level of expertise needed to traverse the difficult
financial challenges ahead.
Our Fund was one of the two leading Funds for
2008, yielding 21.45% NET.
Details on our Mutual Fund can be found on www.ecommstock.com
Fully regulated, transparent and traded daily
on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
1) Dollar falls after grim GDP data
Dollar edges down against euro, pound following
news of Citigroup deal and weak equity markets.
Last Updated: February 27, 2009: 3:48 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The dollar edged down against
major currencies Friday on poor U.S. economic data, weak equity
markets and global banking concerns.
Government data showed the U.S. economy shrank at a
6.2% annual rate in the fourth quarter, a larger-than-expected
contraction and worse than the prior reading.
Adding to concerns about the banking system, the U.S.
government committed to holding up to 36% of Citigroup's
common shares to bolster the fallen financial giant's capital
base, and gave most of the bank's board their marching orders.
Earlier in the day, the dollar made gains against euro
and the pound, as news of the Citigroup deal sent bank stocks and
the broader equity market lower. That prompted risk-averse investors
to buy the dollar, according to Adam Fazio, senior currency strategist
at CIBC World Markets in New York.
In afternoon New York trade, the euro rose to 1.2681
from $1.2643 and sterling gained
to 1.4307 from $1.4175.
Yen strikes back
The yen was the other bright spot for currency investors
with the dollar falling to 97.71 from ¥97.84 earlier Friday. The
yen hit a three month high against the dollar the previous day
at ¥98.70, according to Reuters data.
Traders cited month-end flows for the yen rise even
as Japanese industrial output data continued to paint a bleak picture
of the economy.
On a monthly basis the dollar is on course for a rise
of more than 8.4% on the yen, its biggest monthly gain in percentage
terms since 1995.
Japanese industrial production plunged 10.0% in January
from the previous month, posting its biggest drop on record and
underscoring the somber outlook that has helped drive the yen lower
in the past couple of weeks.
Analysts said the data did little to change views that
the yen would resume its slide once profit-taking and month-end
selling by Japanese exporters, to benefit from the favorable exchange
rates, had worked its way through.
2) Commentary by David Zwebner, CEO of CommStock Trading
U.S. Economy
The U.S. Commerce Department said that real GDP was down 1.6% in
the fourth quarter (or an annual rate of 6.2%), weaker than expected.
From one year ago, real GDP was down .8%. The December eurodollars
were up .01 at 98.455.
Nominal GDP in the U.S. was down 1.5% in the fourth
quarter and up 1.2% from a year ago. Even with the bad news, the
March U.S. T-bonds closed down 1.11/64ths at 124.39/64ths, the
lowest close in over three months.
Citigroup said that the federal government and other
private shareholders are converting their preferred stock to common
and ending dividends in an effort to give Citigroup more "tangible" equity.
After the conversion, the U.S. government will own 36% of the company.
The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index
fell from 61.2 to 56.3 in January, the lowest in three months.
Chicago's purchasing managers' index increased from
33.3 to 34.2 in February, still a sign of contraction.
Grains and Cotton
At today's USDA Ag Forum in Virginia, the USDA predicted 2009-2010
U.S. ending stocks of:
Corn at 1.72 billion bushels, down from 1.79 in 2008-2009.
Soybeans at 380 million bushels, up from 210 in 2008-2009.
Wheat at 664 million bushels, up from 655 in 2008-2009.
Cotton at 5.7 million bales, down from 7.7 in 2008-2009.
May soybeans were up 3.5 cents at $8.72, in spite of
the prospects of increased supplies in the coming year. May corn
fell 11.5 cents to $3.59.
Metals
April gold traded higher for most of the day, but ended down .10
at $942.50, supported by today's gloomy GDP report. May copper
closed down 4.05 cents at $1.5325.
Currencies
Eurostat said that the unemployment rate in the Euro area 15 increased
from 8.1% to 8.2% in January. Also, consumer prices were up 1.1%
in January from a year ago - down from a 1.6% annual gain in
December. The March euro fell .0051 to $1.2696.
Japan's Statistics Bureau said that consumer prices
were steady in January from a year ago.
Japan's Trade Ministry said that factory output was
down 10.0% in January and household spending was down 5.9% in January
from a year ago - both signs of a worsening economy. The March
Japanese yen closed up .0054 at 1.0219.
David Zwebner, CEO
CommStock Trading Ltd.
Tel: +972-(0)2 624-4963
Fax: +972-(0)2 624-4876
www.ecommstock.com
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