Is OPEC Breaking Up? (jpm)
It's going to take me a day or two to filter through your responses to the JP Morgan CEO (NYSE:JPM) Jamie Dimon question from yesterday. Needless to say, I received a lot of responses. Your opinions are pretty one-sided, and not on Dimon's side, either.
It's really surprising sometimes just how out of touch people like Dimon are. I can only think that Dimon expects to get some kind of popular support by attacking Bernanke and banking regulations. Needless to say, it's not working.
*****Oil prices jumped yesterday after the latest OPEC meeting in Vienna fell apart with no agreement about production increases.
I don't think it's any coincidence that Saudi Arabia's desire for increased production was not endorsed by Iran or Venezuela. Neither country is exactly America-friendly.
The breakdown of talks raises the question of just how stable OPEC is. It's widely expected that Saudi Arabia will break ranks and raise its own production. But the uncertainty of OPEC unity may add to the uncertainty created by social unrest in some oil producing countries. And as we know, investors do not like uncertainty.
Jason Cimpl, of TradeMaster Daily Stock Alerts has positioned his readers for higher prices for oil stocks. He's expecting 33% and 16% gains from the two stocks he recommended.
Jason's been leading his readers to short-term profits with amazing regularity. Just last week, they took a nice 30% gain on Accelr8 Technology (AMEX:AXK). You can discover short term trading opportunities with the Top 10 Trades for June special report. You can get your copy HERE
*****The European Central Bank declined to raise interest rates this morning. But ECB President used the words "strong vigilance" to describe the ECB's stance on interest rates. That's widely assumed to mean that Euro-zone rate hikes are coming next month.
This is significant because it should weigh on the U.S. dollar. And as we know, a weak dollar is often associated with rising stock prices.
At present, it will take more than a weak dollar to get a rally for stocks. Some improvement for economic data is a good start. But investors are also eager to hear how Congress and the administration plan to cut the deficit without seriously impacting the economy.
The track record so far isn't very good. And that's becoming a real problem for the financial markets.
