Energy

Was there anyone there? The Dow fell 171 points as Wall Street headed off for the long weekend.

A second quarter revised GDP of 3.3% was better than most anyone was expecting, sending the Dow up 200 points.

The Dow rose 89 points on a good durable goods number while the twins made further gains and Gustav forced evacuations.

TS Gustav is shaping up to be the first true hurricane threat of the season, commanding focus in a lacklustre day’s trading on Wall Street.

Up 200 Friday, down 200 last night. Oil barely moved and metals markets were shut. It was an across the board sell-off, led by financials.

Reverse everything that happened on Thursday and you know exactly what happened last night across global financial markets.

Oil jumped US$5 last night on a weak greenback and rising tensions in Cold War II. The Dow was nevertheless unchanged.

Goldman downgraded the financial sector and called oil to US$149, but financials rallied last night and oil barely moved. Dow up 68.

It was another bad night for financials on Wall Street, sending the US dollar down, commodities up, and the Dow down 130.

In a little over twelve months, life as we know it has changed dramatically. Financial markets are in crisis, the global economy is staring at recession, and now the commodity super-cycle has faltered. What lies ahead?