Energy

A report suggesting the US government will indeed need to bail out the terrible twins sent Wall Street scrambling again and the Dow down 180 points.

It was a whole lot of not much on Friday as oil edged lower and the Dow higher, with gold the only real casualty.

Higher commodity prices have held back the Japanese economy, but Daiwa Institute says oil at US$100 per barrel would offer the best chance of stronger growth.

Wall Street traders awoke on Thursday morning and realised Wednesday was all just a dream. Last night it was back to dollar up, commodities down, and an 82 point rally in the Dow.

More financial sector downgrades helped the Dow fall 100 points but a sharp snap-back in the oil price saw all commodities turn markedly.

The Dow fell 140 as the financial sector spell was broken and reality brought Wall Street back to earth.

Gold crashed over US$30 last night and oil fell again despite the conflict in the Caucuses. The Dow hung on to a 48 point gain.

The US dollar soared on Friday, sending oil and all commodities crashing, and the Dow up 300 points.

The Dow fell 224 last night as several component stocks were hit with various pieces of bad news.

Freddie Mac posted a loss three times bigger than expected last night, and the Dow closed up 40.