There are few certainties in life like death and taxes or

There are few certainties in life like death and taxes or that the world isn’t going to wait for you…unless, of course, you’re Ben Bernanke. The U.S. Fed chairman is set to kick off his semi-annual testimony before congress at 10: 00 am EST today. Monday’s trading session probably left many traders wiping the drool off their desks as conditions were akin to watching paint dry. All  in anticipation of what chairman Bernanke may or may not insinuate in his address to lawmakers today. Is the fact that U.S. consumer prices remained relatively flat in June (up 1.7% year-on-year) or the fact that the job market was weak for a fourth straight month or perhaps disappointing retail sales data enough to get Mr. Bernanke to push that red button labeled QE3? Investors won’t get much help in the form of quarterly earnings reports to persuade the Fed that more stimulus is needed. So far corporate earnings have been better than expected with Goldman Sachs reporting earnings of $1.78 per share on revenue of $6.63 billion. In Europe, the German high court said it would be 8-weeks before they announce a decision on the European Stability Mechanism. This has many concerned that the bailout tool won’t be ready in time to save the likes of Spain, whose 10-year yields inched ever closer to 7%, and Italy, who just had Moody’s downgrade 10 of its banks. Have a great day!

 

Metals	Last	%Change	Low	High
Au-Aug	1585.1	-0.40%	1584.2	1598.8
Pt-Oct	1419.4	0.14%	1418.5	1432.1
Pd-Sep	582.75	0.84%	576.90	586.95
Ag-Sep	27.190	-0.47%	27.165	27.595
London	AM	PM	Minor	PGMs
Au	1595		Rh	1250
Pt	1428	1419	Ru	115
Pd	585	583	Ir	1100
Ag	27.42	DJI	12777.84	0.4
Currencies
	USD	EUR	JPY	GBP
USD	0	0.8145	79.07	0.64
EUR	1.22756	0	97.055	0.78587
JPY	0.01262	1.03026	0	0.008087
GBP	1.56195	1.2723	123.511	0
Oil	Last	%Change	Low	High
Brent - Sep	104.44	1.03%	103.38	104.62
WTI - Sep	89.15	0.38%	88.44	89.65
*THESE PRICES ARE FOR INDICATION ONLY CALL FOR QUOTES