Spain Will Tap Aid from ECB

The disingenuous and dishonest assertions by some in the Spanish government that they are thinking about not taking the bailout money from the ECB are ridiculous, as there is no doubt, regardless of the posturing of Spain, that they will keep on going as they are without aid, or take the route of getting a line of credit. Both ideas are ludicrous, and won't fly under the growing pressure from the eurozone for Spain to access the capital.

According to the Spanish government, the company is in the midst of contemplating on the economic direction it wants to go, but this is only for its population, which will resist the expected austerity measures that accompany access to ECB aid.

The idea that Spain will continue to borrow at the high rates it currently is in the bond markets doesn't pass the smell test, and the European Central Bank will surely be given permission to buy bonds in order to lower the borrowing rates of the country.

Those watching the situation don't believe Spain even has several weeks to wait, and its politicians are probably trying to wait until after the elections on this Sunday before caving and tapping into the aid.

Germany, as usual, has also attempted to position itself as against Spain being bailed out, asserting it has no need of one. Angela Merkel will attempt to make it look like she opposes it as well, but like in her past actions, will try to make it look like she valiantly fought against it, right up to the time she gives the go ahead for more bailouts to continue. Again, all of that is so the German people are made to believe she's battling on their behalf, while all the time already knowing and deciding that the bailout will happen for those countries in the eurozone that ask for it.

Investors and those affected by the decisions in the eurozone need to know that the game is completely rigged, and Draghi was telling the truth when he said he's committed to doing whatever it takes to save the euro and the eurozone. There is no question the majority of leaders in the EU agree with him, and support whatever it takes to get it done.

Standard & Poor's downgraded the credit rating of five major Spanish regions Wednesday, including Canary Islands, Andalucia, Aragon, Galicia and Madrid. That puts even more pressure on the country to take aid before investors start to sell of Spanish bonds.

Overall Spanish debt was recently lowered by Standard & Poor's to BBB-, only one step above investment grade ratings. Below that is junk status, which would make it much more expensive for the Spanish government to borrow capital. Bond investors, as mentioned, would flee from their bond holdings if that were to happen, which is a likely probability.

For now, Moody's (MCO) is also keeping its lowest rating on Spanish credit without cutting it down to junk status. It has a Baa3 rating on Spain.

Taking all that into consideration, there is no doubt Spain will get aid from the ECB. The market is simply waiting for that to happen, and when it does, gold and silver prices will get a nice bump.

Euro Climbs to Two-Week High Against Dollar

The euro soared to a two-week high against the U.S. dollar Thursday, as that and other factors accounted for a number of commodities also climbing.

Concerning the euro, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi reaffirmed his commitment to maintain and preserve the euro, as well as the monetary system of the area.
 
That announcement was what pushed the euro up against the dollar, which helped boost many other commodities as well.

Not only were commodities helped though, as the news from the ECB also helped Wall Street equities to soar as well.

Precious metals gold and silver were unsurprisingly higher, as was much of energy, although that was aided by Turkish strikes on Syria, which generated supply concerns, along with a fire at the largest refinery in the U.S, which is run by Exxon Mobil (XOM), along with another refinery fire in Russia.

In agriculture, corn, wheat and soybeans were all up on the day, after hitting a three-month low the day before. Sugar was also up.

Other metals rising included platinum and palladium in the U.S.

Why Metals, Energy Look Attractive Going Forward

With the misguided commitment from major central banks around the world to "stimulating" the economies of the countries or regions they are based in, especially the euro zone, United States and Japan (China will probably stimulate soon), it predicates the probability that energy and base metal commodities, along with gold and silver, should push up in price over the next several years, with some possibly extending even longer, such as in the case of silver.

Even if there is a further global economic slowdown, the fallout from the stimulus efforts will start to point to resources and resource companies as one of the few viable places to place one's capital.

As measured by inflationary pressures, oil, gas and other commodities get more attractive as the U.S. dollar falls in value, as it will continue to do as money continues to be created out of thin air.

The caveat will be how much competing currencies fall in relationship to the U.S. dollar.

Successful commodity investors in the near future will be those who properly analyze the valuations of a particular commodity; getting in before it begins its upward run in price.

Some commodities at this time are overbought, while others are still available at a good price.

For example, natural gas appears to be at, or close to a bottom, so there is, for the most part over time, only one place to go, and that's up.

And even if there is still a little room to move down, the price of natural gas for long-term investors is very attractive, and those entering now should reap significant rewards over the next several years.

Oil on the other hand may be in for some rough times, as it may be on the opposite end of the spectrum, possibly ready to pull back significantly after years of high prices.

The geopolitical situation will weigh more on the prices than other factors, as many energy companies have improved operations to the point where there is a lot of oil available at lower costs than in the recent past.

So with the certainty the Europe and the United States will continue to inflate through fiat money, and Japan continuing on the course it set a couple of decades ago, there is little reason to believe a number of commodities won't continue to be among the best performers going forward, especially in precious and base
 metals, as well as in some energy segments.


 

Euro, Australian Dollar Up on U.S. Mfg Data

The euro and Australian dollar moved up early Tuesday on news that manufacturing in the U.S. expanded in September; the first move in positive territory since May.

In response, the U.S. dollar dropped while commodities in general responded by climbing. The euro got a reprieve from three-week lows,

As for factories in the euro zone, they ended the worst quarterly performance since the early part of 2009. China also continues to slow down, although that hasn't been as much of a surprise because of the announcement by Chinese leaders some time ago that they were going to attempt to cool off their fast-growing economy.

The Australian dollar jumped to $1.0366, while the euro climbed to $1.2895, after falling as low as $1.28035 in Monday trading.

Questions concerning the euro remain as uncertainty as to when Spain will officially seek a bailout, and also the possibility of its credit rating being downgraded to junk status by Moody's (MCO).

Societe Generale said concerning Spain, "The Spanish government probably thinks it needs to find a way of presenting the request for assistance as a victory of sorts, just like it did for the bank deal, to its electorate."

Spain has positioned itself to access aid by releasing a budget that has significant cuts for 2013. That also included a series of economic reforms after it banks went through stress tests in preparation of aid.

Euro Falls on Draghi Inaction

After the bravado expressed by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi concerning doing what it takes to support the euro, the announcement today that in the short term he will do nothing caused the euro to come plunging down from its recent strength.

His problem was he raised expectations far too high in the near term, something some experts said may be the case. They were right.

All that Draghi basically said was there are plans being drawn up by the ECB that would allow it to make outright purchases of bonds. Essentially all he did was say they are preparing to take steps that may or may not be taken. And odd and weak climax to the posturing he took concerning the euro.

The one major negative factor is that Germany isn't behind the moves yet, although contrary to public assertions by Merkel, she always has caved when it comes down to more stimulus in the euro zone.

So the real question appears to be how long it will take before all the mechanisms are lined up and where and how large the stimulus will be.

The euro will remain under pressure until that is more clear, and the U.S. dollar will continue to be strong.

It's almost a surety that the Federal Reserve will take some action at its next meeting in September, as the failing presidency of Obama is at risk.

Mario Draghi Catches Shorts by Surprise

The assertion by ECB President Mario Draghi that he will do whatever is needed to save the euro had shorts scrambling to cover their positions.

After his comment, he ended the assertion concerning supporting the euro and what will be done by saying, "... believe me, it will be enough."

Many pros said his comments put a floor on the market.

It seems this is what traders and investors were looking for: more than just Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve pointing to intervening in the market with more stimulus.

The market's response shows it was looking for more support than the Federal Reserve, and now they've got it. If China visibly stimulates, it'll send the market soaring, the U.S. dollar plunging, and gold, silver, and other commodities much higher.

Of course this floor is one that can only last so long if measures aren't taken, as the market will then know it was either a general bluff, or something that won't be done until the situation reaches certain levels.

But with Greece surely going to exit the euro and Spain being bailed out, stimulus will surely come sooner than later.

That's the real story emerging over the last couple of days: what looked like a questionable possibility of QE3 in America and stimulus in Europe, now has ramped up to a very short-term window. That's what's moving the markets, not just the usual token statements that central banks stand ready to simulate if need be.

It appears the political pressure and weakening global economy has put the central banks on notice, and they are surely going to do something very soon.

And now with the comments of Draghi, it seems that it's not only immanent, but the size of the stimulus, at least in the case of Europe, appears to be gargantuan.

At least that's the corner Draghi has painted himself into. And anything less than something stupendous would now have a detrimental effect on the markets.

Whether or not all of this is political theater or not remains to be seen. But for now, it appears the plummeting stock market has been halted as traders await where central banks will go next.

If Bernanke and the Federal Reserve stimulate in the next several days at the next meeting, and Europe quickly follows, it would cause some huge upward moves in the market, and even hammer the shorts more than they are getting hammered now.

For gold and silver, they are going to soar as the U.S. dollar falls in value against the euro and other currencies, as will other commodities which are traded in U.S. dollars.

Commodity Surge doesn't support stimulus in any way, but it's going to happen, and we do need to be careful of how long the false supports will remain in place.

Most of us know throwing money at the problem hasn't and won't work, but we do like the predictability of the market immediately afterwards when unwarranted optimism gets investors all worked up and investing irrationally.

That will happen tentatively in the very short term, and when stimulus is announced, stocks and commodities will soar.

Now there is even more pressure on Bernanke and the Federal Reserve to stimulate quickly. If they don't, the effects of the Draghi announcement will quickly dissipate and his words forgotten.

That would in turn reverse the pressure and put it back on the ECB. Now that would make things interesting wouldn't it.

Either way, someone is going to stimulate soon, and whether it's the ECB or Federal Reserve first, it won't take long afterwards for the other to follow.

This is going to be a very interesting ride going forward, with conflicting data and results causing a lot of uncertainty and caution in the markets, while at the same time pushing investors to enter in.

Spain on Verge of Being Bailed Out

Spain moved one step closer to being bailed out after the German Parliament voted to allow the plan to go forward on Thursday, and then the finance ministers of the 17 member countries using the euro gave their approval to the terms offered in the bailout, which stands at an offer of just under $123 billion.

As usual in the news cycle, Europe's horrendous economic problems flow out of the eye of the public for a week or two before again appearing in the news, reminding everyone listening of the dire circumstances continuing to unfold there.

Reminders of the economic turmoil in the region hit the stock market, led by the banking stocks getting hammered, as they are the most vulnerable initially to such news.

The KBW bank index (.BKX) dropped 1.9 percent, ending the week down 2.3 percent. All the major American banks closed down on Friday.

Gold and silver on the other hand were able to finish slightly up on the day, as growing anticipation of another round of quantitative easing is slowly pushing the price of the two precious metals up even as bears attempt to pull them down.

There isn't enough conviction on either side of the trade to allow for major moves lately, and so both metals have been trading in a narrower range lately until more clarity emerges. The failing global economy will pressure the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, and other central bank officials in certain parts of the world to take steps. It's only a matter of when, with each passing day of bad news gradually turning the sentiment in that regard.

Gold and silver should gradually move up until we're hit with the first big announcement. This one helps, but it'll take one more big push to send gold and silver prices soaring again. Most think it's likely to happen in the latter part of August, but it could easily happen earlier as negative economic news continues to mount.

One of the major obstacles for gold and silver is when announcements like this come out of Europe the euro takes a big hit against the U.S. dollar, keeping the prices temporarily in check. That happened again Friday when the euro dropped to about a two-year low against the U.S. dollar, falling as low as $1.2143.

For Spain, the 10-year bond soared to new highs as measured by the introduction of the euro, now bringing yields of 7.3 percent; a number experts see as unsustainable.

The Spanish government also slashed its economic growth projection, revealing the certainty Spain will continue to be in a recession at least through 2013, and quite probably beyond.

For the Spanish banks and the bailout money, there will be assessments of the needs of the banks in the country, and from their stress tests applied to guide the allocation of the funds. That should be completed sometime in September.

How much of the available funds that will be used by the Spanish won't be known until that time.

While the IMF has no administrative or official relationship to the funding proposal, it did say they are available to give "independent advice" concerning the bailouts of the Spanish banks, and if there are no objections, will publish reports concerning the progress the financial firms make toward recapitalization.

The reports won't point out any specific banks, but will focus on the overall progress of the banking industry in Spain.

Citigroup (NYSE:C): Euro Overvalued Heading into November

Citigroup's (NYSE:C) head of G10 strategy in New York, Steven Englander, said heading into November's risk events, he sees the euro as being overvalued.

Some investors who got in at $1.40 on the euro now feel like they've been burned, and are feeling a "little worn down," according to Phil Streible, senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock.

Matthew Strauss, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto said, "Quantitative easing is all priced in so you will need to see very soft U.S. data indicating the need for large amounts of QE, or prolonged QE, to send the dollar lower.

The euro dropped in New York - after trading lower on weak Asian equity markets - with investors not willing to support the common currency near $1.40 based on the volatility surrounding the Nov. 2 U.S. elections and the Nov. 2-3 Federal Reserve meetings. The euro fell to an intra-day low of $1.3831 in New York trading.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) Says Sell Euro (EUR/USD) Against Dollar

Citigroup (NYSE:C) recommends investors to sell the euro against the dollar (EUR/USD), as it closed in on a one-month low against the U.S. dollar.

Citing technical indicators, Citigroup said investors should take a short position, or in the case of an order to sell, at $1.3095 with a target level of $1.2588.

In a note to clients, Citi technical analysts said, “We believe it is best to wait and see what happens around these levels.”

Lead technical analyst Tom Fitzpatrick said the euro may appreciate to 41.3334 if there is a breakthrough from $1.3158 to $1.3228.

Euro Versus Dollar EUR/USD or Both Versus Gold?

Talk of the performance of the euro versus the dollar EUR/USD increasingly seems irrelevant in light of the misguided practices of governments and central banks around the world, who are addicted to attempting to stimulate their economies through printing money and creating more debt.

In that sense, gold is increasingly being thought of as a currency by those who didn't consider that in the past, and in that regard is considered the strongest in the world by far at this time, probably the major reason it continues to rise.

Currencies around the world are continuing to be debased because of these monetary practices.

So when comparing the U.S. dollar with the euro, it's increasingly becoming irrelevant, as are most currency comparisons. It's more relevant to compare all the currencies with gold. That's more telling and important at this time than the other.

Citigroup (NYSE:C): Euro Could Plunge 4 Percent

Citigroup (NYSE:C) said if support for the euro weakens, it could drop by 4 percent against the US dollar as a result. That level hasn't been experienced since July if it happens.

Renewed focus on Europe and its dubious stress tests of banks has been the impetus behind the fall in the Euro to its lowest level so far in September, and is sure to continue to fall as support crumbles.

Citi analyst Tom Fitzpatrick, said in a note to clients, “There is still another move down coming on the euro. The euro has come under renewed pressure in the short term as a result of focus again on European banks and sovereign spreads.”

Fitzpatrick added, if the euro falls below the support level of $1.2588, it may fall as low as $1.22.

Nobody should allow themselves to be lulled to sleep by the financial mainstream media coverage of the European sovereign debt crisis, as it's very real, and much worse than being admitted.

Gold Gains on Euro, British Pound, and Swiss Franc

Probably one of the most important metrics of gold's strength is its movement against currencies, and the last week it moved up strongly against the Euro, British Pound, and Swiss Franc.

Against euros it gained 2.0 percent; against the British pound, 1.7 percent; and against the Swiss franc, 1.3 percent. Gold did fall against the Japanese yen by 0.3 percent.

The euro fell against the U.S. dollar, dropping from $1.3169 to $1.2982, a loss of 1.1 percent.

Spot settlements for COMEX gold ended at $1,215, while averaging $1,203.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) Says Euro Could Reach $1.39 in August

For the first time since February, the euro could go as high as $1.39, says Citigroup (NYSE:C).

Supposed reasons for this are the "stabilization" of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, and the probability of the Federal Reserve starting to print money again in an attempt to stimulate the economy.

Now the Federal Reserve disaster is sure to happen, as they will continue to destroy the value of the dollar and wreak havoc on the future of American children.

As far as the lie about sovereign debt crisis being stabilized, that isn't even close to happening, in spite of the mainstream media outlets regurgitating that to their readers.

That story has been circulated in order to manage concern among the populations of Europe in order to keep them subdued and from rebelling and rioting; something that has already happened across the region.

So even though it's a coverup, that has had the temporary effect of lulling people into a false sense of security, while the problems which brought the situation to the forefront of the news cycle remain in place.

One of the metrics used in an attempt to convince people the EU is stable, is the meaningless stress tests, which were so lax, almost anyone could pass them. Even Citigroup, not long after the tests said 24 of the banks in reality should have failed the tests, not the 7 that were allowed to be exposed.

Stabilization of Europe is also asserted to be a reality because of the narrowing of spreads between those nations under enormous debt and Germany, which is used as a standard to measure by in the EU.

I wonder why the downgrading of Ireland national debt hasn't been talked about much lately? Somehow it just doesn't fit into the narrative, so is an inconvenience to talk about.

As long as people believe this, it's possible the euro will reach these heights and even probable.

Just don't believe the underlying reasons for this are from a stabilized Europe. There is just too much optimism being thrown around about Europe to be believable.

No economy the size of Europe could have in any meaningful way turned things around on a dime like it is being purported about the EU.

The feeling is the real condition of Europe is now officially off limits to mainstream media outlets, and you're not going to hear much about the depth of the financial disease until conditions force it to come out into the open again. That probably won't take too long, unless the media blacks it out.

US Dollar Crushed by Major Currencies

The US dollar got clobbered today as interest rates will be held down by the Federal Reserve for some time to come, as inflation remains low for the time being in the U.S.

Questions as to whether or not we've ever escaped the recession are increasingly being asked, as no jobs are being created in the private sector and housing remains in terrible condition, and is expected to worsen.

We still haven't seen the full effect of the commercial property market yet either, which is supposed to be in trouble over the second half of 2010.

The illusion the sovereign debt crisis in Europe has been handled because Greece has been able to auction bonds in the private markets is a real stretch, but that has strengthened the euro some for now, another downward pressure on the dollar.

Based on Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) starting a food price war to draw consumers back to the store, food prices dropped strongly in June, as they and competitors fought for foot traffic.

Consequently, the producer price index sank by 0.5 percent, after a 0.3 percent fall in May. Economists were said to be looking for 0.1 percent, but to me should have known better with the move by Wal-Mart and its competitors.

The dollar fell to 1.2910 against the euro, its worst showing in over two months.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Sees Yen Over US Dollar, Euro

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) likes the yen against the euro and US dollar, and raised its forecast for the Japanese currency to 90 against the dollar in 2010, and 104 from 112 against the euro by the end of 2010.

“We think concerns about slower global growth are likely to constrain risk appetite for the time being, with a likelihood of temporary yen gains on risk aversion,” BAC strategists wrote in the report.

The yen is up against the major 16 currencies in 2010, gaining 17 percent already against the euro this year.

For the third quarter Bank of America's Merrill Lynch increased forecasts for the yen against the US dollar from 94 to 89, and by the end of 2011, projects it to be 97 against the dollar.

By the end of 2011 they look for the Japanese currency to by at 107 against the euro.

Citigroup's (NYSE:C) Pandit: Euro Not Going Away

According to Citigroup (NYSE:C) CEO Vikram Pandit, he and the giant bank believes the "euro is here to stay."

Pandit added, "I think we are going to look at this as another one of these issues that we’ve put behind us."

Pandit also offered praise to how the European Union handled the situation, saying it was a "very good job," on Bloomberg television.

What was the good job? They simply through money at it to the tune of $975 billion. What's so great about that?

But then again we must consider the source, as Pandit was at the helm of Citigroup as it had to get taxpayer dollars in order to survive. So the idea to throwing money at problems is about all big bankers like Pandit can see as a solution to challenges like these.

Many analysts and investors believe the euro can't survive this crisis because Europe refused to defend it by allowing the situation to play out in the countries, showing them they were serious about adhering to the financial rules of the EU.

The euro of course won't immediately fail, but definitely could sometime in the next decade or so.

Marc Faber: China Won't Appreciate Currency Against U.S. Dollar

Marc Faber said at the Asian Investor Fifth Annual Asian Investment Summit in Hong Kong today that China is highly unlikely to remove the peg it has with the U.S. dollar, as the European sovereign debt crisis has knocked the euro down hard and fast.

Faber said, “If I had to take a bet, I’d say that the renminbi will not go up this year.”

The renminbi, or yuan, has appreciated against the euro by 16 percent so far in 2010, and exporters from China are starting to get nervous because of the rising costs of doing business as a result.

Faber also said he believes China should have eased up more than they did. Since July 2008, the renminbi has been pegged at an exchange rate of 6.83 percent against the US dollar.

Joy Global (Nasdaq:JOYG) Plunges On Export Concerns

The economic mess in Europe continues to pull down manufacturers, and Joy Global (Nasdaq:JOYG) dropped over 7 percent on Friday to $50.59, although they've gained some of that back in after hours trading.

What driving the prices of Joy Global and competitor Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), is the impact the bailout of the socialist, welfare nations in Europe is having on the euro, which has resulted in the U.S. dollar strengthening against it, wreaking havoc on earnings, which are under pressure.

There is nothing that can change the collapsing euro, and as the money is poured into the European nations, it'll continue to fall in value, with a growing number of analysts and economists thinking it won't survive in the years ahead.

Joy Global is especially vulnerable to these circumstances because they do close to 50 percent of their business overseas.

This will unfortunately change the fortunes of the company, which has a tremendous year, with a range of $27.92 - $65.93 for its shares.

Jim Rogers: Commodities will Continue Roaring

The combination of increasing demand and decreasing supply has Jim Rogers a perpetual bull on the commodities market, and I think he's right.

Even with the news of China taking measures to battle its inflation, it's not a matter of whether they'll continue to acquire commodities, it's at what level they'll continue to buy them.

That isn't to say there won't be a slowdown in demand for specific commodities, but it won't dampen the bull market, but more than likely will extend it out further, albeit possibly a little smaller of a pace.

The same is true of the EU sovereign debt crisis. That, coupled with China, could definitely hurt individual commodities, and by extension, some raw materials companies, but the overall commodity bull market will continue, just some of the individual commodities within the sector may have prices drop.

Rogers likes to point out that oil demand will continue to grow while known supplies dwindle. That means ultimately oil prices will rise in response to that. It's only a question of when, not if, in Rogers' view.

One thing that Rogers has been warning about for some time and governments and central banks have refused to heed, is the bailing out of nations in Europe.

Rogers said if the European Union was really serious about the euro, they would never take the step of bailing out Greece. Not that they've not only bailed out Greece, but have put close to $1 trillion on the table for the welfare, socialist states to get hold of, he was shocked, and while before he doubted the survival of the euro, now he's adamant that there is no way it can survive in the years ahead, and it could come much quicker than he originally believed. That of course would mean the end of the EU, but that's no loss. Countries in Europe survived for centuries without the EU, they'll survive afterwards as well.

Rogers major thinking on the demise of the euro is, now that the irresponsible countries know they can get away with their over spending, they can continue on with their ways with no consequences.

While there are laws being written by these countries to put so-called austerity measures in place, we all know they'll write down anything and agree to it to get their hands on the trillion dollars.

Worst though, rumblings from the clowns running the Federal Reserve seem to imply there will be much more bailout money coming to the socialists, and they are attempting to spin that as the need to bail out the banks heavily exposed in the region.

While that's actually true, it's the banks enabling the entitlement cultures that have led to this, now those in northern Europe, and now in the United States are being called upon to rescue these deadbeats who continue to spend out money with impunity, while the banks of the world contribute to their drunken spending habit by buying up their bonds. That's why banks are in trouble. That's why we need to stop it.

Anyway, as far as commodities go, there is a finite amount of resources with the technology now at our disposal, and Rogers says that is the reasoning behind the extended bull market that could go on for more than another decade.

As far as currencies, Rogers said this will add to the commodity bull market, as they're all being debased, and investors are getting smarter and smarter as far as understanding that, and will put their money in real assets rather than paper currencies, which only survive as long as people have faith in them. That faith is waning, and that's good news for commodities, and good news for those doing their homework and investing in them.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Down As Precious Metals Plunge

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) has dropped again, as precious metals are taking a beating today, with copper, zinc and aluminum all falling on the London Metal Exchange.

The realization that the European sovereign debt crisis will crush the euro because of the misguided decision to provide bailout money of almost $1 trillion to the fiscally irresponsible, socialist governments.

Alcoa has been struggling to break out, standing at a share price that has been level since August 2009.

The latest news that several aluminum ETFs will spur the aluminum industry will help Alcoa in the long term, as some of them are scheduled to launch in the latter part of the year.

For now though, the fall of the euro will dominate the economic landscape, along with the inflation concerns in China, all of which could put a damper on demand for aluminum and other precious metals.