Unexpected spikes in food prices, price changes independent of  supply and demand and other abrupt changes in the price of commodities have taken everyone by surprise. Economists have tried to uncover the causes and influences that have led to these unpredictable changes. Specialists have analyzed data starting with 2007 and found that since then food prices rose by a staggering 50 percent in less than a year putting poor countries at risk for starvation and other social anxieties.

While several economists have argued over the cause of changes the Bar Yam group was the one which accurately pinpointed the main causes of the changes. According to the group, the mathematical models highlighted two main factors: one was the replacement of food crops with biofuel ones and the other one was the speculators’ behavior which proved to be much more influential compared to the first cause.

An abrupt shift in the percentage of speculators in the market are to blame for the changes. It used to be“70 percent commercial hedgers and 30 percent speculators. The speculators are there to provide liquidity. In the summer of 2008, it was discovered that it’s now 70 percent speculation and 30 percent commercial. Now reports are coming out that it’s 85 percent speculation and 15 percent commercial. You have markets dominated by people with no real interest in the economics of supply and demand, but who are taking advantage of bets authored by Wall Street that prices will go up.” Michael Greenberger, former director of the CFTC’s Division of Trading and Markets stated.

These findings are enough to spark numerous debates as to whether government intervention is needed to regulate the percentage of speculators allowed in the market in order to avoid artificial price increases.

High gasoline prices are a drain on the pockets of people worldwide especially during recession but the increase in the price of fuel has one more unpleasant effect for those who are looking for a new car. While we might expect to see car prices dropping, it seems like the opposite effect actually takes place. As the demand for fuel-efficient vehicles increases so do the prices for these cars.

Moreover, a recent press release from Kelley Blue Book suggests that customers looking for hybrid vehicles shouldn’t expect major discounts since as long as the demand stays strong and the market for such vehicles continues to rise, the prices will remain firm. Worse still, the used car prices have reached an all time high and predictions for the new year seem to follow a similar pattern.

However, it seems that it might be hope for those who don’t drive as much because as the prices for fuel efficient vehicles continues to rise, those for gaz guzzling cars will take an opposite direction and it might become a bargain to own one. So, if the prices and costs of maintenance are reasonable and you don’t spend a lot of time on the road, some marketing specialists argue that gaz guzzlers are the way to go.

It seems that protecting your online transactions becomes more and more difficult as the cybernetic world is progressing and new improved ‘trojan horse’ viruses are being launched. Apparently now a new PC virus launched can drain your account and you won’t even know until it’s too late as the virus creates fake bank statements to falsely reassure you that your money is still there.

The new version of the SpyEye Trojan that has already been launched is able to track and steal  your bank passwords and then drains your account but not before making ‘adjustments’ to your account to prevent you from detecting a problem with the account, so the next time you visit your account, you won’t be able to observe the ‘leaking’ account.

According to DailyMail, Trusteer, the company that detected the virus which has already targeted bank accounts from both UK and U.S., issued a statement in which they reported that:
“The next time the victim visits their online banking site, the malware hides the fraudulent transactions, as well as artificially changing the total balance. As a result, the deceived customer has no idea that their account has been ‘taken over’, nor that any fraudulent transactions have taken place.”

The new Trojan enables those who have hijacked your account to have more time to spend the money before they are detected.
Experts say that although it’s difficult to tell when the virus has taken over your account, there are certain protection measures that you can take, such as make sure your browser is up to date and the ‘anti-phishing’ option is switched to ‘on’ in order to prevent the browser from being redirected to a virus affected page.

Photo courtesy of Thinkstock Photos

This year’s ‘Black Friday’ sales statistics have showed a 7% increase compared to last year, with the average American spending on average $398.62 this year, as opposed to $365.34 in 2010. The increase in spending is definitely correlated with a larger number of shoppers, 14 millions more to be exact. 226 million took part in shopping activities over the weekend as opposed to 212 million last year.

Online shopping also showed a significant increase in sales as more retailers have turned their more of their attention to this increasingly popular shopping method. Retailers like Macy’s, Target, Best Buy extended their traditional shopping season start on Thanksgiving evening while stores like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and J.C. Penney focused on their online exposure more this year.

Nighttime seemed to be the preferred shopping time with 24% of the shoppers being in stores at midnight. With the encouraging Black Friday sales statistics, retailers are expecting an increase, albeit more modest for the rest of the holiday season. A 2.8 percent to about $466 billion, according to the NRF is deemed to be an accurate expectation.

The term ‘diamonds are a girl’s best friend’ probably came after these huge ‘rocks’ that can mesmerize from first glimpse, and at an astonishing 110.3 carats, this rare yellow diamond which is going to be held up for an auction in Geneva will surely conquer the love of any woman. Called the “Sun Drop Diamond” this huge pear shaped diamond is expected to raise somewhere around 10 and 15 million dollars, so this shiny vivid yellow diamond (the highest color grading) will definitely find its way into a millionaire’s vault.

Not only this, the diamond will also be named after the buyer’s choice, so the auction held November 15th, in Geneva’s Beau-Rivage hotel, will surely attract plenty of potential buyers.
The gorgeous diamond was discovered in South Africa just last year and according to David Bennett, the head of Sotheby’s jewelery division, the diamond “looks the weight”. Mr. Bennett also states that:

“At the same time it’s a very bright stone. Some people find it very attractive to own a stone that’s been lying untouched in the earth for millions of years”.

A photographed has already been offered to the public to attract potential buyers and the beauty of the gem will surely attract a financially powerful crowd. This is the largest diamond of it’s kind so far, and its 110.3 carats will surely enchant the heart of any woman who will be fortunate to wear it!

Photo courtesy of DailyMail

Japan has intervened to weaken the yen that has reached a post World War II high against the dollar. The unilateral intervention of Japan was the third of this year and was intended to help the exports, which were hurting due to the the recent yen appreciation.

The results of the intervention were seen almost immediately as stock-index futures experienced a notable fall. S&P 500 futures fell by 11.8 points, while Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 83 points. Similarly, Nasdaq 100 futures were also impacted and suffered a drop of 19.25 points.

The effects of the latest intervention however will be pretty limited according to several analysts. Richard Yetsenga told Bloomberg Television that: “It’s quite clear that this hasn’t worked before. They’ve even done it in ways which are quite persistent and the volumes have been quite large and it still hasn’t had any sustained impact.”

“Perhaps there’s some effect in terms of changing the short-term positioning in the market, but really what you’re doing is adding up these cases of unsuccessful intervention. Medium term, you just embolden the market and really talk any people out of being short the yen. There’s nothing here which says the yen is the problem for the Japanese economy. There seem to be much more structural drivers when you’re talking about Japan, but yet they keep targeting the yen.”

Thomas Harr shares a similar view:“I think the market will try to sell into this move higher in dollar-yen. I think you’ll see the same market reaction as you’ve seen before. It managed to push up dollar-yen, then it stabilized, then it starts to grind lower again. Can’t see why this time should be anything different.”

Oil prices have not been significantly influenced by the death of the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. International market prices for oil experienced little variation days after the news of his death has been announced and some experts even predict a drop in the oil prices as the production of Lybian oil will increase.

In New York, the price of oil has hit lowest point of the week, due to concerns about European debt agreement. As a result, Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in November reached $US 85.30 a barrel.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for December reached $US109.76 on the Intercontinental Exchange.

Olivier Jakob, oil analyst at Petromatrix, stated that: ‘The regime had already fallen. It will bring additional peace to the country but oil exports are already in the process of coming back – so there is no great change to the short-term supply and demand picture.’

‘Geopolitical tensions and revolutions are always difficult to price into the market, especially when they take place in a major oil producer nation,’ declared Kathleen Brooks at Forex.com.

The production of oil was set at about 1.4 million barrels per day and approximately 85% of the total production was sold to the European markets.

In an effort to boost tourism, Japan will offer 10,000 free airfares for tourists next year.

The Japan tourism industry has been hit hard since the March 11th earthquake and tsunami. Many foreign tourists, from China to the United States are staying away, possibly assuming that the nuclear situation makes the country dangerous to visit.

The government has said that it is safe to travel throughout the country, with the only exception being the area surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The state of the global economy is also having an effect on Japan tourism, no doubt not helped by the country’s reputation as an expensive one to visit as a foreigner.

The country hopes that the 10,000 free airfares will be help to boost the flagging tourism industry.

In the popular summer tourist season, tourism was down nearly 40% in the months of June and July. During March, April and May of 2011, tourism fell sharply, more than 50%. In addition, many future trips that were already scheduled were postponed or cancelled altogether, due to radiation and safety fears.

The Japan Tourism Agency will allow potential tourists to apply via an online application for the free flights. Applicants must detail what regions of the country they wish to visit. Applicants may then be asked to create a report about their visit, presumably to post on the Japan Tourism Agency website to help further boost tourism by showing tourists having safe, enjoyable trips in the country.

While the airfare is free, those who qualify for the program will need to arrange and pay for their lodging, food, ground transportation and other expenses.

Currently, many travel agencies are offering discounted rates on Japan trips, including all-inclusive packages with airfare, food, transport, tourist guides and events.

The program announcement is certainly welcomed by the many businesses who rely on tourists for the majority of their income, such as hotels, inns, ryokans, hostels, transportation services and many restaurants.

30-year mortgages have never been less expensive. Today 30-year mortgage rates have fallen below 4%, marking the first time in history rates have fallen so low.

The current 30-year mortgage rates for a fixed rate mortgage loan is now 3.94 percent. The rate is the lowest point reaches since the beginning of mortgage tracking by federal housing loan institution Freddie Mac.

Rates for a 15 year fixed rate home mortgage also fell to a historic low, at 3.26 percent.

The rates follow a steep decline in the 10 year Treasury bond, as worries over the state of the global economy continue.  The rates for the treasury bond are at less than 2%. Treasury bonds have traditionally been an indicator of the mortgage market.

The historically low mortgage rates are a boon for homeowners. Just a few months ago, the rates were over 4 1/2 percent, but at today’s rates homeowners can save about $40 per month for every $100,000. The savings can be nearly $15,000 over the 30 years for each $100K.

However, historically low mortgage rates have yet to spark the home buying market, as consumers are highly cautious of any spending, and especially cautious of any large expenditures, such as a home. More consumers are opting to wait for the economy to get better, and are putting off investing in a new home or considering homes on the low end of the cost scale.

In all, mortgage loan applications have dropped to less than 5% of loan transactions.

Checking account fees are going up as more and more banks are adding or raising fees. Whether you’re using an ATM or worried about overdraft charges, nearly all of the fees associated with your checking account are going up.

Last year, many banks were offering free checking accounts, no interest checking accounts and no fee checking accounts. However, these days there are few banks offering these special deals. Now, new checking accounts are loaded with fees.

According to Bankrate.com, less than half of new account offer free checking options.

About 45% of no interest checking accounts have no fees, down nearly 30% from the previous year.

However, many banks are also offering more options to allow people to avoid many of the typical fees by carrying a certain balance minimum and by using direct deposit of your paychecks or other income payments.

You may not see many signs offering free checking anymore, but savvy consumers can still take advantage of the options that allow you to avoid most fees. In fact, consumers who meet all financial requirements will still be able to take advantage of free checking.

Nearly 1/3 of no interest checking accounts now require a certain balance to maintain your no fee account.

A typical average balance for that purpose is nearly $600. That number is more than doubled from last year. People who don’t keep their minimum balance are subject to higher fees.

Monthly fees are also higher, with an average of nearly $5.00. ATM withdrawal fees are also reaching record highs, with an average of nearly $2.50.

In addition to rising fees, fees may also vary widely depending on what state and city you live in. Research has shown that people in San Diego, Denver, Seattle, Houston and New York paid higher ATM withdrawal fees than people in places like Chicago, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Tampa and Cincinatti.

Overdraft fees are also climbing to record highs, up to nearly $31. Overdraft fees were highest for people living in Denver, Houston and Miami.