Brian Wittal

Sept. 3 — Outside and financial markets started the day off in a better mood and for the most part ended the day with positive gains. Grains tried to follow that example but it didn’t take long before selling started to undermine the futures and turn them lower, ending the day with further losses. Strong […] Read more

Sept. 3 — I was away at meeting all day yesterday so here is a quick review of what happened in the markets for Wednesday, Sept. 2. Markets continued to struggle Wednesday as there seemed to be limited trading activity, mainly due to the fact that no real news or items of interest were available […] Read more

Sept. 1 — Global equity markets continued to struggle overnight, which pulled the Dow Jones sharply lower, and that started a cascading effect in most U.S. markets today as non-commercial traders (speculators) got nervous and started to liquidate positions in most markets, making the losses even greater. Crude oil continued to fall, and that then […] Read more

Aug. 31 –– Global equity markets started the day off with losses and continued the trend to the close of trade, and that seemed to filter over into the financial and grain markets.  Financial markets ended down minimally on the day with the U.S. dollar down two-10ths of a cent today. The Canadian dollar closed […] Read more

Aug. 28 — Outside markets tried to show some strength early on, but then profit-taking started to kick in and quickly stalled out that early momentum. Financial markets followed the same pattern today, with a positive opening that soon fizzled out to end the day mixed to down for the most part. The U.S. dollar […] Read more

Aug. 27 –– It looks like “same story, different day.” Financial markets were in a mixed mood again today as they looked for news to respond to and there really wasn’t any. The U.S. dollar is down just over half a cent today. The Canadian dollar is up 1.18 cents at US92.23 cents. The Dow […] Read more

Aug. 26 — Financial markets were in a mixed mood today and seem to drift at times with no real news to help guide them. Wheat was the only grain that showed any positive reaction today and that came on the news of a sale to Egypt and reports out of Germany of lower production […] Read more

Aug. 25 — U.S. financial markets showed some renewed life today, bolstered by a report that showed consumer confidence increased more than expected in August, and a U.S. housing data report also showed better numbers, which most believe are signs that the U.S. economy is starting to improve. This provided support for the U.S. dollar […] Read more

Aug. 24 — Financial markets started off with a bang today but fell off of the highs as the day went on, to finish with small gains at the close. Economic news released by Statistics Canada today showed retail sales for June were up one per cent over the previous month, which was higher than […] Read more

Aug. 21 — My report is early today as I will be away this afternoon. Financial markets are showing solid gains today in response to economic news that seems to indicate the U.S. economy has hit bottom and is seeing glimmers of recovery. Housing sales in July are up 7.2 per cent over last July, […] Read more