big bernanke to talk interest rates tonight

wild night ahead, boof head bernanke wil talk interest rates tonight, any indication rates are on hold for a while should spark a decent rally possible 100+ , but that goes both ways if he starts talking like he was in may then it could be down 100+ lol



Stock Futures Up Ahead of Bernanke Talk
Friday August 25, 7:24 am ET
Stock Futures Inch Up Ahead of Bernanke Speech in Wyoming


LONDON (AP) -- U.S. stock market futures on Friday edged higher ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and as oil futures rallied on concerns a storm could hit the vital Gulf of Mexico region.
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S&P 500 futures rose a point at 1,297.10 and Nasdaq 100 futures improved 1.25 points at 1,558.50. Dow industrial futures rose 12 points.

On Thursday, U.S. markets inched higher after a decline in durable-goods orders and a 4.3 percent fall in sales of new homes. The Dow industrials ended up 6.6 points, and the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 also closed with minor gains.

Attention on Friday will turn to Jackson Hole, Wyo., the site of the Federal Reserve annual symposium. Bernanke is due to speak at 10 a.m. EDT about global economic integration.

The dollar rose against the yen ahead of that speech, following data that suggested the Bank of Japan may not want to make another interest-rate hike this year.

Crude-oil futures rallied by about $1 a barrel on concerns that a tropical depression may turn into a tropical storm and hit the Gulf of Mexico. This season, oil platforms and refineries in the region have been spared by storms after last year's wave of hurricanes.

Of companies in focus, Home Depot added $3.5 billion to its stock buyback program. German-listed Home Depot shares rose 1 percent on light volume.

J. Crew Group may climb after lifting its fiscal-year earnings forecast. The company reported a widening of its second-quarter loss, but its 17 percent sales rise was better than Wall Street expected.

Toyota Motor declined in Japanese trading on reports it will delay new model introductions due to a surge of vehicle recalls and quality problems.

Declines for Toyota and Sony helped pull the Nikkei 225 lower for the day, off 0.1 percent, though many technology shares in Asia rose.

European markets were a touch higher, with gains for banks on merger speculation and from telecommunications companies after Vodafone Group agreed to sell its 25 percent stake in a Belgian mobile operator to Belgacom for $2.6 billion.





UPDATE 2-Gold drifts, awaits Bernanke speech
Fri Aug 25, 2006 5:57am ET
Email This Article | Print This Article | Reprints [-] Text [+] (Updates prices, quotes, changes dateline pvs Singapore)

By Daniel Magnowski

LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Gold was left to drift in early London trade on Friday as dealers waited for a speech by the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman for clues on interest rates.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver a speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming at 1400 GMT, which could offer fresh clues on the path of interest rates and influence gold's next moves.


"Choppy trading is likely to continue as no fresh economic data will be released and the major event, the Bernanke speech...will take place towards the close of European trading," said Peter Fertig, director of FX and commodity strategy at Dresdner Kleinwort, in a note.

Dealers said that any suggestion the Fed's two-year credit-tightening cycle had come to an end could spur selling in the dollar. A weaker dollar makes dollar-priced gold more attractive to buy for holders of other currencies.

Spot gold was quoted at $622.00/623.50 per ounce at 0946 GMT, up slightly from $620.30/621.05 late in New York on Thursday.


CONFLICTING FORCES Continued...