The Ideal Winter Dish? It’s This Cozy Cabbage Recipe

Melissa Clark pairs that hearty vegetable with pork, herbs and bright lemon to bring out its very best.

Send any friend a story

As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share.

By Melissa Clark

Gold Futures Snap 3-day Winning Run, Settle Moderately Lower

Gold futures pared early gains and settled lower on Thursday, snapping a three-day winning streak. The dollar’s recovery from lower levels weighed on gold prices.

The dollar index dropped to a low of 102.64 but recovered to 103.12 as the day progressed, cutting its loss to less than 0.3%.

Gold futures for April ended lower by $12.20 or about 0.7% at $1,878.50 an ounce, falling from the day’s high of $1,902.30 an ounce.

Silver futures for March ended down $0.277 at $22.143 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $4.0970 per pound, gaining $0.0615.

Data released by the Labor Department this morning showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rebounded by slightly more than expected in the week ended February 4th.

The data said initial jobless claims rose to 196,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 183,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 190,000.

The uptick came after jobless claims decreased in four out of the five previous weeks, falling to their lowest level since hitting 181,000 in the week ended April 23, 2022.

Edward Moya, Senior Market Analyst at OANDA says gold prices are lower as investors see a robust labor market that could complicate the disinflation process.

Moya is of the view that gold prices could be under pressure a little longer if the market starts to price some more quarter-point rate increases.

Thirty-Year Bond Auction Attracts Below Average Demand

After reporting mixed demand for this month’s three-year and ten-year note auctions earlier this week, the Treasury revealed Thursday that this month’s auction of $21 billion worth of thirty-year bonds attracted below average demand.

The thirty-year bond auction drew a high yield of 3.686 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.25.

Last month, the Treasury sold $18 billion worth of thirty-year bonds, drawing a high yield of 3.585 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.45.

The bid-to-cover ratio is a measure of demand that indicates the amount of bids for each dollar worth of securities being sold.

The ten previous thirty-year bond auctions had an average bid-to-cover ratio of 2.37.

Earlier this week, the Treasury revealed this month’s auction of $40 billion worth of three-year notes attracted below average demand, while this month’s auction of $35 billion worth of ten-year notes attracted above average demand.

The Treasury also announced the details of this month’s twenty-year bond auction on Thursday.

The Treasury said it plans to sell $15 billion worth of twenty-year bonds, with the results of the auction due to be announced next Wednesday.

Last month, the Treasury sold $12 billion worth of twenty-year bonds, attracting above average demand.

Oil Futures Settle Lower After Three Straight Days Of Gains

Crude oil futures ended lower on Thursday, after three successive days of gains, as rising crude inventories in the U.S. and prospects of more interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve weighed on oil prices.

Expectations of higher oil demand from China helped limit oil’s downside.

Rating agency Fitch has revised its forecast for China’s economic growth in 2023 to 5% from 4.1% previously, saying that broader economic activity is recovering faster than initially anticipated after lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended lower by $0.41 or about 0.5% at $78.06 a barrel.

Brent crude futures were down $0.90 or 1.06% at $84.19 a barrel.

Edward Moya, Senior Market Analyst at OANDA says “crude prices are getting dragged down as the Treasury yield curve inversion new extreme suggests a broad-based slowdown is coming.”

Moya says central banks may need to still deliver more tightening than what markets are pricing in.

WTI crude looks like it might be stuck below the $80 level until we have a clearer picture of China’s crude demand outlook, according to Moya.

Pixelworks Inc. Q4 Loss Decreases, beats estimates

Pixelworks Inc. (PXLW) revealed Loss for fourth quarter that decreased from last year but missed the Street estimates.

The company’s bottom line totaled -$1.93 million, or -$0.04 per share. This compares with -$3.29 million, or -$0.06 per share, in last year’s fourth quarter.

Excluding items, Pixelworks Inc. reported adjusted earnings of -$0.77 million or -$0.01 per share for the period.

Analysts on average had expected the company to earn -$0.02 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 1.8% to $16.89 million from $16.59 million last year.

Pixelworks Inc. earnings at a glance (GAAP) :

-Earnings (Q4): -$1.93 Mln. vs. -$3.29 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q4): -$0.04 vs. -$0.06 last year.
-Analyst Estimates: -$0.02
-Revenue (Q4): $16.89 Mln vs. $16.59 Mln last year.

Verisign Inc. Profit Drops In Q4

Verisign Inc. (VRSN) announced earnings for fourth quarter that decreased from the same period last year

The company’s bottom line came in at $179.5 million, or $1.70 per share. This compares with $330.1 million, or $2.97 per share, in last year’s fourth quarter.

The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 8.5% to $369.2 million from $340.3 million last year.

Verisign Inc. earnings at a glance (GAAP) :

-Earnings (Q4): $179.5 Mln. vs. $330.1 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q4): $1.70 vs. $2.97 last year.
-Revenue (Q4): $369.2 Mln vs. $340.3 Mln last year.