I was watching Jim Cramer’s show on CNBC last Tuesday and I thought I was just drowsy from my colds medication when I heard the television say that the market has bottomed. I frankly shunned the statement away until a while ago when I was browsing CNBC for market leads.

Jim Cramer told his viewers in CNBC’s mad money that the market has bottomed. He made such a call because of what he called a market capitulation. According to him, the Investors Intelligence Survey reported a 30% bull-50% bear ratio. He then proceeded to ask on who is left to sell.

Also, plenty of couples have proved through recent earnings reports that they’ve been able to handle the commodity inflation that plagued the market for so long. Oil is fading; Gold is following the trend too.

Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it would continue to protect 19 banks being vulnerable to short-selling by Hedge Funds. This is vital because, as Cramer said, it’s this protection that allowed for the Merrill deals to happen. Now other banks are safe to proceed with their own deals, and the market rally can continue.

“My bottom call isn’t gutsy,” Cramer said. “I think it’s just a smart call that all the evidence points toward.”

“Bye, bye bear market,” he said. “Say hello to the bull and don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

It’s nice to have a government that cares. Even one that might go a little overboard, when it comes to deciding how much money you need to put away into retirement.

Photo Credit: Irene2005

Election candidates are proposing to start a scheme whereby anyone earning belo$75,000 a year, will have 3% of their income socked away into an IRA automatically. Previously, options like these were optional, with employees choosing to opt in instead of opting out.

So if you’re an employee, it really comes down to a question of whether or not you’re willing to allow the government to take away 3% of your salary from you. Suppose you need that money for something else? The governmnet however, thinks that it has a social obligation to induce people to save more, and is therefore offering to contribute upto $1000 to match your own savings.

This actually sounds like a very sweet deal for the common man. The money that would be put away, would be invested in a low cost index linked fund. It could also help the economy by slightly de-freezing credit lines, since the extra money that is being saved, will go to helping firms that need the cash to grow.

So it ends up benefiting everyone. If pulled through, it would be the best thing that can happen to boost savings.

The surging oil prices that are raising exporters’ costs to ship everything from steel to sofas to America are encouraging customers to buy more domestically made goods — and giving the producers of those goods more room to raise their prices.

“It’s changing global costs,” says Jeffrey Rubin, chief economist at CIBC World Markets in Toronto during a Bloomberg interview. For importers, the rising cost of shipping is “like an increase in tariffs,” says San Francisco Fed economist Reuven Glick.

Just as duties on imported goods give domestic industries cover to raise their own prices, higher shipping costs have the same inflationary effect, Rubin says. Fuel costs have made it so expensive to ship low-priced bookshelves to the U.S. that Ikea is starting to make them in America. Asian steel exporters, saddled with higher freight rates, are losing U.S. market share, allowing domestic producers to boost their prices.

The cost of foreign goods excluding petroleum climbed at an annual rate of 6.6 percent in May, the fastest increase since 1988, the BLS says.

Iron and Steel

Iron and steel import prices were up 46.4 percent in May from a year earlier, government figures show. U.S. steel production has risen nearly 3 percent this year as imports have declined 12 percent, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington.

Chinese Firms’ Disadvantage

Chinese steelmakers are doubly disadvantaged by higher oil prices. The result may be higher business costs and inflation, he adds.

Furniture companies are among those redoing the sums. Prices for imported furniture and related products rose 6.3 percent in May compared with the year-ago month.

The largest U.S. bank is about halfway through the 6,000 job cuts at the division signalled in March, said the person, who declined to be identified because Citigroup hasn’t disclosed the plans publicly. Citigroup employs about 300,000 people worldwide and has announced more than 13,000 job reductions this year.

Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit is lowering costs and shedding assets after the New York-based company reported two straight quarterly losses totalling $15 billion. The world’s largest banks and brokerage firms have slashed more than 80,000 jobs since subprime mortgage defaults infected credit markets and led to almost $400 billion of writedowns and losses.

“I see more downsizing to come,” said Andy Mantel, managing director of Pacific Sun Investment Management Ltd. in Hong Kong during a Bloomberg interview. “Banks need to take precautionary measures.”

Citigroup, whose shares rose 8 cents in early German trading today to $19.38 according to Bloomberg data, has disclosed plans to eliminate more jobs during the past year than any other financial institution, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. UBS AG, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. are among the companies to announce more than 5,000 job reductions.

Second-Quarter Loss

The company probably will report a second-quarter loss of 40 cents a share after $8.7 billion of asset writedowns, UBS analyst Glenn Schorr said in a June 20 note to clients.

Schorr’s prediction came after Chief Financial Officer Gary Crittenden forecast “substantial” additional writedowns and more losses on consumer loans. Citigroup’s $42 billion of credit losses and writedowns since last year account for about 10 percent of the global total, according to Bloomberg data.

Citigroup has lost more than any company in the mortgage market rout and its shares tumbled 63 percent in the past year. Pandit, 51, was promoted in December to replace Charles O. “Chuck” Prince, who was ousted two months earlier.

Goldman Jobs

Citigroup then said in April it would slash 7,000 jobs outside the investment banking group over the next year, and executives have said further reductions are likely.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the biggest U.S. securities firm, will get rid of as much as 10 percent of the jobs in its investment banking division in one of the company’s largest single rounds of headcount reductions this year, the Financial Times reported today, without citing anyone.

At the Jeddah Energy Meeting in Saudi Arabia Saturday, Ibrahim Al-Muhanna told CNBC’s Melissa Francis that production would increase significantly “by the middle of next year.”

The kingdom’s current total capacity of 11.3 million barrels per day is expected to increase to 12.5 million barrels per day, Al-Muhanna said. Previous estimates by the International Energy Agency put current Saudi capacity at about 10.8 million barrels per day. The Gulf nation has also become increasingly concerned that record oil prices could hinder growth in the U.S. and other major industrialized economies, potentially leading to a decline in oil demand and a sharp drop-off in prices.

While Saudi Arabia has been reluctant to drastically increase production, it has announced several small increases recently that it says were made to satisfy increased customer demand. The country has consistently said that it will produce enough oil to ensure the market is supplied.

The kingdom increased oil production by 300,000 barrels a day in May, and is expected to add another 200,000 barrels a day in July. Meanwhile, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Saturday that insufficient oil production, not financial speculation, was driving soaring crude prices.

The U.S. and many other Western nations have put increasing pressure on Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, to increase production. Bodman disputed that assertion Saturday, saying oil production has not kept pace with growing demand, especially from developing countries like China and India.

“Market fundamentals show us that production has not kept pace with growing demand for oil, resulting in increasing prices and increasingly volatile prices,” Bodman told reporters. “There is no evidence that we can find that speculators are driving futures prices” for oil.

Many countries around the world have experienced social unrest by populations angry that rising fuel prices have driven significant increases in the cost of food and other basic goods.

Bodman made clear that the responsibility for reducing oil prices did not simply fall on the shoulders of producing nations, saying consuming countries must increase energy efficiency and invest in the development of alternative fuels. But he saved his strongest words for oil producers like Saudi Arabia, who he said must step up long-term investment in production and spare capacity.

Don’t look now but the price of gold is back above $900 an ounce.

Gold, which typically rises during times of economic uncertainty and inflation, hit an all-time high of more than $1,030 an ounce back in mid-March.

A week ago, gold futures were trading at $866 an ounce. There is a case to be made that gold prices will continue to rise modestly. Demand for gold is still strong in many emerging markets. As such, profits for many gold miners are expected to double this year.

Still, most financial planners and market strategists say that people should only have a very small percentage of their portfolio dedicated to gold. Gold prices are up nearly 9% year-to-date. Not surprisingly then, gold stocks, mutual funds and ETFs have been some of the market’s better performers during this tumultuous year on Wall Street.

According to fund tracker Morningstar, precious metals funds are up 1% year-to-date compared to a 8.5% loss for the S&P 500. Keep in mind, when gold hit its all-time high, the overall market was in a panic about whether Bear Stearns would collapse.

“There is a wide pricing disparity between gold and oil but I think that will narrow with crude coming down, not gold catching up.”

In addition, Walter said that although global demand is still strong for gold, there are concerns that China’s economy may be starting to slow a bit. That could dampen gold prices.

It still owns several though, including Newmont Mining and Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold.

So even though investing in gold and gold mining stocks may be a good idea for a long-term portfolio, now’s not the time to go overboard and make too a big bet on all that glitters.

Eight-cylinder luxury cars will rumble along Jeddah’s highways guzzling cheap Saudi gasoline as energy powers hold emergency talks in the Red Sea port this weekend to brake the free-wheeling rise in oil prices.

Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told Ban that Saudi Arabia would raise oil output to 9.7 million barrels per day in July, its second output rise in two months and the highest Saudi output since August 1981, according to U.S. statistics.

Venezuela is snubbing the Jeddah meeting.

Officials from the producer group say oil supplies are adequate and blame the high price on warmongering over Iran’s nuclear program, massive investment flows into commodities and the slump in the U.S. dollar.

Spare Capacity

Limited extra capacity and the potential for demand to outstrip supply in years to come have helped drive oil’s rally.

Either you slow demand and increase supply or prices are going to go a lot higher.”

Longer-term capacity commitments from Saudi and other producers might help, Sieminksi said.

Sanctions have constrained international investment in Iran, the second-largest oil reserve holder.

OPEC blames speculators for inflating oil’s rally and adding to volatility and wants increased regulation of futures markets.

Oil market observers question whether very much can be done in Jeddah in the short-term to bring oil down.

Ferretti SpA, the Italian maker of Riva yachts, plans to file for an initial public offering in the next few days after receiving approval from shareholders, Chief Executive Officer Vincenzo Cannatelli said.

Ferretti, which is 60 percent-owned by private-equity firm Candover Investments Plc, wants to both expand its current operations and buy new companies, Cannatelli said today before a luxury-goods conference on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.

Ferretti has purchased eight companies in 12 years. The company’s sales are rising by 20 percent a year by selling yachts that cost at least 2 million euros ($3 million.) Clients that want a “mega-yacht,” which are 45 meters long and sell for at least 40 million euros are on a waiting list until 2012, the CEO said. London-based Candover, the manager of a 3.5 billion-euro buyout fund, completed its purchase of Ferretti in January 2007, valuing the company at 1.5 billion euros.

“The company is ready,” said Cannatelli in a Bloomberg interview. “The company is focused on growing both by expanding into new markets such as Russia, the Middle East and Asia as well as through introducing new products.” Details of the IPO haven’t been decided, Cannatelli said. Buyout firm Permira Advisers LLP and Ferretti’s managers, the previous owners, own the outstanding 40 percent of the Forli, Italy-based yachtmaker. Ebitda

The company reported a 23 percent increase in production value of 950 million euros in the fiscal year ending August 2007 and a 33 percent increase in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of 158 million euros, Cannetelli said.

The yacht maker was founded in 1968 by Alessandro and Norberto Ferretti and generates about 75 percent of sales outside Italy, including 15 percent in the U.S. Revenue has increased in the past four years on stronger demand from Russia and the Middle East and orders for bigger boats.

More than 70 percent of the company’s sales come from exports, said Cannatelli. Ferretti plans to introduce a new boat with a hybrid gas- electric motor in Milan in the next few weeks to respond to consumer demands for products with alternative fuel sources.

Mediobanca SpA and Merrill Lynch & Co. will act as joint global coordinators of the offering, Ferretti said in a statement yesterday. Citigroup Inc. and UBS AG will be joint bookrunners.

Anheuser-Busch Cos., the U.S. brewer being pursued for a takeover by InBev NV, said Grupo Modelo SAB Chief Executive Officer Carlos Fernandez resigned from the Anheuser-Busch board.

Fernandez resigned “to avoid appearance of any conflict,” said Modelo spokeswoman Jennifer Shelley.

Smith’s Anheuser-Busch recommendations returned 10 percent in the last year, ranking her fifth among 16 analysts tracked by Bloomberg.

Modelo, which is 50 percent owned by Anheuser-Busch through direct and indirect stakes, said last week it wants to remain a Mexican-owned company, countering speculation it may sell to the U.S. brewer.

The company’s directors meet today to consider InBev’s $65-a-share offer, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported yesterday, citing the uncle of CEO August A. Busch IV.

“It shows that Grupo Modelo doesn’t want to get in the middle of the negotiations between InBev and Anheuser,” said Marco Reyes, an analyst with Mexico City-based brokerage IXE Casa de Bolsa SA. Reyes is the top-ranked analyst in terms of Modelo recommendations, with his picks returning 9.9 percent.

Anheuser-Busch, which makes Budweiser beer, declined 38 cents to $60.67 at 4:02 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Grupo Modelo fell 1.73 pesos to 53.02 pesos in Mexican stock exchange trading. Anheuser-Busch also said today it is buying the remaining 50 percent stake in Crown Beers India Ltd. from its joint venture partner Crown International. Modelo’s controlling families may decide either to try to buy the stake now owned by Anheuser-Busch or sell their shares after a transaction, analysts said.

“I don’t think they’re willing to sell,” said Reyes, who recommends buying Modelo shares. “If InBev buys Anheuser, Modelo will remain just as it is.”

Separately, InBev CEO Carlos Brito, addressing critics of the company’s previous cost-cutting, said that Anheuser-Busch’s wholesale distributors will be “key” should the brewers agree to a transaction.

Japan’s five-year notes completed the biggest weekly gain in 10 months as declines in stocks spurred demand for bond yields near the highest since July.

Bonds also gained as traders trimmed bets the central bank will raise interest rates this year, according to Bloomberg calculations using interest-rate swaps.

“Weaker stocks supported bonds,” said Keiko Onogi, a debt strategist in Tokyo at Daiwa Securities SMBC Co., one of the 26 primary dealers that are required to bid at government debt sales. The yield on the 1.5 percent note due June 2013 fell 18 basis points this week to 1.35 percent at Japan Bond Trading Co., the nation’s largest interdealer debt broker. The price gained 0.84 yen to 100.70. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

Ten-year bond yields decreased 8 basis points this week to 1.76 percent and 10-year bond futures for September delivery added 1.15 over the five days to 133.50 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Nikkei declined 1.3 percent yesterday, completing the second weekly slide.

`Extremely Uncertain’

“Shirakawa-san is not suggesting a rate hike,” said Hitomi Kimura, a bond strategist in Tokyo at JPMorgan Securities Japan Co., also a primary dealer. The chance the central bank will increase its benchmark rate this year fell to 54 percent yesterday from 67 percent at the end of last week, according to Bloomberg calculations using overnight interest-rate swaps from JPMorgan Chase & Co. The odds were as high as 92 percent on June 11.

Demand for bonds may be limited before a government report next week that economists say will show inflation quickened to the fastest in a decade, said Susumu Kato, chief economist at Calyon Securities in Tokyo. Inflation erodes the value of the fixed payments from debt.

The report is due June 27.

The so-called breakeven inflation rate reflects investor expectations for average annual increases in consumer prices over the next decade.