What's News

Try Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS
CLICK HERE NOW

For Teachers: Lessons on Oil and Gold

03/17/08 - 04:49 PM EDT

The Stock Market Game Program

The Week in Review is provided by The Stock Market Game, which is a curriculum-based teaching tool that allows students to invest a hypothetical $100,000 online stock portfolio to learn about long-term saving and investing.

The Stock Market Game Week in Review: March 10-14

The mortgage crisis and credit woes continued to be highlighted in the headlines last week and Wall Street responded to the Labor Department's unchanged Consumer Price Index (CPI) released Thursday, Mar. 13. The CPI, a key inflation inflation reading, showed prices maintained the levels from the previous month. Economists had expected a 0.2% rise in this measure after the rise in February left overall prices 4% above where they were 12 months earlier and down from the 4.3% rise in January. Cheaper energy helped keep overall consumer prices in check, the Labor Department said. This report boosts the chance for a big interest rate cut at the Fed's federal-reserve-system meeting this week, as the increase is still a bit above the perceived comfort zone of central bankers central-bank.

We received positive feedback from many teachers for focusing the previous Week in Review on the energy sector, which is performing well in these trying times. So now we're highlighting two selected commodities that are also holding up.

Oil

Last week, crude oil hit an all-time high of $111 per barrel before settling at a record close of $110.33, up 41 cents from the previous session. Analysts analyst blame oil's ascent on the weak dollar, which dropped to yet another low against the euro. The price of a gallon of gas is also following crude's recent surge and could rise as high at $3.75 a gallon this spring, analysts predict.

Your students may want to examine refining companies such as Valero VLO, Sunoco SUN, or Frontier FTO, which all specialize in turning crude oil into gas. ExxonMobil XOM, Chevron CVX, and ConocoPhillips COP, also have refining operations.

Gold

Gold has also performed well over the past year and hit a new milestone last week, rising to $1,000 an ounce. This is great news for investors, but consumers are not likely to find a bargain as they shop for jewelry. The weak dollar and record-high crude prices are thought to be the cause of the increased price of gold.

Anglo American AAUK may be interesting for your students to research. The company is based in the United Kingdom and is one of the largest mining companies in the world. In addition to gold, it is also involved in mining platinum, coal, and copper, and owns a large portion of the world's largest diamond producer, De Beers. Two additional gold companies that have had great performance over the past year include Kinross Gold KGC with a 99% return and Yamana Gold AUY, with a 35% return.

Recession

With the constant discussing of a possible recession recession, you may want to have your students take a look at "Recessionland," our new issue of StockTalk which follows up on the interest rate cuts presented in the most recent issue of In the News. This issue provides readers with an understanding of "recession" and its impact on the economy. It is presented as a conversation between a boy and his computer Avatar. To access this and other issues of the newsletters, please go to the Stock Market Game Web site's Teacher Support Center and click the "Publications" link in the "In the Classroom" section. From there, select "Show all publications listed by name," and click "Next".

To learn more about The Stock Market Game, go to www.stockmarketgame.org.




This article was written by a staff member of The Stock Market Game.

Investing A-to-Z

What's News

Go To Section Home


03/10/08
For Teachers: Lessons on the Energy Sector

Amid the negative headlines, there are a few market bright spots. Here's a look at companies like First Solar and SunPower.


03/04/08
For Teachers: Lessons on Gross Domestic Product

What can GDP data tell us about the country's economic health? Here's a look.


02/25/08
For Teachers: Lessons on the Fed

Here's a snapshot look at the U.S. Federal Reserve, GM, Research In Motion and Pacific Gas & Electric.


02/19/08
For Teachers: Lessons on Investing in What You Know

What can students learn from legendary investor Peter Lynch? Here's a look.


02/11/08
For Teachers: Lessons on the Service Sector

What can the service sector reveal about the health of the U.S. economy? Here's a look.


02/04/08
For Teachers: Lessons on the Dow and the S&P 500

For those new to The Stock Market Game program, the Dow and the S&P 500 may be new concepts. So what do they really represent?


05/19/08
Cramer on Top Searched Stocks: Yahoo!

Yahoo! is among the most searched stocks on TheStreet.com. Here's what Cramer had to say about the stock recently.


05/17/08
Jim Cramer's Best Blogs

Catch up on his thinking on the hottest topics of the past week.


04/26/08
Coming Week: Make or Break

Investors will have to deal with a Fed meeting and another flood of earnings and economic data.


05/19/08
Top Rocket Stocks: Ensco

Ensco International and Echelon have the potential to move higher in coming days.


04/28/08
Monday's Analysts' Upgrades, Downgrades

See who made what calls.


05/19/08
Telecom Giants See a Savior in Video

The addition of video is helping telecom companies compete against cable and satellite companies.


05/19/08
Contract Expiration Tempers Oil's Rise

The June West Texas Intermediate contract reflects selling pressure ahead of Tuesday's expiration. But stocks in the sector are generally trading higher.


05/19/08
Analysts' Upgrades, Downgrades: Amazon

See who made what calls.


Your Recent Quotes: Quote Up0 | Quote Down0
Dow S&P 500 NASDAQ
Oil*
Gold
10 Yr
0.00%
%
%
%
Data delayed 20 min
Sign up for our FREE newsletters now.

Keep on top of the market and the critical information you need to make more profitable investing decisions.

  • Cramer's Daily Booyah!
  • Before the Bell

Privacy Policy

See All Free Newsletters

Premium Stock Ideas