FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past a man examining an electronic board showing Japan's Nikkei average and stock quotations in TokyoTOKYO - Crude oil hovered above $90 a barrel while equities were weak and the safe-haven dollar was firm on Monday as investors nervously watched for whether escalating violence in Gaza would cause the conflict to spread beyond Israel and Hamas.
Brent crude futures reached a new recent high of $91.20 on Monday before easing back slightly to $90.84, following Friday's 5.7% surge. "The situation is dynamic and it's too early to say if the hedges placed on Friday are unwarranted, but there have been pockets of positive news flow," Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, wrote in a note, citing the resumption of water supplies as one example.
Currencies overall retraced some of their moves from the end of the week, with the U.S. dollar index easing slightly to 106.55 from as high as 106.79 on Friday.The euro rose 0.1% to $1.0522 while the yen was little changed at 149.505 per dollar. Warren Buffett's business partner, Charlie Munger, would be a lot richer today if he hadn't sold or donated over 75% of his Berkshire Hathaway stock.WASHINGTON — Charles and Kathleen Moore are about to have their day in the Supreme Court over a $15,000 tax bill they contend is unconstitutional.