After earning hefty profits on its commodities trading for nearly 18 years, heavyweight trader Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) now finds itself on the hot seat, defending this crucial source of revenue. And while that may not be good for Goldman, it’s also bad for investors.  Let me explain…

The dollar fell to $1.42 per euro yesterday. Many believe it is the Achilles Heel of the entire world financial system – including Warren Buffett.

Man’s hope! Yes, it’s the ‘miracle economy’. China, that is. Many analysts think it has ‘de-coupled’ from the rest of the world economy. While the rest of the world sinks into the ‘worst recession since the ‘30s,’ it is said to be growing at 8% per year. Go figure.

Currencies adrift all day yesterday…Data prints begin today with Productivity…Stop to think! Chinese data is impressive…And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

In the last few columns, we’ve focused on sectors that typically see lots of action during the summertime. Most notably, this includes the “grains” (corn, wheat, soybeans), the “softs” (orange juice), and even natural gas. When you have commodities that are so susceptible to weather, you often see dramatic moves in one day, only for it to unwind the next day.

The oil price is stubborn, like a two-year-old who refuses to eat his mashed peas. Despite all evidence that the market is well supplied, oil is over $70 a barrel again as I write. Taking the view out to the horizon, though, I think it will go higher and will drag the price of most commodities higher in its wake.

In late January, Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), the world’s most ubiquitous oil giant, capped off a whipsaw year in the global oil markets by reporting net income of $45.2 billion, an all-time record for corporate profits that shattered the former record it had set a year before.

In the energy market, crude oil for September delivery rose 89 cents from Thursday to close at $68.05/barrel. August reformulated gasoline rose a quarter of a cent to finish at $1.9159/gallon.

In the energy market, crude oil for September delivery shot up $1.76 from Wednesday to close at $67.16/barrel. August reformulated gasoline rose 7.49 cents to finish at $1.9132/gallon.

In the energy market, crude oil for September delivery [the new front-month contract] fell 21 cents from Tuesday to close at $65.40/barrel. August reformulated gasoline rose 2.63 cents to finish at $1.8383/gallon.