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Crude futures caught themselves after dipping below the psychological $70/bbl level yesterday. Bulls came to the rescue in reaction to the second straight shallow weekly inventory report, and the futures are skating along our 2nd tier uptrend line.  In fact, it is the 5th time in six weeks crude inventories have declined.

The steady drop in inventories has allowed crude futures to exert a relative strength in contrast to the recent weakness in U.S. and appreciation of the U.S. Dollar.  However, the fact that crude fell below $70/bbl yesterday could be a negative indicator, foreboding of a steeper pullback on the horizon.

Geneva - The International Committee of the Red Cross demanded Thursday that it be allowed to visit an Israeli soldier being detained in the Gaza Strip since June
2006.

Since he was captured in a cross-border raid, Gilad Shalit has not met with a representative of the ICRC, as he is entitled to under international law, the organization said in a statement.

Former US president Jimmy Carter handed over this week to the Hamas authorities in the coastal enclave, a letter from Shalit's family to him.

The S&P futures continue to creep further away from our uptrend lines as the bulls fight to avoid a retest of 900.  The further our uptrend lines drift away, the more likely we are to see a sizeable pullback.  On a positive note, buyers were able to keep the S&P at a reasonable level despite a report showing a decline in consumer prices in addition to Standard and Poors slashing its ratings on 22 U.S. banks.

Geneva (dpa) - The ex-mistress of one of France's wealthiest men was sentenced Thursday to eight and a half years in jail for his murder. She could have faced up to 20 years in prison.

Cecile B., as she is known in the Swiss media, was found guilty of shooting Edouard Stern, who worked in Geneva as a banker, four times while they were engaged in a sado-masochistic sex game.

Stern's body was found in March 2005, in his posh apartment in the Swiss city, dressed in a full-body, flesh-coloured latex outfit, with gunshots to his head and upper body.

Berlin  - In a conscience vote Thursday, Germany's parliament adopted a law which makes living wills binding, forcing doctors to halt treatment of seriously ill, unconscious patients if they wish.

The moral issue had divided German legislators for six years, with some concerned that it might mark a step to euthanasia, which was widespread under the Nazis.

Sarajevo - Mustafa Mujezinovic from the largest Muslim Party of Democratic Action (SDA) was named Thursday as the new Prime Minister of Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, local media reports said.