As the world trained its eyes on Copenhagen last Friday to learn the location of the 2016 Olympic Games, I sat in a bar in Washington, D.C., with an old friend. We were waiting for the results of a different contest. The race we were interested in has far larger… Read More
Energy & Commodities
Natural gas is trading near historical lows and could explode upward in the next few months, especially as cooler temperatures begin to remind traders in New York that winter is on the way. Investors can buy futures or exchange-traded funds… Read More
Crude oil has risen above $72 a barrel, but cheap oil just got a little cheaper. Recently, I looked at the value of the world’s leading will double its crude reserves, and yet its stock has only risen about +8%. #-ad_banner-#Now, admittedly, Anadarko will have to spend some money to… Read More
Investors don’t have a crystal ball that can predict the market, but they can study its past performance. History tells us that bull markets follow bear markets and that printing money causes… Read More
The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), which measures the price it costs to ship raw materials by sea, is falling again — and fast. #-ad_banner-#The BDI isn’t a regular stock index like the S&P 500. It’s a composite… Read More
Several hundred thousand crude oil contracts trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) on a typical day. Look closely at the details of the session’s activity and you’ll see prices like $68.08, the closing price for October crude on Sept. 1. You’ll probably notice that December 2010 crude settled… Read More
Gold and platinum usually move in tandem, with platinum typically valued about twice as much as gold. Sometimes this relationship gets off kilter for a short while, but it usually corrects itself quickly. Gold and platinum prices have been disconnected since the end of 2008. Read More
Investors hooked on green energy, government spending, and developing economies are looking in the right place. They just aren’t looking at the right stock. When the global economy slammed on the breaks, General Cable (NYSE: BGC) took it on the chin. It slid… Read More
The price of sugar is up +86% so far this year and has reached a 28-year high. But this isn’t the end of a bull market for the commodity, it’s only the beginning. Two separate forces on… Read More
On July 18th, Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (NYSE: VALE) said it was not interested in acquiring more fertilizer companies. The statement was made after a Sao Paulo newspaper reported the Brazilian mining company was considering a $25 billion buyout of the Minnesota-based… Read More