Gold and silver have always been and will always be many investors’ favorite precious metals. The summer sell-off and subsequent bounce in gold and silver has reignited investment fever in the commodities. Traders often substitute silver for gold… Read More

Q. How do you make a small fortune in commodities? A. Start with a large fortune. If you’ve been investing for a while, chances are you’ve happened upon that maxim, or a variation of it. I first heard it on the trading floor of… Read More

Gold is on the rise. The commodity has seen a dramatic surge over the past two months since hitting bottom in late June. Investing in the metal itself or in a fund like SPDR Gold Trust Shares (NYSE: GLD) are both great ways to play this trend. But considering the historic lows that we’ve seen in gold producers, even bigger… Read More

Gold is on the rise. The commodity has seen a dramatic surge over the past two months since hitting bottom in late June. Investing in the metal itself or in a fund like SPDR Gold Trust Shares (NYSE: GLD) are both great ways to play this trend. But considering the historic lows that we’ve seen in gold producers, even bigger gains could be made by investing in gold miners. One of the easiest ways to do this is through the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX). Right now, GDX is the cheapest it’s been since 2008. David Einhorn, the billionaire fund manager, is one of the biggest GDX shareholders. His hedge fund Greenlight Capital currently owns 8.8 million shares, making him the fund’s fifth-largest institutional… Read More

AuEx Ventures, a Reno, Nev.-based enterprise with fewer than 10 employees, went public in mid-2005 at $0.50 a share. The company’s mission? To find new precious metals deposits in Nevada. Thanks to the use of high technology, combined with detailed knowledge of the local… Read More

Considering the broad macroeconomic forces in play and the way the individual stocks are trading, miners of base metals are in an interesting spot. During the past several years, base metal miners have been heavily correlated with emerging markets, and specifically to China’s economic growth. This is because China has provided an incredible amount of demand for construction metals, such as copper and iron ore. The more China invests in its infrastructure, the better the business… Read More

Considering the broad macroeconomic forces in play and the way the individual stocks are trading, miners of base metals are in an interesting spot. During the past several years, base metal miners have been heavily correlated with emerging markets, and specifically to China’s economic growth. This is because China has provided an incredible amount of demand for construction metals, such as copper and iron ore. The more China invests in its infrastructure, the better the business environment for these miners. So it comes as no surprise that as investors have lost faith in China’s economic growth, stock prices for miners such as Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX), BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) and Vale (NYSE: VALE) have been under pressure.#-ad_banner-# But in recent weeks, these stocks have begun to trade higher. Last week, Bloomberg reported an uptick in Chinese manufacturing, with the country’s preliminary purchasing managers’ index rising to 50.1 from 47.7 in July. Keep in mind,… Read More

When the Federal Reserve launched its plans to stimulate the economy through quantitative easing in 2009, virtually all asset classes were expected to benefit as the massive increase in liquidity… Read More

What happens to a forest after a forest fire? More often than not, it grows back even healthier than before. Trees damaged in a fire typically die within two years, and dead vegetation falls to the ground. The remaining snags provide a habitat for wildlife and eventually fall to the forest floor, becoming a long-term source of nutrients. It’s a process of creative destruction. Financial markets can behave the same way. They can crash and burn, clearing out irrational excess in order to build a foundation of sustainable growth. Two… Read More

What happens to a forest after a forest fire? More often than not, it grows back even healthier than before. Trees damaged in a fire typically die within two years, and dead vegetation falls to the ground. The remaining snags provide a habitat for wildlife and eventually fall to the forest floor, becoming a long-term source of nutrients. It’s a process of creative destruction. Financial markets can behave the same way. They can crash and burn, clearing out irrational excess in order to build a foundation of sustainable growth. Two prime examples: the tech bubble of the late 1990s and the so-called commodities supercycle. “Technology is here to stay.” This is one of the most ridiculous statements I’ve heard uttered by investors as they bid up the likes of Pets.com and CMGI to ridiculous, stratospheric prices. Along the way, the stocks of many great long-term companies were lifted as well. One of my favorite “Forever Stocks,” chip-making giant Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), has been punished for over a decade, thanks to guilt by association. But what happened after the crash is that… Read More

What happens to a forest after a forest fire? More often than not, it grows back even healthier than before. Trees damaged in a fire typically die within two years, and dead vegetation falls to the ground. The remaining snags provide a habitat for wildlife and eventually fall to the forest floor, becoming a long-term source of nutrients. It’s a process of creative destruction. Financial markets can behave the same way. They can crash and burn, clearing out irrational excess in order to build a foundation of sustainable growth. Two… Read More

What happens to a forest after a forest fire? More often than not, it grows back even healthier than before. Trees damaged in a fire typically die within two years, and dead vegetation falls to the ground. The remaining snags provide a habitat for wildlife and eventually fall to the forest floor, becoming a long-term source of nutrients. It’s a process of creative destruction. Financial markets can behave the same way. They can crash and burn, clearing out irrational excess in order to build a foundation of sustainable growth. Two prime examples: the tech bubble of the late 1990s and the so-called commodities supercycle. “Technology is here to stay.” This is one of the most ridiculous statements I’ve heard uttered by investors as they bid up the likes of Pets.com and CMGI to ridiculous, stratospheric prices. Along the way, the stocks of many great long-term companies were lifted as well. One of my favorite “Forever Stocks,” chip-making giant Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), has been punished for over a decade, thanks to guilt by association. But what happened after the crash is that… Read More

We’ve managed to avoid the great Mayan prediction of the end of the world in 2012, along with countless doomsday prognostications before it. But while we shrug off the continued calls that some people still predict about the end of the world, it’s undeniable there are good reasons investors should… Read More

Ron Paul is a lot like licorice; not everyone likes him, but the ones who do really like him.#-ad_banner-# The former Texas congressman built his reputation and loyal following by taking strong positions on a number of controversial… Read More