Although most of us are too young to remember, imagine what it must have been like during the Great Depression or the Second World War. Shortages at those times had most everyone scrapping for basics like sugar, butter or coffee. Such things may seem unfathomable… Read More

Experienced investors know that no trend — no matter how profitable — lasts forever. The same is true for gold. Gold has risen from below $700/oz. in November 2008 to $1,315/oz. in the beginning of October 2010. That’s an +88% gain in under two years. And while any mention of shorting gold is enough to get a gold bug’s blood boiling, one day the time will come when it’s the right trade to make. Consumer sentiment My daughter is home for a couple of months before she starts work as an attorney. When… Read More

Experienced investors know that no trend — no matter how profitable — lasts forever. The same is true for gold. Gold has risen from below $700/oz. in November 2008 to $1,315/oz. in the beginning of October 2010. That’s an +88% gain in under two years. And while any mention of shorting gold is enough to get a gold bug’s blood boiling, one day the time will come when it’s the right trade to make. Consumer sentiment My daughter is home for a couple of months before she starts work as an attorney. When I asked her if it was time to go short on gold, and she said that she hoped so. Her thought was, “If I’m shorting gold, then I believe the economy is improving, jobs are forming and a brighter future is heading our way.” And that would be terrific news for many of her friends who recently finished graduate school and are still looking for jobs. Her comments very much reflect the effect that confidence has on the economy. If things are looking up, people are willing to invest in risky assets that offer… Read More

One of the best performing markets of the past century is read hot again this century. Warren Buffett said, “The 19th century belonged to England, the 20th century belonged to the U.S., and the 21st century belongs to China. Invest accordingly.” Maybe so, but this… Read More

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin dropped a bombshell in early August.   Unrelenting drought, scorching heat and uncontrolled fires have ravaged farmland and destroyed Russian crops this year. It has been estimated that roughly a third of Russia’s wheat harvest has been lost. So Putin took the only… Read More

It was not that long ago when it seemed as if some sort of comprehensive legislation to tackle the issue of climate change almost seemed inevitable. But since then, political wrangling and the emergence of more pressing economic concerns have sent the issue to the backburner. Opponents… Read More

The road to a greener future has been a bumpy one for investors. The entire spectrum of clean energy stocks have risen and fallen in tandem with changing government policies and wildly swinging fossil fuel prices. Yet the industry has made considerable inroads as industry revenue for solar, wind and… Read More

In many races, the fabled tortoise always beats the hare. That’s the lesson learned by diversified miner Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO), which tried to race ahead, stumbled badly, and is now running the race at a more moderate and safer pace. At the height of the commodities… Read More

I have a little quiz for you. I’ll describe one of the most lucrative commodity plays I’ve ever seen, and you tell me which one I’m talking about. Ready? This commodity is one of the most versatile on the planet. It… Read More

One of the most interesting indicators used in the financial markets is the Baltic Dry Index (BDI). The index, created and maintained by the London-based Baltic Exchange, measures the price of shipping raw materials such as iron ore, coal and grains around… Read More

Thanks to a confluence of events, prices for corn, soybeans and wheat have been surging recently. And that has set agricultural equipment stocks afire. Shares of irrigation equipment maker Lindsay Manufacturing (NYSE: LNN) have surged more than +10% since last Thursday, while Deere (NYSE: DE) has made a similar move since last Monday. The same can be said for many other sector names, a number of which now sport price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios that are starting to get frothy. It may be too late to make… Read More

Thanks to a confluence of events, prices for corn, soybeans and wheat have been surging recently. And that has set agricultural equipment stocks afire. Shares of irrigation equipment maker Lindsay Manufacturing (NYSE: LNN) have surged more than +10% since last Thursday, while Deere (NYSE: DE) has made a similar move since last Monday. The same can be said for many other sector names, a number of which now sport price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios that are starting to get frothy. It may be too late to make a quick hit on this farm belt trade, but another sector has suddenly become very attractive simply because these commodities are seeing a surge in prices. I’m talking about the major producers of chicken, beef and pork. Their costs just went up, and their shares just went down. Yet viewed in the context of traditional long-term earnings power, these stocks are suddenly quite cheap. To fatten up livestock, farmers buy up massive amounts of corn and soybeans, which often account for a big chunk of operating expenses. But these “protein” producers… Read More