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
Energy & Commodities
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
ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) said it will spend $600 million to develop biofuel from algae. The petroleum giant, the most profitable company in the United States, will work in partnership with privately held Synthetic Genomics. Exxon will spend $300 million on its research and provide… Read More
There is no doubt that investors flock to gold as a safe haven hedge during times of political and/or economic distress and instability. And up until recently, the economic backdrop was about as bad as it could get. Furthermore, with the printing presses… Read More
A key measure of wholesale prices rose in June at nearly twice the increase economists had forecast. It was the sharpest rise for the index since November 2007. The Producer Price Index, which tracks how much it costs for manufacturers to make things,… Read More
Regulators seeking to stave off a return to $140 crude want to crack down on oil-market “speculation” by putting limits on some big trades. Any new rules along these lines wouldn’t affect individual investors. The Washington-based Commodity… Read More
Oil prices have dipped from their recent peak above $70 per barrel, and the price of another commodity suggests crude has farther to fall. A barrel of oil contains 5.8 million British thermal units (BTUs) of… Read More
Coal. If you think coal is dirty and does nothing but emit greenhouse gases and wreak environmental havoc, you’re wrong. You’ve bought the hype. The fact is that, used properly, coal can be used to generate power with ZERO emissions. And the trick behind this technology is so simple, so… Read More