Commodities
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8 Commodities You Should Be Investing In
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), in its newly released Commodity Manual, just delivered good news for anyone investing in commodities in 2013.
The report gives a bullish outlook in 2013 and 2014 for eight of 14 commodities it evaluated. Estimated two-year gains range from 3.05% to 17.3%.
Money Morning Global Resources Specialist Peter Krauth agrees most commodities will perform well. In fact, he projects even higher growth than Morgan Stanley's outlook.
"With central banks on their virtually uninterrupted fiat money-printing spree bound to continue for the next few years, hard assets remain a great place to be," Krauth says. "That being said, some commodities will undoubtedly do better than others."
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Jim Rogers: Market Surge from Eurozone Debt Crisis Deal Won't Last
Stock markets around the world soared Friday in reaction to the morning's Eurozone debt crisis deal, but noted investor Jim Rogers wasn't impressed.
"This is no more than just another temporary stopgap to make the market feel good for a few hours, days or even weeks," Rogers, Chairman of Rogers Holdings, told CNBC. "Then everybody's going to wake up and say, "This doesn't solve the problem.'"
Meeting in Brussels, European leaders announced a plan early Friday that would provide struggling banks with money directly from the bloc's bailout fund.
The leaders also said bailout funds could be used to stabilize European bond markets. But they did not tie such use to additional austerity measures, which have angered citizens in debt-troubled nations like Greece and Spain.
The summit is just the latest in a series of high-level attempts to resolve the 2-year-old Eurozone debt crisis, which has required bailouts of Greece, Portugal, Ireland, and most recently the Spanish banking system.
Markets around the world surged on the announcement, with some European indexes rising as much as 4%. In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up 200 points at the open. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up about 25 points, or just under 2%.
Don't get used to it, Rogers said.
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My Favorite Investment in the World's Newest "Sweet Spot"
Having lived in Singapore as a child I've always been fond of Southeast Asia.
Fifty years later, though, I like it for a slightly different reason. It's become a place where I like to invest.
In fact, I believe the region is the world's newest "sweet spot" for investors.
Of course, you don't hear much about the economies of Southeast Asia. Given the media's penchant for bad news, that alone should tell you something.
But unlike the U.S., Europe, China, India and Japan, the region is doing just fine, which is why you should consider putting some money in places like Malaysia and Singapore.
In fact, in a moment I'm going to tell you what my favorite company in the region is.
First, though, I'd like to give you a first-hand glimpse of the ongoing economic miracle in Singapore.
Because one thing is for certain: The place is gigantically richer than it was when I lived there as a child.
Needless to say, so much has changed since the new independent government took over from British rule.
At the time, most of our neighbors in Singapore were fearful of the change, and for good reason. Independence in other countries, notably India, had brought nothing but trouble and bloodshed.
However, my father reassured us. He said the new leader, Lee Kuan-yew, was both sensible and very able, so things would be fine.
Admittedly, father was no great shakes when it came to investments, but by George he knew his stuff on geopolitics. In the 50 years since then, Singapore has been just about the most successful society on earth.
My Favorite Investment in Southeast Asia
Today, the important thing for investors to know about Singapore is that it is now a rich country. Believe it or not, it's the fifth richest in the world. The United States is only 12th.
Singapore also ranks at the top on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index, second on the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom, and fifth on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.
In other words, your money is much safer in Singapore than it is at home, or even under the mattress!
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Europe Drives Gold Prices This Week, But Don't Lose Sight of Long-Term
Gold prices managed to eke out a slight gain Friday to move back above the $1,560 a troy ounce mark - but the precious metal has had a less-than-stellar run this week, on track for a 1.9% loss.
In London trading Friday, the spot gold price was up 0.4% at $1,563.71, bouncing from as low as $1,533.41 earlier this week.
The upward move in gold came as the euro rebounded some from two-year lows against the dollar. The euro inched up from early lows against the dollar Friday, although sentiment around the troubled currency remains guarded.
Gold's rise Friday also was attributed to bargain hunting, calmer markets and short covering ahead of the three-day holiday weekend.
This week continues gold's eleven-week downward trend as the state of Greece and the entire Eurozone region has kept world markets on edge and investors jittery.
Worries over Greece exiting the Eurozone prompted heavy selling in the currency this week as the ailing Mediterranean country, operating without a government, faces imminent default.
"Gold's direction seems to be driven more by the level of market risk aversion and the euro currently," BNP Paribas analyst Anne-Laure Tremblay told Reuters. "Market sentiment on gold is fragile at the moment. There have been tentative rebounds, but so far bullish momentum has yet to materialize."
As always, however, there's another side to this story.
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Good News for Gold Prices: Commodities are Wounded, But Far From Dead
Greece is frozen in a political stalemate. Youth unemployment is running at over 50%. And there has been a $1 billion run on Greek banks.
From near and afar, there appears to be no easy way out, especially now that the Eurozone is heading back into a recession.
It's times like these when investors pour into the U.S. dollar for its "perceived safety."
With commodities priced in U.S. dollars, this spike in the greenback has sent commodities-including gold prices-into a tailspin since early March.
That has many doubters asking: "Has the commodities super-cycle ended?"
It's a reasonable question considering the Continuous Commodity Index (CCI) is back down to levels it last saw in September 2010.
What's more, gold prices have backed off to near $1,500/oz., and oil prices have fallen from $110 to $90/barrel.
But as you'll see, the commodities coin does have another side.
The Other Side of the Commodities Story
In fact, a recent article by Frank Holmes, CEO and chief investment officer at U.S. Global Investors, pointed out how China and other emerging nations are in better fiscal shape than much of the West.
Even if China is slowing somewhat, it is still growing at an enviable 8% per year, with only 42% debt to GDP ratio. So rather than go for more outright stimulus, it's expected that China will target new loan growth and its M2-money supply growth to around 14%.
Meanwhile, India and Australia have just lowered interest rates while other central banks are basically refusing to raise rates.
It means the world will keep turning, people will keep consuming and annual demand of raw materials is likely to remain elevated.
As for gold prices, let's cut right to the chase.
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Dr. Copper Leads the Breakout in Commodities Prices
Demand for commodities of all kinds is ramping up at breakneck speed. And despite fears of a slowdown in China's economic growth, Dr. Copper is leading the rise in commodities prices.
Copper earned that nickname because it's thought to be a bellwether on the health of the global economy, thanks to its numerous economic uses.
Prices slumped earlier this month after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao cut China's economic growth target to 7.5%, the lowest since 2004. China is the world's largest copper buyer, snapping up 40% of annual supplies.
However, predictions for weak copper demand were muted on Monday, as the Asian giant reported a stream of new orders pushed factory activity to an 11-month high in March. Growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector also picked up in March, more evidence that the world's largest economy is gaining momentum. The red metal jumped on the manufacturing data and is up 13.8% year-to-date (YTD).
The news has analysts predicting demand for copper is likely to pick up steam. "The U.S. is an important market, and with the economic outlook there brightening, demand is also likely to surprise to the upside," Commerzbank AG (PINK: CRZBY) analyst Eugen Weinberg told Reuters. But Dr. Copper is just part of the story. Just take a look at what's happening in other commodity markets...
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