Steel

Dear Money Morning reader:

We get asked a lot about the track record of The Money Map Report, our monthly advisory service in which Keith Fitz-Gerald, Martin Hutchinson and the rest of the Money Morning team ferrets out investment opportunities based on some of the most powerful global trends at work today.

Let me just say this: This portfolio is on fire.

Of the 24 stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the portfolio, 21 are winners. Indeed, only three of the holdings are under water - two of them by such nominal amounts as 1.77% and 1.24%.

But the gains are eye-popping.

I obviously can't name the stocks or ETFs in the Money Map portfolio, but the current list of winners includes gains of 122.2%, 91.5%, 61.9%, 53.1%, 46.2%, 37.6%, 35.1%, 32.1%, 31.6%, 28.8% and 28.6%.

The Money Map Report is able to notch such gains because team members identify the most-powerful and profitable trends long before Wall Street even understands what's happening.

In fact, here's an example from yesterday (Monday).

Have you been reading about steel prices? The steel market was hit hard by downturns in the auto and construction markets. But prices have been on a tear. Scrap steel has zoomed 25% since November. Just yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported that China's growing appetite for steel alone should be enough to cause steel prices to soar.

Now Wall Street is calling for steel prices of all types to continue their advance well into the spring. In fact, ABCNews.com yesterday reported that Wall Street equity strategists are now telling investors to buy the leading global steel stocks.

That's a nice call. But it's a little late.

Back in April - that's nine months ago - Money Map's Hutchinson told subscribers to buy shares of Korean steel giant Posco Inc. (NYSE ADR: PKX).  At the time, Hutchinson said three catalysts would send the shares higher:

• A turnaround in Korea.
• Rising steel demand from China.
• And an overall increase in global steel prices.

Hutchinson was three for three. Since he made that call, shares of the world's No. 4 steelmaker have soared more than 91% - with Wall Street now telling readers to get into the game.

In other words, while Wall Street was waiting for a clear signal as to which way steel prices (and steel stocks) were heading, Money Map Report readers were almost doubling their money on Posco.

And that's just one example.

In the newest issue, for instance, The Money Map Report will look at such opportunities as:

• A cash-rich company that's in a great position to buy back shares - and that may become a takeover target.
• A firm that's perfectly positioned to capitalize on the uptick in natural-gas prices, and that may be snapped up as part of the anticipated consolidation in the energy sector.
• And a firm that's poised to benefit from a rising tide of IT investments.

The Money Map team scours the globe in search of the best investment opportunities. The fact that it usually does so well ahead of Wall Street is the main reason for the returns we listed above.

In the aftermath of the worst financial crisis of our lifetime, it's understandable that most investors want to avoid Wall Street and paddle their own canoe.

That task becomes a lot easier, though, when you have the right kind of map to guide you.

That's what we work to provide.

Good investing ...

William Patalon III
Executive Editor
Money Morning/The Money Map Report

[Editor's Note: For more insight on global-investing profits, hot portfolios, and the best investment opportunities around the world, check out The Money Map Report.]

News and Related Story Links:

• ABCNews.com:
  Sector Wrap: Steel Producers Surge.
• The Wall Street Journal:
  China's Steel Appetite Reshapes Industry; Rising Production Looks Unlikely to Exceed Demand, Propelling Prices Higher World-Wide for Raw Materials.