How to play commodities (and not get trampled) - The Globe and Mail

(c) 2010 F. Bruce Abel

Maybe it's just the clear air here in Cottage Country, but this Saturday Globe and Mail piece on the various ways to invest/trade commodities, I give high credence to.  Contango, for example is explained, and its effect on return within an ETF.  And since it's a Canadian newspaper I give high credence to mining discussion.  Here's a snip and the link for the full article.


How to play commodities (and not get trampled) - The Globe and Mail: "The creation of commodity-based exchange-traded funds made it a lot easier for the individual investor. But pitfalls exist there, as well, because of a futures-market phenomenon known as “contango,” when the price of a futures contract exceeds the spot price of a commodity."

Jim Rogers Blog: A Few Thoughts On Reserve Currencies

Jim Rogers Blog: A Few Thoughts On Reserve Currencies: "The problem with paper money is that it’s easy to debase and abuse. As I said, the US is the largest debtor nation in the history of the world. They keep printing the stuff. The UK, once upon a time, had the world reserve currency. They abused it mightily. Eventually the world just said “no, we’re not going to take sterling anymore” and rightly so. So, in my view, that’s the problem with paper money. Now, gold has its own problems too. Gold didn’t survive very long either as the world reserve currency since politicians kept changing the rules. Unfortunately, politicians know how to abuse and destroy. One can think of various and sundry solutions. My only worry is that, no matter what mankind has come up with in the past, politicians have always found a way to abuse it and debase it."

Mad Money Recap | Nightly Recap for: Monday, May 17,2010

(c) 2010 F. Bruce Abel

Was Cramer ever so pessimistic on the actual market? Gold and "accidental high yielders." Nothing more, except Canadian Banks.


Mad Money Recap Nightly Recap for: Monday, May 17,2010: "I need you to accept the inevitable tsunami of pessimism, skepticism, and corrosion… and continue to pick at the accidental high yielders, I have got a real good one coming up after the break… but you have got to accept that the market is just not working right now… that we have these rallies when the pessimism gets too great… but the rallies are strictly from too much pessimism… and not from a redo at the look from the fundamentals… which the bears have written off… no matter how good they are and getting better… so do not try to fight it… instead try to make some money off of it by buying SPDR Gold ETF (GLD)… or one of my fave gold stocks, on any dip like the one that we had today that you can catch."

Spot Gold -- Here We Go Again

http://www.kitco.com/charts/livegold.html

The "new"/old carry trade:

buy gold, buy oil, sell financials, buy Procter.

Spot Gold

Spot Gold

Started lower, but look at the close!

http://www.kitco.com/charts/popup/au24hr3day.html

Spot Gold

Today, as the hearings go on:

http://www.kitco.com/charts/popup/au24hr3day.html

Spot Gold

Pop Spot Pop

See Spot Pop

http://www.kitco.com/charts/popup/au24hr3day.html

Spot Gold

Go Spot Go. See Spot Run.

Gold Etc.

Gold is 910 or so this morning. Going down 10% is no big deal. But in the commodities market it is a big deal IF YOU BOUGHT WITH 10% MARGIN or so. And that's the way 99% of the big boys buy it.

Again, the disadvantage of margin.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/business/21commodity.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Stupid Money and Gold

And regulators, or lack thereof.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/business/20commodity.html?hp

Action in Gold

The tremendous decline in gold today is proof that the speculative money had been rushing to gold; now that the Fed may have saved the world, the money is going out of gold.

Options expiration this week big time.

Spot Gold

Run Spot Run

See Spot Run