Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
"Remember when commodities prices had nowhere to go but up? Prices of iron, copper, even potash were hitting new highs and so were the shares of companies that produced them, like BHP Billiton ( (NYSE:BHP) and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE:POT) .
They were all “plays” on China, which was rapidly building a 21st Century infrastructure —roads, airports, high-speed rail, you name it. But a lot of that frenzied building also produced see-through office towers and ghost cities.
Now that China’s growth has slowed, industrial commodities have plummeted. The Dow Jones UBS Industrial Metals ETN (NAR:JJM) has lost more than half of its value since its March 2008 peak.
Commodities currencies —currencies of countries that are big natural resource producers — also have tumbled. The Canadian and Australian dollars have suffered badly and I don’t see them recovering soon. Stay away from them and industrial commodities.
What to buy instead: Agricultural commodities have held up better and they’re likely to benefit from population growth and a limited supply of arable land. People may not need new highways but they all gotta eat. I like the PowerShares DB Agriculture ETF (NAR:DBA) , which I own."
Comments
"Remember when commodities prices had nowhere to go but up? Prices of iron, copper, even potash were hitting new highs and so were the shares of companies that produced them, like BHP Billiton ( (NYSE:BHP) and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE:POT) .
They were all “plays” on China, which was rapidly building a 21st Century infrastructure —roads, airports, high-speed rail, you name it. But a lot of that frenzied building also produced see-through office towers and ghost cities.
Now that China’s growth has slowed, industrial commodities have plummeted. The Dow Jones UBS Industrial Metals ETN (NAR:JJM) has lost more than half of its value since its March 2008 peak.
Commodities currencies —currencies of countries that are big natural resource producers — also have tumbled. The Canadian and Australian dollars have suffered badly and I don’t see them recovering soon. Stay away from them and industrial commodities.
What to buy instead: Agricultural commodities have held up better and they’re likely to benefit from population growth and a limited supply of arable land. People may not need new highways but they all gotta eat. I like the PowerShares DB Agriculture ETF (NAR:DBA) , which I own."
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