With housing markets in a tailspin, ongoing concerns over the fiscal health of developed markets, and no signs of meaningful job creation in the U.S., these are uncertain times. Conflicting data reports have clouded the outlook for the U.S. economy, while investors remain divided over the prospects for fast-growing emerging markets.
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Although equity markets have been under pressure for some time now thanks to weak levels of growth and high unemployment, some industries have been surging higher and seem to be well on the way to recovery. With a weakening dollar and bulging world populations, the agribusiness sector has been in focus in recent weeks thanks [...]
For much of the year, commodity prices have been remarkably stable as investor fears over a double dip recession and even deflationary concerns have moved into the spotlight. These issues have created a ceiling for many natural resource prices, while relatively strong current demand has prevented prices from falling considerably. This flat trend was disrupted [...]
Agribusiness ETFs got a boost in Friday trading as good news from Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (POT) helped to lift the sector higher as the week came to a close. The Canadian producer of fertilizer and feed significantly raised its earnings guidance range to $1.30 to $1.50 a share, up from an earlier forecast of [...]
It’s difficult to put a finger on the exact cause of the recent surge in popularity of commodity investing. More than likely, the boom is attributable to a number of different factors. Correlation between international equity markets (and even between stocks and bonds) has surged in recent years, increasing both the importance and difficulty of [...]
Following the massive injections into capital markets in recent years, inflation has become a major concern of many investors, and the quest to uncover assets that offer portfolio protection against a potential uptick in the CPI has taken on many forms. While inflation-protected bonds are the instrument of choice for some, others have turned their [...]
After soaring to record highs in early 2008, many agricultural products saw their prices fall sharply over the next 18 months. However, the outlook for the agribusiness sector has improved significantly, and many investors are increasingly bullish after a report of nearly 20% food price inflation in the world’s most populous democracy, India. The legendary [...]
