If one studies the history of financial markets, a consistent theme emerges. Short-term fads tend to dictate short-term performance, but long-term performance is determined by value and fundamentals. There are periods where prices flat out do not make sense, either for the market as a whole or for individual stocks and sectors. The current investment...Read More

The Standard & Poors GSCI gauge of 24 raw materials has jumped 21% from this years low and is now officially in bull market territory.  The rally has mostly been motivated through the terrible drought affecting crops across the United States. This increase in prices could boost inflation and crimp profits for companies dependent upon...Read More

I think this is a rather naive Barron’s article on Managed Futures.  The Barclay’s CTA index has much higher turnover than the S&P 500 so funds that have the worst performance are usually eliminated from it which greatly distorts the return numbers.  This article also doesn’t even mention fees which I’d bet are quite high...Read More

Having unfortunately worked in the commodities industry I can speak from experience that the vast majority of people lose money buying or selling commodities.  This is particularly accurate when brokers are charging high commission fees and are aggressively trading accounts.  Commodities are much more difficult to value than businesses so it is inherently a more...Read More

This short article in the WSJ talks about the Forex trading company FXCM.  The company believes that about 70% of clients lose money, and to be honest I’m surprised the number is not higher.  While regulators seem to be standing with pitchforks outside of banks I’m amazed at the lack of investor protection in relation...Read More

The writing is on the wall for the slowdown in Chinese economic growth.  Unsustainable hard asset construction has been crucial for the cyclical buoyancy to many commodities such as iron, copper, crude oil, etc.  This Asian growth has been vital as the traditional economic heavyweights have been hindered through a severe recession, and several different...Read More