Here's How To Profit From The Disconnect In Natural Gas

By: Street Authority

A rising tide doesn't always lift all boats. The major stock indexes are up 10% or more this year, but as I recently noted, it has been a brutal few months for commodities. But at the time, I saw a small silver lining.

"These are the kinds of commodities you need to keep tracking, because lower prices counterintuitively set the stage for the next bull market in commodities," I wrote, citing iron ore as an example. However, I overlooked an even more glaring example of how slumping commodity prices can impair production, which leads to an eventual pricing rebound.

I'm talking about natural gas, which has been on fire in the past year.

Simply put, in the spring of 2012, few people saw this kind of move coming. Continue reading "Here's How To Profit From The Disconnect In Natural Gas"

Gold Is Plunging -- Which Commodities Are Joining It?

By: Street Authority

Although the U.S. stock market has generated a healthy glow this year, the commodity complex appears to be entering into a growling bear market. Just consider these stats:

  • After a sharp drop on April 15, gold has plunged nearly 20% since the year began and nearly 30% since hitting an all-time high of around $1,900 per ounce in the autumn of 2011.
  • West Texas crude oil has slipped from $97 per barrel to $87 in just the past two weeks.
  • Copper has slid roughly 12% this year and is off roughly 27% since the summer of 2011 peak.
  • If aluminum breaches the 80 cents per pound mark (it's currently at 82 cents), it will see its lowest levels since the summer of 2009.

Unless these commodities quickly stabilize, they will all start to break key resistance levels and head even lower. Yet it's unwise to lump all commodities together, and the factors affecting one of them is quite distinct from all others. Continue reading "Gold Is Plunging -- Which Commodities Are Joining It?"

Crisis Investing 101: How to Protect Your Portfolio With Commodities

I'll never forget my first meeting with uber-investor and hedge fund manager, Jim Rogers. He was my market hero of sorts, having founded the Quantum Fund with George Soros. He has explored the world by motorcycle and automobile, all while writing about his adventures and being a fixture on financial news TV shows. I have met some quirky characters in the financial markets, but he was the first to chat with me while jogging on a treadmill.

Rogers is known as being a huge proponent of commodities. His new book, Hot Commodities, lays out the case for commodity investments extensively.

He has reinforced the notion that commodities are different from stocks in that they represent life's necessities rather than simply a company's profits. Commodities are all around us and are far simpler investments than stocks -- they're purely driven by supply and demand.  Continue reading "Crisis Investing 101: How to Protect Your Portfolio With Commodities"

A Perfect Weekend for "The 52-week new highs on Friday rule"

We published this trading rule on our blog almost 8 months ago, February 10 to be exact. You can look it up if you wish. With gold making all time highs on Friday, it seems like the perfect candidate for this rule. Just remember, there are no guarantees in trading and you want gold to close at or near its highs for the day.

I learned this rule over 3 decades ago in the markets from a low-key trader named Bill. Using his special trading technique, Bill made millions and millions of dollars from his office. The best part is that this technique is still working more than 30 years after it was taught to me and why I insist on sharing it with as many traders as possible.

Bill didn't even have a name for this killer trading technique and so I named it, "The 52-week new highs on Friday rule". Continue reading "A Perfect Weekend for "The 52-week new highs on Friday rule""