Yearly Archives: 2012

no-cover
February 20, 2012
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Gas Pains

Richard Croft

The natural gas market is suffering from an embarrassment of riches. Everywhere you look, everyone’s got gas, and plenty of it. Production has increased, storage tanks are bulging (US gas storage is 13% higher than last year), and with a warmer-than-usual North American winter winding to a close, supplies could reach a record...

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12 years ago
no-cover
February 13, 2012
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Terminal Troubles

Richard Croft

Thomson Reuters Corp. (TSX: TRI, Friday’s close $26.66) is the giant global data and information company that was once headquartered in Canada, and now resides in New York. It’s known in the financial services business for its dedicated Eikon data terminals, which supply all manner of real-time market data and research to...

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12 years ago
no-cover
February 05, 2012
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Benefits from a Soft Landing

Richard Croft

Commodities, especially metals, hit a soft patch late in 2011. The concern among analysts was weak demand coming from the emerging markets… specifically China. But sentiment is beginning to change. All because China, the world’s largest commodity gobbler, seems headed for a “soft” landing rather than the “hard” fall...

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12 years ago
no-cover
January 30, 2012
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Solid Gold!

Richard Croft

Low interest rates, rising inflation, and a lower US dollar combined to lift the price of gold for the fourth straight week. With the Fed openly talking about another round of quantitative easing the interest in gold as a hedge and as a speculation jumped right along with its price. Gold ended the week at US$1,738 per ounce, up...

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12 years ago
no-cover
January 23, 2012
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Understanding Calendar Spreads

Richard Croft

An option strategy that works well for those want to take advantage of time value is calendar or time spreads. It is also a good strategy in a low volatility environment. With the MX Volatility Index at 15.35% and well below its 200-day moving average there is a good argument in support of the position that volatility is low....

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12 years ago
no-cover
January 16, 2012
Other

Upswing in the Agriculturals?

Richard Croft

We allude to fertilizer, of course, something that hasn’t been much in the news lately, given all the fuss and bother about European (and other) debt problems overhanging the global financial system. But people must eat, and animals must be fed. It just so happens that supplies of one staple grain crop are tight at the...

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12 years ago
no-cover
January 09, 2012
Other

Turnaround Value?

Richard Croft

Earlier this week, a closely watched indicator suggested continuing improvement in the US economy. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing purchasing managers index climbed to 53.9 in December, up from 52.7 in November. The gauge posted its best reading since June, as factory activity showed broad-based growth...

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12 years ago
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