Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Barron's: Bad Winter Weather Could Send Wheat Prices Higher

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Poor winter weather conditions combined with already-low global inventories could send prices for wheat higher by up to 19%, experts say. War in Eastern Europe could catapult them further.

“Europe, Ukraine, and the U.S. face some very unfavorable weather that will really set off a supply shortage concern,” says Shawn Hackett, president of Hackett Financial Advisors. Read more here.

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Tuesday, December 28, 2021

BARRON'S in Russian: В этом году дорожали все сырьевые товары, кроме золота

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

27.12.21, Москва, 11:25    Всех, кто надеялся на спокойный 2021 год на товарно-сырьевых рынках, ждало разочарование. Этот год был богат на сюрпризы, приводившие в замешательство даже самых опытных участников рынка.
 

Read more here

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Monday, December 27, 2021

Forbes: Omicron To Give Orange Juice Prices A Boost

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

The orange-juice market looks set to get a lift from the Omicron COVID-19 variant, and potential frosts. In other words, expect higher prices for frozen concentrated orange juice contracts on the ICE exchange, and eventually in the supermarket. Read more here.

Photo by Mateusz Feliksik on Unsplash

Forbes: Good News For Stocks, Investors Small And Large Are Increasingly Bearish

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Forget worries that the stock market is overvalued, at least for the time being.

Sentiment is what drives prices in the SPDR S&P 500 exchange-traded fund, which tracks the largest U.S.-listed companies. Right now that sentiment is getting far more bearish, new research shows.

And that alone should be a reason to buy stocks. Read more here.

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Forbes: How Iran And Venezuela Are Economic Peas In A Pod

By SIMON CONSTABLE

News that Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro will visit the Islamic Republic of Iran soon could hardly be more symbolic. That’s because few countries are so well paired when it comes to economic mismanagement.

If the visit augers even more “cooperation” between the two countries, then observers should expect both countries to shrink further into oblivion. Read more here.

Friday, December 24, 2021

Forbes: Why Lumber Won’t Boom In 2022

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

This year’s mega-bubble in lumber prices likely won’t stage a repeat performance next year. The problem is the economically sensitive housing sector is set to have a slowdown as interest rates and inflation squeeze would-be homebuyer wallets.

The result will be falling lumber prices, experts say. Read more here.

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Forbes: Investors Shrug As Ukraine-Russia Tensions Rise

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Investors seem to have offered little but a shrug to the threat of military conflict in eastern Ukraine. That’s surprising given the growing rhetoric out of the Kremlin.

Thursday Russian troops began a series of military drills near Ukraine’s border less than a day after Russian president Vladimir Putin said NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) should “go to hell,” press reports say. Read more here.

Photo by Thomas Ashlock on Unsplash