By SIMON CONSTABLE
The homebuilding business looks like it's ticking up again after a tricky 2022. And with it investors should see lumber prices lift as well. The latter had a brutal year also.
“Lumber, we believe, has made a major low,” writes Shawn Hackett, president of Hackett Financial Advisors. “The lumber market has likely made a major low and can trend substantially higher over the next year.” Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
We are not out of the woods yet regarding high food and energy prices.
An epic volcanic eruption in the Pacific in mid-January last year is likely to keep causing havoc for the planet.
The Tonga undersea volcano unleashed staggering power, the equivalent of up to 18 megatons of TNT, according to experts at NASA. That’s multiple times the size of the nuclear bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima at the end of WWII. Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Argentina and Brazil are making plans to develop a single currency area for Latin America.
However, those doing so might find it is not without some massive hurdles. Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Phew!
At last some analysts are seeing what I’ve seen for months now: A slowing economy but few signs of an imminent recession.
The economy will slow in 2023 but will not likely lead to a recession, new research from scholars at the University of Missouri and Indiana University shows. Read more here.
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By SIMON CONSTABLE
Talk about the odd couple.
On the face of it, Britain's prime minister Rishi Sunak and U.S. president would seem to have little in common. The former is a right-of-center politician with an eye on free markets, while the latter is a left-of-center leader.
Yet, recent news shows they have at least one thing in common. They are both presiding over their national energy policies, which are without doubt self-contradictory and inconsistent. Read more here.
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