In the office...

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Photo credit: Greg Stone

Barron's: Steamy El Niño Could Puff Up Rice Prices

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Get ready for a rally in rice. 

A combination of low levels of usable inventory for the grain and the high likelihood of poor growing conditions could cause futures prices to rise. That would reverse a multiyear drop in prices. Agrium (ticker: AGU) and Mosaic (MOS) should benefit as demand builds for crop nutrients and protection. Read more here.

Photo by Faris Mohammed on Unsplash

Middle East Eye: Why it's hard times for the Middle East's petro-economies

By SIMON CONSTABLE

A major intergovernmental agency has just slashed prospects for oil-rich Middle Eastern economies. Worse still, private lenders are predicting credit downgrades. It likely means tougher times ahead for those businesses looking to borrow, as well as a weaker job market, experts say. Read more here.

Street Fight: Comcast Rolling Out a New Local Ad Service

By SIMON CONSTABLE

For local businesses looking for advertising, there’ll be a new kid in town to help this summer. Better still, ad buyers will get the help for free. The service, called Stratasphere, is a new offering from Comcast-owned Strata, which already has three decades in the business of connecting ad sellers with ad buyers.
Read more here.

Forbes: What You Should Love About Trump's Tax Proposal

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Wednesday we got a look at how the Trump Administration wants to overhaul the U.S. tax system.

While it is not perfect there are some things to love about the proposal.

First, remember that it is a wish list. That is to say, not everything on the proposal will come to pass, but some of it shall. Hopefully, what gets enacted are some of the better ideas. Read more here.

Forbes: It's The Corporate Tax Cut That Will Drive Growth

By SIMON CONSTABLE

President Trump is set to announce tax reform today. Anyone interested in economic growth should focus on what he says about corporate taxes.

While the likely proposal will likely involve changes to individual tax rates, it is the corporate tax rate that has the potential to spur economic growth more than what will likely happen to individual taxes. Read more here.

U.S. News: Does OPEC Matter Anymore?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

There was once a time when oil market traders could win or lose based on just a few words from OPEC oil ministers. These days, not so much.

For investors, there is an important question: Is OPEC even worth worrying about?

Just as with many things in investing, the answer is nuanced. Read more here.