Some of the world’s largest coal reserves are tucked away in the arid wastes of Mongolia. The Tavan Tolgoi coal deposit, for example, holds about 6.4 billion metric tons. That’s the world’s second largest coal deposit after China’s Shengli field. Recently, the Mongolian government arranged for a US/Chinese/Russian...
“Nuclear” is a dirty word these days. The impact from the Japanese tsunami is still ingrained in our minds. The constant video feeds of smoking ruins, technicians in haz-mat suits, and endless sound bites by “experts,” put the nuclear industry back twenty years. Surprisingly, despite problems with Japan’s nuclear...
Gold stocks are strange hybrids. On the one hand, they are influenced by the price of gold. On the other, they are operating companies whose share price is governed by the usual: revenue, earnings, and debt. That Jekyll-and-Hyde personality can spell opportunity for nimble options traders looking to gain from short-term trends....
Occasionally I assess the impact of various strategies presented in MX’s Blog. It’s not about gloating when successful or finding fault when I am wide of the mark. But rather, it is about learning from past successes and failures to become better traders in the future. Some of the ideas posted in May… May 1, 2011 –...
With another quarter of missed earnings, analysts began cutting their price target for Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSX: CM, Friday’s close $78.45). CIBC reported a profit of $678 million or $1.60 per share. Up from the same period last year, but well off the $1.80 estimate that analysts had been forecasting. The...
Rumors are swirling about Canadian agri-business Viterra Inc. (TSX: VT, Friday’s close $12.04) possibly bidding for the major Australian grain handler GrainCorp Ltd. Viterra is already a big player in Australia, and the $1.89 billion acquisition would expand Viterra’s footprint in the all-important Asian grain market. Does...
It seems that the world did not come to an end on the week-end. Something that was being promoted by a group of religious zealots who were predicting the end of times… commonly referred to as the “Rapture.” Of course, one could argue for an apocalyptic event, if the peripheral Eurozone countries cannot find the political...
You might think about consumer staples as a contrarian play in a forgotten sector. Consumer staples in Canada, which includes the largest grocery and drug retail chains, has been quietly climbing a wall of abandonment since late last year. And with volatility levels in the lowest quartile of all Canadian options, premiums are...
“Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds” is a history of popular folly authored by Scottish journalist Charles Mackay. According to Wikipedia, the work was first published in 1841. MacKay’s subject matter cast a wide net across philosophical and economic boundaries. Of particular interest to...
Waterloo, Ontario-based Research In Motion Ltd. (TSX: RIM, Friday’s close: $46.09) released its tablet computer a couple of weeks ago. But the “PlayBook,” as it’s called, met with less than enthusiastic reviews, and produced no line-ups at the local Best Buy store. Many of the big wireless carriers, including elephants...