In the midst of the news about the EU crisis, it’s worth pointing out that oil prices have quietly crept back over $100 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate is $102 as I write. Brent crude, which many argue is the more important figure, is $111. This is remarkable given how weak the global economic recovery has been.
[Read more...]Water – Still Blue Gold
November 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I was in Bangkok while the floods were raging. I also visited Cambodia. The floods were in the news there as well. Though it did not affect Phnom Penh, where I was, the remote villages were dealing with a lot of water.
That’s the curious thing about water. There always seems to be either too much of it or not enough. What follows is another look at my favorite commodity and the opportunities of investing in it.
[Read more...]Crack This Code: EROEI
November 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment
“I just want to stop and make sure we’re not on fire,” Brad said as we pulled over.
My friend Brad Farquhar is the co-founder and vice president of Assiniboia Capital, which invests in farmland. We had just driven through a canola farm some 50 miles outside of Regina, Saskatchewan. And apparently, the canola crop can get sucked in the car engine and cause a fire.
[Read more...]Reinventing the Wheel for Greater Energy Efficiency
September 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
With fuel prices edging ever higher, engineers are scrambling to find new ways to improve the energy efficiency of vehicles. We’ve already seen a few attempts on the market. Hybrid automobiles — vehicles that combine electrical and internal-combustion powertrains — are becoming commonplace. Pure electric vehicles, such as those in development by Tesla Motors, are expected to be seen on the road in the next few years.
[Read more...]Awaiting the Eventual Return of the Rare Earths Market
September 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment
China is putting the squeeze on rare earths…again. And unless you have a large stash of light bulbs around the house, you’re going to feel this one personally.
“China is temporarily shutting down most of the industry,” reports The New York Times — closing or nationalizing dozens of rare earth producers.
[Read more...]Looking at Uranium…Again
September 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Uranium is still a “Buy”…maybe now more than ever.
The disaster in Japan slammed the uranium sector…and it still has not recovered. But this washout looks like a buying opportunity, as long as you’re not in a hurry to make a big gain.
I won’t go into the Japan-specific details, but for our purposes, it’s a safe bet that the Japan disaster means that we may not see a large-scale “nuclear renaissance” during the next generation.
[Read more...]2008, Redux
August 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Who says there’s no such thing as time travel? It’s starting to feel like the fall of 2008 all over again. Indeed, the demons of 2008 are like those characters you see in the Halloween horror movies. You can kill and bury the monsters, but a few scenes later, they reappear.
So what’s happening? Is it 2008 redux? Or are things now worse than 2008 and we just don’t know it yet? Oh, for a copy of a tomorrow’s newspaper! Still, let’s do the best we can with what we’ve got.
[Read more...]There Is No Recovery… It’s All Been Just More Debt
August 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
There’s plenty for DR readers to disagree with in this newly-released video from the Post Carbon Institute which examines whether or not we’ve entered a “new economic reality.” It’s especially timely given current swings in financial markets… including this morning’s 400-point free fall in the Dow (so far)… and the ongoing correction in the economy.
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It May Take a Dragon to Breathe Fire Into Markets
At the Cambridge House’s Vancouver Resource Investment Conference this week, I am part of a special debate on whether China will boom or bust with bestselling author Gordon G. Chang. The title of Chang’s book, The Coming Collapse of China, states his position quite clearly and I look forward to the intellectual challenge of convincing him otherwise.
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