Other Commodities

...Russia supplies more than 20 percent of the world’s high-quality nickel...[but] with Ukraine under siege, however, companies in the West are wary of buying Russian nickel and this has increased demand for nickel from everywhere else, which, in turn, has bumped up its price...and led some Americans to begin hoarding nickels. [Here's why.]

The U.S. aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 as part of its commitment to tackling climate change, but  local production of the raw materials necessary to produce these technologies, including solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles, is lacking. Understandably, this has raised concerns in Washington. Today's infographic, based on data from the U.S. Geological Survey, lists all of the minerals that the government has deemed critical to both the economic and national security of the United States.

When sh-t happens at the end of an excessive bubble era, it will always be the worst kind, and what can be worse than a major war that could develop into a nuclear and world war.

This article points out the MAJOR role the country has in industrial metals, agriculture and industry in Europe and the world. It begs the question: "To what extent would an invasion of Ukraine disrupt the world's supply and drive the stock prices of companies supplying these products dramatically higher?"

Despite being the world’s biggest carbon polluter, China is also the largest producer of most of the world’s critical minerals for the green revolution. Today's infographic illustrates where the extraction and processing of key metals for the green revolution take place.

In many cities around the world, there’s a café on every corner, so it comes as no surprise that coffee is one of the globes’ top commodities. As the third most consumed beverage globally, after water and tea, coffee beans are in high demand almost everywhere...so where does the journey of each cup of joe originate? Let’s get to know the world’s top coffee producing countries.

The stock market performs poorly when the ratio declines and does well when it advances so what is the GPR currently saying about the future of the stock market?

If the oil price is swinging lower then the stock market usually also soon starts to swing lower and that is exactly what happened to the stock market beginning in early January only to be further exacerbated by the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March. Talk about a perfect storm!

Jade is valued so differently than other comparable gemstones or precious metals that a Chinese proverb says "Gold has a price; jade is priceless". Jade is not, in fact priceless but the finest jade sells for about the same price per carat as diamonds in the United States.

Recently I discovered a website which tracks pundits in finance (and politics and sports). Check it out to see how many of the calls and predictions of your favorite prognosticators have turned out to be true. You’ll be surprised and, no doubt, disappointed!