Truck engine and power generation system manufacturer extraordinaire Cummins Inc. (CMI), which I first discussed here on April 3, 2009, at a price of $29.70, is making a strong case for 2011 "play of the year" -- and it's only April.

Cummins, which is up about 260%, sliced through major, psychological resistance at $100, tested $110, pulled back during the winter and has recently moved back toward $110. Hence, if you haven't already, now would be a good time to consider taking some profits off the table with CMI if you're in near $30.

"Rising demand and constrained supplies are a recipe for higher agricultural prices," notes Elliott Gue.

The contributing editor to Personal Finance explains, "The big winners are commercial farmers and companies whose products enhance crop yields. And one company equipped for growth in this market is Deere & Co. (DE), a new addition to the our model Growth Portfolio.

"For nearly 175 years, Deere has manufactured a wide range agricultural equipment, including tractors, combines, harvesters and sprayers.

"I suspect that as long as the dollar continues its slide our focus on commodities and resource stocks focusing will prove rewarding," says Jack Adamo.

The editor of Insiders Plus explains, "For our latest buy recommendation we'll revisit an old favorite of ours. Over the years we've held 4 positions in ConocoPhillips (COP) and they've gained an average of about 32% for us.

Here's an interesting story, which speaks volumes about the psychological dynamic of the markets. On Friday the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will report on end-of-season inventories, often called 'ending stocks.' Traders are getting word the report may show inventories are lower-than-usual. Against that backdrop, as a trader you certainly don't want to take a short position. So what to do? You buy, of course.

Monday's buying drove corn prices to a record high of $7.6025 per bushel, up 24.25 cents, as reported in the Wall Street Journal. Country Hedging, a brokerage firm, said: "Federal forecasters could drop the projection to less than 500 million bushels from last month's 675 million. This is a 15 year low."

• OPEC production fell 411,000 barrels per day to 29,343 million bpd.
• Libya's production fell 343,000 barrels per day, from 1,396,000 bpd.
• Nigeria fell 107,000 barrels per day due to Royal Dutch (RDS) Oil maintenance.

"A looming supply shortage stands to push palladium prices sharply higher over the next couple years, and North American Palladium (PAL) is sitting on one of the world's biggest deposits," notes Nathan Slaughter.

The editor of Street Authority Market Advisor explains, "The company has several promising gold mines under development that could soon produce over 80,000 ounces annually.

"Believe it or not, there are only two mines on the planet that yield palladium first and foremost -- it's a by-product everywhere else. And one of those mines belongs to North American Palladium.

"The stocks in our Cash Cows portfolio keep the checks coming regardless of riots in Europe, revolutions in the Middle East, or natural disasters in the Pacific," says income specialist Neil George.

The editor of The Pay Me Strategy explains, "This doesn't mean that our Cash Cows won't occasionally see negative price action on a given day or week; but you can be confident that any price setbacks will be temporary.

"The the foundation of this portfolio is four core global bond investment funds.

Copper was the darling of commodity traders. The price rallied from about $6,400 per ton to a record $10,190 in the past year, The Financial Times reports. Momentum was strong and it looked like there was no end in sight. But now, prices have dropped off a bit and miners are worried that the rally has hit a brick wall. The main concern is that what drove drove prices skyward -- China's demand -- may be slowing, according to the FT.

One indication of the slowdown is the amount of stocks held in exchange warehouses. At the LME Asia + Shanghai exchange warehouses, copper stocks have increased from below 150,000 to over 325,000 tons. That buildup has worried miners. The companies affected are Freeport MeMoRan (FCX), BHP Billiton (BHP), Xstrada (XSRAF), Anglo American and Brazil's Codelco, according to the Financial Times.

Slowly, an assessment of the damage to chip plants in Japan is emerging. This story tells about just one such plant. It sheds light on what we can expect in the way of future shipments.

The company is Renesas Electronics (RNECY). It is is important because it supplies the automotive industry with car navigation chips. In Japan, it provides 41% of the chips used by Japanese automakers,

"Sanofi-Aventis (SNY), a pharmaceutical products company, is a buy based on our 'Benjamin Graham value' model," says John Reese who assesses stocks based on the investment criteria of numerous "legendary" investors.

The editor of Validea, explains, "Indeed, the stock earns a 100% score, meeting all of the investment criteria we review in for this value-oriented screen.

Here it is in a nutshell: Prices of grains and cotton have skyrocketed year to date. The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) report released Thursday stated that corn and wheat prices have doubled in the past year. Soybeans were up 50% and cotton was up 155%, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

What has caused these sharp increases? The key mover has been exports. China, India and countries in the Mideast are stockpiling grains over fears that they will not have enough to feed their people. Corn in storage fell 15% on March 1. Corn has been hit doubly hard because 40% of it is used for ethanol production and a large amount goes for livestock feed.