Continue reading ADM In Uptrend

ADM In Uptrend originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Syngenta Is in an Uptrend

Syngenta Is in an Uptrend originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Mosaic reports lower than expected first quarter earnings

Mosaic reports lower than expected first quarter earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Investing in the fertilizer business may not sound sexy, but the dynamics and fundamentals of the food business will turn it into one of the most profitable sectors you could find.," explains global expert Tony Sagami.

In his The Asia Stock Alert he suggests, "Every farmer needs to use fertilizer -- and the most used and most important fertilizer is potash. And Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) is set to make a bundle supplying potash to the world."

"There are approximately 6.6 billion people on our planet today, but that number is expected to grow to 8.2 billion by 2030. That's a lot of mouths to feed. Plus, the amount of food each mouth is eating is also increasing.

Continue reading Potash (POT): Long-term growth in fertilizers

Potash (POT): Long-term growth in fertilizers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading China Green Agriculture attractive after pullback

China Green Agriculture attractive after pullback originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Monsanto: Buy the Dip?

Monsanto: Buy the Dip? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 29 May 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Burlington Northern is my preferred choice in the railroad industry. At first glance, Burlington Northern had a particularly bad first quarter.

"Profit was $0.86 a share, down sharply from $1.30 a share the year before. However, when unusual items such as an unfavourable coal rate decision are excluded, operating earnings amounted to a much more acceptable $1.13 a share, well above the 96c analysts were looking for.

Continue reading Burlington Northern (BNI): On the right track

Burlington Northern (BNI): On the right track originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 May 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"In a few years we'll be staring at new highs in the prices of many natural resources," says Larry Edelson, a specialist in resource-related stocks. In Real Wealth, he looks at two exchange-traded funds focused on food and water.

"Mind you, the U.S. and global economies will not get back to the growth levels we've recently seen, not anytime soon.

"But they don't have to for natural resource prices to soar again. The chief reason they will climb again: Massive, worldwide currency devaluations, especially in the U.S. dollar.

"Moreover, natural resources will get a huge boost from the massive infrastructure spending that is now commencing around the world. I expect two key sectors in particular to get a big boost, almost immediately - agriculture and water.

Continue reading Water and agriculture: ETFs for a resources rebound

Water and agriculture: ETFs for a resources rebound originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 12:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Monsanto (NYSE: MON) has had a problem. Its genetically altered seeds have been hard to sell outside the U.S. For some reason, there is an impression that they may produce products that are less safe than those from natural seeds. With the economy making it harder to pay for planting crops and harder for developed nations to send food to countries where people are hungry, Monsanto's troubles may be easing.

Continue reading Looking for a run-up in Monsanto (MON)

Looking for a run-up in Monsanto (MON) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Investing in food is a simple story: expanding supply and demand fueled by rising global urbanization," says Yiannis Mostrous. In Personal Finance newsletter the global advisor looks at Monsanto (NYSE: MON).

"The global population is expected to surpass 9 billion by 2050. Wages are rising in emerging economies--led by India and China--and more people are moving into cities where the consistent and better paying jobs are.

"That means greater demand for protein-rich foods, especially meat and dairy consumption. The consumption of both has a strong correlation to urbanization. The result will be a permanent increase in demand for crop grains for feeding.

Continue reading Monsanto (MON): Planting the seeds of growth

Monsanto (MON): Planting the seeds of growth originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS), the combined Cargill Crop Nutrition and IMC Global Inc., began trading as a Fortune 500 company immediately after its 2004 IPO, and became a dominant player in the fertilizer business.

In just a few short years, Mosaic would be in prime position to ride a global boom in agricultural crop demand that resulted in its shares skyrocketing more than $130 from trough to peak.

From a valuation standpoint, the move higher was completely justified and rational -- up to a point. When the hedge fund momentum investors climbed aboard, astute investors knew that the rapid rise was due for a correction.

The stock sold off hard during the summer, which culminated in a complete washout due to the credit crisis and global economic meltdown. MOS shares fell back to the mid-$30s.

As is often the case, the selling went too far and had more to do with forced liquidations instead of rational valuation metrics.

Continue reading Jump on Mosaic (MOS) before the momentum crowd returns

Jump on Mosaic (MOS) before the momentum crowd returns originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post was written by Minyanville contributor Jeff Macke.

Good Morning from New York, where the coffee is thick as mud and only slightly less bitter than the news from Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM). The Japanese automaker said it would be shutting down production for 11 days in the face of falling demand. There are also unconfirmed reports that Japan's finest will dump its planned expansions in Russia and Thailand, which I view as "good news" and "bad news," respectively.

Toyota shook off horrible sales reports yesterday. but there's only so much shaking it can do. These reports are like the straws on a camel's back...too many and eventually the load becomes too great. So is the straw that breaks the camel's back factored in to Toyota's stock? Watch TM today.

Your other tell du jour is The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) which is slightly higher pre-market after reporting last night. Mosaic posted an earnings beat and horrific outlook. That outlook is one traders should be expecting from most, if not all, of the Global Growth names which have been rallying sharply of late after crashing in '08. Have traders looked past the earnings slump this year or are they in denial about just how bad it's going to get? The guess here is "probably a little denial and a touch of forward looking."

Whatever your guess, the trading in Toyota and Mosaic today will offer a decent near-term trading tell for how stocks on the bleeding edge of the demand collapse.

Two Tuesday Tells: Toyota (TM), Mosaic (MOS) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Agricultural commodities have been hurt in the recent turmoil," says growth stock expert Stephen Leeb. In The Complete Investor he looks at Mosaic (NYSE: MOS). a world leader in fertilizers.

"Mosaic has been decimated in price despite reporting record earnings. The company is the world's second-biggest producer of fertilizer components and the leading producer of potash.

"It's also the largest maker of processed phosphates, which gives it a lot of leverage to the rapidly growing markets of China and Brazil, and is an exclusive marketer of 1.2 million metric tons of nitrogen products.

"Since its high in June, the stock has lost three-fourths of its value and now trades at just 3 times next year's earnings. The sell-off came despite Mosaic's highest-ever earnings ($2.65 in the latest quarter vs. $0.69 a year earlier) and expanding gross margins (38.1% vs. 26%).

"The apparent reason was that those record earnings were slightly below some analyst estimates. Also, investors perhaps feared that farmers wouldn't be able to obtain credit to buy fertilizers.

"Once all the added liquidity puts these fears to rest, and given that the worldwide inventory of soybeans, corn, and wheat is forecasted to keep declining into 2009, we think demand for Mosaic's products will be strong.

"Long-term investors should use any temporary softness in fertilizer component prices as a great buying opportunity for Mosaic's shares."

Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a daily look at the latest market commentary and favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

Mosaic (MOS): Growth in fertilizers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Investing in agriculture-related companies has been one of our main themes for the past year, and we still favor it," say resource experts Roger Conrad and Yiannis Mostrous.

The co-editors of Vital Resource Investor note, "We're adding a new stock to the portfolio that should benefit from the increasingly higher global demand for fertilizer: Potash Corp. (NYSE: POT).

"Potash is the world's largest and lowest-cost publicly traded potash producer, the fastest-growing segment in the fertilizer business. Its potash reserves are sufficient for more than 100 years of production.

"The company controls about 70% of the world's excess capacity. Potash Corp is also the world's third-largest phosphate producer and fourth-largest nitrogen producer. Current phosphate reserves should last more than 50 years.

Continue reading Potash (POT): Planting profits for global growth

Potash (POT): Planting profits for global growth originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"As incomes around the world rise, so does demand for food; and the explosive growth in population is aggravating the situation even further," note Yiannis Mostrous and Roger Conrad.

The co-editors of Vital Resource Investor explain, "The big cycle in food demand has begun, and long-term-oriented investors will be rewarded handsomely." What's the best play? Among their favorites is Monsanto (NYSE: MON).

"Monsanto is the undisputed leader in the genetically modified (GM) seed industry. Its business consists of two segments: Seeds/Genomics and Agricultural Productivity.

"The Seeds/Genomics segment consists of the company's global seeds and traits business, and genetic technology platforms, including biotechnology, breeding and genomics.

"The Agricultural Productivity segment consists primarily of crop protection products, residential lawn-and-garden herbicide products, and the company's animal agricultural businesses.

"Monsanto shares have been affected by the market's shorter-term gyrations, but the underlying business is extremely healthy. In fact, the seed business is currently in a sweet spot as global food demand changes dramatically.

Continue reading Monsanto (MON): Feed the world

Monsanto (MON): Feed the world originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Is now the time to buy Deere?

Is now the time to buy Deere? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Editor's Note: In Toddo's honor, this post comes from Ag and Energy specialist Ryan Krueger. Please see more at www.minyanville.com.

In the first six months of 2008, the United States Oil Fund (AMEX: USO) has seen short interest rise 140%, or two times the total float. For its part, the Powershares DB Commodity Index (AMEX: DBC) has watched its short interest climb more than 500% this year. According to Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), the average short interest among exchange-traded funds (ETF) in the U.S. is 10%.

I'll alert Minyanville.com readers when Congressional hearings are scheduled to address this other form of speculation, which includes windfall losses.

As for the market, it would seem the largest institutions are equally hopeful -- for the sake of their relative performance -- that this simply can't be: According to some reports I've seen, they're roughly 500 basis points underweight energy.

I'd imagine both will continue to be long shaking heads.

Shorting energy? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Potash (NYSE: POT) scored a technical breakout by rising above $210," says technical expert Leo Fasciocco. In his Ticker Tape Digest, he says, "With earnings set to soar the stock now targets a move to $265."

"Postash, based in Canada, produces fertilizer. It produces phosphate and nitrogen from 12 facilities in the United States and South America. Fertilizer stocks have been strong due to rising profits reflecting strong demand for their products and rising prices.

"A long term chart shows an extraordinary bull market advance with the rising 170% the past 12 months versus an 8% decline in the S&P 500 index. Now, the stock has broken out from a seven-week flat base. The move carries POT to a new high on expanding volume.

Continue reading Potash (POT): Fertilzer 'breakout'

Potash (POT): Fertilzer 'breakout' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Resource industry specialists Roger Conrad and Yiannis Mostrous are bullish on the agriculture and water sectors; in their model portfolio they already hold 6 stocks in these sectors.

The co-editors of Vital Resource Investor explain, "We see strong underpinnings for continued higher agricultural prices for many years to come." Here's their latest agrculture play: EI du Pont de Nemours (NYSE: DD).

"Recently the United Nations Food Agency warned of civil war in some countries because of global food shortages. With the rapid urbanization of Asian countries, we see a growing global dependence on a shrinking number of food producing nations, particularly with the world adding 78.5 million people each year.

"There will be ups and downs for prices along the way. A throttling back of America's efforts to develop ethanol so extensively or a move to use something besides corn to brew ethanol could take some of the upward pressure off corn prices.

"A real global recession could also cause food prices to back off for a time and it's also possible we'll see some form of US government intervention to curb food prices, particularly as the presidential election develops.

Continue reading Agriculture boosts growth at DuPont (DD)

Agriculture boosts growth at DuPont (DD) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 May 2008 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.