The world is screaming for copper. Demand from China, the U.S. and Europe is pushing prices to all-time highs. London copper traded at $10,000 a metric ton. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper hit $.4.58 a pound, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

Traders are looking for "five dollar copper," which would push London's price to $11,000 per metric ton. Goldman Sachs (GS) forecasts that copper will average $10,230 a metric ton in 2011, up 15%. It warned that new mine capacity will not come to market for at least two years.

Continue reading Copper Sets Record $10,000 a Metric Ton

Copper Sets Record $10,000 a Metric Ton originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The financial sector has been a strange double-edged sword in portfolios over the past two years or so. In the wake of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, billions of wealth was erased in what were long thought of as conservative stocks. Then the resurgence of some banks since the lows of last year made other investors a fortune, with Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC) both soaring about 300% since historic lows on March 9, 2009.

The drama continues in the financial sector even now with the endless see-saw of mortgage default news and the continued worries over sovereign debt in the eurozone. Any investor jumping into financial stocks right now is really taking the tiger by the tail -- but if you do your homework, there a number of opportunities in the sector become clear -- particularly among financials in Latin America.

Continue reading Three Booming Latin America Banks

Three Booming Latin America Banks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After weeks of speculation, the financial damage from the Chile earthquake and Windstorm Xynthia in Europe is starting to emerge. According to a recent report by Moody's, 16 global reinsurance companies have reported their net insured losses (before taxes) from the catastrophe event, and the damage has already reached $3.5 billion, increasing an already high tally. The firm expects these events to have a noticeable impact on first quarter results for the industry.

According to the report, the first quarter of 2010's results "will have many moving pieces, including the possibility of favorable loss reserve development." It continues, though, that "we would expect a number of reinsurers to post both operating and net losses for the quarter."

Continue reading Q1 Cats Likely to Have Reinsurance Earnings Impact

Q1 Cats Likely to Have Reinsurance Earnings Impact originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Catastrophe modelers, insurers and reinsurers are still sorting out the damage from Windstorm Xynthia in Europe and the earthquake in Chile. Taking only the highest of high-end estimates, the damage from these two catastrophes could exceed $12 billion, resulting in fairly steep property-catastrophe losses long before hurricane season begins. With three more major property reinsurance renewals remaining for the year -- at April 1, June 1 (Florida) and July 1 -- there is plenty of time for the impact of these events to be absorbed into reinsurance pricing.

Continue reading Assessing the Tab for Q1 Catastrophes

Assessing the Tab for Q1 Catastrophes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Munich Re Profit Surges by More Than 60%

Munich Re Profit Surges by More Than 60% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading No Surprise: Chile Leads to Reinsurance Rate Increase Debate

No Surprise: Chile Leads to Reinsurance Rate Increase Debate originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading 2010 Catastrophe Losses Already Half Last Year's Total

2010 Catastrophe Losses Already Half Last Year's Total originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Despite the magnitude of the recent earthquake in Chile - in both physical and financial terms - it's unlikely to trigger a catastrophe bond payout. Catastrophe modeling firms AIR Worldwide and EQECAT offer a range of estimated insured losses of $2 billion to $8 billion, though the dust is still settling. According to insurance securitization blog Artemis.bm, "A similar quake in the right area of the U.S. or Japan would most certainly have triggered a cat bond."

Though there has been cat bond activity in Latin America, none have been issued in the region to cover earthquake risk. Low rates of insurance penetration are likely to keep what will already be a costly situation for insurers and reinsurers from being even worse -- i.e., because not much coverage has been written in Chile.

Continue reading Cat Bond Impact from Chile Unlikely, but Future to Change

Cat Bond Impact from Chile Unlikely, but Future to Change originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Insured losses from the magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile will only account for a small fraction of total economic losses. According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, insured losses will probably cross the $2 billion threshold, while total economic losses could exceed $15 million. EQECAT, another cat modeling firm, released a preliminary economic loss estimate of $10 million to $15 million.

The area affected by the earthquake, AIR says, has residential and commercial properties with an aggregate insured value of approximately $275 million. Residential insurance penetration could be as low as 10%, while the commercial insurance sector has far higher penetration, reported to be approximately 60%.

Continue reading Chile Quake Losses to Top $2 Billion

Chile Quake Losses to Top $2 Billion originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The earthquake that ripped through Chile left total economic damages estimated to range from $15 billion to $30 billion. The magnitude 8.8 quake impacted Santiago, where more than half the economic losses are said to have occurred, as well as the coastal area of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, according to a report by catastrophe modeling firm EQECAT.

Based on the preliminary economic estimates, the impact of the disaster is equivalent to 10% to 15% of Chile's real GDP, and reconstruction costs are expected to be much higher than the stated losses, due to newer building standards that must be met. Damage to residential properties is expected to range from 55% to 65% of the total, with commercial damage accounting for 20% to 30% and industrial damage 15% to 20%, EQECAT says.

Insurance and reinsurance companies with risk in this region will be watching subsequent reports closely in order to gauge the impact on their portfolios.

Chilean Earthquake Decimates More Than 10% of Its GDP originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading PhoCusWright Sees Hotel Industry Strength in Latin America

PhoCusWright Sees Hotel Industry Strength in Latin America originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What is lithium? It is a soft, silver-white metal that is a good conductor of both heat and electricity. Because of these properties, lithium is used in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries. Lithium batteries generate 3 volts of electricity, compared to 1.5 volts for lead/acid or zinc cells.

Lithium is used primarily in the manufacture of car batteries for hybrid cars. These cars are becoming more popular, with the major domestic and foreign car makers using lithium batteries. Hence, lithium has become a highly sought-after commodity.

Continue reading Mexican mining firm finds a huge lithium deposit

Mexican mining firm finds a huge lithium deposit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Resource-rich, politically stable and increasingly prosperous, Chile is an attractive play on commodities and growing wealth in emerging markets," explains Mark Salzinger, editor of The Investor's ETF Report.

Chile is also a favorite investment position of Nicholas Vardy, editor of The Global Bull Market Alert, who notes, "Thanks to its fiscal prudence, its lack of a domestic housing bubble, and its sizeable wealth reserves, Chile has weathered the current global economic meltdown better than most countries."

Here, the two advisors assess the longer-term opportunity in iShares MSCI Chile (NYSE: ECH), an exchange-traded fund.

Continue reading Hot prospects for Chile (ECH)

Hot prospects for Chile (ECH) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 May 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wal-Mart makes bid for Chile's largest grocer originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Long hailed by free market economists as the model for how to create a pension system, news out of Chile that it plans on making payouts to low income seniors, has government interventionists jumping for joy.

The new $2 billion-a-year program will expand public pensions to groups left out by private pensions - the poor and self-employed, housewives, street vendors and farmers who saved little for retirement - granting about a quarter of the nation's work force public pensions by 2012.

The fact is that this move is the way that governments should generally function. Stay out of things unless there is a real need to do something. No one is of the opinion that low income seniors should be thrown out into the street. Of course they should be helped. I would rather see the community take care of them and set up a network of charity, but if that doesn't work, then the government should step in.

What government interventionists miss is just how successful the 1981 pension reform has been.

Continue reading Should the U.S. adopt the Chilean pension system?

Should the U.S. adopt the Chilean pension system? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What are the best speculations and investments among metals, miners, and other resource plays? To find out, I turned to 20 of the nation's leading newsletter editors, as well as speakers from the recent New Orleans Conference, a leading forum for resource advisors.

Their current top ideas cover a wide diversity of ideas, from gold and silver, from alumina and copper, to platinum and palladium. These picks cover markets from Chile to China and from Canada to Russia. These ideas also range from large cap, well-established, and diversified companies to small cap, development-stage junior speculations.

Readers should only consider these ideas as a starting place for their own research and should keep in mind the caveat that any stock you buy should only be considered within the framework of your own time horizon and risk parameters. Meanwhile, here are 20 different advisors assessing various aspects of the metals, mining, and resources sectors:

Continue reading Top resource ideas: 20 advisors on metals, mining, and money

Top resource ideas: 20 advisors on metals, mining, and money originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 Nov 2007 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.