“‘Buy when everyone else is selling, and hold until everyone else is buying.’ This is more than just a catchy slogan. It is the very essence of successful investment.” That quote from legendary oil tycoon J. Paul Getty appears in his book How to Be Rich, as well as in the beginning of one of my favorite investment books, Contrary Investing by Richard E. Band. As long as I’ve been in the investment business, I’ve never seen a more simple and effective piece of advice. That particularly goes during tumultuous times like these. Read More

The global economic slowdown will only be responsible for a relative pause to the great commodities cycle. Prices will adjust, and the best companies will benefit. But the global emerging market industrialization and urbanization process continues at an unprecedented pace of epic proportions.  Read More

The third quarter was a rough ride for the VRI Portfolio. The silver lining is our recommendations continue to outperform their benchmarks. That’s what an industry letter should be able to do. More important, that outperformance is the best assurance we’re going to be in prime position when the financial system’s great debacle finally works itself out. Read More

The race is on. At stake: USD21.7 trillion to be spent on new infrastructure in the developing world over the next decade, and trillions more in the US, Japan and Western Europe. The needs are myriad. In the developed world, roads and bridges are crumbling. Water supplies are deteriorating. The past century’s communications networks and power systems are increasingly overloaded and prone to outages, at the same time constant connectivity is becoming ever more essential to 21st century commerce. Read More

The race is on. At stake: USD21.7 trillion to be spent on new infrastructure in the developing world over the next decade, and trillions more in the US, Japan and Western Europe. The needs are myriad. In the developed world, roads and bridges are crumbling. Water supplies are deteriorating. The past century’s communications networks and power systems are increasingly overloaded and prone to outages, at the same time constant connectivity is becoming ever more essential to 21st century commerce. Read More

The Chinese character for crisis is itself a combination of two other Chinese characters: danger and opportunity. That’s food for thought as we live through the ongoing trials and tribulations of the US financial system and their exaggerated impact on vital resource stocks. Read More

Total US electricity demand will rise at least 20 percent by 2030, according to the Dept of Energy. Assuming US growth approximates historical averages, that percentage rises to 30 percent, and under a more robust forecast it kicks up to 40 percent. According to a study commissioned by the Edison Electric Institute, that adds up to USD1.5 trillion in needed new investment for generation and basic transmission and distribution infrastructure. And it actually excludes the cost of what now seems inevitable: carbon dioxide (CO2) regulation. Read More

Total US electricity demand will rise at least 20 percent by 2030, according to the Dept of Energy. Assuming US growth approximates historical averages, that percentage rises to 30 percent, and under a more robust forecast it kicks up to 40 percent. According to a study commissioned by the Edison Electric Institute, that adds up to USD1.5 trillion in needed new investment for generation and basic transmission and distribution infrastructure. And it actually excludes the cost of what now seems inevitable: carbon dioxide (CO2) regulation. Read More

The world’s stock markets aren’t for the faint of heart here in September 2008. Neither is the market for fixed income excepting US Treasuries, the classic safe haven. The flipside of panicked crisis markets, however, is opportunity. It takes fortitude, patience, spare cash and a willingness to bet against the crowd. And it goes without saying that you’ve got to pick targets carefully. Read More

The world’s stock markets aren’t for the faint of heart here in September 2008. Neither is the market for fixed income excepting US Treasuries, the classic safe haven. The flipside of panicked crisis markets, however, is opportunity. It takes fortitude, patience, spare cash and a willingness to bet against the crowd. And it goes without saying that you’ve got to pick targets carefully. Read More