Category Archives: Commodities

Debt and the New World Order

Posted on March 21, 2012 by macromon

The IMF does a good job interviewing Phillip Coggan, the columnist for the Economist, on his new book,  Paper Promises: Debt, Money, and the New World Order.  Good stuff! DEBT AND REFORM Debt Can Reshape Current Economic, Political Order—Coggan IMF … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Commodities, Currency, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Game Change: Bakken Shale Production 1985-2010

Posted on March 18, 2012 by macromon

We have this sense that the global economic tectonic plates are shifting before our very eyes.  America, the land of cheap energy and the new efficient production frontier? Here’s Reuters last week, America’s steel industry, for decades a symbol of … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, China, Commodities, Crude Oil, Energy, Fiscal Policy, Geopolitical | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

U.S. Posts First Petro Product Trade Surplus Since 1949

Posted on March 7, 2012 by macromon

The times they are a-changin’. According to the EIA the United States exported more petroleum products than it imported in 2011 for the first time since 1949.   Though declining, American refiners still imports large amounts of crude oil. Strong global … Continue reading →

Posted in Commodities, Crude Oil | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Macro Notes from the Alcoa Conference Call

Posted on January 10, 2012 by macromon

4Q 2011 Highlights Loss from continuing operations of $193 million, or $0.18 per share; excluding special items, loss from continuing operations of $34 million, or $0.03 per share Revenue of $6 billion, down 7 percent sequentially, up 6 percent from … Continue reading →

Posted in Commodities, Earnings | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Bubble Trouble in the U.S. Heartland?

Posted on December 15, 2011 by macromon

The “smart money” has been buying up farmland hand over fist for the past few years and you can see how they helped drive up land prices in the U.S. heartland.   Some think this is the place to be if … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Commodities | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Now for Some Good News…

Posted on December 14, 2011 by macromon

Here’s a little piece of good macro news.  The CRB Foodstuffs sub-index — hogs, steers, lard, butter, soybean oil, cocoa, corn, Kansas City wheat, Minneapolis wheat, and sugar — is down 18 percent from its April high.  Good news for … Continue reading →

Posted in Commodities | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Gold and Commodities Slammed

Posted on December 14, 2011 by macromon

Gold and other commodities got hammered.  It hasn’t been two weeks since we thought gold could move to new highs on the back of the announcement of coordinated global central bank support for Europe, which we believed would be followed … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Commodities, Gold | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

China’s Deflating and ‘Eerily Similar’ Housing Bubble

Posted on December 13, 2011 by macromon

Wow!  Check out this. In January we compared the U.S. and China stimulus, In the U.S., the central bank printed and created money through the expansion of its balance sheet.  In China, the government pressured the  banks to create money … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, China, Commodities, Credit, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged | 2 Comments

China’s Deflating Housing Bubble

Posted on December 12, 2011 by macromon

Much of China’s rapid credit — 33 percent in 2009 — as part of its massive stimulus program was directed into nonproductive sectors.   Balance sheet risks have increased.   Sound familiar? This could be next year’s big bad story.    Commodities … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, China, Commodities | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Ugly Chart Contest

Posted on December 11, 2011 by macromon

Here’s a couple ugly charts we’re monitoring:   China’s Shanghai Composite stock index and Commodity Research Bureau Index (CRB).   Do you think there’s causality here?  Remember the “China is buying/hoarding every commodity” story? Both are at key support levels.    … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Commodities | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment