Mobius: Positive on Commodities, China

Monday, September 1st, 2008

Mark Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Asset Management, is very positive on commodities, especially integrated emerging markets oil companies including Chinese and Indian energy firms like Reliance. He shares his views with CNBC’s Martin Soong and Sri Jegarajah.

click to view video

“China’s Still a Great Investment”

The long-term story in China is still very bright. And investors should take note that H-shares are currently trading at a substantial discount to their A-share counterparts says Mark Mobius, executive chairman at Templeton Asset Management. He also goes further afield to say that Russia is in a sweet spot,  that Putin has done all the right things for Russia and comments positively that Russia’s diplomacy in the Georgia affair has far reaching foreign relations benefits.

Tags: China, Commodities, Gold, Iron Ore, Mark Mobius, Metals, nickel, Oil & Gas
Posted in Agriculture, BRIC, Brazil, China, Commodities, Emerging Markets, Gold, India, Infrastructure, Markets, Oil & Gas | No Comments »

Hendry: Speculation is Dead, Gold is Heading to $600

Saturday, August 30th, 2008

As you know, GreenLightAdvisor.com is a huge fan of the outspoken Hugh Hendry, CIO, Eclectica Asset, who has been a unique, eloquent, and brash voice in this market. Its our sense that Hendry is also uniquely alone, and lucid, in the marketplace in terms of his outlook, and for this reason should be added to your must see/must listen to list.

click image to watch

The segment which aired August 19, 2008 on CNBC Europe, also contains midway, a terrific interview with GE CEO Jeff Immelt.

“There is no role for speculation or speculators today. This is kaput,” Hendry said. “If we were Second World War generals, we’ve exposed our flanks. We’ve been wiped out. This is about fundamentals … this is about losing money.”

As the crisis unfolds, the policymakers’ focus should shift from the threat of inflation to that of the world economic downturn, which could be more severe than economists anticipate, he said. (Watch Hendry’s interview below for more on the economy, inflation and commodities).

China, which many believe will balance out slowdowns elsewhere, will struggle if difficulties in the U.S. continue, while the current spike in producer prices is just a hangover from rising oil prices earlier this year, Hendry said.

“I fear that the central bankers of the world are fighting yesterday’s battle,” he said.

As for the banking sector, it is “insolvent,” Hendry said, adding he can’t tell just how low those stocks will go.

Tags: Banks, Commodities, Economy, Hugh Hendry, Monetary Policy, Recession
Posted in BRIC, Banks, Brazil, China, Commodities, Credit Markets, Crude Oil, Economy, Emerging Markets, Financials, Fixed Income, Gold, India, International Markets, Markets, inflation | No Comments »

Largest Companies in the World

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

Once again, we continue to be impressed by the charting and tabling work that Bespoke Investment Group compiles on a daily basis. Here below is the latest survey which compiles the largest market capitalizations of companies from around the world.

One notable standout is the size difference between Exxon Mobil ($438-billion) and Gazprom ($237-billion). We point this out simply because while Exxon is worth close to twice as much in market cap, Gazprom happens to be 6 times larger according to their total hydrocarbon reserves, and a reserve life index of roughly 28 years or so, vs. Exxon’s 17-18 years. This is the post Georgia debacle, post-oil-price-downturn price. Russian energy companies are cheap, cheap, cheap.

And, even after the huge haircut that PetroChina and China’s largest banks and companies have gotten the last year, PetroChina still commands 2nd place at $341-billion, China Mobile at 5th place, ICBC at 7th place, and CCB in the 15th spot.

Finally, where is India? We give 3-5 years before several Indian outfits make it to the market cap pantheon. That spells opportunity.

Below we highlight the 30 largest companies in the World by market cap ($). As shown, Exxon Mobil is the top dog by about $70 billion. Exxon is trailed by another energy company, Petrochina, then General Electric and Microsoft. Eleven of the top 30 are based in the United States. The Energy sector has the largest representation at 8, followed by Technology at 5. Only 3 companies in the top 30 are up in 2008 — Wal-Mart, IBM and Johnson&Johnson. And Apple and Google followers will be happy to see them ranked 25th and 26th in the World.

Tags: Market Cap
Posted in BRIC, Banks, China, Crude Oil, Emerging Markets, India, Markets, Oil & Gas, Russia, US Stocks | No Comments »

Where is the Boom, and the Doom?

Tuesday, July 1st, 2008

July 1, 2008 - The first half of this year has been chaotic and confusing for investors given the Subprime fiasco and rapid deterioration of fundamentals in the Banking and Finance sectors, the secular selloff in stocks globally, recession in the US, and soaring oil and commodity prices.

US Global Investors, an American mutual fund company, founded by Toronto native, Frank Holmes, interviews Dr. Marc Faber, author of the Gloom, Boom, and Doom Report, for 1:15 hrs in this highly informative webcast (courtesy of Investment Postcards) aptly titled, “Where is the Boom, Gloom and Doom?”

Please click here to listen to the webcast.

Source: US Global Investors, June 27, 2008.

Tags: BRIC, China, Commodities, Emerging Markets, Frank Holmes, GDP Growth, globalization, GloomBoomDoom, GreenLightAdvisor.com, India, Infrastructure, Marc Faber, oil, urbanization
Posted in Agriculture, BRIC, Brazil, China, Commodities, Credit Markets, Eastern Europe, Emerging Markets, Financials, India, Markets, energy | No Comments »

Tony Blair: Power is moving East

Saturday, May 31st, 2008

In his recent speech at Yale Class Day, Tony Blair had the following to share with students. The speech is well worth reading on many fronts, but if you’re an investor, then you’ll be interested in knowing what one of the great leaders of the free world has to say about what this century holds for both the West and the East. 

For the first time in many centuries, power is moving East. China and India each have populations roughly double those of America and Europe combined.

In the next two decades, these two countries together will undergo industrialisation four times the size of the USA’s and at five times the speed.

We must be mindful that as these ancient civilisations become somehow younger and more vibrant, our young civilisation does not grow old. Most of all we should know that in this new world, we must clear a path to partnership, not stand off against each other, competing for power.

The complete speech can be read here:

The Office of Tony Blair - Yale Class Day Speech

Tags: China, India, Markets, philosophy, tony blair, wisdom, Yale Class Day
Posted in BRIC, Brazil, China, Economy, Emerging Markets, Geo-political, India, Infrastructure, Markets | No Comments »

Bill Gross: Hmmmm? (Investment Outlook June 2008)

Monday, May 26th, 2008

May 26, 2008 - Pimco’s Bill Gross makes a most humorous analyses, drawing parallels that the hordes are marching on the new Rome (America), and that its time to act. Make sure you read this must read, the June 2008 Investment Outlook, by Bill Gross. At the end, Gross puts forth his recommendations.

What this country needs is either a good 5 cent cigar or the reincarnation of an Illinois “rail-splitter” willing to tell the American people “what up” -”what really up.” We have for so long now been willing to be entertained rather than informed, that we more or less accept majority opinion, perpetually shaped by ratings obsessed media, at face value. After 12 months of an endless primary campaign barrage, for instance, most of us believe that a candidate’s preacher - Democrat or Republican - should be a significant factor in how we vote. We care more about who’s going to be eliminated from this week’s American Idol than the deteriorating quality of our healthcare system. Alternative energy discussion takes a bleacher’s seat to the latest foibles of Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears and then we wonder why gas is four bucks a gallon. We care as much as we always have - we just care about the wrong things: entertainment, as opposed to informed choices; trivia vs. hardcore ideological debate.)

It’s Sunday afternoon at the Coliseum folks, and all good fun, but the hordes are crossing the Alps and headed for modern day Rome - better educated, harder working, and willing to sacrifice today for a better tomorrow. Can it be any wonder that an estimated 1% of America’s wealth migrates into foreign hands hands every year? We, as a people, are overweight, poorly educated, overindulged, and imbued with such a sense or self importance on a geopolitical scale, that our allies are dropping like flies. “Yes we can?” Well, if so, then the “we” is the critical element, not the leader that will be chosen in November. Let’s get off the couch and shape up-physically, intellectually, and institutionally-and begin to make some informed choices about our future. Lincoln didn’t say it, but might have agreed, that the worst part about being fooled is fooling yourself, and as a nation, we’ve been doing a pretty good job of that for a long time now.

Bill Gross - Investment Outlook - June 2008 - “Hmmmmm”

Tags: Bill Gross, BRICs, Emerging Markets, Fixed Income, Hordes, inflation, Investment Wisdom, Markets, philosophy, PIMCO, rome
Posted in BRIC, Brazil, CPI, China, Commodities, Economy, Emerging Markets, Financials, Geo-political, India, Infrastructure, Markets, Oil & Gas, Politics, Russia, US Stocks, inflation | No Comments »

Jim Rogers: All My New Money Is Going To Commodities and China

Wednesday, April 30th, 2008

April 27, 2008 - A recent Bloomberg article quotes Jim Rogers as to his bent for Chinese stocks and Commodities. Specifically, Rogers is focusing his attention in China in the areas of agriculture, airlines, tourism, and education. 

“All my new money goes to commodities and China,’’ said Rogers. 

“All the panic looks like a bottom,’’ he said. “I have bought in the last four to five weeks. I’ve been buying shares in China for the first time in a long time.’’

“China has a huge agricultural problem,’’ Rogers said. The “government is doing everything it can to revive the agriculture industry.’’ 

Rogers was bullish on the Chinese yuan, saying it could eventually rise to 2 yuan per dollar.

“Don’t sell your renminbi (yuan), because it will go a lot higher in the next 20 years,’’ Rogers said.

Apparently the folks at Morgan Stanley do not agree with Rogers, saying that China is a “sell.” Rogers appears to disagree vehemently. 

Selling Chinese shares in 2008 “is a big mistake,’’ said Rogers, adding that he had also bought stocks in Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. “I have never sold any Chinese shares.’’ 

The complete article is available by clicking below:

Investor Jim Rogers Buys Chinese Shares as Markets Hit Bottom, April 27, 2008, Bloomberg

Tags: Agriculture, China, Commodities, Jim Rogers, Markets, RMB, Yuan
Posted in Agriculture, BRIC, China, Commodities, Crude Oil, Emerging Markets, Gold, Infrastructure, Markets, inflation | No Comments »