The Worldwide Investor

South Africa, which is currently mired in an electricity shortage, has placed supply constraints on gold and platinum, two of the major commodities which it produces. Monday saw gold prices rise to just below $930/oz, before settling at $926.60, up $16 on the day. Platinum had an even bigger day, jump $34 to $1714. [Read more →]

The Martin Luther King holiday was no day on the beach for international investors. Stock markets across the globe got crushed, with many indexes shedding 7-8% in a single day. India’s Sensex index had its 2nd biggest percentage decline ever, losing 7.4%, a good day compared with the overall market in that country. The Bombay stock 500 IDX ended the day down nearly 10%. [Read more →]

After being one of the best performing markets in the world the last 3 years, the Australian S&P/ASX 200 index has now been down every day for the past 2 weeks. The record breaking run has taken the index to 5720, after hitting a record of 6750 in November of 2007. Since hitting that record high just 2 months ago, the index has lost 1000 points in less than 50 trading session, and is approaching a 52 week low. Friday’s mere 27 point loss saw less than 25% of the index close up for the day. Energy and financials led the way down with Aquarius Platinum down 5.6% and Beach Petroleum down over 7%. [Read more →]

The first few weeks of 2008 have not been kind to stock markets investors across the globe, unless you’ve been invested in China or India. Among the world’s major equities markets, only those two countries have posted positive returns YTD, with India up 2.7% so far this year, and China up a whopping 7% [Read more →]

For those interested in investing in alternative energy products, it is important to know the big names in each of the major industries. Wind, solar, hydroelectric, nuclear, and biofuels have all been gaining market share as traditional fossil fuel generated power has become increasingly more expensive. Solar was the big winner of 2007, as progress was made to bring it closer to viability. Wind power companies have done very well had you invested in the Dutch company Vestas Wind Energy (VWSYF.PK) which is up 675% in the past few years, or Zoltek (NYSE: ZOLT) which is up nearly 2000% over a five year time frame. Today, we look at three biofuel stocks, which were a mixed bag in 2007. With sugar the most promising of the agriculture fuels, current prices for some of its major companies may warrant interest by those ready to invest in renewable energy. [Read more →]

In mid-day trading, Gold hit a new record high, up nearly $20 to $878.90 at 3pm EST. A weakening economy and the possibility of future interest rates cuts by the Federal Reserve sparked the run. The previous high was reached in 1980 and had not been challenged until recently. Today, with the US Dollar extremely weak and investment demand soaring, the price of gold has been on a steady incline for the past several years. Since December 23rd alone, the gold price has rocketed over $90. -

Palm oil reached an all time high today of $940/ton as commodity prices across the globe continue to flourish. The contract, [Read more →]

The International Herald Tribune had a fantastic article today on how the growth of China is causing monumental changes throughout all of Southeast Asia. In particular, they profile the plight of Loatian farmers who previously collected crops and transported them by foot [Read more →]

Venezuela is undergoing an election of monumental proportions today that may give Socialist leader Hugo Chavez the ability to be in office for the rest of his life. The election is a complete redraft of the constitution and perhaps the most important vote in the history of the country. [Read more →]

After what was looking like another promising year for the Japanese economic rebound, the past 6 weeks has seen the Nikkei drop 15%, sending the market to its lowest point since August 2006. The gloom surrounding the market has begun to resurface that perhaps the rebound is not sustainable and the country may be headed for a continuation of its multidecade long recession. The Nikkei index has lost 62% of its value from its peak 18 years ago.

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