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Forget CDOs and other inventions of the great credit bubble. That’s all old hat. Investment bankers are moving on to an area of securities trading that is potentially even more lucrative, and what’s more, even has a social value – saving the planet. Or supposedly so, anyway. I’ve long had my suspicions about the great carbon trading bubble, and I’ve had them pretty much confirmed by a brilliant article which has been drawn to my attention by one Mark Schapiro in Harper’s magazine. According to Mr Schapiro, carbon trading is now the fastest growing commodities market on earth. Since Kyoto...

The China Containerized Freight Index has bee-lined upward in 2010. The index tracks shipping prices for goods sailing from China to 11 different regions around the world. Between January 15 and February 26, the index rose 17%. During the same period, the Baltic Dry Index (which tracks average shipping prices globally) fell 18%. As I mentioned, these numbers suggest a big increase in goods being shipping from China relative to the rest of the world. With anecdotal evidence that at least some of the exports were metals. The fear being that Chinese metals stockpiles are being drawn down and re-exported....

Gold Laughs In Bernanke's Face, Shorts Freaking Out Joe Weisenthal Feb. 19, 2010, 1:30 PM Given that the tightening cycle began yesterday, today's gold move has to be considered impressive. It's now back to yesterday's pre-tightening levels.

The Deflationary Trap, Desperate Times and Desperate Measures Commodities / Gold and Silver 2010 Feb 18, 2010 - 09:25 AM By: Adam Brochert Things are going to continue to get darker economically. Nothing has been solved but massive currency debasement has already occurred to try to stem the tide. The reason is simple. I forget where I stole this chart from and if anyone knows who is making this chart and keeps regularly updating it, please let me know so I can check their site periodically: New debt is now a drag on the economy rather than a boost. This...

Bangkok - Excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides and other poor farming practices have led to an insect plague in Thailand's rice fields that was predicted to reduce yields by 30 per cent in vast areas, the International Rice Research Institute warned Monday. "This is the worst outbreak of brown planthoppers I have seen in my career since 1977," said Manit Luecha, director of the Chainat Rice Seed Center. "Most of the paddy fields - probably more than 1 million hectares - will suffer rice yield losses of more than 30 per cent," he predicted. Thailand is the world's largest...

Today's Mixed Action Was A HUGE Win For The Bulls Vince Veneziani Feb. 12, 2010, 4:05 PM Lots of volatility in the last hour of trading today. Dow: Down 42 points to 10,102. NASDAQ: Up 6 points to 2183. S&P 500: Down 3 points to 1075. Commodities: Bad news: Oil is down to $74.11 a barrel. Gold is at $1093 an ounce, down $1.30. Silver is down $0.07 to $15.52 an ounce. Futures remain mixed, metals tanking and softs soaring. In the end, bulls have to be really happy. Given all the news that's expected to come out this weekend...

CHART OF THE DAY: Dr. Copper Is Telling You To BUY Joe Weisenthal and Kamelia Angelova Feb. 12, 2010, 3:11 PM Of all the commodities, copper is frequently extolled for its ability to predict the economy, and as such its fans joking say it has "PhD" in economics. Well, the industrial metal is earnings its tenure. Not only did it clearly anticipate the turnaround in 2009, you could have used the copper selloff to anticipate the recent swoon. And now copper is rebounding, while the market is heading down. Is this an opportunity?

Gold Nears Record High vs. Euro As German Economic Recovery Stalls Commodities / Gold and Silver 2010 Feb 12, 2010 - 12:43 PM By: Adrian Ash THE PRICE OF GOLD lost half yesterday's rise vs. the US Dollar on Friday in London, heading into the weekend some 1.9% higher from last week as government bonds rose and European shares held flat overall. Gold priced in Euros rose back above €800 an ounce, nearing yesterday's 1-week high ­– and only 1.5% below its all-time peak of Dec. – after Thursday's EU summit ended with no action on Greece's deficit crisis. The...

The Secret Aluminum Shipments That Show China Is De-Stockpiling Its Commodities Dave Forest Feb. 12, 2010, 1:48 PM This might be the year's most important news. Which got almost no press globally. Something strange happened in Japan in December. Shipments of aluminum from Mozambique and Brazil showed up in the northwestern ports of Fushiki and Fukui. Shipping aluminum to Japan isn't weird. The nation is an important consumer. But shipping South American and African aluminum to northwest Japan is strange. These are minor ports. Usually such imports would be unloaded on the Pacific side, at Yokohama, Osaka or Nagoya. Where...

Brace Yourself For A Big Gold Shortage The Mad Hedge Fund Trader Feb. 11, 2010, 1:09 PM Brace yourself for the impending gold shortage. Gold shortage? Yup. With the launch of a flurry of dedicated gold ETF's last year, total ETF holdings of the barbaric relic, now exceed total world production. South Africa suffered its steepest decline in gold production since 1901, falling 14%, to a mere 232tons. It now ranks only third in global production of the yellow metal, after China and the US. Severe electricity rationing, a shortage of skilled workers,and more stringent mine safety regulations have been...

The Snow Kills Volume As The Markets End Slightly Down For The Day Vince Veneziani Feb. 10, 2010, 4:00 PM All it took was a blizzard in New York to kill volume on the major exchanges. The Dow ended down 29 points, falling to 10,030. The NASDAQ dropped 5 points, falling to 2146, and S&P 500 essentially broke even, closing at 1067. Oil rose to $74.41 a barrel, up $0.66 for the day. Gold took a hit of $6.60 to drop to $1070 an ounce. Silver fell $0.17 to $15.27. Commodities were a mixed bag, as shown below. Overall, one...

Learning from History: The Future Possibility of Silver Confiscation Commodities / Gold and Silver 2010 Feb 10, 2010 - 02:47 AM By: Dr Jeff Lewis The history of confiscation of precious metals is well documented, with literally tons of gold and silver ripped from the hands of ordinary Americans during the financially tumultuous years of the Great Depression. However, history books and academic research rarely shine light into the confiscation of silver and rather focus on gold, even though both were made illegal for a total of 40 years. In this article, we'll examine the history of confiscation and shed...

Watch Out: ISM Inflation Reading Soars To Multi-Year Highs Joe Weisenthal Feb. 10, 2010, 12:46 PM Here's a chart that should be causing some consternation to Ben Bernanke. It's the ISM's Commodity Survey, via Bespoke, and it shows a surge in commodity prices the likes of which we haven't seen since the middle of 2008.[snip]

Rumors Of Greek Bailout Produce Monster Victory For The Bulls Vince Veneziani Feb. 9, 2010, 4:03 PM All it took was a rumor about Greece to bail this market out. The Dow closed up 136 points to end at 10,045. The NASDAQ closed at 2147, up 22 points, and the S&P 500 gained 12 points to close at 1068. Energy led the rally today, followed closely by the insurance and consumer goods industry. Oil rallied $2 to close at $73.87 a barrel. Gold rose to $1077.70, up $11.50 an ounce. Silver gained $0.38 to finish at $15.46.

Bears Come Out In Final Hour, As Dow Plunges 104 Vince Veneziani Feb. 8, 2010, 4:00 PM The market was mixed on light volume until 3:00 PM. Then the Bears came out in full force. The Dow ended up dropping 104 points. The NASDAQ lost 15 and the S&P 500 lost 9.45. However, commodities had a great day. Oil ended up nearly one percent at $71.89 a barrel. Gold gained $12.40 to rise to $1065.20 an ounce. Silver gained $0.24, ending at $15.07 an ounce. Grains, Softs, and meats remain positive. Bonds, equities and energy are falling.

Copper Collapse Coming? by: Pacifica Partners February 08, 2010 Copper is often called “Dr. Copper” because of its ability to turn higher or lower in advance of turns in the broader economy. It almost seems like it has a Ph.D in economics – hence the moniker. Thus, some investors use copper prices as a sort of thermometer to get a sense of where the economy is headed. But when it comes to explaining the powerful momentum behind copper prices, most economists might be chagrined to find out that the laws of supply and demand do not seem to be working....

Gold, Stay Away Until the Dust Settles Commodities / Gold and Silver 2010 Feb 07, 2010 - 11:27 AM By: Merv Burak Gold looks great if you turn the page upside down. Otherwise, one might just stay away for a while until the dust settles. The NYMEX close for gold was $1052.80 while only an hour or two later the Globex electronic trading showed gold at $1065. One might just wonder what goes on here. GOLD LONG TERM Whether gold closed at $1052.80 or $1065 does not change the long term picture. It traded below the $1065 level and therefore...

Falling Copper Prices: The Doctor Is Out By Bill Bonner 02/05/10 Baltimore, Maryland – The bust in the economy ain’t so bad either. Credit default swap spreads are widening. Bond yields are rising…especially in Europe. The service sector in the US is performing below expectations. Oh…and listen to this: “More weigh walking away from mortgages,” says The New York Times. As anticipated, people are warming up to the idea of stiffing their mortgage lenders. Why not? Millions of houses are underwater; let the mortgage company deal with them. Delinquent mortgage payments have risen to over 10%. The Baltic Dry Index...

STUNNING COMEBACK: Stocks And Commodities Back Into The Black Vince Veneziani Feb. 5, 2010, 4:02 PM The Dow was in the 9800s earlier today as all the major indices and commodities plummeted amid sovereign debt concerns, similar to yesterday. But unlike yesterday, a late afternoon reversal rallied the market and we're back to 10,000. The Dow gained 11 points to close at 10,012, the NASDAQ gained 16 points to close at 2141, and the S&P 500 gained 3 points to close at 1066. Commodities staged a comeback as well, though not as well as equities. Soybeans, copper, and energy did...

Market Collapse Day II: Equities And Commodities Now Falling Hard Vince Veneziani Feb. 5, 2010, 1:51 PM The market continues to tank, with the Dow currently down 135 points to 9868. The NASDAQ is down 23 points to 2102 and the S&P 500 is down 17 points to 1046. It's a total bloodbath. Commodities are down across the board (cattle, however, is up!). Oil is down 3.9% to $70.31 a barrel. Gold is down yet again. It's currently at $1050 an ounce, down $12. Silver is down 3.5% to $14.82 an ounce.